Best drill?

[Waterrat]

How long have you had it, Michael? I'm torn between price and quality here. :?

I had it for 6 months but I put through some hard work drilling trough a lot of aluminium, plastics and hardwood, etc.. The batteries are fantastic, I am still using the first one with the first change.
Make sure buy a good quality set of drill bits though.

 

[Renenet]

Make sure buy a good quality set of drill bits though.

That's a point, I'll have to budget for those too. Maybe I will be getting an Ozito after all. I can always get a better quality one when I can afford it.

 

[J-A-X]

I bought a dewalt 12v, two batteries and 1 hour charge, before the 18v were available and it still serves me well, decent drill bits do make a difference, I did buy a cheap set but one wasn't straight and the others went blunt quickly (makes drilling harder and more frustrating thus less enjoyable)
Buy the best 'handyman' brand drill you can afford, it's one tool that will get a lot of use. I bought the cheaper version of every other powertool I have (and I have a lot) so that I could learn to use them and when they burnt out I'd decide which ones I used the most and budget accordingly to get the better quality replacements

 

[JasonL]

Totally depends on what size drills your using and what your drilling into, if you are planning on hammer drilling, using , speed-bores, are even large twist drills into heavy gauge steel then spend big on your drill if you want it to last, if your drilling 2 - 10mm holes into light gauge steel or timber or using it as an electric screwdriver then just get a cheapy... I go through $600 - $1000 dollar drills like no tomorrow, used a few of the decent brands mentioned and currently use Makita for most things bar my pneumatic electric drill which is a Metabo. (Just replaced a $300 part in that 3 months back )

 

[Radar]

I use my corded ozito for drilling concrete to bolt in gun safes, drilling steel and alloy on my ute for cages, etc, and timber all the time, had it for 2 and a bit years now, cost me $58. No gurantee that yours will last of course but mine has - just get decent drill bits. I'm not sure what the cordless ones are like, we had one cordless cheapy and threw it out cause it was rubbish.

 

[Ramsayi]

I've had quite a few brands of cordless drills over the years ranging from cheapies to mid range,none seem to last and didn't have enough grunt.Recently got an aeg think it's 14.4v and it is by far and away the best one I've used.

 

[junglepython2]

I just got the AEG 14.4V one for xmas also, haven't given it a good workout yet, but seems the goods.

 

[JasonL]

AEG make good tools, Ive had some of their angle grinders for years

 

[smeejason]

Hitachi 18v range. I have a drill a rattle gun and grinder . Good thing is all are batteries are interchangeable so I have 6 to forget to charge. I am yet to see one die at work and they cop a hiding.

 

[Renenet]

Thanks for all your comments. I think this thread will be an interesting one for others as well.

I went to Bunnings tonight and came home with a Bosch PSR 18 LI. It was $179, so slightly cheaper than the Ryobi. I hope it ends up being a good one. It's always a bit of lottery.

 

[dickyknee]

Thanks for all your comments. I think this thread will be an interesting one for others as well.

I went to Bunnings tonight and came home with a Bosch PSR 18 LI. It was $179, so slightly cheaper than the Ryobi. I hope it ends up being a good one. It's always a bit of lottery.

I have 2 of the PSR bosch's in 14.4v , I used these to make all my enclosures when I was doing them as they were nice and light , they did the job fine and they are still on great shape.
I am now using GSR's for work stuff and they seem to be going fine so far , much lighter than the makita's

 

[porkosta]

All depends what you want out of your drill. Simple little tasks - then sure go right ahead with the Ryobi. What to get a little more heavy duty then I would recommend spending a little bit more money and getting something that is a bit more powerful. I have used Ryobi, Bosch and Dewalt in the past, I have Makita 18v Lithium LXT gear and I would not go back to anything else because for me it works.
I saw a Makita Drill/driver set (Charger and two batteries included) at bunnings just before xmas for less than $200 - Not makita's top of the line model but more than enough for most people at home - I bought one for my dad and he loves it (He was used dewalt before that.)

I'm am not trying to put anyone off - just saying what has worked for me. Go in and feel the weight and how each one handles, you have to be happy with it in the end of the day.

