18v-20v cordless drill shopping

[1775usmarine]

https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo...n-bolt-bayco-nightstick-zip-code-46350-a.html

For those looking here's my shameless plug.

 

[Caleb]

Building a fish tank stand right now, going to build a plywood tank soon...and looking to buy a house in 6 months or less with many improvement for sure.

I like buying reasonable nice tools if I can swing the Benjamins.

 

[ag563]

I got a 1/2 drive , Porter Cable 18 volt, refurbished from Rural King a couple of yrs. ago. Came with bag, charger & one lithium battery. for $40.
Went back the next day & bought a 2nd one, just to have a spare battery. It works great. way better than the craftsmen I had before it.

 

[yote hunter]

I own a whole set of porter cable stuff and its great , you can't go wrong with it... IMO its better then b&d and Dwalt junk.

 

[saleen4971]

i 2nd the milwaukee 18v line - my only "complaint" on mine is that i have broken the cases on both of my batteries. that being said, ive dropped them off of rooftops numerous times, and they finally gave out when dropped onto a concrete floor a few times. i jsut keep epoxy-ing then back together.

i bought the drill/impact combo (not brushless - im not sure if they were even out yet) and used them both all day when i was installing directv. would rather have had the hammer drill, but the standard one worked damn well, just took a bit longer in concrete.

have also used them in some pretty heavy rain numerous times, and they show no signs of uitting any time soon.

the standard "slim" batteries mine came with woudl get me a solid day so i couldnt justify spending an extra $120 for an XC unit, but i believe the hammer drill combos come with them.

 

[churchmouse]

i 2nd the milwaukee 18v line - my only "complaint" on mine is that i have broken the cases on both of my batteries. that being said, ive dropped them off of rooftops numerous times, and they finally gave out when dropped onto a concrete floor a few times. i jsut keep epoxy-ing then back together.

i bought the drill/impact combo (not brushless - im not sure if they were even out yet) and used them both all day when i was installing directv. would rather have had the hammer drill, but the standard one worked damn well, just took a bit longer in concrete.

have also used them in some pretty heavy rain numerous times, and they show no signs of uitting any time soon.

the standard "slim" batteries mine came with woudl get me a solid day so i couldnt justify spending an extra $120 for an XC unit, but i believe the hammer drill combos come with them.

Have the same set up. My Milwaukee has been a trooper. I dropped the entire case off a roof/off a ladder (handle broke most likely damaged when it went off the roof) and off a 20 ft scaffold in the years I have owned it. It has been worked hard. Still 100%

 

[JStang314]

If you're an around the house/DIY handy man pretty much all the brands listed above will work fine. Makita, dewalt, Milwaukee, porter cable, etc are all good tools. Menards also has their own brand called Masterforce which is actually nice. Did have a 3year over the counter exchange warranty which is also nice. Made by a company named Chervon (sp). Chervon also makes dewalt, black and decker, craftsman among others. Tools are like anything else where there's really not very many actual manufacturers. That's not to say that they're all the same though. These few manufacturers will build to many different specs.
Bosch is another good tool but run higher in price and not worth the money in my opinion. An 18v Bosch is not $50 better than a Makita or Dewalt.
No matter what brand you choose at least get a cordless impact with it. You will use it more than a drill. Drills are designed to put holes in stuff. They suck at putting in fasteners. Impacts are designed for putting in fasteners. They will strip less screws and will not burn up the motor on larger lag screws like a drill.

 

[Caleb]

Milwaukee gone the way of being Chinese made, would you buy them?

Good tip on impact/drill combo, I might do that. We use Ryobi at work, seems like it does the job, wondered if there's better and more durable drill/impact combos for the money.