Good power tools?

I'm thinking about getting a new power drill, old one is a bit tired, and my Dad wants it back.....

I have a couple of Metabo grinders that are great, so I've been looking at Metabo drills, but I havent heard as many good vibes about their drills as their grinders.

I'm open to other brand suggestions, I'm more interested in getting a quality tool than price. The local shop deals with most brands, and they usually have a sale after Christmas, so that seems like a good time to buy.....
Just want something for general workshop use, decent sized chuck, reasonable power.

Any suggestions, or experiences good or bad?
Cheers

Never heard of Metabo. The best drill I have owned is a 3/8" Hitachi. Bought it reconditioned and it still had no noticeable play at the end of a long bit when I broke it the second time. Only reason I quit using it is that I used it to drill some holes in concrete (it is a hammer drill) and the dust ruined the switch. I did this twice; the second time I couldn't justify the price of another new switch. Replaced it with a Milwaukee. It works, but I would rate it as mediocre. Later I bought a 1/2" Bosch hammer drill (don't remember the model #). More expensive, but seems to be very well made.

I have a old 1/2 inch Delta/Rockwell that refuses to die and a 3/8 inch Milwaukee that I've had for close to 20 years and still going strong.

That's all the help I can be, I don't know what is out there that is "new"

I would choose Milwaukee cord drill with 8 amp motor plus 600 to 750 torque in/lbs.

here link but be cause it very strong plus can hurt your wrist. Like I try drill MTD's axle with bevel I broke 4 drill it not stick it head of drill shatter when stuck in axle plus milwaukee's drill was too strong to not bog so it broke drill.

http://www.mytoolstore.com/milwauke/0302-20.html

ghautz said:

Never heard of Metabo. The best drill I have owned is a 3/8" Hitachi. Bought it reconditioned and it still had no noticeable play at the end of a long bit when I broke it the second time. Only reason I quit using it is that I used it to drill some holes in concrete (it is a hammer drill) and the dust ruined the switch. I did this twice; the second time I couldn't justify the price of another new switch. Replaced it with a Milwaukee. It works, but I would rate it as mediocre. Later I bought a 1/2" Bosch hammer drill (don't remember the model #). More expensive, but seems to be very well made.

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http://www.metabousa.com/Home.3622.0.html

Mith,

I have a rt angle Milwaukee hole hog which I love and and a porter cable hammer drill which is a POS.

For general use, I have found Makita to make decent tools at reasonable prices. They are not the best, but they are middle of the road on price ussually and a good tool for weekend use. What I dont know is how a European 220 volt drill will compare to a 110 volt american counterpart. I would think the 220 versoins would be better and last longer.

Do you need a cord? I have a 15.6 Panasonic driver drill which is great, but if I was buying new I would look at the lithiam ion batteries as they dont loose any charge between use even if that use is 6 months apart. I did just pick up a 14.4 makita combo pack very reasonably for the wife which has an impact driver, and let me tell you. For driving screws, impact drivers ARE the ONLYway to go! When Buying cordless though, comapare amp hour ratings before comparing volts. My 15.6 volt dril with 3.5 amp hours will out outspin a 18volt 2 amp hour dewalt any day of the week and last all day. And also I like my cordless tools to be light and small versus mega volt muscle builders.

I will say this, and not to start a fight, I have been associated with the construction industry for over 20 years and I have NEVER been completly happy with anything that say DeWalt on them and I have used (and still own) many different tools by them in many different situations. When I say this someone ussually gets pretty pissed off, but then they settle down and admit their tool is a bit heavy or clunky or there is something rattling in it or batteries do seem to only last 6 months or the like. Then they will ussually say they are stuck with DeWalt because their girlfriend gave it to them and all their tools now share the same battery charger configuration. Can you even get DeWalt there?

Generally, I have had good luck with Bosch, Hilti, Makita and Milwakee power tools.

Thanks for the thoughts guys.

I have come across Makita, Hitachi and Bosch before. All 3 I have heard decent things about.
Milwaukee, I've heard of them, but not seen too much of them. They certainly seem to be in the higher price bracket, any idea what they are like on warranty and parts service?

