# Best drill?



## Renenet (Jan 3, 2012)

Hi, 

I need some advice please. Prior to now I've not been handy, so I'm starting off a low knowledge base.

I'm toying with the idea of getting a drill - first to build a lid for my aquarium tank, then to make enclosures from wood. I went to Bunnings recently and asked for some advice. They recommended a Ryobi LCD18022B, an 18 volt, two-speed cordless drill with lithium batteries. 

I like it because it seemed to have everything you need from a cordless drill and is light and easy to handle. At $200, however, it's slightly more than I wanted to spend. Can I keep my costs down while still keeping the light weight, the same features and a decent brand? Could I compromise by getting a corded drill or is the cord too annoying?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Renenet


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## Red-Ink (Jan 3, 2012)

If your just going to be using the drill for enclosure building and a few things around the house... there's no need to get the expensive stuff (kinda like paying 1k for a dslr and setting it on auto).

You should be able to get one for under $100 like a black and decker or even cheaper Ozito. I just use a $60 14v Ozito drill and it's serve me well in my enclosure building.


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## dickyknee (Jan 3, 2012)

I use heavy duty blue bosch drills for work , but I have a few old green bosch's I use at home and they are great for around the house stuff, these are a bit lighter and a little smaller than the same sorts of drills in makita , dewalt .
Any thing in bosch , makita , dewalt will be good value for money and will last you for years.


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## cement (Jan 3, 2012)

Yes thats right, just go cheap cordless, your only handymanning it.


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## dickyknee (Jan 3, 2012)

The only good thing about ozito drills is the 3 year replacement warranty , and you will need it too.


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## Snowman (Jan 3, 2012)

I cant stand crap tools... Even in the kitchen I prefer Kitchen Aid and Bamix over the much cheaper options available... Sadly you get what you pay for.
Good brands are:
Dewalt
Hitachi
Bosch
Makita

I have a dewalt that I bought as an apprentice 16 years ago and it's still going strong, I used it every working day for at least the first 10 years. (have replaced the batteries since).
Also a drill with a 13mm chuck is a must for me or any handy man/woman that wants a versitile drill.


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## PilbaraPythons (Jan 3, 2012)

I recommend makita 18v Lithium cordless gear.
Building stuff aside, The amount of useful additions in the Makita is awesome e.g. flouro lamp, blower etc
If you decide to go down this path let me know , I reckon I get the best prices in Australia ( yes alot cheaper than Sydney tools )


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## Red-Ink (Jan 3, 2012)

dickyknee said:


> The only good thing about ozito drills is the 3 year replacement warranty , and you will need it too.




LOL I didn't even know that... didn't even really expect it at the price.


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## Renenet (Jan 3, 2012)

Thanks guys. I was thinking the drill Bunnings recommended was overkill. I'm only going to be using it here and there. 

The only thing that concerns me with the cheaper cordless drills is the NiCad battery it's likely to have. How do these go? I've been told they need to be fully discharged before recharging and that the drill starts loosing strength before this happens?



Snowman said:


> I cant stand crap tools...



I tend to be the same, which is also something I have to take into account. If I buy a tool, I want it to last for a long time and I want it to be a pleasure to use.

Interesting that no one's mentioned Ryobi yet.


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## Pythoninfinite (Jan 3, 2012)

The good thing about Li ion batteries is that, although expensive, they don't lose charge between uses, and they last a lot longer than those in cheaper brands. Alwaus a good investment in tools to pay more for better quality, especially if you're into precision work (as we all should be of course lol)

Jamie


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## PilbaraPythons (Jan 3, 2012)

Some brands of Lithium Batteries are quite cheap now compared to say a year ago or so.
I get 18 v batteries for $90, they used to be around $150


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## dickyknee (Jan 3, 2012)

Renenet said:


> I tend to be the same, which is also something I have to take into account. If I buy a tool, I want it to last for a long time and I want it to be a pleasure to use.



The do not buy ozito tools 

The ryobi's are ok , but i'd look at the green bosch or the lower end makita's with the red batteries , will be perfect for what you are doing.


