Cordless power-tool advice ...

[roadapples 6,983]

I'm  happy with 18v Ryobi. Been using them for years. Have quite a few tools using the same batteries. Wouldn't consider another brand, but I don't  use them every day...

[Oldcpecdr 255]

THE answer for me is always MAKITA.... my first  battery drill driver purchased around 1990 was still going strong when I gave it away last year....  All my new stuff is MAKITA 

a little more pricey but worth it. I was ripping 3/4 ply yesterday with my little 6 1/2 inch Makita Circular...no cords, no tripping, no problem.

Mike B

[DennisThornton 4,769]

2 hours ago, Handy Don said:

My advice? NEVER touch a FESTOOL unless you have the financial wherewithal to afford them. They are Swiss/German and superb to use. I narrowly avoided addiction and financial ruin some years back.

 

I agree!  WAY over my budget so I can't afford to like them.

[DennisThornton 4,769]

7 minutes ago, Oldcpecdr said:

THE answer for me is always MAKITA.... my first  battery drill driver purchased around 1990 was still going strong when I gave it away last year....  All my new stuff is MAKITA 

a little more pricey but worth it. I was ripping 3/4 ply yesterday with my little 6 1/2 inch Makita Circular...no cords, no tripping, no problem.

Mike B

The few Makitas I have including corded are 1st class.  I used to go to HUGE tool shows twice a year and got a chance to spend quite a bit of time with all the big name reps.  Makita alway had a HUGE display, great ideas and they are not owned by some other huge corp.  We had little call for them in our store in NY so I wasn't really a buyer and the Makita rep understood but said that they owned the west coast market.  I think all the big names in contractor tools are first rate, or contractors would use something else.  B&D is a big name but for homeowners, not contractors, so I didn't say that all big names are first rate.  Funny how brands have migrated through different qualities.  I've got some old corded B&D that were here about the time I arrived and will be here long after I've left!  Rugged HD tools!  Can't say that about the newer ones.

[Digger 66 3,485]

3 minutes ago, DennisThornton said:

 

 

3 minutes ago, DennisThornton said:

I've got some old corded B&D that were here about the time I arrived and will be here long after I've left!  Rugged HD tools!  Can't say that about the newer ones.

 

Ditto ^^ I have a Black & Decker 1/2" corded drill that will break your wrist if not careful .

I have had this for 20 plus years .

[wh500special 2,188]

Whatever you pick, stick with it.  Having mismatched batteries and tools is frustrating. 
 

I have Bosch 18v.  Really like them, but if I had to do it over I’d go with the Milwaukee 18v platform.  They have so many tools available to do general and specialty jobs it is dizzying.   It’s like wheel horses or Barbie dolls...the accessories are endless. 
 

we use the M18’s at work.  Day after day after day.  Mostly drills and impact drivers, but also a few specialty tools like caulking guns, lights, and impact wrenches. I plan to get one of the little vacuum cleaners for my office.  They have all been very durable and are repairable when they do break which is important.  We don’t abuse them, but the guys treat them like somebody else owns them...
 

the shop gorillas like the heavy drills, but I keep an m18 3/8” in my toolbox.  Nice to have a lighter option. 
 

our electrician had his own ryobi one series and had a variety of accessories.   He used them daily and was completely satisfied with them.   He’s now retired and I’d imagine his tools are too. 

Pick them up at the store and play with them.  Focus on whatever your most used tool is.   One will feel better to you.  Lean toward that one...or just bite the bullet and go Milwaukee. 😊

 

Festool...

 

Expensive.   Made in Europe as opposed to in East Asia so are priced per the labor market there.   Very analogous to what we used to pay for quality tools here in the USA when they were still built here.  Now everything is cheaper than it used to be in real terms.   You may feel that there is something valuable to supporting a labor force that is valued more highly than some regions of the world pay. 
 

I’ve bought and sold a few cordless Festool drills from Craigslist.  I liked them, but didn’t love them.  They do innovate before the rest of The industry and things like electronic torque sensing and brushless motors showed up on festool a decade before anybody else picked it up.    
 

