# Help choosing between these cordless power drills and why for a 1st timer?



## TrapperL (Jul 23, 2011)

After years of buying only the best I could find in the way of cordless power tools and having been ripped off by Ridgid and their worthless lifetime battery warranty, I'm buying Harbor Freight cordless and frankly, yeah, you give up some of the niceity. But, if it gives you any trouble at all, throw it in the garbage and get a new one. You can buy quite a few HF cordless tools for that $160.00 and always have a new one. I didn't see any on your list I would have and they certainly are not a $160.00 tool. The Dewalt is made by Black & Decker and shares the same J&T motor as the cheapy HF. Milwaukee is made in China and the Bosch is the same as Skil. Chose wisely grasshopper.


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## kwikfishron (Mar 11, 2010)

Used to be able to work out in the rain all day with a DeWalt. Not any more, get them wet once or twice and the chuck is toast. Freezes up and you end up breaking it trying to get it free. 

Do a search on this site, there’s plenty of threads discussing which drill to buy.


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## Clutchcargo (Mar 31, 2007)

I would say for compact drivers I would chose either the Milwaukee or Bosch. For no other reason than I have had no trouble with either of those brands. Keep in mind if you decide to buy another 12V tool, it's a real benefit to have the same battery for multiple tools.

Trapper, what is your experience with the Ridgid lifetime battery warranty?

Edit, I should caveat that my Milwaukee and Bosch tools are a few years old and not made in China.


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## epson (Jul 28, 2010)

Ok, if your just doing small things around the apartment and its only one tool you will need then I would go with the Ridgid not because it’s a better drill then the others and I own a couple of their tools already. To me it’s the life time warranty they give you on parts and batteries. Most of their tools come with a soft case so you can keep what you need all together. The drill also feels nice in my hand and is comfortable to use.

I also have that exact Milwaukee drill, again it is fine for doing things around the house and so far I haven’t had any issues expect trying to counter sink some screws into solid oak. It did not have enough torque to finish the job and I switched to my 18v cordless drill. Now I like this drill it fits the hand nice and is very comfortable to work with it comes in a hard case which I like a lot better than the soft case ridgid has now. 

I have a friend of mine who installs industrial garage doors and he uses a 12v cordless Milwaukee impact driver and works that thing hard all day. He says the only problem he has so far is the brushes ware out because of continuous use. Other than that it’s a great tool. 

As for the Bosch, well I only have corded tools and I use most of them all day long with no problems. The last time I checked the ones I have were made in Germany which is way better than anything made in china like the Dewalt, Ridgid and Milwaukee. 
As for Dewalt, even though I have seen a lot of tools on the job sites and you see Dewalt a lot I’m not a big fan and can’t really comment on their reliability or durability. 

Now if you’re going to be putting up a swing set or a picnic bench I would move up to at least a 18v drill and again if you want a cordless drill then I would suggest the ridgid only because of its life time warranty.

Last but not least, it is much better to hand tighten the screws into the ikea furniture depending on what you buy. I have ikea book cases they are particle board and would easily strip if I used a drill, same goes with their kitchen cabinets. I helped a friend assemble them and he went hog wild with the drill which resulted with a lot of problems.


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## TrapperL (Jul 23, 2011)

The worthless Ridgid warranty is like this and yes this is my experience with it. You buy the tool with a lifetime warranty BUT. You must have the original receipt. No problem as I keep good records of all of my tool purchases. Then you have to send in a warranty card. I always do that. Now here's the glitch, they have to send you the LSA which is documentation that you must have to REQUEST warranty. So a battery goes bad. Now you MUST have the LSA and your receipt *IF they mailed you the LSA to begin with*, to get the authorization to seek warranty. Now you get to find the service center, if there is one in your area, and take them not only the tools, but the charger as well. If any of the tools or charger fails their testing, you are SOL. But if it passes, then the service center requests the parts/battery to be replaced which means another trip to the service center when they get the parts in. For me, that's about 300 miles of driving and at todays cost of driving, it makes more sense to throw their crap in the garbage and buy another brand. It's about the worst warranty I've ever seen from a supposed good, quality company. Why is it like this? From the tool guy at Home Depot where I bought it, they had a lot of issues with bad batteries and HD would just hand the customer a new battery and turn the bad one into Ridgid. Seems Ridgid was having to replace more batteries than they expected and was not up to the bean counters expectations so they made it extremely hard to get warranty service. If you want warranty- they have it, but it's going to cost you. I'd suggest buying anything with no warranty over a Ridgid. At least you won't have expectations stomped on with a lot of BS.


