Best bang for the buck in cordless power tools?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought DeWalt was Black and Decker's industrial line?

ReverendDexter wrote: Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought DeWalt was Black and Decker's industrial line?

I believe you are correct on that. But DeWalt's XRP line is supposed to be they're "high end" stuff. You can tell as soon as you pick it up that it's not the same as B and D.

For what the original poster wanted here, I would go with Makita. You can find some good deals on their cordless tools and they all use the same LXT lithium-ions which seem to be great batteries in a small form factor.

But like some other people said, I don't know about having all of my tools cordless. But I do think you need at least one good cordless drill because, if nothing else plugging up to drill is a hassle.

But I also don't much about using cordless circular saws and such, while I do know some stuff about the best cordless drill having built this site.

It's hard to beat Craftsman™ with all their interchangeable batteries and the multiplicity of tool...

Craftsman tools are actually made elsewhere - exactly where seems to depend on the tool. Sometimes you'll see one next to the original maker's tool and it'll be pretty obvious.

Milwaukee seems to have some of the best tools, but they're very pricey. For cheaper but still good tools, I've had pretty good luck with Makita and DeWalt tools most of the time. While DeWalt and Black & Decker are owned by the same company, they are definitely not badge engineered tools except for a very few items. I've actually got both a corded and a cordless drill - some tasks, like drilling through concrete, seem to wear out batteries too fast.

We have Hitachi drills at work. We abuse the hell out of them and the still last a year and a half or so. For home use the batteries will puke before the drill wears out. They price a little cheaper than Dewalts usually, and last longer. The chucks don't slip either. I have never had a Dewalt chuck that didn't. I also have a Ryobi drill and impact and saw. The impact and saw are pretty good, the drill is a POS and the batteries are slow to charge. For home use they will probably work great, for professional use buy something better.

I think you should check out Ingersoll Rand Tools they have a really great cordless line of tools.

ive had a 14.4v dewalt drill for about 15 years, replaced the batteries only once and its been absolutely fantastic. nowadays i'd probably go with the 18v setup but back then the 18v was not as diverse and really expensive. ive used milwaukee and makita and theyre good too. IMO the best thing about the higher end brands are that the battery packs tend to keep the same shape for the same voltage so they are easily found later, they have FAR superior trigger sensitivity for a wide range of speeds/loads, and they just take abuse better.

i really like the bosch stuff lately too. their lithium 12v drill/driver is just awesome.

deidrea8 wrote: I think you should check out Ingersoll Rand Tools they have a really great cordless line of tools.

They do look nice, but they seem a bit pricey for the average (non-commerical) user.

I've been surprised by my cheap Northerntool.com brand cordless 1/2 dr impact wrench. Its been sitting in my garage for weeks and when I grabbed it this morning, if ran off the 20 lug bolts (torqued to 90 ft lbs) on my VW with no complaints. Who knows how long the thing will last, but as it ages it seems to be getting more powerful. Considering the $70 I paid for it, I'm impressed.

I'm sorry guys, I quickly glanced at the title and laughed.

I swear it said "Best bang for the buck in cordless air tools?" at first.

"Here's your sign?"

deidrea8 wrote: I think you should check out Ingersoll Rand Tools they have a really great cordless line of tools.

This post intrigues me. A google search of your username shows that you post on a variety of forums about IR products as well as Carolina West, Coffeegroupie.com and others. So...how are you paid..is it per post or are you salaried?

Does Ingersoll Rand have any canoes? I really want a canoe

After hearing how they have treated people with compressors claims under warranty, I wouldn't likely buy any of their products.

Didn't Congress recently pass some kind of Truth In Canoeing law? Where if you're paid, say, by Ingersoll Rand, and you go around posting on blogs or forums touting the benefits, then you have to somewhere or other TELL US YOU'RE JUST A SPAMMER FOR IR?

Anyway, I bet he never comes back. Like that one for Fram a few months ago. Per, why not delete his post and the links he imbedded? Or biatch to IR that they ain't advertising in The Mag, yet, and tell them how great an advertising deal The Mag really is and how they could really focus their advertising dollars a lot better in The Mag than on some canoeing spammer pulling up year old threads on Google.

i could never recommend anything other than dewalt 18v.

plus the new li-ion batteries are backwards compatible with all the tools.

18 volt minimum. Li-ion for sure. I am using Milwaukee now, and am happy. Other small advantage is they have both regular size or large batteries.

I also have corded everything. The battery never dies on them.

I just lost a corded Makita that I have had for a couple of years. It broke in a couple of annoying ways. Before that, I was a Makita guy. It says on it:

Makita, Japan. Made in china.