I've really been looking at drills that will drill more than 1/2" in steel. 5/8" would be nice. Hence also no need for a hammer function.

Ghautz, could you elaborate on what you dont like about the Milwaukee drill?

Shinn, I appreciate the detailed reply.
Oddly enough 240V is the household voltage, whereas we use 110V on site, so 110V tools are generally considered more robust here.
As to corded/cordless. I'll only be using this in my workshop, so I dont forsee the need for a cordless drill.
Isnt DeWalt the new name for Black and Decker 'professional' tools? They are advertised on TV as being used by 'real builders' which leads me to believe they might be more homeowner duty.


I've just been looking down the product listings, and it seems the drills are either listed as a 'percussion' or an 'impact' drill. Neither of those sound suitable for drilling steel, or have I got my meanings wrong? presumably they would also drill in a normal fashion too though.

Thanks

Mith,

DeWalt and B+d are the same company and my feeling is DeWalt is just a B+D home duty model in a ugly yellowcase that cost's twice as much, but obviously I am jaded.

On Hammer drills you ussually can turn the hammer off and drill normally, but they are ussually more expensive and are longer bodied and heavier which isn't always ideal when trying to drill something between you loader frame and engine.

I am curious about your site duty 110v tools, are the plugs the same as ours?

Milwakee is a high end heavy duty tool (as is the Lichtenstien built Hilti)and I can't seem to recall that I every had to deal with getting any of them repaired (other than replacing cords). I will say I had a beloved Bosch cordless drill that the chuck went south on when it was 4 years old and on a whim I dropped it at my independent repair house and low and behold Bosch swapped it out at no cost. They even picked up the labor! I was impressed with that.

NOw about cordless VS not, it is true a corded tool does have more power, but that is changing with the new lightweight lithiam ion tools and cordless is way more convenient.

Being a carpenter by trade, I've got a truck load of woodworking tools. Sorta went berserk on the routers too. 3 Porter Cable 1-1/2HP, a PC 3-1/4HP, 3 DeWalt 1-1/2HP, a couple older Black & Decker PROFESSIONAL 1-1/2HP, 2 Porter Cable laminate trimmers, and one Makita 1-1/2HP Along with hundreds of router bits.

Circular saws. 2 B&D SUPER SAWCAT Builders saws, a Dewalt version of the B&D. 2 Porter Cable left hand trim saws, and a DeWalt cordless.

2 Porter Cable and One Millwauki (sp) sawzalls

2 18V DeWalt battery drills, and one 14V Porter Cable

All sorts of various Porter Cable and B&D sanders, orbital, belt, pad, drum, ect

DeWalt bisquit jointer

Delta UniSaw table saw, Delta 14" band saw, Sears Craftsman 8" joiner. Delta 24" planer, and a Delta shaper.

Senco, SpotNail, Bostich, and Pasload air nailers galore, Emglo portable compressors (2)

Bell (Foley) saw file machine.

And much, much more.

I also have a collection of Stanley (Baily) wood planes, and all sorts of "pre electric" hand tools.

Hang around construction for 40+ years and you run on to all sorts of "I need instant cash" bargains. I never turn down a cheap price on a quality tool.

I recommend you go to B&Q and buy a Ryobi 750w 240v hammer-action Mith.

I am amazed at how good this tool is. The only gripe is the chuck, take it, and throw it as far as you can, its shite. Buy a good quality SDS or similar and you'll have a really good tool. Some time ago I bought this drill one Sunday as I was stuck badly, I thought I was buying a "disposable drill" for the job I had in hand. Turns out I just cant kill this drill. I abuse this unit a lot, Steel, masonry, wood... whatever. It has not let me down. Even dropped it into a barrel of water one time and once it dried out, it was fine. I have it about 2 years now and its still going strong and used regularly. Used it last weekend for drilling a dozen 4 inch holes in concrete with a core saw at my buddies house. Did the job fine. For a €50 drill (and a €50 chuck that will be transferred to my next drill when I eventually kill this one) I think its one hell of a good "value for money" drill.
Btw, I am a DeWalt owner primarily. My tool cupboard has a whole lot of yellow in there. This Ryobi is pretty much a loaner on the shelf....