The only truly outstanding feature that I’ve not seen repeated anywhere else that Festool has on some drills is that the trigger is a speed control.  The more you pull it, the faster the drill turns.  That may sound like a normal drill, but the difference is a Festool drill will automatically ramp up the torque independent of the trigger position.   So you can drive a number 6 drywall screw into pine or a 3/8 lag bolt into oak at a crawl with just a small pull

of the trigger.   Speed isn’t dependent on load.  On your normal drill you’d

pull The trigger further to drive the big screw than the little one. 
 

it’s a neat feature that promotes better control.  Certainly a “nice to have” rather than “need to have” thing. 

 

That said, I don’t know think their cordless tools are a good value for most people.  Me included.  The arguments for their corded tools are much easier to make as they offer some distinct advantages in dust collection and smoothness.  
 

most guys dismiss festool as overpriced and only for snobs.  There might be a little

truth to that, but they offer products that offer more than you see on the surface and cost significantly more To manufacture.  Need to be open minded about what’s offered in the total system to appreciate what’s there. 
 

I’m not all-in on Festool, but I have a few of their sanders, a pair of routers, and the track saw.  Bought all But one sander used.  Gave away my porter cables and dewalts I liked these so much more.  My woodworking hobby shop is in my basement and I have a particulate meter running.  The dust collection difference between Festool and everything else I tried is measurable better by multiples.  And that’s a priority to me. 
 

Steve 

[DennisThornton 4,769]

Great post Steve!  I owned an auto body shop in the 70s and 80s and Europe was way ahead in advanced tools and especially dust collection so I'm not surprised to hear good things about Festool and their dust collection.  But unless I see a Festool at a yard sale I'll just have to remember what you've said.

[Handy Don 12,244]

15 minutes ago, wh500special said:

So you can drive a number 6 drywall screw into pine or a 3/8 lag bolt into oak at a crawl with just a small pull

of the trigger.   Speed isn’t dependent on load.  On your normal drill you’d

pull The trigger further to drive the big screw than the little one

The Milwaukee M12 has copied this on the brushless Impact Driver

[wh500special 2,188]

Interesting.  I guess they were on to Something with that feature.  Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery after all. 
 

 

Steve 

[Handy Don 12,244]

1 minute ago, wh500special said:

Interesting.  I guess they were on to Something with that feature.  Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery after all. 
 

 

Steve 

Once you've gone brushless with a microprocessor managing the motor and you've added torque sensing it isn't that hard to go a bit further and program the microprocessor to maintain torque with extra current while simultaneously monitoring rotation speed. I did notice on the M12 that if the resistance on the screw suddenly lessens, the driver speeds up momentarily until it realizes it needs less torque! Opposite if the resistance suddenly increases. I can live with it.

Yep, everyone in the market pays attention to what sells. WH copied ideas from other manufacturers and vice versa! 

 

[8ntruck 7,022]

I started with a Black & Decker 18v string trimmer, then added a blower, 3/8"drill, impact screw driver, and 10" chain saw.  All on common battery system.  So far, under household project type use, no problems.

[ACman 7,618]

Milwaukee has my vote hands down  . Son had small impact stopped working and sent it in . They had a brand new upgraded model back in 4 day turnaround. No questions.  I also have Ryobi 18v and Hitachi 12v lithium ion batteries too that are still going after 10yrs . Christmas is the best time to buy batteries from my experience.

[formariz 11,987]

Lets see if I can voice my opinion here without sounding like I am living in the dark ages, which in reality I still am as far as certain things go.  Cordless tools are great because of their versality and independence of a constant power cord which many times can be a nuisance or that power source may not be available at all. If one uses many different types of cordless power tools then of course one should stay with same battery tool brand so as to have as few batteries as possible. My experience here is basically limited to  drills since they are the only cordless power tool I ever have used or want to use. I too experimented many years ago with the latest and greatest new ones constantly coming out and  being literally thrown on ones face to buy. Used some of the ones with the batteries one could almost start a car with, but found out quickly that if you work with them a good part of the day they take a toll on your wrists and elbows due to the heavy batteries and out of balance design. As far as drills go I need something that is light small and well balanced. I use them to drive screws and I don't need any headlights or capability to start a car with. Driving a screw properly so it performs the intended purpose is a little bit of an art and I do not need anything to drive a screw nonstop through two pieces of a 4x4. I also do not need nor want any "jackhammer" action associated with that function. A screw's thickness needs to clear the first piece of wood totally and only catch on the second one without overheating it and snapping it. For that to happen one predrills a clearance hole on first piece and a hole just large enough for the threads to catch on the second piece. As I drive the screw to the end I want to feel that in  fact that screw is holding properly and do not want the vibration and noise of the "jack hammer" to interfere with that. That "feeling" is specially important when driving screws into metal studs to hold something like a cabinet, without stripping the stud. I have seen too many times cabinets fall because they were not screwed in properly, by stripping the studs. Same thing can happen with wood , one can overdrive the screw and strip the wood around threads.