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## clashley (Nov 24, 2009)

I have no complaints about my Makita 18V lithium-ion. Stay away from Dewalt and any of the big box store brand stuff (including Craftsman).


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## epson (Jul 28, 2010)

TrapperL said:


> The worthless Ridgid warranty is like this and yes this is my experience with it. You buy the tool with a lifetime warranty BUT. You must have the original receipt. No problem as I keep good records of all of my tool purchases. Then you have to send in a warranty card. I always do that. Now here's the glitch, they have to send you the LSA which is documentation that you must have to REQUEST warranty. So a battery goes bad. Now you MUST have the LSA and your receipt *IF they mailed you the LSA to begin with*, to get the authorization to seek warranty. Now you get to find the service center, if there is one in your area, and take them not only the tools, but the charger as well. If any of the tools or charger fails their testing, you are SOL. But if it passes, then the service center requests the parts/battery to be replaced which means another trip to the service center when they get the parts in. For me, that's about 300 miles of driving and at todays cost of driving, it makes more sense to throw their crap in the garbage and buy another brand. It's about the worst warranty I've ever seen from a supposed good, quality company. Why is it like this? From the tool guy at Home Depot where I bought it, they had a lot of issues with bad batteries and HD would just hand the customer a new battery and turn the bad one into Ridgid. Seems Ridgid was having to replace more batteries than they expected and was not up to the bean counters expectations so they made it extremely hard to get warranty service. If you want warranty- they have it, but it's going to cost you. I'd suggest buying anything with no warranty over a Ridgid. At least you won't have expectations stomped on with a lot of BS.


I’m sorry but I have to differ with your complaint. I to have rigid tools and you have two options on how to register your tools. 1) Is by mailing in a copy of the original receipt with original ups code from the box and warranty card and wait for them to mail you your warranty card. Yes I actually have a plastic card. 2) You can also register on line by giving them the model # and serial # of the products you have purchased. When they have verified your purchase you will receive an email from them with your claim # if anything should happen to your rigid tools being batteries, drills etc. I have owned my rigid tools since they first came out with hard cases and yes had batteries replaced with no issues or problems. 
 Now when you need to replace or repair your tool just go to the rigid site access your account and all your tools with corresponding claim #’s will be on their site.


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## iamrfixit (Jan 30, 2011)

I recently got the new DeWalt 12 volt lithium-ion tools. I have the the screwdriver, impact and the drill. These are great for lighter duty jobs, I would choose this drill over the older nicad drill you have listed. I like the LED lights on these tools, very bright and handy. The batteries charge quickly and seem to last fairly well. You can get both the drill/impact driver in a combo set for a little more.

You are not going to want to drive 3" screws all day with a 12 volt drill, it will do it but the job is much easier with more powerful 18v tools and the heavier hammer mechanism of the 18v impact drivers makes it easy. These work very well for less demanding jobs and the compact size and weight is a big plus for many jobs in tight spaces.

We have thousands of dollars worth of DeWalt 18v and Milwaukee 18V tools on the job site and use them hard every day building grain handling equipment. We use mostly 3/8" impacts and the DeWalt is preferred because it is physically smaller and fits better into tight areas. The Milwaukee has a larger body and does not fit as well but either brand has good power and seems to last well. We also have several drills, impact drivers and sawzalls in both flavors, seem pretty equal with the milwaukee being slightly heavier and more bulky. The Milwaukee battery packs do have a battery level gauge and that is pretty handy.

If you think you might have larger jobs to do you should consider a Milwaukee 18 volt compact lithium ion combo set. Slightly over your budget but you do get both a drill and driver. This set gives you decent power in a smaller, lighter, cheaper package and I'm fairly certain that you can buy and use the full sized battery for longer run times if you need it at a later time. You can get the drill by itself for less but the set is a better bargain.