Oh yeah, AEG also make a pretty good drill. A friend of mine has one of these and he raves about it. It too is a 750w and has good torque.

Does Hilti really make the Hilti hammer drills??? Are they sold (or serviced) anyplace other than Home Depot??? Are they really worth the staggering, eye-popping pricetags???

Gotta buy one myself for the business... but I'm still thinking "Bosch" unless someone convinces me to do otherwise.

Dougster

p.s., Anyone bought one from HF? They look like dirt cheap Chinese throw-aways... but I've been wrong before. -d

Dougster said:

Does Hilti really make the Hilti hammer drills??? Are they sold (or serviced) anyplace other than Home Depot??? Are they really worth the staggering, eye-popping pricetags???

Gotta buy one myself for the business... but I'm still thinking "Bosch" unless someone convinces me to do otherwise.

Dougster

p.s., Anyone bought one from HF? They look like dirt cheap Chinese throw-aways... but I've been wrong before. -d

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Locally you can take your Hilti tools into the South Boston store for service work. I know right wher it is but don't know the name of the street Doug. They are a good tool, but yes the prices are outrageous. What you need to do is hook up with someone that has an existing account with them and is a fairly large volume customer. Their salesman have a floating price list depending on the coustomer. Take my hammer drill for example. Hilti retail is roughly $1,300.00, if I bought it thru the company account the price was going to be around $600.00. I have been using Hilti tools for years and I have never had a problem with them. Heck we have a hammer drill at the shop that is so old, Hilti wants it for a display.

civesnedfield said:

Locally you can take your Hilti tools into the South Boston store for service work. I know right wher it is but don't know the name of the street Doug. They are a good tool, but yes the prices are outrageous. What you need to do is hook up with someone that has an existing account with them and is a fairly large volume customer. Their salesman have a floating price list depending on the coustomer. Take my hammer drill for example. Hilti retail is roughly $1,300.00, if I bought it thru the company account the price was going to be around $600.00. I have been using Hilti tools for years and I have never had a problem with them. Heck we have a hammer drill at the shop that is so old, Hilti wants it for a display.

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I'm still missing something here Ed. Are these Hilti hammer drills actually made by Hilti? Or is it someone else's drill that Hilti puts their name on. And if it is someone else's drill... wouldn't I be better off to buy the original than the Home Depot captive version?

In other words, what is the history here? Why are these so flaming costly? You know I rented one and was quite satisfied with its performance... but when pressed, even the rental guys at Home Depot had to admit that a big Bosch might fit my particular needs better. Yes, HD sells both.

Dougster

Dougster said:

I'm still missing something here Ed. Are these Hilti hammer drills actually made by Hilti? Or is it someone else's drill that Hilti puts their name on. And if it is someone else's drill... wouldn't I be better off to buy the original than the Home Depot captive version?

In other words, what is the history here? Why are these so flaming costly? You know I rented one and was quite satisfied with its performance... but when pressed, even the rental guys at Home Depot had to admit that a big Bosch might fit my particular needs better. Yes, HD sells both.

Dougster

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Not sure where they are made Doug. Like most of their other stuff I would guess to say Europe. Bosch is a good tool too. If I remember right the Home Cheapo version is suppose to be the same product you buy directly from Hilti. I can give my old salesman a call and ask if ya want. AS far as waranty Hilti is pretty good. @ year no cost repair policy. After that there is a life time warranty with a replacement deductable.

Well for Milwaukee it have 5 years warranty and they do still stock all old parts for Milwaukee that are over 30 years that what I heard.

For Bosch I have see but they were too expense plus no dealer in our area.


For Maktia I did bought impact drill with drill and flashlight. I was not happy with their stuff because it start make in China plus you be surprise that plastic on drill are not strong to hold. How I know? Just squeeze hard you will feel it open seam.

Dougster said:

Does Hilti really make the Hilti hammer drills??? Are they sold (or serviced) anyplace other than Home Depot??? Are they really worth the staggering, eye-popping pricetags???

