Best power drill?

I am a ridgid, and ryobi warranty center. Ridgid does have a lifetime warranty, but there are stipulations too. They have a 3 year warranty that come automaticaly with the tools.

I own that 28 volt lithium Ion kit. I have the drill, saw, sawzall, and flashlight. It has lots of power, and a 5 year warranty, but those kits are $600 too.

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Well, I've never been a Contractor, I worked fror a couple.........
Good Old DEWALT is about as good as it gets.

Milwaukee, Bosch, Hitachi, are Okay...........

But, Some folks do NOT Need Contractor Quality, or Longevity.

So... if you want cheap, light duty...............get the other ones
Black & Decker Makita, Rigid or Craftsman.........

Yellow & Black......good colors.

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Well i got a year or two old 12volt Makita (bought used) the one that has only one speed. It is holding up pretty good but is very low on power and speed. A contractor buddy of mine has a one year newer model with the low high switch. It is very fast on high and seems pretty strong on low. But it was replaced by the store after it was only a few months old. Cant recall what broke but something went wrong with it. But the second one is still going strong.All in all they seem like pretty good drills. And thank heavens they finally made battery packs like other drills use.
Oh maybe i should add Ive noticed there keyless chucks dont seem to stay tight as well as id like. But im not a big key less fan anyway.
I am looking to buy a new (faster) one.I like there balance and low weight.There chargers are also simple and fast charging.The simpler the charger, the less that can go wrong with it.
(yep, best circler saw on the market!)

Amin on the B-D you couldn't run me fast enough to give me one. If they where free at say lowes i wouldnt even pick one up. I just sold a higher dollar BD. jig saw to my land lord to gid rid of it. I had previously had a Porter Cable so i just couldnt deal with the BD. Replaced it with a Bosch. The Bosch and Porter cable cut the same. But the Bosch has more blades available for them.

Now back to drills. If Porter Cables new Battery chargers are holding up id be hands down for them. Ive got three 12volts laying out in the shed. Still work like new and all where used long hard. But the chargers are dead for all three. They have changed the way the batteries plug into the drill and charger.So now they come out with out as much wrestling with the push release buttons. I just hope they fixed the (short life) chargers at the same time.Id glady buy another when i see they have the chargers fixed.But as $120 bucks a pop for there drills its not worth another gamble with them for now.
(Ive got a corded Saws All made by them also.Its a monster! No complants with it.)

The new Dewalts are much faster now days. Porter Cables used to be stronger and faster. But nowdays it might be a much closer race. Though as said ive seen split cases on there drills as well. My Porter cables have been droped hard more times than i can count and have no cracks.Thinking id steer clear,if it was going to see any hard abuse.But there cost is less and i have seen a few with a nice looking metal keyless chuck that cought my eye.

Milwaukee and Bosch drills ive never had the pleasure of using. But they should hold up well running on the higher end of the power tool market. You usually get what you pay for.I cant complain about any of there other power tools ive ever used.Need a grinder buy a Bosch.Need a portable band saw buy a Milwaukee.

Next biggest question is do you need 12 volt or larger? 12volts usually does ever thing i need a cordless drill to do. A Porter Cable will pop the head off a 3 inch dry wall screw faster than you can let off the trigger,while running it into solid red oak.And you still have low gear if you need more toque. Thats strong enough for me. I like them to be balanced and as light as possible.So i usally dont go for the 18 volts and higher.How ever i do notice the 18 volts have a touch more battery life (life=as runs longer per charge) than 12 volts.

Im a painter so my drills get used to take down and put up the interior doors in the houses we paint. 18 screws per door average of 15 doors per house and two to three houses a week. So my drills run long and hard. They have to be really fast and strong enough to pull doors back into alignment with 3inch screws occasionally.

Bottom line Cheap drills start out tight but get sloppy feeling pretty quick with daily or hard use. Throw in the cheap batteries that dont hold up.

Hope this is legible. Im out sick today with a really bad cold.

Nope. 2 of my three were bought used and both in good shape. Most if my power tools came from pawn shops and not one (except dewalt drills) has fallen apart from use. Only the DeWalts fell apart. Just because I bought 2 of them used dosnt dosnt excuse a mid quality product being sold at high end prices. If I were complaining about use batteries dying you may have a point...but broken cases, blown transmissions, fried motors, defective plastic in a battery that caused it to shatter in 25deg. weather. If it was just one, Id call it a lemon. But all three showed problems over time with heavy use. Ive used the dewaltts and the ryobi now enough to say that in every way except ergonomics....the Ryobi is better. Definately plenty good enough for me and I still do some contracting work on the side.