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## Renenet (Jan 3, 2012)

dickyknee said:


> The do not buy ozito tools



No fear of that - I had Ozito on my "do not buy" list the second I walked into the drill display.


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## Albs (Jan 3, 2012)

Whatever you get make sure it is li ion battery you wont regret it! I finf Milwake gear is great price and good quality. I got a 12 li ion milwake drill for $150 and it is an absolute powerhouse. Comes with 2 batteries charger and case. Perfect for around the home workshop. I am in the building trade and a lot of guys using this gear now.


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## Waterrat (Jan 3, 2012)

I bought Ozito LIR-144 at Bunnings (with 2 batteries) and I am more than happy with it. Makita _et al_. brands are professional tools that we amateur don't need to spend big bucks on on.


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## Renenet (Jan 3, 2012)

Waterrat said:


> I bought Ozito LIR-144 at Bunnings (with 2 batteries) and I am more than happy with it. Makita _et al_. brands are professional tools that we amateur don't need to spend big bucks on on.



How long have you had it, Michael? I'm torn between price and quality here. :?


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## Dragon_crazy (Jan 3, 2012)

i bought a makita 14v cordless with nicad batteries from bunnings last year think i paid about 130 for it has been great its not extremly heavy i use it all the time even on some heavy steel and its been great, I use Dewalt at work 18v cordless and theyv been nothing but problems but that my personal opinion lol


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## Jungletrans (Jan 3, 2012)

For the occasional home handyperson the elcheapo drills are the go . OK the battery will start to stuff up after a couple of years but at less than $50 who cares , get another one . If you have the spare cash and want quality , 18V lithium ion is the go .


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## Renenet (Jan 3, 2012)

Thanks for everyone's responses so far. 

What's the difference between 14.4-volt and 18-volt drills? Are the 18V's substantially more powerful? I'm not terribly muscular so if it's much, much easier to drill holes with an 18V I might have to get one of those. Otherwise a 14.4 might make a good compromise.


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## -Peter (Jan 3, 2012)

With the cheapos it is hit and miss. I bought a drill from Hardwarehouse for $80 years ago and it is probably one of the best purchases(toolwise) that I ever made. Subsequent puchases of similar products were all handyman rubbish. Milwauke is the Black and Decker of the 2000+. Did anyone notice that it was laucnched a couple of years ago as a lower priced line then was relaunched last year at much higher prices as the DeWalt replacement and this while the dollar was ponding the crap out of every other currency. 
Personally you cant go past Panasonic for chorless drill. Best on the market but expensive.
For casual building I would buy three cheap drills. One for drilling, one for countersinking and one for screwing. I hate wasting time changing the fittings over and having to find them


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## Waterrat (Jan 3, 2012)

Renenet said:


> How long have you had it, Michael? I'm torn between price and quality here. :?



I had it for 6 months but I put through some hard work drilling trough a lot of aluminium, plastics and hardwood, etc.. The batteries are fantastic, I am still using the first one with the first change.
Make sure buy a good quality set of drill bits though.


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## Renenet (Jan 3, 2012)

Waterrat said:


> Make sure buy a good quality set of drill bits though.



That's a point, I'll have to budget for those too. Maybe I will be getting an Ozito after all. I can always get a better quality one when I can afford it.


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## J-A-X (Jan 3, 2012)

I bought a dewalt 12v, two batteries and 1 hour charge, before the 18v were available and it still serves me well, decent drill bits do make a difference, I did buy a cheap set but one wasn't straight and the others went blunt quickly (makes drilling harder and more frustrating thus less enjoyable) 
Buy the best 'handyman' brand drill you can afford, it's one tool that will get a lot of use. I bought the cheaper version of every other powertool I have (and I have a lot) so that I could learn to use them and when they burnt out I'd decide which ones I used the most and budget accordingly to get the better quality replacements


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## JasonL (Jan 3, 2012)