I have use now for probably the last 15 years the same Ryobi 12 volt drills. I have four of them each dedicated to a specific function so I don't have to change bits. One for driving the screws with a quick change collar, one with a clearance bit with countersink, one with a bit for the screw's threaded area and one spare one. I buy aftermarket batteries for them and have had total success with them. They are inexpensive compared to the originals and are even available with higher power  ratings.

 

In the shop they are very rarely used since if using power tools at all I rely on my power drills some of them from the 40s and still going strong.

[Tractorhead 9,064]

5 hours ago, Handy Don said:

My advice? NEVER touch a FESTOOL unless you have the financial wherewithal to afford them. They are Swiss/German and superb to use. I narrowly avoided addiction and financial ruin some years back.

 

Depending how often you use them.

In the office we have several festool Tools and yes they are expensive, but on everyday‘s Work very handy.

for private use i find them too expensive.

 

I still love my Makita tools they must also hard work and be often in use but not daily.

The only advice on makita drills i can give is, you have to do change immediately the drill chucks, the original are Trash.

They loosened themself sometimes while drilling.

But on the flip side, my Makita is now 25years old without any trouble and the battery‘s still have 2/3 of their Power.

 

The aftermarket battery‘s are not top notch but they are ok.

oh, i‘m talking about 18V Makita tools.

The last year i buyed a Grinder and a Impact Wrench for Makita batteries, both be no name but similar to the Original.

Price was just a fract of the original, but both are worth the price.

 

[Rusty Tinsnips 477]

I use all brands on my jobsites but I like Ryobi the best I think, because Ryobi is budget friendly and they work very well. Nothing lasts too long in my line of work. The Ryobi lasts as long as any other.

[seven 202]

Milwaukee !

[elcamino/wheelhorse 9,326]

Guys I am with @pfrederi , Got a 50 year old B&D with a cord, Milwaukee sawzall  & bandsaw ( what ever it is called ) couple of off brand drills from the OLD PEP BOYS and /or WESTERN AUTO all have cords and plenty of power . A few even have new cords.  Surprise never have to worry about batteries .  

[DennisThornton 4,769]

4 hours ago, Handy Don said:

The Milwaukee M12 has copied this on the brushless Impact Driver

I didn't know that.  Recently?  Just the M12?

[DennisThornton 4,769]

3 hours ago, ACman said:

Milwaukee has my vote hands down  . Son had small impact stopped working and sent it in . They had a brand new upgraded model back in 4 day turnaround. No questions.  I also have Ryobi 18v and Hitachi 12v lithium ion batteries too that are still going after 10yrs . Christmas is the best time to buy batteries from my experience.

I handled all the Milwaukee warranty for the hardware store.  Not a lot but when needed Milwaukee had a pretty good online site for dealers to step right through warranties.

10yrs for any battery is pretty darned good.  Wish my DeWalts lasted that long!  

[Handy Don 12,244]

5 minutes ago, DennisThornton said:

I didn't know that.  Recently?  Just the M12?

Only knew it from reading the manual (which did only after I thought it was broken when it didn't react as my other drills had). Can't say about any others of their products.

[DennisThornton 4,769]

45 minutes ago, elcamino/wheelhorse said:

Guys I am with @pfrederi , Got a 50 year old B&D with a cord, Milwaukee sawzall  & bandsaw ( what ever it is called ) couple of off brand drills from the OLD PEP BOYS and /or WESTERN AUTO all have cords and plenty of power . A few even have new cords.  Surprise never have to worry about batteries .  