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## epson (Jul 28, 2010)

Yeah that Milwaukee 18 volt compact lithium ion combo set is a great buy. I was eye balling it for awhile and when I decided to buy it at my local hardware store they were out of stock and I couldn’t find them anywhere.


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## Tizzer (Jul 24, 2010)

The OP lives in an apartment and may get 8hrs. of use out of it building bookshelves. Why buy any drill even close to $160 ?
I would go the Harbor Freight route or a Ryobi NiClad. Catch the Ryobi combo set with 2 batteries & a flashlight, you'll get more use with the flashlight for your investment.
Add in a cheap drill bit set and a magnetic bit holder and you're set.


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## Clutchcargo (Mar 31, 2007)

Tizzer said:


> The OP lives in an apartment and may get 8hrs. of use out of it building bookshelves. Why buy any drill even close to $160 ?
> I would go the Harbor Freight route or a Ryobi NiClad. Catch the Ryobi combo set with 2 batteries & a flashlight, you'll get more use with the flashlight for your investment.
> Add in a cheap drill bit set and a magnetic bit holder and you're set.


Ya you're right, this reminds me of you brother dropping $250 for a right angle drill to drill a total of 12 holes. But what the hell, if he's got the money, it's good for the economy.


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## Tizzer (Jul 24, 2010)

Ya you're right, this reminds me of you brother dropping $250 for a right angle drill to drill a total of 12 holes.
.............
:huh: I've never bought a right angle drill....


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## forresth (Feb 19, 2010)

yup, a cheap Ni-Cad setup is the way to go. I liked my cheap Ryobi crap enough to upgrade to Lithium battery packs several years later when I found a refurb paint sprayer with 2 heavy lithium batteries and charger for $100 :thumbup:. I'll personally never go back to NiCad, but I use my cordless tools quite a bit more than the average homeowner. For a Med student looking to put up shelves, you might even find a cheap NiCad kit that comes with a circular saw. My Ryobi drill/saw/light kit date back to when 18volts was something special. They all still work. they all still get used regularly. I got a bunch of rigid stuff for my Dad. It seams to be doing good so far, and the tools are smaller than my old Ryobi stuff. I can't say if its good or bad yet, It is too soon to tell. So far only the light-bulb broke. I'll give them a pass on that.

I've been hearing that craftsman has been stepping up a bit lately too. I wouldn't completely discount them either.


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## Steven B (Sep 22, 2011)

I use the porter cable 12v drill/impact at work. I love the compact design & quick battery charging, didn't like carrying around my ridgid 18v.


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## Missouri Bound (Apr 9, 2011)

I've got a Dewalt 12 volt, a Porter Cable 19.2 volt and a Sears 16 volt. I wouldn't buy another Sears....but I keep it. The Dewalt is a sturdy tool, came with 2 batteries for about $100 at Lowes. The Porter Cable was part of a kit, $100 with a sawzall and circular saw, and two batteries...not a bad deal and not a bad tool.


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## amlodipine (Sep 17, 2011)

Thanks for so many replies - I do appreciate it. I still haven't bought anything yet... Apart from bookshelves, I was hoping to get more out of it with other shelves and such within the apartment - I would hope that having a drill would allow me to use it for practice just so that I may be able to do amateur projects later on if I have a small backyard - 

But yeah, wanted to find something that had the best variable adjustable control without the fear of stripping or overdriving a screw I suppose. 

While it would be nice to have a cordless - I would try to take it out monthly and just use it on something so that I will not kill the batteries.... I can add all sorts of shelving type systems in my house (i.e. to the walls) 

I'm not sure on how these 12v cordless drills will be for "driving/screwing screws" - unless you can suggest one for light furniture setup - most likely though I was going to get a smaller compact cordless screwdriver... So far the Milwaukee 12v 3/8 compact seems to be the one in the lead along with the Bosch one too... 

What other things could I try to do inside an apartment with these drills? Would love to see some more diy newbie applications... ?

Someone others had mentioned that I should stick with a corded 3/8 drill then too... 

What would your thoughts be on a corded compact closer quarter drill? I saw some of the corded drills at lowes/home depot - but they are pretty long in construction and would surely hinder me in getting in tight spaces with some of these shelves/bookcases I would like to make.


