New Cordless Drill

[Justin Bretz]

I have a newer Milwaukee 18 volt (2 years old). It is EXTREMELY durable. I managed to drop it about 30 feet from the peak of my barn when I was screwing down metal roofing, onto a compacted bullrock and gravel drive. I thought that was it. I expected the worst, but it only suffered some rash from the rock, but still works great. It is a great drill, but batteries are pricey. I just replaced one and it ran around $65 USD. One lesson is that the charger will overcharge and kill a battery if you leave it on there for a long time (hard lesson learned). It is also a very comfortable drill to use. I have an 18 volt Ryobi that feels like an uncomfortable heavy lead weight compared to the Milwaukee. If you have the cash, it is a thumbs up from me. I found mine in the case with the batteries (2) and charger in the ditch along a local highway. The road-rash on the case tells me some unlucky soul forgot it was sitting on top of his work truck and drove off.

[Rodger Knox]

I don't own any cordless tools. That's all I have to say about them.

[Jim McConkey]

You obviously live somewhere you can always find power. I live on a farm now, and yes, I could run a 400' extension out to my barn or 800' extension cord out to my far gates, or haul a generator out there to drill two holes, but a cordless drill is FAR easier! When I'm in my shop building instruments, a plug-in drill is a lot smaller and easier to handle, but I probably use my old hand-powered "egg beater" drill more than my electric in the shop. Out in the field, or on construction sites, there is often no other real choice but cordless. I current have an 18v DeWalt set with several tools and interchangeable batteries and I have nothing to complain about it.

[Louie Atienza]

I never realized the issue of corded versus cordless would be such a debate... or should ot be tethered versus non-tethered?!

Justin, that unlucky guy who lost that drill could have been me! Believe me, losing a drill is better than havivng the officer give you a citation for "unsecured cargo!" (Ask me how I know!)

Remember how crappy cordless phones used to be? You couldn't walk 10 feet away without hearing static, or have the battery last long enough for a long call. Now, you can be a hundred feet away, keep it with you all day, and the sound is crystal clear. I think the technology will get better and better. We might even see 'fuel cell' cordless tools....

[Rodger Knox]

I didn't mean to imply cordless tools aren't useful, but I've got 150' of extension cord that gets power to anywhere I need it, so I don't have any.
That also means I don't know anything about them!

[Mark Day]

The Dewalt I'm talking about was purchased in 2007 and it uses NiMH batteries. They don't suffer from the memory issues of the old NiCad's but they have a life cycle; a fixed number of discharge/recharge cycles. Once you have reached that number, they will no longer hold a charge. The unfortunate part is that the replacement cost exceeds the cost of replacement of the entire drill. I'm still keeping the unit in hope that I might be able to find a knock-off brand battery that will make financial sense.
I just recently replaced the NIMH battery on my wife's Asus netbook, purchased in 2010. Once again, the original battery had met its end of life. Fortunately I was able to find a replacement on Amazon that was much cheaper than an Asus branded battery and the customer reviews were all positive. So far, so good. It holds a charge longer than the original did. It has a higher miliamp hour rating and is physically larger so that accounts for its increased performance. Now if I could find something like that for my Dewalt, I'd be a happy driller.

[Douglas Ingram]

This is timely as my old, very old, De Walt 9.6 volt (remember 9.6 volt?) cordless is on its last battery and that last battery is on its last legs. I use a corded drill in the shop for drilling, but my cordless is basically as screwdriver. I have enough extension cords in the shop that its nice to be able to reduce that a bit and have less to trip over. If I'm drilling and screwing, one cord is enough to deal with.

I'm looking at these new small drivers. Any thoughts on which is a better deal?

[Louie Atienza]

This is timely as my old, very old, De Walt 9.6 volt (remember 9.6 volt?) cordless is on its last battery and that last battery is on its last legs. I use a corded drill in the shop for drilling, but my cordless is basically as screwdriver. I have enough extension cords in the shop that its nice to be able to reduce that a bit and have less to trip over. If I'm drilling and screwing, one cord is enough to deal with.

I'm looking at these new small drivers. Any thoughts on which is a better deal?

I think the Ridgid 10.8V is $10 cheaper than the Milwaukee. I have both and they both work very well. More power then you'd ever need for guitarbuilding... The Milwaukee is slightly less bulky compared to the Ridgid. I'll post some pics tomorrow for comparison.

The LED worklights on these new drills are a nice feature as well. One advantage of the Milwaukee is that they do make an extended-runtime battery that's a little larger, and doesn't cost an arm and a leg. In fact, the replacement batteries for these smaller drills are a lot more affordable.

I don't own one, but I've used a Ryobi, and am not too fond of the chuck. Same with B&D.

[Steve Senseney]

I have been reading all of this, and realized that one of the items I wish for is a low power light weight drill that would hold small bits. This would be more for drilling screws for the tuners. I don't usually use drywall screws on my guitars.

[Clay Schaeffer]

Hi Doug,
I bought a Ryobi 12 volt lithium ion drill/driver. It is the little green one and generally sells for about $70 with 2 batteries, charger and cloth case. I used one at work and liked the small size for getting into tight spaces. The lithium ion batteries are small but last a long time. It is a little slow (600 rpm) for drilling but has plenty of torque for driving screws. The chuck is O.K., but nothing to write home about. I have had it a couple of years now and it is still going strong.
It replaced a larger, heavier, more expensive Rigid 12 volt whose batteries seemed to die prematurely. Knowing that these tools have a limited lifespan makes me avoid the expensive end of the aisle.
Hi Steve,
The small cordless drills will hold small drill bits fairly well. Another possibility would be using a cordless screwdriver with a small chuck adapter. It would allow you to snap the chuck out and replace it with a screwdriver bit.