 

[PilbaraPythons]

Dewalt make excellent drills but their steel cutting drop saw I have seen fail and been replaced on three occasions.
Up here in the extreme heat the Makita tools seem to cope well ( if of course you don't leave batteries in the sun for too long).
I switched over to Makita primarily because not all brands have drywall collated screw guns and I didn't want to have heaps of different chargers etc. Slowly but surely I have bought heaps of their different cordless tools and would never go back. Even some of the less serious tools like the 18v chainsaw which most people would write off as being a toy, is extremely handy around the home ( I was really surprised ). The circular saw is rediculosly handy and I have converted more than a few old school chippies lately.
The good thing about going down this path is once you have a charger and a couple of batteries, the rest of the bare tools aren't that dear.
Do I sound like a Makita saleman ?

 

[hissnbits]

I have used Panasonic, Ryobi, Dewalt, Hitachi and Metabo. Many of these are made in various companies, including China. Many have different models aimed at different market segments. So their cheap range is usually Chinese, and better quality from other countries. Not to say chinese drills are bad, some can be fantastic, and others can be crap. For cabinet making I use a Metabo and love it. Features that are important to me are battery life, power, electric brake, 13mm chuck, Jacobs (ratchet style chuck), soft start, controllabel variable speed (some are better than others), comfort and fast charger, and a great feature is a build in LED to light up where you are drilling (great for cabinet work). I can make the following comments:

Panasonic 12v - EY range, 2 x 3.0 NiMH, rapid charger. Had all the features listed above, very expensive. Good whilst it lasted, bearings near chuck wore out, had great torque. Too expensive to repair and was worn out before batteries.

Ryobi - was a cheap one would put in similar class to Ozito.

Hitachi - They have a cheap range and good range. Cheap is crap, have always had issues with Hitachi, mainly in their switches/triggers failing. Didnt have many of the above features, but did have lithium batteries which lasted only a few months. The drill was $200. Many warantees do not cover batteries btw.

Dewalt - Great tools (as already mentioned is black & decker), many features but heavy and bulky.

Metabo - BS18 - are around $300 have all the features, Li batteries, heaps of torque and bets of all have a led light that lights up where you are drilling. Best feature for cabinet making. This model is made in China and engineered in Germany. So far the is the best drill I have used, was similar to the Panasonic but is more refined, LI batteries and cheaper.

The cheaper tools tend to not have quality batteries, quick charger, Jacob's chuck, electronic brake and LED. If anything ensure it has a good chuck. The keyless ones are rubbish if they dont grip well.

Cheers

 

[PilbaraPythons]

Yes I have seen the odd Panasonic drill chucked out on building sites.

 

[dickyknee]

Dewalt make excellent drills but their steel cutting drop saw I have seen fail and been replaced on three occasions.
Up here in the extreme heat the Makita tools seem to cope well ( if of course you don't leave batteries in the sun for too long).
I switched over to Makita primarily because not all brands have drywall collated screw guns and I didn't want to have heaps of different chargers etc. Slowly but surely I have bought heaps of their different cordless tools and would never go back. Even some of the less serious tools like the 18v chainsaw which most people would write off as being a toy, is extremely handy around the home ( I was really surprised ). The circular saw is rediculosly handy and I have converted more than a few old school chippies lately.
The good thing about going down this path is once you have a charger and a couple of batteries, the rest of the bare tools aren't that dear.
Do I sound like a Makita saleman ?

How much are makita slipping you a year

 

[PilbaraPythons]

They ought give me something I reckon considering the amount of stuff I have purchased for myself and countless other builders up here. It amazing how much differenecs in price there can be around the country on not just Makita but many other brands.
I used to use Sydney tools but believe it not, Plastering supplies in Melbourne have managed to bet them (and everyone esle for that matter) on price and on somethings at least, by a big amount.

 

[ralliart3]

I just got the AEG 14.4V one for xmas also, haven't given it a good workout yet, but seems the goods.

I have also bought AEG and found it to be good quality(I have the 18v and use it for work also).For those interested AEG used to be made in germany, but the new orange range is actually made at tech tronics factory,the same place that make milwakee tools (some parts are the same) and the AEG tools are sold in america ,but branded as RIGID.

 

[Renenet]

Well, that was a good start. I popped a battery in the charger last night so I could start a project today - then couldn't get the battery out! I had to take it back to Bunnings to figure out if the drill was faulty or if I'm just inept. I felt a bit better when the tool shop guy struggled to figure it out as well. Eventually, we got it sorted and I'm now about to begin work.

 

[Blake182]

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