Milwaukee 0370-20 3/8" 55 degree close quarter drill :

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0..._m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=10AB16C457RHBQQHA2HV


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## sixeightten (Feb 10, 2009)

I think I have owned or used most of the ones talked about here. I have the Bosch drill, impact, and multi tool. I like them all. Two friends have the Milwaukee and the Dewalt 12v. They seem to like them also. I too have had great success with the Ridgid warranty. I bought the whole 18v set in 2005 and in the last year I had all 3 batteries replaced. No problem whatsoever. Just remember to register online. I also had a small compressor fixed that was a Ridgid as well. I think the warranty may only be 3 years now.

If I was the OP, I would probably spend less here as well. Buy another tool if you really wanna spend the whole $160


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## Missouri Bound (Apr 9, 2011)

If you get a cordless, get one with a stand alone charger and two batteries. One stays in the charger, and one stays in the drill. If you need more than a drill, look into the kits that have various tools that share the batteries. A good, usable 3/8" corded drill can be bought for $20. If you are on a tight budget, look into www.harborfreight.com for some inexpensive, and nearly disposable tools. For typical home owner use they will do the job.


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## forresth (Feb 19, 2010)

Missouri Bound said:


> If you get a cordless, get one with a stand alone charger and two batteries. One stays in the charger, and one stays in the drill. If you need more than a drill, look into the kits that have various tools that share the batteries. A good, usable 3/8" corded drill can be bought for $20. If you are on a tight budget, look into www.harborfreight.com for some inexpensive,* and nearly disposable tools*. For typical home owner use they will do the job.


A bit more than nearly in some cases....
:whistling2:
...but at least you get what you pay for. I couldn't help but notice my Milwaukee abrasive cut-off saw looks exactly like the one I saw in Harbor Freight, save for the color of the plastic. Maybe it has different bearings or something, but I doubt there could be much more different than that.


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## amlodipine (Sep 17, 2011)

I had visited the hardbor freight website and was checking on some of the reviews there - seems many people felt that their drill fell apart literally while they were drilling or started smoking - taken with some bias of course. I think there are some local HF shops here where I live when checking them out... scratching my head on these $20-30 drills - has anyone had the corded ones last more than over a year or greater?


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## forresth (Feb 19, 2010)

amlodipine said:


> I had visited the hardbor freight website and was checking on some of the reviews there - seems many people felt that their drill fell apart literally while they were drilling or started smoking - taken with some bias of course. I think there are some local HF shops here where I live when checking them out... scratching my head on these $20-30 drills - has anyone had the corded ones last more than over a year or greater?


I picked up a sub $20 corded drill from Aco. pretty sure they are the same as Harbor Freight crap. They looked the same (pretty much the whole line of those tools were available at either store) and prices were comparable. Pretty sure its the same thing they still sell too. I've had it well over a year, probably more than 5, but it is hardly a go-to tool either. I think I picked it up when I wanted multiple drills at the ready for pilot holes then screw driving or some such thing. I was doing cabinet installs and wire wheel paint removal attempts back then for a Kitchen and more remodel. I think I have at least 3 of those tools I picked up as low use tools. They all stayed low use and I am not sure where they are at this time. Must be packed away somewhere from one of the moves. All I can say for sure is the worked the last time I tried them.

certain tools you can get my going cheap usually. plug in drills are one of them. I wouldn't go bottom of the barrel for cordless though. batteries are a major expense weather you power quality or garbage with them. 

you sound like you are going to be a low use tool guy, at least initially. Buy cheap corded junk and maybe a $100 cordless Ni-Cad set. You'll do fine for quite some time like that. After something breaks, then you decide if its worth it to you to get more economy garbage or do you want to pony up for the expensive stuff? Blades and bits (and sand paper) are areas were you will actually notice quality though. It doesn't pay to pinch your pennies too hard in those categories.

Areas where I have spent real money (for a poor tightwad such as myself anyways) getting good tools are; 12" power miter chop saw ($200), 10" belt drive table saw ($300) and most recently a rotary hammer ($200). I have used cheaper equivalents to those before I stepped it up because the cheapies were not up to the tasks I put before them, and was not disappointed in the slightest. I have other expensive tools, but those are the ones that real stand out as being worth the extra cost.


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