Cordless Drills

[neongod 0]

We are ready to change out our old 12v dewalt cordless drills in the shop and am looking for some input as to what to buy next. These are for general shop work, so battery life and rechargability of the batteries is important. I keep thinking 18v is better, but it's hard to find one with a 3/8" chuck. Any suggestions?

[Erik Sine 360]

Dewalt seems to have gone down hill, so I've returned back to Mikita. Also, their expensive but try a Hilti. You get what you pay for.

[John in SD 0]

Skip right o over Hilti. Lousy customer service. We had 2 identical small hammer drills that both failed less than 3 years into sevice, ( we don't use these much and never abused them)

I took them to Hilti, told they were out of warranty and that they could look at them for like $110.00, or I could spend a little more and get another Hilti to replace them.

Screw that! I cut the cords off them, threw them in the duimpster, and bought a Bosch to replace them. RANT OFF

Seriously, I would look at Makita or Milwalkie, though Home Depot lifetime wearrnaties their Rigid Drills.

[eugene@signmakershc.com 28]

Been using Bosch for the last 13 years. Best power of all I've tried. Good battery life. We use the 14.4V, comes in 3/8" and 1/2" chucks. The 14.4V is more powerful than the 12V and considerably lighter.

[neongod 0]

Thanks for everyones help, we ended up going with the Hitachi DS14DL 14.4-Volt Lithium Ion. All the reviews were positive, good battery life , great warranty, we'll see.......

[vincesigns 10]

we use the tool rental program from Hilti. Great tools and service has been very good.

[PhillipM 9]

I bought a Milwaukee combo pack at Home Depot for $200 a couple months ago consisting of an impact driver, drill, charger, and two 18v Lithium Ion batteries. I should have bought more as now they sell just the drill for $200. The little impact driver gets grabbed most often. Both come with an LED flashlight built in that is very handy in dark attics.

http://www.milwaukeetool.com/tools/cordless-tools/m18-cordless-system/m18-cordless-lithium-ion-%C2%BC-inch-hex-compact-impact-driver/2650-21

[Erik Sine 360]

we use the tool rental program from Hilti. Great tools and service has been very good.

I have friends here in two different companies that lease from Hilti too, they love it. I love their rotohammers, I wouldn't use anything else, they cut like butter unlike the others.