# I am looking at getting a drill/impact driver.



## Zefrik (May 1, 2012)

Is a 20v better?

http://www.reconditionedtools.com/f...tml?start=11&cgid=impact-drivers-and-wrenches


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## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

Fool proof
No tool is fool proof.
I got rid of all my Dewalt tools long ago. Every week it was bad switches, burned out brushes, batterys would last only a year if I was lucky. 
The cost of parts and batterys was through the roof.
I took a chance and bought a Ryobi impact for $69.00 the 2, batterys are far less then 1/2 the price of just one Dewalt battery.
I use it for drilling, sheetrocking, lag bolt, nuts on carrage bolts, decking screws, Two years later and it still works perfect.
Yes there's far more expencive impacts out there that also work great, have more touque turn faster. But for the bang for the buck Ryobi has worked fine for me.
I also have a Ridgid impact. Life time warrenty on it and the batterys. No one else offers that that I know of.


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## Zefrik (May 1, 2012)

joecaption said:


> Fool proof
> No tool is fool proof.
> I got rid of all my Dewalt tools long ago. Every week it was bad switches, burned out brushes, batterys would last only a year if I was lucky.
> The cost of parts and batterys was through the roof.
> ...


I meant fool proof as in "This tool will make the task I am trying to do much simpler, and with a lower failure rate." 

I have been told by so many people to stick to brands like Dewalt, Milwaukee, Makita, Bosch, Etc. Is that really not the case? Is it just elitism and wanting a more expensive product? I would definitely be willing to save money and get some slightly cheaper tools because I need to get some other tools too.


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## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

In most cases you right. A lot of the Ryobis are ok home owner tools, but the impacts worked great for me. 
I used the three I own on constrution jobs for many years and they all stilll work fine.
When tying to decide on a tool I go on Amazon and read the comments from people who own and have bought the tool first.


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## woodworkbykirk (Sep 25, 2011)

the higher end models will last longer, have more torue, more run time on the batteries.. have metal gears instead of plastic in them

i own bosch impacts and also use makitas. i hate the dewalts for a few reasons i wont get into.. a guy on my crew has the ryobi and it feels like a toy compared to my bosch or the makitas we have at work..


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## toolaholic (Jul 31, 2011)

I have a older 14.4 makita 6932 impact driver. I also have a milwaukee 0883 v18 impact wrench that I sometimes use a dewalt 1/2 square to 1/4 drive adapter with. Both are heavy duty and powerful.


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## toolaholic (Jul 31, 2011)

woodworkbykirk said:


> the higher end models will last longer, have more torue, more run time on the batteries.. have metal gears instead of plastic in them
> 
> i own bosch impacts and also use makitas. i hate the dewalts for a few reasons i wont get into.. a guy on my crew has the ryobi and it feels like a toy compared to my bosch or the makitas we have at work..


I'd love to know your dewalt hate reasons as I haven't bought a Dewalt tool in about a dozen years. Only ones I have left are a mid 90's sidewinder and a mid 90's drywall gun both made in USA. The newer stuff seems cheapened for Home Depot and Lowes DYI customers. I'm not a dewalt fan either. At least not a fan of the current stuff. Same goes for Porter Cable, I love their old stuff but the new stuff stinks!


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## sublime2 (Mar 21, 2012)

It depends on what your going to use the tool for but 
If its just for driving screws for now,you can't go wrong with ridgid.
For the price of that dewalt you can get a screw/hammer and impact for less, and ridgid batteries have a life time replacement on them.

http://www.reconditionedtools.com/f...rt=1&cgid=ridgid-combo-kits&pmin=150&pmax=200


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## woodworkbykirk (Sep 25, 2011)

all of dewalts manufacturing has changed to cheaper overseas manufacturing.. it happened 3 if not 4 years ago.. as for porter cable before they were bought out by black and decker they were a premium tool brand now its nothing more than rebranded black and decker garbage

as for why im not a fan of dewalt impact drivers. the nicad models are terribly unbalanced.. the variable speed trigger is a joke.. they have like 3 speeds (no go.. half way and full speed making start screws in certain materials harder.. bosch and makita have true variable speed of about 12 different speeds atleast. and the lithium models are made from such light weight materials that they feel like their going to break as soon as the anvil kicks in


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## Gymschu (Dec 12, 2010)

Count me in as another disappointed DeWalt tool owner. In years past I had a DeWalt Jigsaw, corded drill, orbital sander, 1/4 sheet palm sander, and all were/are tough tools that have lasted a long time. I bought a new 18V cordless drill and two months later a switch broke and it no longer reverses. Battery life is poor. Also bought a new orbital sander which is nothing close to my original purchased about 10 years ago. Very disappointed in DeWalt. I've never understood the thought process of taking a proven high quality tool, cheapening the components, using cheap labor to assemble the product, and then expecting any kind of long term profits. Consumers are smart, they move on........I'm checking into Ridgid or Bosch tools. No more DeWalt.


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## woodworkbykirk (Sep 25, 2011)

fyi.. no comparison between rigid and bosch. rigid cordless gear is notorious for the batteries going stale very quick. both hte cordless tools ive owned from rigid had batteries go stale within a year, same with the milwuakee drill i had., no surprise both companies are owned by the same parent company, TTI


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## ToolSeeker (Sep 19, 2012)

I think your situation has something to do with your decision. If you are just going to be using it now, then putting it away till who knows when then about any name brand will be OK. But if you are going to be using it quite a bit then go with a really high end tool. I am also not a BIG fan of Dewalt's newer tools but if the price was right I wouldn't be afraid the rebuilt.


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## ToolSeeker (Sep 19, 2012)

woodworkbykirk said:


> fyi.. no comparison between rigid and bosch. rigid cordless gear is notorious for the batteries going stale very quick. both hte cordless tools ive owned from rigid had batteries go stale within a year, same with the milwuakee drill i had., no surprise both companies are owned by the same parent company, TTI


While I think Bosch is one of the top of the line tools I have never used their cordless. Right now I have 2 ridgid and 1 Dewalt sets and the Ridgid beats the Dewalt hands down. My first set of batts. for the ridgid lasted about 4 1/2 yrs. One summer we were redoing a deck and it was almost 100 degrees out. when a battery would get weak it was so hot it wouldn't recharge so we put them in the ice chest to cool them down. Now have the lith ion don't think I'll try that. Just surprised you had batt troubles. Now my question did you get them replaced under the warranty?


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## woodworkbykirk (Sep 25, 2011)

a ton of guys i know have had issues with rigid and milwaukee batteires..

yes rigid has the best warrenty.. but getting them to honor it is a different story. they constantly change their batteries because they cant come up with a reliable design so getting replacements is a big issue. milwaukee also keeps changing their batteries.. like i said.. TTI technology..... bosch and makita pretty much have 2 batteries.. the slimpacks and the fatpacks.. been that way for 7 years.. replacements are easy with them


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## toolaholic (Jul 31, 2011)

I had problems w/ the Milwaukee Nicads. So far the V18s I'm using now are holding up.


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