Particularly, cordless drills...I'm going to need one in a month or so and figure it's always useful to have one, but I figure you guys will have a good idea on what to get! So, for pretty general application, what do you recommend?
I'm leaning towards the Bosch units (the 14.4v Li Cordless) as they're a pretty reputable brand, and can pick up that one for about £80 or so, but should I be looking to spend a bit more to get a Makita? Or another brand altogether?
Double rep for helpful posts
I've got a Makita cordless drill, hammer drill, angle grinder, jigsaw, circular saw and router, all ancient as my dad gave me them when he got newer stuff bought by work, never had an issue with any of them
Makita are good.
I have this one:
http://www.homebase.co.uk/webapp/wcs/sto...ber=105132
For the money, it's brilliant. It feels really solid, nice weight to it, with a metal chuck which is very usual in this price range. It's one of the nicest I've used, and I was always stealing my Uncles beforehand
. It's basically a DeWalt without the name and therefore price.
the 14.4's arnt bad at all for the money only downside is the basic battery ( 1.5amp)isnt great in terms of life but will still do most houdehold things regardless, but you can get the 2.5amp batttery you'll be sorted for anything you can throw at it
Thanks guys, rep all around
Makita, Hitachi, Dewalt, Hilti, Panasonic
Any of those makes in 18v will be fine.
Yeah always 18v. Imho dont bother with any less.
Dad works in construction and after many years of using all the brands he now won't use anything but Makita, says the other stuff just doesn't last and ends up spending more replacing cheaper stuff than just buying a nice one once. But different circumstances I guess as his is used heavily and daily against a occasional use
Makita or hitachi for me I've got a small majors set which has been great for household and fitting in cars but occasionally do need something bigger for working on the car especially with the bigger jobs
Depends what your using it for.
Don't buy a bosch. Their cheaper ones aren't that good. My Erabuer cost £115 3 years ago and for a 18v, its a little beast. I've pretty much destroyed it now but its been used virtually every day for 3 years.
Other good makes are Makita (great deal on one in B&Q at the moment), Hitachi and Dewalt although the cheaper Dewalts done seem to last long.
Alternatively, you want one of these which is my next purchase
http://www.screwfix.com/p/hitachi-dh25da...5-2v/69362
I've had two of the cheaper boschs... Around 80 iirc and they've only lasted a year each before failing. Got a makita now and it's a lot nicer, seems more solid... I'd say they're worth the extra
Dewalt all the way I am part of a carnival club and the abuse I give my 18v one and it still keeps going
Thats it and if you get it in store, they did have a deal on when you get a free drill bit set which although branded as Makita, isn't and the bits are rather poor but again, they have seen my abuse. Occasional use and they should be fine
Mate your not exactly a DIY enthusiast and If you haven't really needed one up until now you probably wont really need one so IMO go cheap and buy a £30 Clark out of Wilko (Zakk has one and its surprisingly powerful) or just hire or borrow one when you need it.
As for power tools my Makita grinder is my favorite tool ever and If I buy any more power tools I'll be going for Makita stuff
(19-03-2014, 12:55 AM)Dum-Dum Wrote: [ -> ]Mate your not exactly a DIY enthusiast and If you haven't really needed one up until now you probably wont really need one so IMO go cheap and buy a £30 Clark out of Wilko (Zakk has one and its surprisingly powerful) or just hire or borrow one when you need it.
As for power tools my Makita grinder is my favorite tool ever and If I buy any more power tools I'll be going for Makita stuff
Is that the mains grinder chris or the 18v battery one?
Makita all the way...
Gone through so many £30 drills, inc 18v ones...now got a almost new one off a mate coz batteries were ruined, got two batteries and its jyst epic. Love the thing
All my kit is Makita but I use it everyday so I need good equipment.
For light DIY use I would recommend Ryobi. It's pretty cheap but still robust and works well.
Yeah Ryobi stuff is quite good. Got a Ryobi belt sander, did a great job on my stairs and seems well made.
(19-03-2014, 12:55 AM)Dum-Dum Wrote: [ -> ]Mate your not exactly a DIY enthusiast and If you haven't really needed one up until now you probably wont really need one so IMO go cheap and buy a £30 Clark out of Wilko (Zakk has one and its surprisingly powerful) or just hire or borrow one when you need it.
As for power tools my Makita grinder is my favorite tool ever and If I buy any more power tools I'll be going for Makita stuff
I disagree, he might not use it much, but, by a quality tool now and it will last the rest of his life. Not to mention a drill has to be one of the most popular power tools, and get a bit set and you can do screws with it aswell and you can get adapters to put sockets on.
Thanks Tom
everyone has to start somewhere, and while I agree that you buy according to what you need, there's no harm in spending a little more on something like this which will last and will cover heavier use, should I need it.
(19-03-2014, 07:08 AM)rocker8742 Wrote: [ -> ] (19-03-2014, 12:55 AM)Dum-Dum Wrote: [ -> ]Mate your not exactly a DIY enthusiast and If you haven't really needed one up until now you probably wont really need one so IMO go cheap and buy a £30 Clark out of Wilko (Zakk has one and its surprisingly powerful) or just hire or borrow one when you need it.
As for power tools my Makita grinder is my favorite tool ever and If I buy any more power tools I'll be going for Makita stuff
Is that the mains grinder chris or the 18v battery one?
Mains 9"
Nearly dropped it the first time I used it as the torque twisted it out of my hands
Ive a bosch cordless, ok drill but the batteries are done now. Also have a ryobi corded drill which is decent, brother had ryobi cordless drills for years with no issues, he also uses aeg which is good. Makita is hard to beat aswell, have a couple of there grinders.
(19-03-2014, 08:49 PM)SRowell Wrote: [ -> ]http://www.screwfix.com/p/makita-dhp453s...rill/57626
We have an older one of these at the sailing centre and its beast! 
Thats the one B&Q have for 99.99 with a free box of drill bits and drive bits. One of the lads at work just bought one and it seems great. Much more power than my Erauber but the hammer function is no where near as good. But then if you need a hammer drill, you don't buy a 18v as most of them aren't up to much.
Makita generally repair your power tools for free if you send them off to them as well.
Very good customer service, they even repair ancient stuff.
Just buy a good hammer. The only tool you need.
One thing to look out for is the chuck size, a lot of cheaper drills only have a 10mm max chuck. I would go for a 13mm chuck.