[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Pro-Grade Cordless Hand Tools (Page 1 of 2)
Posted: 9/10/2016 6:29:33 PM EDT
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Looking at buying into one of the 18volt (or higher) systems. Milwaukee, Makita and DeWalt all seem to carry similar models at similar price. Open to Hitachi too. Mostly, I want to get 3/8" drill, 1/4" driver, maybe a hammer drill, and probably a 1/2" impact wrench later.
Any opinions on these (or other) brands? Thanks for your thoughts. |
| I used to drop a cord and use a 7 1/4 worm drive skill saw for sheating house and doing any structural work. When I upgraded my battery tool set to the Milwaukee m18 series of brushless tools I stopped using the corded saw. I use the battery skillsaw and the 5mah batteries and the thing is a beast of a saw for it's size. For me it's so much easier not to have to drag another cord that gets caught on shit. |
| I was a DeWalt guy for years(construction) but switched to Makita due to the sucktastic batteries that Dewalt uses. However one of my customers...has 20 plus Dewalts and swears by the newer batteries. The outlast their Makitas significantly. They build commercial 2 part epoxy pumps and do a ton of fabrication/assembly. |
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I own both Milwaukee 18v fuel and Dewalt 20v brushless power tool sets with Lithium batteries. 4 each and each set has a hammer drill, impact driver, light, and sawzall. I'm an industrial electrician and use them every day. Fellow employees have the same sets and use them everyday. We've had a Dewalt battery fail after 2 weeks, warranty replaced free of charge. No other issues with any of our other Dewalt sets. Had a Milwaukee chuck screw loosen/fail on a hammer drill after about 6 weeks. Factory replaced, free of charge. Failed again about 6 weeks later. We replaced it with a Jacobson's Chuck and it has been flawless since. No other Milwaukee issues. Oldest set is over two years old now. Newest set is more than a year.
We use these tools day in and day out, drilling concrete and steel, running bolts down with the impacts, demoing Steel/wood/pvc with the sawzalls, etc. Both manufacturers have been good about warranty issues and we haven't really had any problems with them other than what I mentioned. I hear Makita is good stuff as well but have no personal experience with them. |
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Milwaukee fuel line hands down.
I have the sawzall, drill, impact driver and impact drill All are solid and hold a charge forever. My favorite is their 1/2 impact gun. 1100lbs of breaking torque. I use it to zip off lug nuts constantly and it never takes more than a few seconds |
| I have Milwaukee 18 and dewalt 18&20. Ive been let down and dissipointed too many times with the dewalts with bad batteries and broken tools. I've finally given them all away to my coworkers and my dad. I've been really impressed with the Milwaukee continuously |
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18V? Makita. Been using the same set of drills four years straight, now. Been working with guys who've had theirs for longer. Seen more than a few morons use 'em for a hammer in a pinch, or drop 'em onto concrete from atop a 10' ladder. Still running. They last for a good few hours before needing to switch batteries.
The 20V DeWalt impact drills are nice, they run through heavy gauge sheet metal like butter, but the fuckers go dead in less than half the time. Seen those dropped, beaten up, hammered and dunked. They run. The 20V Sawzall eats batteries like skittles, though. If you can get ahold of the larger, heavier 20V batteries, get 'em. The lightweight ones don't last no time at all. Bosch is another decent brand. Hilti is damned nice, though they're expensive as hell. Stay away from Craftsman power tools, never seen one that lasted more than four or five months. As far as 18V or 20V, depends on what you're doing. If you're getting the tools for working around the house, go 20V. They don't last as long, but they'll make the work easier. If you're using the tools at work, go 18V. They last longer, you won't have to keep switching batteries. If you're going to use power tools for your work, put your name on them, the charger, and the batteries. Lotta assholes out there with sticky fingers. |
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I'm invested in Milwaukee 12 and 18 fuel tools. They have all been great. I changed jobs and was issued makita 18v stuff and it's been pretty good so far.
The pro grade stuff is overkill for homeowner duty, I believe rigid tools are the best value for homeowners. |
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Milwaukee.
