cordless drill?

[mikelawtown]

Any one have a RYOBIE 12 volt cordless drill?, just want to know if they last awhile before i head out tomrw to get 1..

[dapgar]

if it's for lightweight homeowner use, then i'm sure it'll be ok. if it's for use everyday in construction or in a shop, then it probably won't last that long. i have a milwaukee 18v loktor cordless drill and love it. i have tried porter cable 19.2v drills and they are good too, but the milwaukee has more power and torque.

i try not to buy any dewalt drills. too many issues with them.

[wyldman]

The RYOBI drills aren't bad.Quality is good,feel good in your hands,and very good balance.It will probably outlast the batteries,which are always the first to go.

[urethane dino]

Spend the extra money and get at least a 14.4
I have had 2 14.4 volt ryobi drills and 3 of their 18volt combo kits.
In fact I would suggest the 18 volt drill. They have an entire assortment of 18 volt tools that are all interchangeable with the 18 volt battery. All are very affordable. I have been very pleased with the quality overall, and it has plenty of power. The batteries take longer than other brands to charge, but you can get a 2 pack of extra batteries for only 40.00
For what it is worth the parent company of Ryoby just bought Milwaulke electric tool company.
Dino

[BWhite]

Ryobi drills are in the middle of the pack for durablilty . I have found that the tools the students have a tough time killing are the Porter Cable tools .( 25 year shop teacher opinion ,take it or leave it , I have tried them all) Buy the highest voltage you can afford . I use the 19.2 networking setup . They even have a router. ToolKing.com has some great prices especially on reconditioned tools . I have them for school and personal tools , never had a problem .

[mikelawtown]

Well i'm not looking for one thats too much pwr, and heavy. I am going to use it for auto glass installs only. I have the 18V for the heavy work load. and i'll never get another dewalt for the reason that the batts dont last long and are expensive(pretty good gig they have)..so a deff nono for them.

[dapgar]

I know i had two porter cable 19.2 drills for 3 years, and it took that long to burn out 2nd gear in the one. the other still works fine. hammer drill too. the milwaukee lok tor series is new to them, and has more torque. i have had that one for a year now with same batteries etc. i've never had to replace any batteries, even on the porter cables. and i use my drills every single day on jobs. that and the cordless paslode guns. priceless tools!

[Ecurb]

Dewalt for a bunch of years. Was a fisher installer when i bought my first. Drill frame rails all day and it would still break your wrist. Never had problems with batts. My main bussiness is fab work and that dewalt gets beat to crap every day. I pay 80 bucks for 2 18 volt batts . They last me at least 2 years. I understand the batt tech as i used to race radio controled electric cars that use the same batts...soo i can rebuild my own batts and match cells if i have to...Man it makes a big diff.(charger and batt matcher cost 1500 bucks so its not a hobbie for the faint at heart LOL)
I cant knock them at all.(dewalt)
Everthing else is milwaukee in my shop.
RYOBI could not cut it in my shop...throw away.:cash

[mikelawtown]

Well like i said i'm not using it for the heave metal work, just taking door panels off and driling out rivets.(aluminum).

[drobson]

For what you want to use it for, Ryobi should be just fine. As stated, they are not for commercial use, but for lightweight use they will work. In any case, with the price you won't be too upset if you have to buy one every year or two anyway. Personally, I would buy a Craftsman over the Ryobi. There really is not difference, as Ryobi makes the Craftsman drills. But, the warranty and service you get with the Craftsman is better.

My pick for the best cordless drill is Makita, I have had one for 15 years now and it still works like a charm. I also have a Dewalt 18v hammerdrill, and love it.

[Pelican]

No matter what brand you decide on, buy the highest voltage unit you can afford. The charge will last longer and the drill will be more powerful.

I've used both Millwauki and Makita, both have worked well for me.

[jbeland]

Porter Cable is a good choice. I know you only plan on using the drill for light use, but you might as well upgrade if you are going to spend the money. My uncle had a new ryobi 18v that he got last year and I was actually impressed with its power, however , after he put his small deck in, last summer, the drill will barely put a screw in styrofoam without grinding the gears.

