I need a new cordless drill driver

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I loved the Milwaukee 18v stuff I had years ago, but more recently it’s been Bosch for me. I like them both. Once I replace one cordless tool with a different brand, I tend to switch them all to that brand, for battery interchangeability. I keep a battery on a charger on each floor of my shop, and a third in the garage at the house, so a fresh one is always near at hand.

I’ve used tons of dewalt, as that’s what all my friends seem to buy, and break. They even admit they break a lot, but then argue that it’s easy to get them repaired, which I don’t really understand. This stuff is cheap enough, and when I need it I need it today, so I’ll stick with brands that don’t fail when I need them. If someday I manage to break one, I’ll be at Lowe’s buying it’s replacement within the hour.

They’re easy yo repair by parts from online sources. They’re cheap enough, $18 for the Shell body for my demo saw. Then like I said, who in their right mind want to pay TOP DOLLAR for second quality stuff[emoji19]


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remember to unplug the battery when it is charged or you get premature battery failure. i go into lots of homes everyday and i see the batteries on the charger where they stay until they go to use it and they get a minute or two out of the battery and it's dead. constant charge for a nicad will dry it up soon and i've seen dewalt batteries on fire leaving them on to long. now you can say that never happened to me and that's good but when it decides that it doesn't like life anymore you come back to a house on fire. now we get to lithium. the number one killer for a lithium battery is heat it will either stop working or fire up. the nice thing about lithium is when charged up it stays charged for a long time unlike nicad or nickel metal hydryd that discharge over a short time.
 
My last two 20v Dewalt drills, the low range stripped out. The oldest [3 years or so] still works in high range. The newest went right back to HD for a refund. Not the Dewalt quality I remember. I do like HD, never had a hassle on anything I had to return.
 
Just a little update on my makita set... The driver is still going strong but the drill packed it in 3 months after warranty was up.. Luckily the shop i bought it from called their rep and exchanged over the counter for me. With the msg that the kit i bought the driver is the same for all the kits but the drill was light duty.. Asked them why they did not tell me this when i got it as thats why i returned the dewalt. Glad they changed it out as id just got a dual battery charger the day before and was going to order a few no name batteries online.
 
My last two 20v Dewalt drills, the low range stripped out. The oldest [3 years or so] still works in high range. The newest went right back to HD for a refund. Not the Dewalt quality I remember. I do like HD, never had a hassle on anything I had to return.
Don't buy them from a big box stores and they will hold up better. Many times they are not the same tool
 
Don't buy them from a big box stores and they will hold up better. Many times they are not the same tool

That used to be a big issue with OPE 20 years ago, but all of the OPE Manufacturers with which I am familiar have abandoned that practice, and now ship the same equipment to dealers and big box stores. It really hoses the small dealers, who end up supporting both at less than their normal non-warranty shop rates.

Do you think power tool companies are still doing this, bholler? I honestly don’t know.
 
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That used to be a big issue with OPE 20 years ago, but all of the OPE Manufacturers with which I am familiar have abandoned that practice, and now ship the same equipment to dealers and big box stores. It really hoses the small dealers, who end up supporting both at leas than their normal non-warranty shop rates.

Do you think power tool companies are still doing this, bholler? I honestly don’t know.
Yes I do. My Milwaukee stuff weighs allot more than the stuff my buddy bought at HD. They also have different model numbers for what looks like the same thing.
 
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I think it just comes down to watching what you're buying & being informed.

Most all manufacturers make a wide variety of stuff, in quality & price.

Some places sell some of both better stuff & value stuff. Some places sell only value, or some only quality. I know you can find some of each at HD, as far as Milwaukee goes. But they don't carry the full line of quality stuff. If it's cheaper, there is usually a reason for it - value shoppers usually look past that aspect. Which may or may not end up OK, depending what exactly they are buying.
 
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I think it just comes down to watching what you're buying & being informed.

Most all manufacturers make a wide variety of stuff, in quality & price.

Some places sell some of both better stuff & value stuff. Some places sell only value, or some only quality. I know you can find some of each at HD, as far as Milwaukee goes. But they don't carry the full line of quality stuff. If it's cheaper, there is usually a reason for it - value shoppers usually look past that aspect. Which may or may not end up OK, depending what exactly they are buying.

True, but it creates a bigger problem than it solves, for another fraction of the population. The price difference between a hardware store or tool dealer, and the big box store, is usually not so substantial that it’d sway my decision if I were aware of the differences in design or quality. When I buy a tool at Lowes Depot, it’s more often because I’m already there, and either need it for a project that weekend, or see an unexpected sale on something I’d been meaning to look at.

While I’m always happy to save $20, and will buy from the cheaper source when I believe them to be the same, putting hours into researching every small tool purchase is not well-spent when it takes time away from other more lucrative activities.
 
True, but it creates a bigger problem than it solves, for another fraction of the population. The price difference between a hardware store or tool dealer, and the big box store, is usually not so substantial that it’d sway my decision if I were aware of the differences in design or quality. When I buy a tool at Lowes Depot, it’s more often because I’m already there, and either need it for a project that weekend, or see an unexpected sale on something I’d been meaning to look at.

While I’m always happy to save $20, and will buy from the cheaper source when I believe them to be the same, putting hours into researching every small tool purchase is not well-spent when it takes time away from other more lucrative activities.
There are also those of us who rely on these tools to make a living and there are times in our area when we may be close to an hour from the closest store to buy a replacement. That means lots of lost money if they break on the job. I will gladly pay quite a bit more for more reliability.
 
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There are also those of us who rely on these tools to make a living and there are times in our area when we may be close to an hour from the closest store to buy a replacement. That means lots of lost money if they break on the job. I will gladly pay quite a bit more for more reliability.

... when you’re even made aware of the difference. That’s the trouble I was describing, when the manufacturer tries to blur the distinction between the two.

Remember back in the day, when most reputable tool manufacturers (eg. Milwaukee, even Craftsman) used to carry three or four distinct lines of tools? I have old Milwaukee and Craftsman tools from my father that are specifically marked: “Commercial Duty” or “Industrial Duty”, versus their hobbyist-grade stuff, which was quite distinctly different.
 
My last two 20v Dewalt drills, the low range stripped out. The oldest [3 years or so] still works in high range. The newest went right back to HD for a refund. Not the Dewalt quality I remember. I do like HD, never had a hassle on anything I had to return.

Mine are the older XTP and mine came with a slightly bent chuck shaft. When I first saw it I blamed it on a bent bit . I still have it and it pisses me off regularly with tiny bits starting a hole.
I’m not impressed with them considering that they are up there in price with Milwaukee. Personally I’d rate them along with the old craftsman drill and driver line back in the 80s. Ok for occasional use by light duty homeowner but for the PRICE[emoji389][emoji389][emoji389][emoji389]no damned way!! Milwaukee Just is better in ALL. respects. IMO.


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