# recommendations for an all-purpose drill



## Longtooth (Apr 28, 2007)

I loved my Skil 1/2" Hammer drill for 10 years until it got stolen, forward and reverse, variable speed for all around. Milwaukee 1/2" Hole Shooter for drilling hard tile and concrete. Porter Cable 1/2" D handle F & R for driving lag bolts into wood and self feeding auger bits.


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## Mr. Michael (Jan 10, 2007)

I recently bought a Makita 18V combo kit, it includes a combination drill, driver, hammerdrill. I've taken on a few projects with it, and have been very happy. :thumbsup: The hammerdrill function eats the battery somewhat quickly, but I assume that's common.


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## NateHanson (Apr 15, 2007)

I've personally never used a cordless drill that could match the power of a big corded drill. And that power is invaluable when drilling big holes, drilling in metal or masonry, or other demanding jobs.


Additionally, a really big cordless drill/driver that will perhaps come close to the power of a corded drill will weigh a ton.  And that's a lot of weight to swing around over your head for regular jobs like hanging drywall. (the Makita 18V hammerdrills weigh 6 pounds! That's double the weight of a 12V driver. Hold that out at arms length for 5 minutes, and let me know how you're feeling.)

I have this Milwaukee corded hammer drill and this makita 12V driver.
I think they're a great pair. Covers all my needs. I don't think a single cordless driver would be as useful, and you'll only spend about $60 more on the pair. That $60 will have you holding a 3 pound driver overhead, and you'll never run out of power for tough drilling.


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## cryingeva (Aug 1, 2007)

Makita 18v lithium is a good choice...
BUT you say want to drill to concrete i can`t imagine this it work
suggest to buy another for concrete, bosch 36v is fastest drill speed...


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## KUIPORNG (Jan 11, 2006)

I don't think you can achieve everything with one tool... expecially hammer drilling and other stuff..... hammer drilling need to corded power.... other stuff can be done with the cordless convenience....


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## comp1911 (Jul 20, 2007)

I have 5 drills in my arsenel.

18V 1/2" cordless DeWalt with hammer option - this is my "go to drill"

3/8" corded DeWalt - If I need to do alot of drilling of small holes

1/2" corded Millwaukee with angle head - for drilling for wiring, remove angle head and use for big holes requiring high horsepower. I also use this drill to mix thinset and drywall mud.

DeWalt corded drywall gun - a must for hanging rock.

Hilti hammer drill - for drilling concrete


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## MechanicalDVR (Jul 4, 2007)

Try a Dewalt 1/2" hammer drill, it's good for an all around drill, plenty of power and a nice size.


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## robut (Aug 22, 2007)

*Has anyone bought a home depot Rigged*

I looked today at 14V rigged 3/8 with a life time guarantee.

Deck hand


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## Joba Fett (Aug 14, 2007)

One drill won't do it all ..... all are trades offs ... 
and forget those HD brands .... get a GOOD drill(s) .....
I use 5 diff ones .... they are all VSR's ...
1)Porter-Cable 9.6v model 820 for around the house....small and nice power for a 9.6v
2)Dewalt 12v DC940.....great 12v drill...
3)Dewalt 18v DC925 hammer drill....probably the most pwerful 18v drill around...
4)Dewalt VAC Model D25314 L handle rotary hammer combo...
it comes with an SDS chiuck and a straight jaw chuck......
has 3 modes -->> rotary hammer ... rotation only(wood/metal) ..... hammer only (lite chipping/scraping). 
You'll have to invest in SDS Plus shanked concrete bits to really see this drill work up to potential .. it's worth it...
It's a great all purpose drill, but about $300.00...
5)Milwaukee VAC Model 1001-1 ... D handle powerful wood / steel drill

If I had to choose one .... definitely the Dewalt 18v 925 ..... if two ....add the VAC Dewalt D25314 .....
Just my opinion.....


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## kemerick (Sep 14, 2007)

JGarth said:


> One drill won't do it all ..... all are trades offs ...


Exactly... 

I have 4 drills, all of which are DeWalt. A 1/2" high speed (two speed) hammer drill, a 1/2" slow speed drill, a 3/8" 18v keyless two speed cordless with a clutch drill, and 3/8" keyless corded drill. I use all of them for different uses.

I never had a cordless until about a year ago and I love it. I use it for 90% of my drilling needs and make good use of the extra battery and charger.