I see more of their tools on jobsites then anything else. Dewalt is 2nd and Makita third. I have a pretty extensive collection of 12 and 18v Milwaukee stuff, some of it is 6-7 years old. One tool failure (12v hackzall that got plugged up with drywall dust and died) and a couple of 12v batteries that won't charge anymore. Everything else is still trucking along. |
| Milwaukee 18V Fuel is the shit. I have an impact and a recip. saw and they both last a lot longer than anything else I've ever used and are more powerful as well. I have to be careful with the impact just so I don't strip threads on a lot of smaller diameter bolts. |
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Quoted:
Milwaukee fuel line hands down. I have the sawzall, drill, impact driver and impact drill All are solid and hold a charge forever. My favorite is their 1/2 impact gun. 1100lbs of breaking torque. I use it to zip f lug nuts constantly and it never takes more than a few seconds milwaukee fan here. i love that 1/2" impact. |
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Quoted:
Looking at buying into one of the 18volt (or higher) systems. Milwaukee, Makita and DeWalt all seem to carry similar models at similar price. Open to Hitachi too. Mostly, I want to get 3/8" drill, 1/4" driver, maybe a hammer drill, and probably a 1/2" impact wrench later. Any opinions on these (or other) brands? Thanks for your thoughts. What are you planning on using them for? Unless you need them to make money it doesn't really matter what you buy. All the big box store brands are 'alright', and will satisfy the hobbyist and get you through the weekends just fine. More expensive tools will get you a little more durability, but the odds of you wearing out the tool before the batteries age out and are no longer avalible is pretty slim. Brand names aren't a great guide. Dewalt, just for instance, makes some really great tools and some real trash. Unless you're putting together houses week after week, go get whatever drill/driver combo deal Lowes or Homedepot has running right now. |
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If u have no idea. Call a contractor to do the job. Its way easier to start and finish a job than to fix shit you started. ( Im sure you will get your panties in a bunch telling us how skilled and handy) you are. But the truth is if you dont even know what ur buying.
Its a never ending problem. Home owner decides HGTV, home depot of lowes told them they can do it! They call a contractor and price out said project wasting said contractors time and energy (call the project cost 3k). They decide its way cheaper to do it themselves. They then spend $2000 trying, get into a bind and call back. At this point they expect it to still cost $3,000 with no thought to the time they already wasted, Nor the extra hours the needed to spend taking apart their shit work and waste of meterial. Next post is the "My contractor ripped me off quoting me 3k and then charging me 5k. |
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Quoted:
If u have no idea. Call a contractor to do the job. Its way easier to start and finish a job than to fix shit you started. ( Im sure you will get your panties in a bunch telling us how skilled and handy) you are. But the truth is if you dont even know what ur buying. Its a never ending problem. Home owner decides HGTV, home depot of lowes told them they can do it! They call a contractor and price out said project wasting said contractors time and energy (call the project cost 3k). They decide its way cheaper to do it themselves. They then spend $2000 trying, get into a bind and call back. At this point they expect it to still cost $3,000 with no thought to the time they already wasted, Nor the extra hours the needed to spend taking apart their shit work and waste of meterial. Next post is the "My contractor ripped me off quoting me 3k and then charging me 5k. 
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At my previous job (commercial construction), our crew used tools on loan from Hilti. Lots of our field crew used Dewalt previously but they just flat out broke down on a regular basis. busted motors and clutches were common. The Hilti tools were much more durable for rough carpentry. With that said, I own a few DeWalt tools for general home repair & alterations, and mine have held up well. |
| Dewalt 20v Max anything. I've got their impact driver and hammer drill and haven't looked back. The batteries last forever. Plus they keep coming out with more and more industry leading innovations that just seem to make so much sense. They've started assembling a lot of stuff back in the USA again which is more than most companies can say. |
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Quoted:
If u have no idea. Call a contractor to do the job. Its way easier to start and finish a job than to fix shit you started. ( Im sure you will get your panties in a bunch telling us how skilled and handy) you are. But the truth is if you dont even know what ur buying. Its a never ending problem. Home owner decides HGTV, home depot of lowes told them they can do it! They call a contractor and price out said project wasting said contractors time and energy (call the project cost 3k). They decide its way cheaper to do it themselves. They then spend $2000 trying, get into a bind and call back. At this point they expect it to still cost $3,000 with no thought to the time they already wasted, Nor the extra hours the needed to spend taking apart their shit work and waste of meterial. Next post is the "My contractor ripped me off quoting me 3k and then charging me 5k. Show me on the doll where the homeowner touched you Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile |
| Industrial electrician, we use mostly 20 volt Dewalt for the little stuff, and hydraulic drills, impacts, and chainsaws for the bigger stuff. The two tools the shop won't buy cordless are hammer drills and portable band saws. You'll break and burn up anything if you're using it improperly. |
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Ridgid 18v for my screw gun and hammer drill. Milwaukee for my impact gun (on sale for stupid low price plus 2 batteries and charger). I use my Ridgid frequently for light to moderate house stuff. Lifetime warranty is a bonus.
If you can afford Milwaukee, get it. |