Gotta buy one myself for the business... but I'm still thinking "Bosch" unless someone convinces me to do otherwise.

Dougster

p.s., Anyone bought one from HF? They look like dirt cheap Chinese throw-aways... but I've been wrong before. -d

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Last time I checked, Hilti made Hilti tools. (Made in Liechtenstien (sp)) We have dozens of Hilti hammer drills, demo hammers, nail guns, ect where I work.

YES they are all that and a bag of chips. NO DRILL ON EARTH will match the performance of a Hilti Hammer drill. I have a Bosch. If I had it to do over again, I'd still buy the Bosch. It's a matter of economics. I simply can't justify the expence of a Hilti drill for the amount of use I have personally. I WISH I owned a Hilti. If I had enough use, I'd buy the Hilti.

Farmwithjunk said:

Last time I checked, Hilti made Hilti tools. (Made in Liechtenstien (sp)) We have dozens of Hilti hammer drills, demo hammers, nail guns, ect where I work.

YES they are all that and a bag of chips. NO DRILL ON EARTH will match the performance of a Hilti Hammer drill. I have a Bosch. If I had it to do over again, I'd still buy the Bosch. It's a matter of economics. I simply can't justify the expence of a Hilti drill for the amount of use I have personally. I WISH I owned a Hilti. If I had enough use, I'd buy the Hilti.

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There ya go Doug, Junk has spoken. If ya have the money go Hilti, if not Bosch is the way to go.

civesnedfield said:

There ya go Doug, Junk has spoken. If ya have the money go Hilti, if not Bosch is the way to go.

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Ed - You gotta remember two things about the Junk:

1) He's got more money than GOD (whereas I am dirt poor)... and,

2) He likes anything so long as it's Massey-Ferguson RED!

Dougster

Dougster said:

Ed - You gotta remember two things about the Junk:

1) He's got more money than GOD (whereas I am dirt poor)... and,

2) He likes anything so long as it's Massey-Ferguson RED!

Dougster

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Uh....DOUGSTER, You left out #3, which is the key to ALL of my decisions come time to unhinge the ol' wallet.

3) I HATE ever having to buy an item a second time. I want stuff that will (a) do the job I need done, and (b) outlast father time while doing that job.

The fact that nearly ALL things meeting those criteria happen to have simularities to CLASSIC MASSEY FERGUSON red tractors, is, well, maybe it ISN'T a coincendence, but I do like my quality when I'm spending my CASH.

Farmwithjunk said:

Uh....DOUGSTER, You left out #3, which is the key to ALL of my decisions come time to unhinge the ol' wallet.

3) I HATE ever having to buy an item a second time. I want stuff that will (a) do the job I need done, and (b) outlast father time while doing that job.

The fact that nearly ALL things meeting those criteria happen to have simularities to CLASSIC MASSEY FERGUSON red tractors, is, well, maybe it ISN'T a coincendence, but I do like my quality when I'm spending my CASH.

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Actually, I took some time and did a little Internet-based research (Is there any other kind today???). And you folks are right: Hilti makes Hilti. Unlike what I was told at the good ole' Home Depot, Hilti has a long history of manufacturing drills and didn't buy out or subcontract to anybody.

I'm still wondering about what makes them so good (as reported by the Junk and the Edster) and what makes them so insanely expensive (as personally observed by the old Dougster). I note that in 2004, Hilti stepped up it's production in China and I cannot help but wonder if the Chinese product is what's being pushed so hard at Home Depot these days. Yes, I am a suspicious old SOB!

I do find it interesting that my highly-respected friend Junk recommends Hilti (based on company experience) but personally owns Bosch. Since it's a well-established fact that Junk has more money than GOD, I find this curious despite the "limited use" explanation... which I'm sure is true.

Clearly, more research is necessary before I spend more than double the cost of the Bosch (or DeWalt or Milwaukee) to buy a similar 2" capability Hilti hammer drill. That is a lot of money to a person like me who can't even afford to heat his house this winter.

Dougster