I've got some old timers and there's no stopping them.  Until I run out of cord!  I did a small but somewhat complicated 2nd story metal roof this fall and everything done was without cords, even what I could do on the ground right next to an outlet, even ripping plywood.  Would not have wanted to fight cords up on the roof either.  And one just can't beat the battery tools for something quick and easy.  Now if I was framing all day or ripping more than a few sheets of thick plywood the cords would come out but I haven't used a corded drill in years!

[haydendavid380 759]

I have a whole heap of dewalt stuff. If you go with yellow I'd say that their entry level stuff is not on par with the higher end. Opt for something that's from the XR line or higher. Same with Milwaukee with fuel and non fuel.

 

Just picked up a new XR power detect reciprocating and circular saw last month with the 8ah battery. They're beasts.

[DennisThornton 4,769]

1 hour ago, haydendavid380 said:

I have a whole heap of dewalt stuff. If you go with yellow I'd say that their entry level stuff is not on par with the higher end. Opt for something that's from the XR line or higher. Same with Milwaukee with fuel and non fuel.

 

Just picked up a new XR power detect reciprocating and circular saw last month with the 8ah battery. They're beasts.

Wise words! 

[Racinbob 11,100]

15 hours ago, formariz said:

Lets see if I can voice my opinion here without sounding like I am living in the dark ages, which in reality I still am as far as certain things go.  Cordless tools are great because of their versality and independence of a constant power cord which many times can be a nuisance or that power source may not be available at all. If one uses many different types of cordless power tools then of course one should stay with same battery tool brand so as to have as few batteries as possible. My experience here is basically limited to  drills since they are the only cordless power tool I ever have used or want to use. I too experimented many years ago with the latest and greatest new ones constantly coming out and  being literally thrown on ones face to buy. Used some of the ones with the batteries one could almost start a car with, but found out quickly that if you work with them a good part of the day they take a toll on your wrists and elbows due to the heavy batteries and out of balance design. As far as drills go I need something that is light small and well balanced. I use them to drive screws and I don't need any headlights or capability to start a car with. Driving a screw properly so it performs the intended purpose is a little bit of an art and I do not need anything to drive a screw nonstop through two pieces of a 4x4. I also do not need nor want any "jackhammer" action associated with that function. A screw's thickness needs to clear the first piece of wood totally and only catch on the second one without overheating it and snapping it. For that to happen one predrills a clearance hole on first piece and a hole just large enough for the threads to catch on the second piece. As I drive the screw to the end I want to feel that in  fact that screw is holding properly and do not want the vibration and noise of the "jack hammer" to interfere with that. That "feeling" is specially important when driving screws into metal studs to hold something like a cabinet, without stripping the stud. I have seen too many times cabinets fall because they were not screwed in properly, by stripping the studs. Same thing can happen with wood , one can overdrive the screw and strip the wood around threads.

I have use now for probably the last 15 years the same Ryobi 12 volt drills. I have four of them each dedicated to a specific function so I don't have to change bits. One for driving the screws with a quick change collar, one with a clearance bit with countersink, one with a bit for the screw's threaded area and one spare one. I buy aftermarket batteries for them and have had total success with them. They are inexpensive compared to the originals and are even available with higher power  ratings.

 

In the shop they are very rarely used since if using power tools at all I rely on my power drills some of them from the 40s and still going strong.

 

Well said. I have never understood why people even mess with the clutch causing that jackhammer effect. It drives me nuts listen to it and most all the hole improvement shows go that route. I have never intentionally taken mine off of full drill. I was over to our daughters house a few weeks ago. They wanted to remove a wall and it was load bearing so he wasn't confident doing it. He had a couple new Dewalts that he had set that way. A couple times I grabbed one and if the sound wasn't irritating enough using one that was will send me over the edge. 

 

There's been a lot of mention about Milwaukees here. While my cordless are Ridgid I do have a soft spot for Milwaukees and their quality. This Milwaukee Magnum 1/2" is an absolute beast. I bought it new and still have the receipt dated 1984. It spent several years on construction sites and is my go to for the tough stuff. I did replace the cord once. 

 

 

 

[Handy Don 12,244]

14 minutes ago, Racinbob said:

It spent several years on construction sites and is my go to for the tough stuff. I did replace the cord once. 

I love the cordless tools, but you'll have to pry my plug-in circular saw, ½" drill, and angle grinder out of my cold dead hands. Pretty sure that's my son's plan, actually!