# Black & Decker Drill 18V is it worth it



## harold938 (Nov 10, 2006)

i'm a budget i want a decent some better that my crappy 18v skil "which is a re-furbish" and it dying slowly and slowly 

so i saw on lowes they have a 18V Black&Decker for $99.99


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## slakker (May 29, 2007)

I had originally bought the 18v B&D kit, it was great doing odds and ends around the home. The first time I used it with a 1/2" spade bit through 4" cedar garden ties, the sucker freezed on me... I've scrapped it and have a Ridgid set now... :thumbsup:


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## NateHanson (Apr 15, 2007)

Repeatedly buying cheap tools that die or don't accomplish the job really ends up being a waste of money, in my opinion. You spent money on the skil driver, now you want to spend more on the B&D. For the cost of the two crappy tools you could have bought a decent brand. If you don't do it now, you'll just be in the same situation in another year. The more crappy tools you buy, the more money you'll be throwing away. Just bite the bullet, and buy a makita, porter cable, milwaukee, freud, or even a rigid tool. I've had great experiences with all. I'm a heavy tool user (DIY home stuff, and professional furniture builder), and in 5 years of work, I've never had to replace a tool because it wore out or couldn't do the job.


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## KUIPORNG (Jan 11, 2006)

Experience tell me cheap 18v requires you to charge all the time and don't have the torque to do some of the hard job.... if you don't mind both... you can go for cheap tool.... but once I got my milwaukee 18v ... I am reluctant to use anything else even for driving a tiny screw as you know you are going to get the job done for sure...


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## johnny331 (May 29, 2007)

If it's "slowly dying" it's your battery. 

I agree with all the other guy's advice, but if you don't want to spend the money, you can get your battery packs rebuilt for maybe $40-$50/each. They will work like new (or better with a higher current battery). Check ebay or a local battery store.


Last month I bought a set of dewalt drills (two drills, 4 batteries) from a local newspaper for $50, they worked great just had bad battery packs, I rebuilt them myself for about $20/each. They use "4/5 C" sized batteries, I replaced my NiCd with NiMH, they're higher current so they last longer.... hopefully someone will find this useful in the future with a "search"...


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## MechanicalDVR (Jul 4, 2007)

Buy a better drill than B&D. The Ridgid ones have a lifetime warranty and are less expensive for a homeowner than the rest. My wife bought me a bunch of Ryobi 18v tools for Christmas a while ago and using them around the house rather than pulling my work tools out of the truck they are holding up fine.


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## ron schenker (Jan 15, 2006)

FYI... Black and Decker owns Dewalt.
They've been around for many years and IMHO B&D is fine for a DIY


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## slakker (May 29, 2007)

ron schenker said:


> FYI... Black and Decker owns Dewalt.
> They've been around for many years and IMHO B&D is fine for a DIY


The whole industry is consolidated with many brands owned by the same companies, but the various product lines do differ in how well they perform...

I would agree that B&D is fine for a DIY, but subject to the project. Like I said in my first post, the first time my DIY project required more power, the B&D didn't perform.


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## MinConst (Nov 23, 2004)

B&D is owned by Dewalt but that doesn't say they are equal it quality or anything for that matter. The B&D line is OK for a home owner that uses it to drive screws into sheet rock. Drill small holes into pine. This kind if thing. More that that and it will not hold up for long.
A quality tool should last a lifetime. At least one. Some of my tools are going on 2 lifetimes. The cheaper ones I bought through the years didn't last a year.
Spend the money once and buy quality. It is worth every penny.


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## MechanicalDVR (Jul 4, 2007)

ron schenker said:


> FYI... Black and Decker owns Dewalt.
> They've been around for many years and IMHO B&D is fine for a DIY


 Mercedes owned Chrysler up until recently but I still wouldn't buy a Dodge.

B&D owned DeWalt years ago and DeWalt always had better shop tools (tablesaws/ radial arms/etc). I didn't care too much for DeWalt cordless tools in the recent past but their batteries have pushed me over. I also have several Milwaukee and Bosch 18v tools that are fantastic but the batteries just don't work as well as DeWalt. The new 10.8 volt Bosch stuff is beyond fantastic for holding a charge and power for size. They are my new favorites.


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## timmy (Jul 10, 2007)

wow I had no idea B&D owned Dewalt, but I know first hand that my Dewalt 18 volt drill isway better than my buddies 18 volt B&D


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## SecretSquirrel (Jun 22, 2007)

timmy said:


> wow I had no idea B&D owned Dewalt,


That's just the tip of the iceberg. They also own Delta Machinery, Porter Cable, etc. See Wikipedia for the entire list.


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## Oldhouseowner (Jul 24, 2007)

*B&D is ok*

Hi there,

The B&D should be ok. I bought one 2 years ago and it has lived through a lot(Kitchen reno, decking, fencing etc.) . I got one the one without all the fancy bits with it and the gelmax grip (What is the point of that?!). I think I paid $60. 

It's a pretty good workhorse and if I drop it once in a while I am not terrified that i just blew $200+ out of the window. 

I also picked up a reconditioned dewalt corded drill for when I need more power or less weight for longer projects. 