Whatever you do, STAY AWAY FROM DEWALT (unless it comes with a cord attached). I have a higher end drill/driver and it has no variable speed and it will cost the same to fix it as to replace it. It still will rip my arm off with the torque it has, but I can't feather a drywall screw in. I have also had friends have the battery problem as well as numerous other problems, of course no one told me until after I bought the d@mn thing and lost the variable speed. The one thing I hate is that I love my DeWalt worksite radio, but I will never own another Dewalt cordless tool.

Jeff

[IHI]

Another vote for 18V Ryobi. Got tired of dewalt batt' going bad after half season or so, drills themselves held up great, but Dewlat batt' are just junk IMO. bought one of the big 18V Ryobi packs since it was soo cheap, figured I give them a try. 2yrs later, same batteries and they're still going strong and get used literally everyday of the week, mon-fri construction/remodeling and weekends working on the race cars or fabrication. I seen the replacement batteries at HD for $20/ea so latched onto 2 packages just for backup and also bought 3 more 5 peice sets. These cannot be beat for value and durability imo, since most of the guys could care less about your equipement. They've held up to 8' ladder drops onto the concrete and kept on tickn, when 3 of my dewalts made the laddr plunge, the case cracked where the handle and motor housing came together.

Never bought Milwakee, those tools are friggin tanks and I know after a full day of weilding one I'd have arm pump beyond comprehension!!:D

[T-Zab]

Panasonic 15.6 actually are the highest rated in the tool ratings in fine HomeBuilding. Also fine Woodworking . There motors are top notch and there batterys outlast all of them. Nicely balanced and light with the power of everyones 18 volts. If your not married to one brand then get the panasonic the will outlast everyones batterys too. The Ryobis tend to hold up pretty well, and for the money there a bargain. Ive been sucked into the DeWalt trap, radio (charger) so we use the 18volt kits and there pretty good. the lazor level works well too with the detector.

Todd

[Snowboy]

Milwaukee drills charge the fastest out of them all. Look at the battery they have holes in them that allows the heat to disapait which lets them charge faster. The nice thing about them as well is you can put the battery on either way you feel most comfortable with to balance it in your hand. Allot of Torque in them. I own a DeWalt and apparently the problem with them is there switches. They start to stick after awhile especially on the newer drills if you use it allot. My 18volt hammer drill has the 1st 2nd speed switch on top and its starting to stick a little but I don’t use it allot hardly at all actually so its fine same with the batteries.

For the price of the De-Walt or the other higher end stuff you can get allot more stuff with the Ryobi for the same price.

Dave.

[dapgar]

i read that article a while back about the Panasonic drills, but I don't want to switch everything over. same reason i didn't go buy that nice Bosch radio, no bosch batteries or tools.
I'm going with all milwaukee from now on. i don't buy the big kits, i buy everything individually so they each have their own case. everything fits together like a puzzle in my util body, it's great, better than having them loose in the boxes.
the only thing i have that is cordless from dewalt is their 6 1/2 circ saw. with two batteries, and the radio. the portercable drill i bought almost 4 years ago is still running great, original batteries! I did just have a 2 year old milwaukee battery just die completely with no signs, won't charge, and the drill won't move at all when it's put on. same age as the others. 170 bucks for two batteries. ouch!!!

[crashz]

I know that Black and Decker is a home owner brand, but I have to say I have a little 9.6V drill and it works great. Its about four years old, original battery, and seems to have all the power you need for drilling sheet metal and other light duty work. I used it to finish a fencing job we did last summer when our big drill chewed up its batteries. 6 hrs of use as a screw gun and it performed flawlessly.

Another benfit is that if it craps out, I'm only down about $45. :)

[dapgar]

and black and decker owns Dewalt..... Dewalt's drills used to be better than they are now.