Totally depends on what size drills your using and what your drilling into, if you are planning on hammer drilling, using , speed-bores, are even large twist drills into heavy gauge steel then spend big on your drill if you want it to last, if your drilling 2 - 10mm holes into light gauge steel or timber or using it as an electric screwdriver then just get a cheapy... I go through $600 - $1000 dollar drills like no tomorrow, used a few of the decent brands mentioned and currently use Makita for most things bar my pneumatic electric drill which is a Metabo. (Just replaced a $300 part in that 3 months back )


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## Radar (Jan 3, 2012)

I use my corded ozito for drilling concrete to bolt in gun safes, drilling steel and alloy on my ute for cages, etc, and timber all the time, had it for 2 and a bit years now, cost me $58. No gurantee that yours will last of course but mine has - just get decent drill bits. I'm not sure what the cordless ones are like, we had one cordless cheapy and threw it out cause it was rubbish.


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## Ramsayi (Jan 3, 2012)

I've had quite a few brands of cordless drills over the years ranging from cheapies to mid range,none seem to last and didn't have enough grunt.Recently got an aeg think it's 14.4v and it is by far and away the best one I've used.


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## junglepython2 (Jan 3, 2012)

I just got the AEG 14.4V one for xmas also, haven't given it a good workout yet, but seems the goods.


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## JasonL (Jan 3, 2012)

AEG make good tools, Ive had some of their angle grinders for years


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## smeejason (Jan 3, 2012)

Hitachi 18v range. I have a drill a rattle gun and grinder . Good thing is all are batteries are interchangeable so I have 6 to forget to charge. I am yet to see one die at work and they cop a hiding.


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## Renenet (Jan 3, 2012)

Thanks for all your comments. I think this thread will be an interesting one for others as well. 

I went to Bunnings tonight and came home with a Bosch PSR 18 LI. It was $179, so slightly cheaper than the Ryobi. I hope it ends up being a good one. It's always a bit of lottery.


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## dickyknee (Jan 4, 2012)

Renenet said:


> Thanks for all your comments. I think this thread will be an interesting one for others as well.
> 
> I went to Bunnings tonight and came home with a Bosch PSR 18 LI. It was $179, so slightly cheaper than the Ryobi. I hope it ends up being a good one. It's always a bit of lottery.



I have 2 of the PSR bosch's in 14.4v , I used these to make all my enclosures when I was doing them as they were nice and light , they did the job fine and they are still on great shape.
I am now using GSR's for work stuff and they seem to be going fine so far , much lighter than the makita's


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## porkosta (Jan 4, 2012)

All depends what you want out of your drill. Simple little tasks - then sure go right ahead with the Ryobi. What to get a little more heavy duty then I would recommend spending a little bit more money and getting something that is a bit more powerful. I have used Ryobi, Bosch and Dewalt in the past, I have Makita 18v Lithium LXT gear and I would not go back to anything else because for me it works.
I saw a Makita Drill/driver set (Charger and two batteries included) at bunnings just before xmas for less than $200 - Not makita's top of the line model but more than enough for most people at home - I bought one for my dad and he loves it (He was used dewalt before that.)

I'm am not trying to put anyone off - just saying what has worked for me. Go in and feel the weight and how each one handles, you have to be happy with it in the end of the day.


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## PilbaraPythons (Jan 4, 2012)

Dewalt make excellent drills but their steel cutting drop saw I have seen fail and been replaced on three occasions.
Up here in the extreme heat the Makita tools seem to cope well ( if of course you don't leave batteries in the sun for too long).
I switched over to Makita primarily because not all brands have drywall collated screw guns and I didn't want to have heaps of different chargers etc. Slowly but surely I have bought heaps of their different cordless tools and would never go back. Even some of the less serious tools like the 18v chainsaw which most people would write off as being a toy, is extremely handy around the home ( I was really surprised ). The circular saw is rediculosly handy and I have converted more than a few old school chippies lately.
The good thing about going down this path is once you have a charger and a couple of batteries, the rest of the bare tools aren't that dear.
Do I sound like a Makita saleman ?