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## lostsoul74 (Nov 16, 2007)

ok, heres hte low down on Ryobi from a professionals stand point. I'm a contractor, I have 5 guys that work for me in the remodel and renovation trades, We dont do heavy commercial, but we still work our tools and abuse them. 
I use to have a contract with Dewalt years ago for testing and reviews of new products, my van was litterally filled with all Dewalt products. My van got stolen in SC on a renovation product I was on about 5 yrs ago. At the time, I wasnt about to run out and spend 10k to buy all new dewalt supplies, I took a chance on Ryobi just so I could complete the job, I bought a few standard 4pk kits for my guys for 200 a piece, and the Large JobSite unite that had 6 tools including a cordless chopsaw. 
I was actually quite impressed, they were durable and strong, alot better then what i figured i'd be getting for the buck, alot better then skill or firestorm in the same price range. 
Now to be honest, i have only one gripe with Ryobi, and that was thier batteries, they tend to go weak fairly fast when doing heavy loads, and when I say heavy loads, i mean for instance if it was a demo job and I was cutting through multiple 2x10 rafters with the cordless sawsall, then the ryobi would die after about 5 rafters, where as my Dewalt would cut 6-8 before getting weak. But at the same time, A 18v Dewalt battery costs 75 bucks, and you can get 2 Ryobi batteries for 40, so it's not an issue to have multiple batteries around. Besides, lets be honest, If it's a major site and your doing heavy cutting like say 70 rafters, then you'd be running cords anyways. 
Alot of residential contractors are becoming fans of ryobi also. I dont care what name is on it, after a year goes by and the drill has fallen off ladders, and roofs, etc.. etc... it needs to be replaced, so you have a choice, another 300 for a dewalt, or 50 for a ryobi. So you'll find alot of crews now being supplied with Ryobi brand tools.
Commercial is a bit different, they have the coorperate funds to have that kind of purchasing power, and the field is different, theyre running lags into concrete all day, instead of installing drywall or countertops vs. residential. 
In a situation like that in commercial, you'll need the high torque and stronger batteries, but again, the companies supply those, so if your looking for something for youself, Ryobi is absolutely the way to go. 
I'll be honest, I do both commercial and residential contracting, if i'm on a commercial site with alot of union guys around, I'll pull out my dewalt 6 piece in kit in hardcase, looks like a military case and instantly impresses, but thats merely for impression, personally I love my Ryobi over all the other names because they have a wider range of variety. They have a cordless trimmer which i not only use for laminates, but also as a regular router, and a cordless planer. No other companies offer these, and I dont work in a cabinet shop all day, I just periodicly need these a couple times a week, so it's alot easier just to toss a battery on it then have to run cords and set stuff up. The cordless chop saw I have is also very convienent for small trim jobs, I cant cut 8 inch crown mold with it, but i can run standard base molding and windows and doors. 
Now, back to the batteries, my original complain was thier running weak on heavy load (for standard applications, theyre fine and usually a battery last me all day at work), and not charging when hot. They now have a lithium Ion batteries that work with thier existing tools, with twice the power, run time, and holding cycle. I've yet to grab them yet, sometime in the next couple weeks, but a few guys on some crews have them, and i've plugged them into mine, and theyre a noticable difference, being just as strong as my original Dewalts (mind you Dewalt also has new lithium batteries, but again, at 4 times the price)

Last and final, one more VERY important thing to add. I'm not sure the tie in, i've asked around and no one knows, this may have something to do with ITT as the post above expressed, but it's more then that. 
Ryobi and Ridgid are tied together somehow, but not like black and decker and dewalt, theyres something more then that. Ryobi recently came out with thier new 12 inch sliding dual bevel compound miter saw, i've been waiting for this, you can even put dido blades on it and other unique uses. BUT... it's only available in Europe and they wont ship it here, i've tried, I even went through Austrailian Ebay to have one shipped, but the shipping far out weighed the idea. However, if you research it, you'll find thats it's only available in europe, but sold under the ridgid name here in the US, and pulling up pics of both models side by side, theyre the exact same saw, but ridgid is orange and grey, and ryobi is blue and yellow, the ryobi also has a few little extras that are handy that the ridgid doesnt and the ryobi has a slightly better degree cut, i think 60 degrees, over Ridgid's 57 degrees. 
Uppon finding this out and doing a bit more research, I also found that the original Ryobi 3 speed hammer drill that they sold for a month before discontinuing, are the same guts as the Ridgid hammer drill. Thats all i've been able to find on the matter so far, I asked in the ryobi forums and no one knows anything about it. International forums also put Ryobi in the higher end with the bigger names like dewalt and makita, something about the amp of battery, i think here in teh US we got the 1.9 amp batteries, while europe got the 2.4 amp. I jsut started finding this out a couple weeks ago when seeing if there were any ideas of a 12 inch sliding for ryobi and found there already was, but not here. 

food for thought. 

So yes, for your DIY, and remodelers/renovators, Ryobi is a great product.