[ShawnD1972]

The Ryobi 19.2v combo is on sale at Home Depot for $119, Sears has there 19.2V on sale for $88. I have used the Craftsman and thought it perfomed well. I also have the Dewalt 12v and it has held up great though the batterys are not great. Thought I pass on the info.

[PSDF350]

I have there 9.6 volt one and it works o.k got it for a christmas present 3 years ago.

[T-Zab]

If you really want to buy just one cordless in your life time get the Makita 9.6 volt Cordless drill. They have the old style batterys. These drills do not die. I had one when I was in my apprentice days ( long time ago :wink ) gave it too my Dad (God bless his sole) and now my lil brither has it. It works great and is on its second set of batterys. This thing is allmost 17 years old. I kinda wish I still had it, would have saved a ton on buying other cordless drills.
Just like snow plows we all have our oppinions on what is best. Im sure alot of mis conceptions also play into the "best cordless" drill topic.

These numbers are from Wood Magazine Feb/March, Fine Home Buildings results were similar.

At the top off the list for 14.4 volt based on the ability to drive 2" drywall screws ( how many one charged battery would drive) .
1. panasonic 522 screws
2. Fein
3. Makita
4. DeWalt 482 screws
5. Bosch
6. Makita
7. Festool
8. Ryobi
9. Craftsmen
10. Milwaukee 400 screws
#16 Porter Cable ( I have had two P-C Kits batterys and clutch problems, in the dumpster now) 319 screws
#20. Rigid tools 217 screws

One other thing too remember is about your batterys. Run the drill or saw till it starts to loose power and grab a fresh battery. The old wifes tale of runnin it down till its dead will just send you out for new batterys. My foremen does this and his "crappy" DeWalt eats batterys ( so he says). My 18 volt kit is going on 2 years same batterys. Also if you heat up your battery pretty good wait to charge it. Most quality chargers will hold till the battery cools, but dont charge a hot battery. Freezing a dead battery wont bring it back to life, another old wifes tale.

Todd

[mikelawtown]

I got the ryobi 12v and it works great. I use it for auto glass installs(interrior , windshield cowls, door panels). Worth the 59.99 at HD.

[justme-]

I know this is an older than crap thread but I have to say I really disagree with the mentality of buy the biggest voltage batteries you can afford. Bad idea. Try hanging drywall with a 1/2 in D handle drill. Kind of big and heavy dontcha think? Same for cordless drills. Buy what you need, not the biggest you can afford. Home use never justifies bigger than 14V- I have several cordless drills. Panasonic 15V, Dewalt 14.4 (3 of them plus a drill saw kit), Dewalt 12V (1 plus a drill saw kit). If I want power I use the 14.4 (1/2 inch chuck most often) but if I am hanging steel studs, drywall, blinds, etc where I am constantly holding it the weight difference from 14V to 12V is incredible. The 12V lasts just as long in real world use (the saw kills them faster but the drill really isn't any different).

[drobson]

Really depends on the application. If I was using it for general building, like decks, sheds, fences, etc.. buy the biggest you can afford is a good rule of thumb. If I'm using it around the house to hang curtains and put up shelves, then I'm going to want a smaller one that will not feel like I'm holding a cement block over my head after a few minutes. These days a 14.4 v is plenty powerful enough for most jobs, and a larger drill is not really needed except to drive large screws or if you need a hammerdrill.

[cat320]

I have dewalt stuff one is a 9.6 and the other drils,saws are all 18 .One small and one large But i find that if you really want to go all day and your doing tough stuff go electric.

[itsgottobegreen]

Everything I got is dewalt. Plus a very good friend of mine is in R&D at dewalt. So I get to play with a few demo/protypes. I got 2-9.6 drills and 7 batteries for them. I have 6 18v tools and radio and only 4 batteries. I just wish the batteries weren't $50 a piece. Other wise I would have a ton of them. I also have a 8.25" compound miter saw than runs off a 24v dewalt battery. (sorry guys you can't buy it here in the US. But you can get it in italy or england)

I have a ton of corded dewalt stuff too.