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## hissnbits (Jan 4, 2012)

I have used Panasonic, Ryobi, Dewalt, Hitachi and Metabo. Many of these are made in various companies, including China. Many have different models aimed at different market segments. So their cheap range is usually Chinese, and better quality from other countries. Not to say chinese drills are bad, some can be fantastic, and others can be crap. For cabinet making I use a Metabo and love it. Features that are important to me are battery life, power, electric brake, 13mm chuck, Jacobs (ratchet style chuck), soft start, controllabel variable speed (some are better than others), comfort and fast charger, and a great feature is a build in LED to light up where you are drilling (great for cabinet work). I can make the following comments:

Panasonic 12v - EY range, 2 x 3.0 NiMH, rapid charger. Had all the features listed above, very expensive. Good whilst it lasted, bearings near chuck wore out, had great torque. Too expensive to repair and was worn out before batteries.

Ryobi - was a cheap one would put in similar class to Ozito. 

Hitachi - They have a cheap range and good range. Cheap is crap, have always had issues with Hitachi, mainly in their switches/triggers failing. Didnt have many of the above features, but did have lithium batteries which lasted only a few months. The drill was $200. Many warantees do not cover batteries btw. 

Dewalt - Great tools (as already mentioned is black & decker), many features but heavy and bulky.

Metabo - BS18 - are around $300 have all the features, Li batteries, heaps of torque and bets of all have a led light that lights up where you are drilling. Best feature for cabinet making. This model is made in China and engineered in Germany. So far the is the best drill I have used, was similar to the Panasonic but is more refined, LI batteries and cheaper.

The cheaper tools tend to not have quality batteries, quick charger, Jacob's chuck, electronic brake and LED. If anything ensure it has a good chuck. The keyless ones are rubbish if they dont grip well. 

Cheers


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## PilbaraPythons (Jan 4, 2012)

Yes I have seen the odd Panasonic drill chucked out on building sites.


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## dickyknee (Jan 4, 2012)

PilbaraPythons said:


> Dewalt make excellent drills but their steel cutting drop saw I have seen fail and been replaced on three occasions.
> Up here in the extreme heat the Makita tools seem to cope well ( if of course you don't leave batteries in the sun for too long).
> I switched over to Makita primarily because not all brands have drywall collated screw guns and I didn't want to have heaps of different chargers etc. Slowly but surely I have bought heaps of their different cordless tools and would never go back. Even some of the less serious tools like the 18v chainsaw which most people would write off as being a toy, is extremely handy around the home ( I was really surprised ). The circular saw is rediculosly handy and I have converted more than a few old school chippies lately.
> The good thing about going down this path is once you have a charger and a couple of batteries, the rest of the bare tools aren't that dear.
> Do I sound like a Makita saleman ?



How much are makita slipping you a year


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## PilbaraPythons (Jan 4, 2012)

They ought give me something I reckon considering the amount of stuff I have purchased for myself and countless other builders up here. It amazing how much differenecs in price there can be around the country on not just Makita but many other brands.
I used to use Sydney tools but believe it not, Plastering supplies in Melbourne have managed to bet them (and everyone esle for that matter) on price and on somethings at least, by a big amount.


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## ralliart3 (Jan 7, 2012)

junglepython2 said:


> I just got the AEG 14.4V one for xmas also, haven't given it a good workout yet, but seems the goods.



I have also bought AEG and found it to be good quality(I have the 18v and use it for work also).For those interested AEG used to be made in germany, but the new orange range is actually made at tech tronics factory,the same place that make milwakee tools (some parts are the same) and the AEG tools are sold in america ,but branded as RIGID.


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## Renenet (Jan 12, 2012)

Well, that was a good start. I popped a battery in the charger last night so I could start a project today - then couldn't get the battery out! I had to take it back to Bunnings to figure out if the drill was faulty or if I'm just inept. I felt a bit better when the tool shop guy struggled to figure it out as well. Eventually, we got it sorted and I'm now about to begin work.


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## Blake182 (Jan 18, 2012)

best drill bosch psr12


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