Just broke my drill – an old 1/2″ Makita (with a cord). The case cracked when a 3-inch hole saw bond up and the handle slammed into the next stud. So I need something new. I haven’t used any of the newer cordless drills, but haven’t had much luck with them in the past – not enough power to spin a hole saw, not enough grip on a keyless chuck especially when drilling into metal (always slips just as the bit cuts through). I’ve got a 12v cordless, great for small holes and short screws, but it doesn’t have the hp for heavy work.
Anybody have a suggestion – is there a cordless drill with on the market with a good keyless chuck that doesn’t spin and enough power for hole saws? Or should I stick with the old fashoned kind with a cord for heavy work?
Replies
I would personally avoid DeWalt cordless drills. I own one, and though it has plenty of power, the battery life is horrible.
Coming to you from beautiful Richmond, Va.
I've been happy with my Makita 18v. It has a 1/2" keyless chuck that works well. I've used it to drill 3" holes in 2X pressure treated material. Batteries are going on 3 years old, and still going strong.
I think you can get the drill with 2 batteries for under $200 on http://www.amazon.com/tools
If money is no object I would buy the new Makita, or Milwaukee Lithium Ion cordless tools. Supposedly, they function as well as corded models, with lightweight batteries.
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It's only satisfying if you eat it.
Milwaukee keyless chucks are superior to the others IMO. While I don't have the 28v drill, I do have the sawzall and circ saw and if they are anything to go by. The drill will do the job comfortably. But if you don't mind cords or don't want to pay the required $ another decent branded corded drill will do the job and do it reliably.
Scratch that last sentence! If I keep talking this way I'll start using corded drills myself.
How do the batteries hold up on the Milwaukee? The cost of 18v replacements and hearing about only getting 2 years out of them is making me think twice. I can pick up a cheap 12v cordless (for light work) and a corded drill for heavy work at about the same cost as an 18v.
I've only got the 28v Milwaukee batteries so am yet to see the long term performance of them. Milwaukee I think claims they'll take more charges and that when charged last twice as long. Reading what they publish about their batteries, it sounds like they have done their research. I've taken the bait hook, line and sinker.
I want to believe and so far so good.
Your suggested solution of 12v and heavy duty corded sounds very reasonable to me, and lets face it, no one knows your work like you do.
BUT still I'd go the v28 drill and be damned.
I stay away fom using any hole saws in my cordless if I can help it. I just whip out the 1/2 magnum for that stuff. I have a dewalt and a milwaukee both 18 v. the milwaukee hands down beats my dewalt in battery life and power.
panasonic's 14 volt outscrewed the nearest competitor(all 18 volt) by 200 screws in a head to head.
impressed me enough to buy one, and I'm impressed.
but I have a bunch of dewalt's too -- the batteries that come with it aren't quite as high strength as the ones you buy separately -- but as long as they're within their lifespan, I don't have a problem with them either.
I have a dewalt 18v cordless combo kit and a dewalt corded drill....
The corded drill has cobwebs on it now....
Those hole saws are murder on drills....toasted my 3/8" Milwaukee last night putting a 4 1/2" hole through 1/4" hardibacker, 3/4" oak, 3/4" fir subfloor sandwich. Was almost too hot to hold by the time it pooped out, had to finish with a sawsall.
Anyone know if this is repairable? Obvious cause was overheating...now it runs but real slow and sounds funny. Is it melted inside, or is there some hope before it goes to the land fill?
Sounds like toast, asking just a bit much. I usually pull it out and run it a minute or two with no load to run the fan and cool it. I now use a much bigger drill mainly to have something bigger to hold on to. I would not be afraid of doing that with my 24volt DeWalt though. My little 3/8 Milwaukee hammerdrill has not seen the light of day in a long while.
Not much hope, usually fried armature.You need a Milwaukee Hole-Hawg for big holes. A Milwaukee Magnum will do for some 2" holes, but the Hole-hawg is king above 2 1/2".Frank DuVal You can never make something foolproof because fools are so ingenious.
Yeah, I'm still kicking myself for not spending a few extra $s when I bought this one.
I had a 1/2" Magnum years ago and did all the plumbing in 5 houses with it...still ran until I stripped the gears with a 2 1/2" hole saw...got in a hurry trying to make big holes in an oil drum for a burn barrel.
We use mostly Milwaukee 18V drills, battery life varies, we have found that the Orange Box replacement batteries are junk, if you drop or jar them the wire pops off the battery, we end up opening the batteries up and resoldering the wire to the battery.
As far as I am concerned NO battery drill made can handle a holesaw over 1" for repeated drilling. I ream my employees if I catch them using a battery drill with holesaws, the amount of torque that is created shortens the life of the battery drill, they end up wobbling, slipping or burning up.
You need to use the proper tool for the job you need to accomplish, read the drill and holesaw manufacturers recommended use/rpm range, you will be surprised. Check out the Lennox 1-tooth holesaws they are pricey, but man can they make a hole with no fuss.
An electric Milwaukee 1/2" Hole-Hawg on low rpm will chew thru any thing (if you can hang onto it) ;-)
How often do you drill 3-inch holes? Any good quality construction-grade 1/2" cordless will drill one or two, but if you're doing 20-30 in a row you really need a corded model.
happy?
I use both, I have a Makita 1/2" corded drill I like and I have heard good thing on the Milwaukie 0302 1/2" and the 0202 3/8" corded drills. I do not like having batteries drain and die on me, but I do use the cordless when/where I cannot use the corded. I find the corded has more power. Final note on cordless, the batteries are so expensive that when they do die, it almost cheaper to buy a new drill than buy a new battery.