Power tools

[vlv8vic]

Have just had a fight with my fourth drill. What are others using?
I need something that has reasonable battery life, hammer action and doesn't mind being thrown around with a maximum $500 pricetag.

I know GMC is pitiful, as was the no name drill i had years ago which had a plastic chuck that gave in and shattered.
Ozito is entry level (good for home handyman) however this is the brand i have wrecked 4 times. It isn't the drill, the drill itself is fantastic, it's the battery/charger. The first 2 gave a faulty battery signal so i took them back, the next one clicked and smoked from the charger so i took it back so i upgraded to the next model and it wont even charge!

I'm only a weekend warrior but expect a $400 drill to work for more than two holes in a bit or steel.

Anyway, any ideas? Almost ready to go something like a dewalt, just for $600 I'm not sure i'll get the use to justify having it.

Any ideas?


(all Ozito drills that died were 14.4 then 18 volt with Lithium Ion batteries which are supposed to be the bees knees).

[Shounak]

I've had no problems with my GMC, but I'd suggest paying the extra. It's like with my air compressor, I paid a few hundred extra, but it's an investment that will save you from further future expense.

Have you got an air compressor btw? I find air tools to be much better.

[minux]

I have always used Bosch, had my drill for 6 years now, use it very often.

[cxcxcxvcvcvc]

my mate goes out on service in a ute installing security screens and he uses a ryobi drill and it actually holds up pretty well! but i reckon go the dewalt

[Troy711]

ive never had any issues with makita products.

[vicarious]

i got 2 of these
http://www.hitachi-powertools.com.au...duct=DS14DL(HL)

there used constantly for 8 hours a day, have **** loads of power, i will never change from these. I bought the second one for $440 2 months ago cause i got sick of changing drill bits. Also they are a good weight and dont strain your hands/arm..


edit: $400 for ozitio drills am i reading this right?

[vlv8vic]

I've had no problems with my GMC, but I'd suggest paying the extra. It's like with my air compressor, I paid a few hundred extra, but it's an investment that will save you from further future expense.

Have you got an air compressor btw? I find air tools to be much better.

Nah, sorta defeats the purpose of having a cordless drill. The idea is that it's something i can grab and use with minimal effing about. Mostly on/in the house but at the moment i'm using it to build a garage.

I have always used Bosch, had my drill for 6 years now, use it very often.

Don't know what turned me away from Bosch. Might have a look at them tomorrow. I'm seriously leaning toward a decent dewalt but i still don't know if it's worth it.
Batteries seem to be the fault in the Ozito brand, so i doubt i'm too hard on the tool.

[nicko]

Black and Decker. Battery life is amazing! good amount or torque too. I have built a few things, bike racks, new rabbit hutch and its never failed. You dont need to spend **** loads of money on power tools you just need to hang onto the warrenty cards

[Tom_1569]

Bosch, Makita, Ryobi are all fantastic products for personel use.
Our bosch drill has been dropped off shed roofs, flung around the back of the ute, used till its to hot to handle, and the thing just keeps going and going (not a cordless though)

Dewalt are apparently very good but are more an industrial drill, but i dont see any harm in getting one. Over kill is better, and it will last for alot longer.

[VZHSV]

go for a Panasonic IMo best drills made expensive but well worth it..
or u could go with Bosch Blue series not the green very good and have heaps of balls!
i currently have the Hitachi lithium cordless drill 18v and the cordless hammer dril 18v
i thrash them everyday pretty much lol and they seem to never give up! droped it 6ft off the ladder and just a scratch on it . my boss has the Panasonic wich is a fantastic drill IMo well worth the money so u have the options

[BANKS]

We've have had a dewalt at work for 8 years, gets used heaverly for about 1.5 weeks every month. Been dropped 1000's of times. Once i actually dropped it from about 4m up and everyone thought i had killed it, of she drilled away

Only problem was one of the batterys shat itself, nothing wrong with the actual drill... ever. Still charges in about 30mins for around 4 hrs heavy use.

