Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Product sources Cordless Drill Recommendations

The older Dewalt were good drills but B and D bought them out a few years ago. Most of BD stuff is not good enough every day. I used a 12 volt Dewalt for years building and maintaining rental homes. About 5 years ago I bought a 10 volt makita combo set. It is far superior to any drills that I have used in my 35 years in construction plus they are small enough to put in your tool pouch. The hammer drill will sink more deck screws then a 18 volt dewalt as I got free lunch from a real Dewalt believer. Bosch combo drills are good too as I have a brother electrician who has used his for several years. We have not had to buy any batteries and the old ones still perform like new. A brace and bit has a self clearing bit whereas most paddle bits clog up but if someone has a good paddle bit you are toast Ken. This is coming from someone who was a shop teacher in another lifetime.

Thanks guys...good info and I always enjoy the meandering life of a thread - no hijack apologies necessary.

Ryobi has a six piece kit for sale for $300. Recip Saw, Circular Saw, Drill, Driver, and flashlight. I know Ryobi are not top shelf - but the little they'll get used I figured this was an incredible price. Any advice here?

Make sure the replacement blades are available and reasonably priced. (and will be available for as long as you think you'll have it)

Just closely follow battery charging guidelines..

I'll echo Ryobi for casual use, very good for the price. For everyday hardcore use I would look into Bosch. Expensive but really great quality
tools.

tj,
I bought a similar ryobi set 8 years ago that also included a chain saw that was very handy for small jobs. The other power tools are still in service but the chain saw has a manual chain oiling system that you have to push a rubbery button similar to a lawn mower fuel priming system. This rubbery button has gone bad a couple of times so I don't us it anymore.

Hey TJ, I bought a set on Craigslist almost 4 years ago and although not a high-end set (Skil) everything still works great, for $100. Just a thought

Ryobi can't compare to Dewalt and Makita. Batteries the issue with all of the above. Dewalt has been in my Vans for over 20 years. Bosch has the best sawzall IMO and dewalt makes the best drills.

Agree about the batteries. My DeWalt came with 2 batteries, charger and drill. Buying one battery after one died was 50% of the package purchase price.

It was actually only $10 more to buy a Ryobi two piece kit (circular saw and drill) when I last looked at buying two new batteries. Now I have a drill and saw I keep at my pond site.

My Ryobi bit the dust the other day so I was in the market for a new drill as well. Did lots of research, including this thread and found this deal going on right now at Home Depot. I normally don't like Home Depot, but I couldn't pass this up. Comes with a drill driver and an impact driver. They're very lightweight, which was important to me, but the real selling point was, they'll replace the batteries for free as they go out.

Since neither of us are daily users of these tools the free battery deal seems like it might be a good plan, even if it's not Milwaukee/Mikata/Dewalt/Bosch level performance. Have you read any reviews on Rigid? Isn't that the Home Depot in store brand? Lowe's also has an in store brand...forget it's name though.

I have a contractor buddy that's buying more and more Rigid stuff. He said it's easier to replace since it's HD's house brand. He said they tend to fix or replace it with no questions asked.

Yes Rigid is the house brand of Home Depot. Kobalt is Lowe's house brand I believe.

I did. Most reviews were great with the occasional one having issues with battery life, which really doesn't concern me too much considering my only occasional use. Our maintenance guy uses them and I got to play with them a bit and really liked their feel. He swears by them. Good enough for me and really can't beat that price and what you end up saving in the long run.

My only input would be to suggest Lithium Ion vs. NiCad.