We have a DeWalt DC900KL at work and it's totally awesome. I bought it three years ago. We've drilled 5/8" holes in 1/2"-1" plate steel without the batteries dying. The chuck is amazing, too.

But it's a tad pricey.

Tool-addict input ahead...

My main fear when shopping for cordless tools was knowing that as soon as I bought something, the next better thing would take over or it would become an orphan format with bad batteries.

Bought Sears 19.2 on sale and love it. Started with the drill and then picked up the reciprocating saw, small circular saw, stapler and another drill for cheap at a pawn shop.

Built fence, tree trimming, camper repair, car scrapping....I have worked them till I thought I would die. I even looked at their CHAINSAW but the recip saw with a pruning blade rips through the bamboo and limbs which make up 99.9 percent of my needs.

Then the Lithium-ion stuff started showing up and I began to despair......but then it was available for my tools!!

With 2 batteries I lost my excuse to quit doing something because the battery died. Fresh discharged batteries tend to get a bit warm and need to cool down before they will charge but I have always been pretty beat after wearing out the second battery.

Gets my vote!

Bruce

You guys can ALL thank me later...

http://www.reconditionedsales.com/

These are screaming deals on some excellent quality tools.

Brust wrote: I'm I the only guy that doesn't trust cordless? Must be ingrained from my pop, and I haven't tried anything in ten years, but it's sure nice to have the grid backing you up- never dealing with batteries. How often realistically are you that far away from an outlet (besides a pick n pull)?

I was kinda the same guy like you. Then my wife bought me a 12v Makita drill with 2 batteries and I built a ton of stuff and after 12 years; the two batteries won't hold a charge. The cost of new batteries is almost the same as a new drill.

I have to admit that I loved that drill. Makita. Blue with case.

I've been happy with my cordless Skil 1/4" ratchet. It is Lithium-Ion with a built-in battery. Hold a charge FOREVER and has plenty of power. Paid $20 at the Home Depot Outlet. Probably the only cordless tool I own because if just works every time I pick it up.

well it wasnt easy but i had some luck finding one here and it was a good deal.. got me the dc720ka cordless drill

wtf canoe.

I was disappointed in cordless stuff at first because of a Skil cordless drill my wife got me. Didn't have the power to drive a woodscrew into a piece of wood at full charge. Became more impressed when I got a Ryobi cordless drill & flashlight kit. Was disappointed after a couple years the batteries won't hold a charge and I couldn't find replacements. Wife let me pick out a replacement set and I chose a Hitachi cordless drill and flashlight set and I love them. I use the drill to back off and snug up lugnuts on my car, I break the torque with a breaker bar and torque with a torque wrench. The Ryobi couldn't even do that. The flashlights have adjustable heads and work great under a car or under the hood. I chose the Hitachi as it was a bit cheaper than Dewalt and Makida and seemed comparable. Not regretting the decision.

I had a Makita cordless drill and threw it in the trash after three months.

I bought a whole set of Ryobi when I started working with a contractor. I needed a cheap set quick and expected it to die. I basically needed a set that would last long enough until I made enough money to buy a good set. Long story short... that was 2002 and I still have the same exact set (except the driver which developed a short in the switch two years ago.) The NiCad batteries have shortened their life a bit, but otherwise they're great.

I bought an OSH driver (made by Hitachi) to replace the Ryobi one that died and it is fine, but the ratios are wrong. Low speed is so low that it breaks or strips screw heads, and high speed is so high that it doesn't have the torque it needs. I start driving a 3" screw into a stud and the high speed stops about 3/4 of the way. So I switch to low speed and it snaps the screw off. Not cool.

So, my wife bought me a Rigid impact driver (on her birthday... how cool is she?) Massive torque. Put it this way, I broke a 4" #12 wood screw driving it into a knot in some pine. Small, light battery, Li-ion battery lasts darn near forever and charges in 20 minutes. I liked it so much I bought the driver/sawzall kit and I'm sold. I'm a hotrodder/mechanic and I use them multiple times a day and I would recommend them to anyone.

Another thing people often overlook is ergonomics. Sounds silly, but grab my Hitachi driver and drill some steel with it. Ya know that last cut when you're almost though and it binds? The Hitachi and the Ryobi will torque your hand around and UP, often breaking the bit. The Rigid's ergonomics tend to just torque your hand around. The geometry is nice and it makes the job easier. For the occasional hobbyist, who cares, but if you're looking for GOOD tools that don't break the bank, Rigid combines a LOT of nice features for not much cash.

lithium ion.......not as many battery failures as the 18, 19.6, 24v standard batteries. The regular ones are ok if you use them all the time, but the batteries can go bad if you don't use them often. Our Li-ion's so far have had no issues(milwalkee)