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## robut (Aug 22, 2007)

lostsoul74 said:


> ok, heres hte low down on Ryobi from a professionals stand point. I'm a contractor, I have 5 guys that work for me in the remodel and renovation trades, We dont do heavy commercial, but we still work our tools and abuse them.
> I use to have a contract with Dewalt years ago for testing and reviews of new products, my van was litterally filled with all Dewalt products. My van got stolen in SC on a renovation product I was on about 5 yrs ago. At the time, I wasnt about to run out and spend 10k to buy all new dewalt supplies, I took a chance on Ryobi just so I could complete the job, I bought a few standard 4pk kits for my guys for 200 a piece, and the Large JobSite unite that had 6 tools including a cordless chopsaw.
> I was actually quite impressed, they were durable and strong, alot better then what i figured i'd be getting for the buck, alot better then skill or firestorm in the same price range.
> Now to be honest, i have only one gripe with Ryobi, and that was thier batteries, they tend to go weak fairly fast when doing heavy loads, and when I say heavy loads, i mean for instance if it was a demo job and I was cutting through multiple 2x10 rafters with the cordless sawsall, then the ryobi would die after about 5 rafters, where as my Dewalt would cut 6-8 before getting weak. But at the same time, A 18v Dewalt battery costs 75 bucks, and you can get 2 Ryobi batteries for 40, so it's not an issue to have multiple batteries around. Besides, lets be honest, If it's a major site and your doing heavy cutting like say 70 rafters, then you'd be running cords anyways.
> ...


What about H. Depot's life time guarentee on their Ridged drills and Batteries ? Are they Ryobi's in a Ridgid case ? if so wouldn't this be a better deal? l A life time supply of batteries. Hummmmm.

deck hand


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## lostsoul74 (Nov 16, 2007)

no theyre definately not ryobi batteries, and theyre probobly just those 2 instances, its probobly a situation where as the Ryobi team designed a well built unit, then post decided it would be better in the professional line or in europe... 
yea..... I'm not too impressed with HD lifetime anything..... cause in order to get anything out of HD, you have to have the original reciept, so unless your anal and instantly take it and put it away in a safe, good luck finding it 2 years later when you need it, cause they print all thier receipts on this type of paper that doesnt hold hte carbon ink well. As any of us know if we've ever put a home depo reciept in our wallet, a month later you cant see anything on the thing, then they wont accept it. A buddy of mine use to work for HD and said they do that for a reason.... 
But yea, as far as Ridgid, i'd choose ridgid over Dewalt any day, I'd choose anyof the pro lines over dewalt personally, it's a better value, but ridgid has the best variety over the others. Although ridgid doesnt have a cordless sliding compound like makita and bosch, but then there also limited in other varieties.


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## sleepy23 (May 7, 2007)

I am really liking my new craftsman lithium set right now. I do agree that you need some corded drills for big jobs.


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## End Grain (Nov 17, 2007)

We live in the era of cordless tools and they're pretty good, with drill/drivers far eclipsing any other cordless power tool in overall power, performance, constant speed, battery life, etc. I have more than my fair share of cordless tools, especially drill/drivers.

That said, I still won't go anywhere without my Makita 3/8" variable speed *corded* drill or my Bosch SDS on board. As an example, today I was retrofitting kitchen cabinets and drawers with knobs and handles. About 100 holes altogether.

Each drawer had the wood face over the MDF drawer front so drilling through takes some time, even with a brand new bit. My cordless drill would have handled it but why run out at least one battery pack if not half of the second when I had the 110V Makita drill with me?

Piece of cake, effortless and the drill's slow starting and top speeds were constants throughout the job.

There are lots of really nice cordless models to choose from out there and some come packaged up with other goodies as well.

But the $60 spent on a good corded drill is a really good investment IMO.


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## RemodelMan (Oct 7, 2007)

LostSoul, hit the nail on the head. I happen to be in the same boat with a crew that likes to operate the cordless tools rather than jack around with the musical cords. I will however, breakout one of my many longtime trusty Milwaukee corded drills, to handle the heavy cement, steel drilling, big hole augering or multiple hardwood drilling. I admit, the cordless are the ticket for climbing ladders, crawling inside cabinets, under counters and lots of oddball tasks that only take a few minutes. I prefer the Panisonic 14 volts. According to the sales clerks @ Seven Corners Hardware, panisonic makes the batteries for most all of the competitors too, including DeWalt, go figure. He said that it's cheaper for DeWalt and other's to have them sourced out, than make their own. Panisonic batteries will outlast DeWalts and most all of the competition, except Makita. They are on par with them last I heard. We used to use the old 9 volt Makita cordless drills back in the eighties. The batteries ran for a long long time and you could recharge them over and over.
Later, I tried out the panisonic drills in the ninties and got hooked with their compactness and battery life. I'm about ready to purchase Makita again, or give Ryobi a chance since the lithium Ions are leveling the playing field.
Although I like the sound of the lifetime warranty with Ridgid, The weight of the drills are comparable to my bowling ball. No doubt they are well built, like a tank, but I'm concerned about the costs of arm surgery for tendenitis. Anyhow, I will shop around for the lightest, 14 or 18 volt cordless that is versatile & able to take a drop from a 6 foot ladder and affordable. Meanwhile, I can always count on the old tried and true Milwaukee, Made in USA corded drills.


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## handy man88 (Jan 23, 2007)

I'd probably recommend this. You can't go wrong with Bosch.

http://www.amazon.com/Bosch-Litheon...ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1196134551&sr=8-6


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## Brik (Jan 16, 2007)

The makita LXT lithium Ion cordless has all the functions you want and is a great tool from a great company.


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