need advice--cordless tools

[megaladon6]

i'm looking to buy a kit with a STRONG drill (not a glorified screwgun), sawzall, and circular saw. i want the circ saw to be able to cut 2/4's at a 45* angle in one pas so i think it needs to be a 6.5in minimum. who's a good company for quality without paying a fortune? i've looked at hitachi, dewalt (heard the quality has come down?), makita, bosch, ridgid (i like the lifetime warranty), milwaukee, and for an el-cheapo- porter cable.
i'm sure that i will be drilling and cutting steel up to 1/4 thick at some point.
i'm not a pro-carpenter or anything but my tools will get used and abused and need to hold up. actually i figure that amateurs abuse tools worse than pros!
thanks
oh and if you know, which kit. since everyone makes different levels.

[amx2334]

I have zero experience with these but was looking at them at Menards the other day and they look well built.I was interested in the Lithium tech line mostly. The free batteries for life sounds like an excellent deal.I hate buying batteries that cost more than the tools themself. Maybe someone here has some experience with them?
http://rockwelltools.com/products.htm

[Chevrolaine]

DeWalt 18v No experience with the others but my 3 piece kit is going on 11 years with use every weekend. No issues at all.

I'm sure there are other ones better but not 3-400 bucks better.

[mjoc1]

Dewalt is a good tool but there cordless tools need some work. THe Milwaukee is a very good tool, If you buy the new top of the line. Make sure that you get the 19.6 or higher voltage.


Mike

[Andrew McBride]

All we have is Dewalt. My brother has Dewalt and Ryobi in his motorcycle shop. He has a Ryobi hammer drill that is bad to the bone. We used Makita stuff when setting up out in vegas this year and I was not impressed with some of their drills and I like makita stuff. All in all DeWalt is good.
Hitachi drills aren't bad either and are a decent price, we used to have an 18V to use around our apartment place.

[absintheisfun]

I have had dewalt, craftsman and kawasaki. If you want one that will last forevever, get the makita--I love mine. I have two lithium batteries that I rotate constantly to feed my grinder, sawzall and drills. I get about 3-4 hours of use (horrible, horrible abuse) and it takes 30 minutes to recharge.

My craftsman made it about a year and half, Dewalt a little less. Kawasaki is still running (19.2v), but the batteries only last about an hour or so before needing a 4 hour recharge.

[megaladon6]

normally i'd jump at the dewalts (my family has been beating on them since they came out with the cordless drill), but i've been hearing complaints about them the last few years. but i've found the drills to be virtually unstoppable torque-wise.
honestly i don't know that i can afford anything over 18v. those kits are around $500 which is my limit.
thanks for the help, please keep it coming!

[megaladon6]

also, do i actually need a hammer drill? i usually look for it because they're tougher and stronger, but are the "drill/drivers" actually enough?
i don't expect to have to go through rock, concrete's a very slight possibility, but i doubt it.
thanks

[mikester]

Ive had a 12v Dewalt drill for years. Both batteries started to go after 4 or 5 years. I went to Home Dumpo, looked at buying batteries and after seeing they were $110 for two bought the 18V Ryobi drill/trim saw combo for $10 more. Now that combo is even cheaper. For the money it made sense to buy all new. So far I cant complain. I kept the Dewalt as a backup out in the garage but its pretty much shot so Im probably going to buy the Ryobi 18V drill/light combo to replace it. I also bought the sawsall so at this point Im pretty much locked into Ryobi. Honestly its not bad for the money and Ive heard the new line is even better.

[Samsdad2]

I make my living with Ridgid and Bosch. Tried most of the rest like these the best.
Regards
Mark

[moreHP]

I have had great results with my dewalt drill. I dont treat it all that well either and it holds up just fine.

[megaladon6]

any experience with the ridgid lifetime warranty? supposedly it even covers the batteries! but we all know that some companies always squirm out of their liability.

[absintheisfun]

normally i'd jump at the dewalts (my family has been beating on them since they came out with the cordless drill), but i've been hearing complaints about them the last few years. but i've found the drills to be virtually unstoppable torque-wise.
honestly i don't know that i can afford anything over 18v. those kits are around $500 which is my limit.
thanks for the help, please keep it coming!

I have nothing but dewalts for my corded tools, but I can't vouch for their cordless ones.

[BonzoHansen]

any experience with the ridgid lifetime warranty? supposedly it even covers the batteries! but we all know that some companies always squirm out of their liability.