Good luck with it,


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## elementx440 (Jan 24, 2007)

SecretSquirrel said:


> That's just the tip of the iceberg. They also own Delta Machinery, Porter Cable, etc. See Wikipedia for the entire list.


yeah and they're all made in china by the lowest bidder. who cares. Name doesn't mean jack anymore. Go by the (recent) proven track record and word of mouth. i work for a company that makes some of the best medical equipment in the world... and the same brand name makes some of the crappiest TVs. Don't be blinded by a name or "who owns who"

I've never had a problem with my dewalts. I do have a Ryobi that I pull out for occasional little hobby work, but I wouldn't drill through block with it...


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## slakker (May 29, 2007)

I think word of mouth from people experience with the product goes a long way...

But besides the product itself, the service experience is also very important. That's my one fear with buying Rigid... the product itself works great even though it's made in china. But I'm not sure what I'll do if I need to repair it, where as I know the Dewalt has a local service depot and I can just walk in a drop off.


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## Medium_Pimpin' (Jul 6, 2007)

The pros I have talked to always say do not be loyal to a brand be loyal to the tool. Personally I would not rec. a cordless drill unless you are going to be using it very sparingly. Funny this thread popped up, I just had a pal stop over last week to use my heavy duty electric non-cordless drill because he was sick of his firestorm or whatever it is called type of drill running out of juice every 15 mins. Go with a nice mid grade cord drill and it will last you a life time. I have a couple, one is a Dewalt (don't have the model number off hand) but it is a higher end one I have had for 5 or 6 years and it has served me well and has been used extensively for everything from plywood to 16" concrete. Another is a very old, ~25yrs?? at least craftsman that works like a charm it's just that it has a very inconvenient old-school key for changing bits so I don't use it often.

Short version: Buy a drill with a cord and invest in a good extension cord.

Unless you are flipping foreclosed properties you will almost always have a power source.


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## cryingeva (Aug 1, 2007)

NateHanson said:


> Repeatedly buying cheap tools that die or don't accomplish the job really ends up being a waste of money, in my opinion. You spent money on the skil driver, now you want to spend more on the B&D. For the cost of the two crappy tools you could have bought a decent brand. If you don't do it now, you'll just be in the same situation in another year. The more crappy tools you buy, the more money you'll be throwing away. Just bite the bullet, and buy a makita, porter cable, milwaukee, freud, or even a rigid tool. I've had great experiences with all. I'm a heavy tool user (DIY home stuff, and professional furniture builder), and in 5 years of work, I've never had to replace a tool because it wore out or couldn't do the job.


I`m agree your opinion,because you paid what you get...
i own makita cordless drill 5 years for heavy use,it don`t let me down.


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## KUIPORNG (Jan 11, 2006)

when a good brand tool like Makita needs repair.... if you cannot do it yourself.... might as well buy another one..... a broken tool probably already so worn out ... even repaired... probably only have half life back...and not as good as it used to be... why spent the expensive $$ repair money... unless you are talking about warantee period, for that... good brand tool usually work strong for those 1 or 2 years time frame....


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## JFD140 (Aug 6, 2007)

to be totally honest with you, Black and decker, while i have never used them i have also never seen them used or heard from anyone who bought one. For 99 dollars your better off spending 10 more on a craftsman 19.2 volt diehard hammer drill at sears. Great drill comes with 2 batteries and a 30 min charger. Wont die on you unless you somehow brake it, so far serves me well.


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## davefoc (Dec 18, 2007)

I know this is an old thread and maybe nobody cares by now but I've owned the Black and Decker 18 volt firestorm drill with the removable chuck for about five years now and I am very happy with it.

I have used it a great deal for a non-professional (we're restoring an apartment building that we own). I've put up the hardibacker for five showers with it, I've used to do a lot of framing repair that involves driving lots of long screws, I've used it under the building in the mud and the muck when I've been working on broken drain lines, I've hung lots of blinds with it, I've used it with hole saws many times, I've hung a bit of dry wall with it, and I've dropped it numerous times. And it's still going. I'm afraid it's slowing down a bit as it enters its later years and in a few years I'll probably replace it with some fancy new lithium ion job, but for my purposes it has worked well and long.

I paid $99 for it, but I've seen it much cheaper than that and I've seen it bundled with other tools at good prices.

Previously, I owned a 12 volt DeWalt. The B&D was a much more powerful, much more versatile tool than the 12 volt DeWalt but I don't know how it stacks up against other cordless drills.


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## End Grain (Nov 17, 2007)

Black and Decker/Firestorm (Lowes PL) is the homeowner/DIY line versus their DeWalt professional line. B&D power tools range from _kitschy 'n' cute_ to barely adequate to decent to good to actually very, very good. They spent way too much time in recent years trying to boost sales with duplicate models, non-value-added features, color schemes, trendy looks, etc. Their new VPX line seems to be well thought out, versatile and actually pretty good. Years back, B&D was strictly a hardware store brand, same as Skil, and the quality was also good. Not pro quality like it once was many years ago, but good for any homeowner and DIY-er. Now, the DeWalt line, which has been noticeably devoid of any lithium-ion tools in the line, is being wildly bundled, discounted and footballed around - like they were cleaning out house - presumably for the launch of a whole new platform, possibly Lithium-Ion.

If you're happy with your purchase, that's great. B&D will work for some but not for all. I just bought their VPX handisaw and their VPX vacuum. But, I did my homework first and if either had turned out to be a dud, they'd have gone right back to HD for a refund.


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