[Louie Atienza]

Steve I use 1/16" bits with my small Milwaukee just fine. Any smaller I don't know, but like Clay mentions an adaptor could help... Just saw one at the local hardware store.

I will say, even with new battery technology, I still try to use the battery until it's spent before recharging it.

[Mario Proulx]

I got a 12v Mlilwaukee driver for Christmas, and will never live without one again! That thing lives in my hand, it seems! I'll also never use a drill to drive a screw again. Never. Ever. You know how you need to "push" on the drill to keep the bit and screw engaged? Not with the driver! I have driven 4 inch #8 screws into some nasty wood with zero effort. Yet pull the trigger ever-so-slightly, and it will gently "tap-tap-tap" a #4 or #6 screw as little as you need it to move. And it weighs next to nothing, and is incredible small.... the small Li-ion batteries seem to last a long time(a week or two in my shop) and charge fully in no time. No memory issues, either, and partially discharged batteries can be topped-up any time. Can you tell that I love this thing? And I'm a diehard corded-drill user, too. Yes, I have a cordless for odd jobs outside, but in the shop, my corded drill served me well. But come next Christmas, I sure hope to find the matching drill to this driver under the 'ol tree!

Here, this is the one: http://www.amazon.com/Milwaukee-2450-22 ... pd_cp_hi_1

Remember to access Amazon through the link at the bottom of each page of the forum, so that Charlie gets a little kickback to help Le Forum stay afloat.

[Louie Atienza]

I got a 12v Mlilwaukee driver for Christmas, and will never live without one again! That thing lives in my hand, it seems! I'll also never use a drill to drive a screw again. Never. Ever. You know how you need to "push" on the drill to keep the bit and screw engaged? Not with the driver! I have driven 4 inch #8 screws into some nasty wood with zero effort. Yet pull the trigger ever-so-slightly, and it will gently "tap-tap-tap" a #4 or #6 screw as little as you need it to move. And it weighs next to nothing, and is incredible small.... the small Li-ion batteries seem to last a long time(a week or two in my shop) and charge fully in no time. No memory issues, either, and partially discharged batteries can be topped-up any time. Can you tell that I love this thing? And I'm a diehard corded-drill user, too. Yes, I have a cordless for odd jobs outside, but in the shop, my corded drill served me well. But come next Christmas, I sure hope to find the matching drill to this driver under the 'ol tree!

Here, this is the one: http://www.amazon.com/Milwaukee-2450-22 ... pd_cp_hi_1

Remember to access Amazon through the link at the bottom of each page of the forum, so that Charlie gets a little kickback to help Le Forum stay afloat.

I have the same exact one... amazing how powerful they are, and how much control you actually have of the whole process! Their Mini Hackzall is so damn convenient, I rarely bring a Sawzall to a job unless it's absolutely needed. The drill is just as excellent... Milwaukee had a promotion where you got the drill, impact gun, Hackzall, and a small bit set and two Sawzall blades, two batteries, and a carrying bag, for $249!

[Barry Daniels]

I have the Milwaukee 12v lithium ion drill and it is Really nice. Very light yet powerful.

[Jon Whitney]

Well gee. I just spent $16 for a Harbor Freight "Drillmaster" 18V cordless drill (I had a coupon) to replace my DeWalt & before that my Ryobi cordless drills, whose batteries (2 each) no longer accept a charge. I'm told that I don't use them often enough and it shortens the battery life. But for $16, if the HF drill lasts me a year or two or three, I will consider it money well spent. I'm not going to go around looking for jobs to do with my cordless drills just to use them often enough to keep the batteries chargeable.

BTW is it just my perception, or have even the cheapest Harbor Freight tools increased in quality in the last couple of years?

[Steve Senseney]

I had the Drillmaster, and it did not hold charge for more than a few minutes, and the battery would not take much of a charge.

I threw it away.

[Clay Schaeffer]

I worked with a lady who used HF drillmasters daily. Not great drills, but she did get pretty good use from them.
Has anyone calculated how large of a solar panel it would take to recharge the average cordless drill battery? I know it would vary according to the volts and size of the cells and charging time, but I'm wondering how practical it would be to consider doing this.

[Louie Atienza]

I got the drill in yesterday.... Very solid feeling; it has some heft that makes it balance nice, but it's not too light that you'd fear it fragile, and not too heavy that it would be fatiguing. The LED is very bright, and like osme of the better drills I've used it stays on a little bit after you release the trigger (on my Ridgid it shuts right off.) The battery has four bars; charging from 2 to 4 tool only 15 minutes. The case is also very well made, and the forms inside cradle the drill and parts well. A cool bonus is that the charger also accepts the smaller 10.8V batteries as well!

First impression doing some small tasks in the house were "WOW!" I installed a lockset, and the 2-18" holesaw cut like butter with the extra power; it didn't even show signs of bogging down slightly. Drilling the 7/8" hole for the deadbolt was like drilling through foam. I definitely felt more confident and in control not having to force bits through to drill. I also had to sister a couple studs, and accidentally drove a 3" screw clear through the first stud into the second, without feeling a thing! No kickback or jolt.

The only thing I have to say so far that I'm not too thrilled with is, it is a bit noisier in low gear than some other drills, but not objectionable. I'll have more use for it this weekend so I'll see how it fares then, but so far I think it's an excellent drill...

[Mario Proulx]

Um... What is it

[Louie Atienza]

Um... What is it

Sorry, it is the new Milwaukee 18V cordless, with the new brushless motor technology...