I'm still trying to get them to cover it. I did everything they said I had to do when I got it. Argh. #1 is you can't take it back to home depot, it ain't like sears. you have to go to a authorized service center.

I got the 24v lith set that they discontinued not long after I got it (bad sign). 1st battery **** out <1 year. the other is tired but still going for over 3. drill had a lot of balls but something is going wrong in the gears, (2 speed), it no longer works in high speed. homeowner & car use, def not an every day tool for me. I have to go try yet again to get this POS warrantied. Trim saw & sawzall are ok - my old B&D electric sawzall has more balls. I actually love the small circ saw. Very handy.

Not happy w/rigid.

[shmoov69]

Dewalt. For work we use the corded HD screw guns putting in #15 roofing screws......like thousands a day and up to 22" long!! Those drills seem to last the longest. Cordless, I can't tell you much other than the ONE that we have there is a Dewalt and it is like 8 years old with no problems, but we just use it for repairs and stuff.
At home I got a 19.2 volt Craftsman kit from 2000 that is working great (even the same batteries!) and there is a TON of different tools available now with the same battery.

[MonzaRacer]

I for one cannot brag enough about Dewalt, some of the battery technology the companies are using has been banned so some performance loss is in the works.
You will see Milwaukee, in limited areas as they are all sold by the commercial jobbers.
Bosch I will tell you is NOT all its cracked up to be, and Ridged well the warranty is sucky at best.
Your going to see battery issues with all of them
Lithium Ion is going to operate like this, go like gang busters ,then die, recharge do over, more charge cycles over the long haul but less able to be rebuilt.
Nicad, will sort of taper off and needs recharged as soon as you see/hear/feel a power drop off, they can be rebuilt for around $50 and give great life, sometimes even better than original as the milliamp/ hour rating on replacement cells are usually higher ,and can be recycled easier.
Now SOME chargers will let you have Nicads rebuilt with Nickle/metal /Hydride (NMiH) and get better performance, but SOME chargers cannot handle charging them, so be aware.
Dewalt 18v XRP is probably best bang for the buck, you can interchange their Lithium Ion batteries into them with no adapters, but you need the Lithium Ion charger too.
For your information, the Lithium Ion charger/single battery combo goes for about $225 from Fastenall.
Nickle /Metal/Hydride (NMiH) is a go between for the difference of Nicad and Lithium Ion.
Makita would be my second choice.
Only reason I include Milwaukee is because of the evidence I see from a lot contractors, the supply houses they frequent sell them and I have even seen the new camera scope, very cool and about half the cost of Snap On.
another palce for Dewalt batteries is Ebay.
Unless its very light I would stick with 18 volt. regardless of the brand.

[budweasel]

In my experience Hilti exceeded expectations of what a cordless drill should be able to do. Very expensive though. I'm sure overkill for hobbyist.

In my own garage I have a Hitachi 18v that rated high on Consumer Reports and fit the price range I was willing to spend. It works fine, there will always be a "better" drill out there. Just make sure to get at least two batteries. And alway have a corded drill available.

[72nova]

I am an electrician and all we use is Bosch and Dewalt. I really like the Bosch, they seem better able to take the abuse. The Bosch impact driver that comes with some kits is awesome. I am not a big fan of Dewalt drills. I pesonally have a Rigid, I bought because of the lifetime warranty. I had a battery go bad and still cannot get it replaced. They told me they dont make that battery anymore. I did buy it 10 years ago so maybe they dont. All in all iits been a good drill.

[shortrack]

For work I use my drill off and on all day every day and I couldn't be happier with the Lith/Ion 18v Makita......this coming from a lifelong (20yr) Milwaukee man......lightweight is VERY important to me however as I have to lug my 30lb tool pouch everywhere.....the only other brands I even considered were Milwaukee, Dewalt and Bosch and of those I found the Mil and Dewalt to be significantly more bulky than the Makita.....Bosch too pricey......for me for work the Lith/Ion is the only way to go...the power and 15 min charge time is off the hook.

but for around the house/shop (where charge time and ultimate power doesn't matter so much) I bought a Hitatchi NiCad combo pack on sale at Lowes for like dirt cheap and its fine.....I find that hand held spotlight it came with is super handy!...I love it for working on the cars.....with the NiCad especially charge the battery if you notice any slowdown in performance and when your done with any use no matter how small

[Brandon Miller]

It's not listed but I have a Craftsman 19.2V drill, sawzall, worklight, and skill saw combo set. I've put them through I don't know what and they work just as strong as the day I got them over 5 years ago.