Tractor Supply has their own brand of power tools called MasterHand, they are built to DeWalt specs.

In order of the way I'd prioritize them...

1. Milwaukee (28v)
2. DeWalt Pro line
3. Bosch

distant 4th... anything else

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If he really likes the brand he's using, I'd get him that brand, whatever it is.

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I bought the Firestorm 18 volt kit about three years ago and have been fairly pleased with them based on the price. The drill works well, though there is a crack in the housing of unknown origin, the safety guard fell off the circular saw (but I never like those things anyhow), The sawzall has operated flawlessly, The only fatal problem I have had is that the switch crapped out in the flashlight, I could probably send it in for repair but haven't gotten around to it yet, I better do it quick before they quit stocking parts. All of this based on heavy household use, especially the flashlight. The batteries may not be quite as good as they once were, but still seem to work ok.

I think the above post is telling. My tools fall off ladders, slide around in the back of a van, get buried in cunstruction debris and trampled. They have even been left out in the elements for weeks at a time. The good quality tools from Bosch, Milwaukee, and other top brands have taken this abuse without problems. It has been my experience that DeWalt drills and even the cheep battery trim saw were of residentail use quality with top shelf prices.

I have the same 12v dewalt i bought in 2000 it has been very good and in head to head competition with holes or screws per hour blows the crapsman right out of the water
millwakee is also very good my circular saw, sawzall and grinder are milwakee
random orbital sander and router are porter cable
cordless and hammer drill are dewalt
compound miter saw a rigid

i feel good telling anyone to get a dewalt milwakee or porter cable all three are very good brands

i will admit they my dewalt cordless does have a few smal cracks in the housing
but they have not affected it's funcionality and afer 6 years i out performed a brand new craftsman same voltage 12v

my brother just bought the rigid drill ,sawzall ,saw flashlight 4 peice kit and with the lifetime waranty it sounds good he said they even warantee the batteries

as for those of you with the dewalt and the batteries are no good
my dad was just telling me he found a kit to replace the cells in the batteries as long as they are the ones with the srews some of them were glued

12v has been enough for me if i need more i get the corded drill 1/2 inch hammer so i am not such a big fan of the 18+ volt stuff it just ends up weighing to much

Home Depot will 'supposedly' have Ryobi 18v drill and 5 1/2 circular saw, w/charger and batteries for 49$ on this Black Friday. I'm thinking about getting one of the kits, just for the batteries, and put the drill and saw on ebay. I've abused mine, and have only needed one replacement (3 year warranty).

One ridgid battery for my ridgid tools is ~ or + 49$...

All depends on how often the tool'll be used...

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I've had a makita for many years that has served well.
I only have a plug in DeWalt, but I noticed during the construction projects I've seen while in my past workplace, and when the house had rebuilding done, it was either DeWalt or Makita or Bosch.

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WE use Bosch,Hilti,Hitachi and the rest. Right now the best bang for the buck is the 19.2 Craftsman combo. You get a 1/4 impact and a 3/8 drill fro 99.00 on ale. I'm pretty sure they are made by bosch. They actually have one of the best chucks Ive seen. And you are always near a sears store to take it back or get parts.

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Just checked out the new Makita Lithium Ion cordless tools and was very impressed. I use Ridgid cordless now and for daily work where they get dropped etc. or "rode hard, and put away wet" they're tough to beat. 20 minute fast charge is very helpful, and the life time warrenty........... well its a warrenty. I got a 9.6 v Ridgid screw driver recently and that little thing will turn screws for hours on one battery (I did a complete furnace install on one charge with juice to spare) and that you can turn the drive head to be inline with the handle is super! At $130 CND it's a real best buy, if you have to spin alot of screws in awkward spaces. I have a Ridgid 18v 1/2 inch drill for both hole punching and metal shear attachment driving. (guess I need another drill really)
For home use buy cheap abuse and toss. It's a consumerism trap but buying contractor grade tools is just as bad as you won't use them enough to keep up with advancements (but who does?) . Your stuff will be obsolete when you go for a spare battery. But it happens to contractors too. Do I care that Ridgid has a lifetime warrenty? No... it was paid for by job 3 will work like a dog for 50 more jobs and I'll replace it with the next shiney, tax deductable, super tool when it's time. My wife says I'll never grow up, tool makers agree, so why argue?

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