cordless drill?

jb · Post by jb » Sun Jan 25, 2009 10:49 am

I need to get a drill that I can use in my garage. The garage has no power - hence it needs to be battery powered.
I did get a really cheap one a long time ago but that was useless and ever since then I have been using a hand drill.
I think i need one that is as small and as powerful as possible I do not expect to be doing anything very difficult - just drilling the occasional hole. I would rather spend he money required to get something useful than buy a cheap one but have no idea where to start. Anyone got any advice?

Mr Pharmacist · Post by **Mr Pharmacist** » Sun Jan 25, 2009 10:50 am

I Bought a Ryobi 18V recently - i have to say i'm very impressed with it.

Alan @ CanfordClassics · Sun Jan 25, 2009 10:57 am

Hi,

I have been through several drills and found the best to be (IMO) the

BOSCH GSB 24VE2 24V Combi Drill

HTH

Alan

912uk · Post by **912uk** » Sun Jan 25, 2009 11:05 am

as Alan I use battery drills all the time with my work I have 2 Dewalts and one Bosch all of them are very good

BUT if I was looking for a low cost but good quality drill then yes as above pop along to screw fix and pick up a Robi the 18v is the best all round for decent power and battery life.. The chippy on site the other week had one and he is well impressed..and he was not treating it nice it was a propper work tool..

Most trades men now are buying the cheap tools because if they get nicked £200 puts you back to square one.. unlike buying £200-300 drills each !! Cheaper tools are getting much better I picked up a Jig saw as I lost my B/Decker 22 year old one £14.99 and it even has a slow start ( my old one did't ) it's bloody great used it loads already... but Robi have been making tools for I think about 6-8 years now and I have not heard anything bad..

just a trademans view point..

http://www.screwfix.com/prods/55598

but shop about I bought my Bosch in some sort of promo and got it half price I have never seen it again at that price

so don't rule out checking out bosch prices

your must list to buy is
18V
Hammer action most do
13mm key less chuck ( your lose the key every one does and they are a pain anyway )
Electric brake is a must
1hr charger most do but it's the best way..
decent number of torque settings

sure you could get a cheap one from B&Q for £40 but it's chalk and cheese.. Even my old man binned it what ever it was called B&Q thing once he had a go with the bosch. A few quid more and it's a drill for life......

brembo · Post by **brembo** » Sun Jan 25, 2009 11:13 am

MAKITA
BDF452RFE
18v LXT
DRILL/DRIVER

Not the cheapest,but excellent value for money.

Barry · Post by **Barry** » Sun Jan 25, 2009 11:16 am

Yes, I'm another Bosch user. Mine is a 14.4V, and it was around the £230 mark I think.

Has been bullet-proof, and thinking about it, it was one of the tools I bought when I built the workshop. That must have been up for eight or nine years at least, and the drill has been used a lot over the years that followed.

Still going strong, and never missed a beat, although one battery is getting weak now. Nice in the hand: not light at all, but well balanced, powerful and a very good speed range.

During my landscaping days we used to run the same drills, and they got some terrible punishment, day in, day out. Couldn't fault them.

One thing with Bosch professional (blue, rather than DIY green) tools, is that they offer a free collect-n-quote service, should it develop a fault. My small drill / breaker went bang a while ago. They collected it (from home), contacted me a few days later with a quote to fix (a very fair price). It came back fully serviced, cleaned and with a guarantee on the work. Had I not gone ahead, they would have returned it agin (all for free), or supplied a replacement at a sensible price. Very impressed, and helps justify the initial cost of going 'blue'

.

I really wouldn't recommend the Bosch DIY range though, and rate Black and Decker much higher (you are likely to be getting some DeWalt parts inside). On the other hand, you could say that Dewalt owners have B&D parts inside

.

hot66 · Post by **hot66** » Sun Jan 25, 2009 11:25 am

I'm another Bosch 'profesional' user. Been fantastic & never let me down

912uk · Post by **912uk** » Sun Jan 25, 2009 11:29 am

arr there are old Dewalt and New Dewalts you know when the accounts came for tea once

and ruined them

Here you go

http://www.screwfix.com/search.do;jsess ... button.y=9

for a Non trades person ( although I see them from job to job with trades men ) I think the above set will last you years...
seams a good deal £80 off good bit is 2 batterys

but for a drill only then the one in my link above ( my first post I put up )

seams all of us that are using them every day are Bosch users

bloody Germans can't we make anything any good in the UK

mycar · Post by **mycar** » Sun Jan 25, 2009 11:35 am

I`ve used the same 2 Dwalt cordless drills for the past 8 / 10 years and I give the a lot of hammer (a lot) and they`ve never let me down. This one has a steel keyless chuck, most are plastic. Also 3 speeds, adjustable torque and hammer.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/DEWALT-DC935KB-14 ... otohosting

Having said that, I`m just about to have a change, not because of the drills themselves but battery technology has moved on and this time I`ll buy Li Ion kit. Smaller, more powerful, no memory and capable of 2000+ cycles.

I fancy this makita, like the way it handles... and it`s got a small lamp built into the body which shines on the work piece when you pull the trigger.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/MAKITA-2-SPEED-HA ... 240%3A1318

Cheers, Mike.

Ralph · Post by **Ralph** » Sun Jan 25, 2009 9:03 pm

I work for a medium sized professional powertool distributor in the South London / Surrey area. If you want some honest advice pm me you phone number - you never know I may even be able to give you a good deal.

jb · Post by jb » Sun Jan 25, 2009 9:38 pm

Thank you all for your replies.
Once again DDK has all the answers.
It makes interesting reading - I will have look at these. The Ryobi CHI-1802 looks like a good place to start.

abm914 · Post by **abm914** » Sun Jan 25, 2009 9:46 pm

I'd agree on the Bosch DIY green drills - was bought one as a present once - pile of sh1te - I'd swear that the chuck was connected off centre or the main shaft was bent - it would never drill straight. Then the battery went bang and melted the charger.

As I dont use drills that much - I have a 20year old corded B&D for hammer action, and a selection of cheap and cheerful own brand cordless drills, all using same batteries so I normally always have one charged and ready to go.
I will one day invest in a Makita or othe quality one however.

Ad.

40 scout · Post by **40 scout** » Sun Jan 25, 2009 9:48 pm

12v Makita (nice and light) gets my vote every time (Dewalt lasted only 8 months of heavy use) Makitas are three or four years old and still going strong - used daily and not looked after!

Bosch GBH for masonry - 24 volt

try I.T.S. for very good deals - delivered to site next day

steve

Post by **Bootsy** » Sun Jan 25, 2009 10:03 pm

Shameless plug for one of my clients (we built the website) stock most of the above mentioned and good on price www.angliatoolcentre.co.uk

mycar · Post by **mycar** » Sun Jan 25, 2009 10:27 pm

Bootsy wrote:co.uko

I hope you don`t mind me mentioning this boss but, well, err, the link works much better without that `o` on the end.

Beautiful site though.

Mike.