Recommendations for a new cordless drill

jhaneyzz

Well-known member
Thank GOD... my horrible cordless drill is finally dying and I get to buy a new one.

Any recommendations?

Honestly, my biggest gripe about my current drill is that it is severely top heavy and it occasionally nose dives into some precious project or snaps off a narrow drill bit.
 
Have to agree here. My Ryobi has worked for my father flawlessly. Now its doing me justice. He bought it back in 2008. Id say that's some pretty good usage out of it. And looking at the prices you cant beat it.
 
As has been mentioned, the Ryobi stuff is great, especially given the price. I've had my two workhorse routers for close to 15 years

For cordless stuff, I've switched over to Milwaukee M18, as the batteries seem to charge faster and last longer. For example, my enclosure drill only gets charged maybe once a month, it's just a 5mah
 
My friend has several brands around his shop: DeWalt, Makita, Ryobi and Milwaukee.

Needing a drill myself I asked him (and a few other people) which one would be recommended.

Milwaukee won.

It's not that the others are bad, just that overall cost/performance, reliability, battery life, motor longevity —

Milwaukee.


As it happens, I've opted to just get new batteries for my Dad's DeWalt instead of a whole new unit and charging paraphernalia etc.
When it is time to get an entirely new drill, I'll likely go with Milwaukee.
 
I’m cheap. I stick with a Black & Decker corded drill. I don’t use mine anywhere but my work bench. I just don’t see the sense in having to spend more and deal with batteries and such. 🤪
 
My friend has several brands around his shop: DeWalt, Makita, Ryobi and Milwaukee.

Needing a drill myself I asked him (and a few other people) which one would be recommended.

Milwaukee won.

It's not that the others are bad, just that overall cost/performance, reliability, battery life, motor longevity —

Milwaukee.


As it happens, I've opted to just get new batteries for my Dad's DeWalt instead of a whole new unit and charging paraphernalia etc.
When it is time to get an entirely new drill, I'll likely go with Milwaukee.
My Milwaukee circular saw and sawzall are both about 20 years old and as good as new.
 
Ya, I have a Milwaukee corded drill with TONS of torque and I use it for outdoor stuff that needs a lot of power. Nearly broke my wrist once when the bit stuck and the drill kept turning. Bruised for a week.
 
Milwaukee fan here... I've worked in custom woodwork for over 30 years....... Right now the past 10 years they have been on top of the game for reliability and battery life... especially for people who drive screws all day long
 
I like DeWalt, be sure you get BRUSHLESS motor. Higher RPM, more torque, less weight, half the size. I also have the DeWalt weed wacker, pruner (like a pit bull that eats branches), chain saw, 8" circular saw, rotary grinder/cutter and hammer drill. I got everything using the 20v Max battery, of which I have two 5AH. And yes I use all that shit, a lot. My house was built in 1949, there is *always* something that needs fixing.
 
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I use a drill press for enclosure drilling.I use dewalt 20v at work. I also prefer a corded 120v drill for drilling if possible.
Ryobi makes good household cordless drills. They wouldn't survive at work though. Even just doing electrical.
 
I use a dewalt 20v at home and work. I work with a lot of contractors that put a lot more abuse and use than I do on tools and everyone of them uses Milwaukee. But if you are just going to be drilling enclosures and not doing other tasks where cordless would be needed I think a cheap corded would be the way to go.
 
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