I find airdrills dont have the same torque as a battery drill. Great for high speed drilling and very economical compared to a battery drill, but yeah not as quick of the line

Would highly reccommend one if as you said you can justify the use. But i see it the same as Shounak, you can get the el cheapo version, the common version or the one that costs a bit more that will last twice as long

[VZHSV]

way i see it
spend the money and u dont have to keep replacing drilss every 6months
my 2 cents

[f1tzy]

ive never had any issues with makita products.

The makita lithium are great especially in the 18v variety but i wouldn't touch their nicd/nimh stuff again. And i agree with minux on the bosch. Ive had my bosch rattle gun for about 3 years used probably every 2nd day and no problems yet

[Grennan]

Definallty look for something with a Bosch or Makita name tag, they are top quality and you definallty get your moneys worth out of them. They also usually come with a decent amount of warranty, which comes back to you get what you pay for.

Just head down to bunnings (gotta plug my employers) and have a look youll usually find someone in tools and hardware that will know their drills as they are a pretty common tool asked about. Just make sure you tell them what kind of materials youre going to be drilling through.

[Dayvo]

Ozito are having alot of trouble with their batteries at the moment , I have a warehouse with a couple of hundred rechargable lawnmowers that have been returned from customers because they don't recharge .

[Troy711]

The makita lithium are great especially in the 18v variety but i wouldn't touch their nicd/nimh stuff again. And i agree with minux on the bosch. Ive had my bosch rattle gun for about 3 years used probably every 2nd day and no problems yet

have you used the new 18v autofeeds yet?

[Julie]

Hubby and bro in law have had dewalts for many years now, had many drops and they still go as good as the day they bought them. Dads a sparky and has always used panasonic as they are a good lightweight sparkys drill but they aren't much good for the heavier stuff.

[VrWagz1]

IMO Panasonic and Hitachi FTW. My 15.6v panasonic was the best drill, i still have it 7years later now, but the batteries died and i bought a cheapy now and its gay. It(panasonic) had 3 amp/hour batteries and i could use them all day on the building sites without charging.
We have the 18v Li/Ion hitachi's at work now(in a pit top mine workshop) and they get the ass flogged out of them and they take the punishment, they have a steel chucks too. I bought my dad one for christmas and he loves it, unfortunatly i still got a crap $70 job from aldi's and an old panasonic with stuffed batteries

[Astranomical]

I've got a cheap GMC 14.4V cordless drill that came with a whole heap of assorted bits that I mostly use for removing stupid hard to remove screws that I can't get out by hand on assorted bits of gear that I work with. Don't use it that much, but its ok for what it does. May not be that much chop for someone who's using it heavily though.

[vorn]

I have had the old makita one for some time now, and fond it to be a good drill. the battery is losing charge now, but soon the boss will get me the new makita 18v lithium one. hope its much better.

F1tzy, is the the lithium ones better in performance? How long would the battery last on a good day of drilling?

[Low_VX_Taxi]

ive never had any issues with makita products.

+1 My makita was my dads before me so its about 18 years old, never missed a beat.

EDIT: Sorry didn't realise you said cordless, don't really use anything but cordless so I have a cheapy ryobi.... does well for a cordless screw driver but not that flash....

[natas.308]

panosonic for cordless , dewalt is ****, hitachi and metabo also ****, power tools you cant go past makita....

[vicarious]

panosonic for cordless , dewalt is ****, hitachi and metabo also ****, power tools you cant go past makita....

we had 12 makitas at work, they didn't last very long the motors burnt out quickly and they weren't cheap either

[vlv8vic]

thanks for replies all. time wasn't on my side - trying to get this shed off the ground in a hurry so i got hold of a cheap nasty ryobi which so far looks like a decent unit. At least the batteries work!!!
Dayvo, interesting! not shocked either. Bunnies told me today they have been instructed to replace only batteries not the whole product which tells me they are sick of getting good units returned when only the batteries are shagged.

down the track i'll end up with dewalt i recon, for now the $120 Ryobi will get hte job done and probably make a good 'second' drill.

ta all.

[f1tzy]

have you used the new 18v autofeeds yet?

I sure have. Bloody great gun and i haven't had a jam yet unlike the 14.4 which still had the old head on it. I just think $50 shy of a grand is a bit steep tho