UKC

Question to the skilled individuals who make things for a living - I'm about to buy my very own power drill for the first time, what price bracket do i need to be looking at so as to get a product that will last many many years to come? I don't want to spend £100 pounds on something, if spending £200 or £300 would have got me one that lasted for a very long time.

feel free too make suggestions if there are any particularly good models.

thanks in advance.

In reply to Voltemands: I've got a Bosch(can't remember the model or price) It's served me well for twenty years with a lot of hard use.

In reply to Voltemands:

Few things to consider , Voltage ? 110v for site use or 240v for domestic & diy use ?

Or will A battery drill be more useful ? Also will you need a chisel (stop) function plus a good hammer action & reverse ?

I binned off my corded drills a while ago and bought a 24v Drill with stop ,hammer etc as I'm doing a fair bit of site work nowadays & it can be used for bolting routes as well .

If you can afford it have a look at Makita , Bosch if you are going to be using everyday .

What will you be using it for primarily ?

In reply to Voltemands:


I wouldn't feel like you need to spend a huge amount unless you actually want to (assuming that this is for DIY?). I bought a £15 (corded) drill from Argos about 15 years ago and it's been used heavily for standard DIY type stuff without any problems. My cordless drill is a £20 ALDI one which I have only had 3 or 4 years, but again no problems. They are are not complicated tools.

Neither are the the highest quality drills in the world, but perfectly reliable. I have a pillar drill for anything requiring a bit more precision.

For big jobs (e.g. drilling large holes in masonry walls) it is normally more cost effective just to hire the right tool for a day.

In reply to Voltemands:

If it's for domestic use unless you are a DIY enthusiast it may not need to be all that reliable and you might even be better off cadging one from a neighbour/friend. I heard a programme on the radio about waste a few months ago which reckoned the average domestic power drill is used for less than ten minutes during its entire life time and represents a huge waste of resources and money. I've no idea how they arrived at the stat and no way of verifying it but as the owner of no few than four drills (upgrades from corded to corded hammer, to cordless to more sophisticated cordless) I think in my case ten minutes is longer than the last three have been used between them. The first did get a bit more usage but only because it had hedge trimmer and sander attachments.

In reply to Voltemands: B AN Q have an alright offer on at the min its a Dewalt 18v with two batteries i got same one a few years ago served me well so far ive done a few big jobs with it ie fitted a couple of kitchens,laid a large garden deck, fitted windows etc. batteries are quick charging too about half an hour

In reply to Voltemands: Depends what you are going to be doing with it. We bought a Bosch SDS dril because we were doing a fair bit of chiseling and hammer drilling and it was cheaper to buy the drill than to hire for the period we needed it for.

If it's for general putting up shelves and screwdrivering then you can't go far wrong with some of the cordless Li Ion drills. if you are doing anything for extended periods like multiple concrete holes, then get a corded one, just make sure it's got a good hammer function.

In reply to Voltemands:

What do you want to do with it?
jk

In reply to Voltemands: Ive bought and killed a number of crappy cheap drills over the years, without ever having considered myself to do a lot of DIY.

I recently bought a makita cordless and its been worth the extra money.

In reply to Voltemands: £100 will buy you a trade quality CORDED SDS drill. Buy any in that price bracket (£80-£120) and they should easily last you the rest of your life (if not used daily/ non professionaly). Mine (Dewalt) cost around £110 originaly and has drilled literally 10,000-50,000 holes in concrete etc in the last 6 years and show no signs of dying what so ever.
Mark, (site joiner).

In reply to Voltemands:

I've been perfectly happy with my Black & Decker cordless for enthusiastic DIY use - had it a few years now, after ditching a cheapy cordless drill set that didn't have a proportional trigger.

Got it in a sale in Focus for about 1/2 price with a free set of drill bits - worth checking Homebase/B&Q for similar deals.

In reply to Voltemands: If it's a masonry drill just for DIY pretty much any cheap sds should suffice and last a while seems silly to spend a lot if you don't use and abuse it day in day out. Mostly use Bosch and makita at work as they do last plus spares are easily available if they fail. I don't hesitate buying the cheap brands for power tools I don't use regulary as they do the job and if they break it's still cheaper then having something expensive gathering dust.

In reply to Voltemands:

http://www.screwfix.com/c/tools/drills/cat830704

this goes to show the vast array available, best decide what it is you are going to do with it, pretty much anything from bosch makita de walt will be up to the task

In reply to Voltemands: its all about makita in this instance, have a look at the deal on the front cover of the latest screwfix. i have black battery, i'm a builder, red battery would suit for diy but black better(18v, 3amp) or corded? do you want hand drill or sds??

In reply to Voltemands:

They'll all last if you don't use them.

Unless you opt for battery.

In which case none of them will last no matter how much you spend.

In reply to Voltemands:

I have an 18v bosch Li ion cordless at work I think it was about 180 quid with an extra battery. It gets used for all sorts here and would be an excellent drill for a bloke to have at home to hang pictures put gates on concrete fence posts etc.

one thing it is regularly used for is drilling out old melted bolt heads from my arc melter so it obviously has some grunt.

at home I have an 18 V AEG which was about £120 is just as handy but quite heavy being NiCd

Check the maximum bit size most 18V cordless stop at 10 mm which can be a bit annoying

In reply to Voltemands: If it's for general DIY an SDS might be overkill. Any decent branded corded drill should last years if you're not a pro using it every day. Borrowed my stepdad's bog standard Black & Decker last year, about 30 years old and still going strong. Modern equivalent would be about 50 quid.

Recently got myself a 30 quid Draper hammer drill, seems fine so far. Was fine putting 16mm holes into concrete for a ground anchor. Can't see the point in spending much more if it's going to last me 10 years plus.

Also got a crappy Tesco cordless for when I'm too lazy to use a screwdriver.

In reply to Voltemands: I can't wait until I am old enough to have conversations about power drills. Proper man stuff, grrr

In reply to Voltemands:

I am not a pro, but I have done a lot of work on several houses that I have owned. Buy an SDS corded drill and an extension lead, even a cheap one will be more reliable than rechargeable, regardless of the cost.

In reply to Voltemands: Hardly worth bothering with non sds masonry drills anymore it's like night and day switching between the two.
I'd agree with above and shy away from anything battery unless you use it regular.

In reply to Voltemands:
If it´s general round the house stuff then SDS is useful but not essential (I´ve got 5 various ones), Makita or Bosch are good, the Metabo battery one I have is worthless. If it´s metal and wood then either Fein if you´ve the money (and if they even sell them in the UK) or Metabo, whichever a mechanical gearbox is the only way to go for drilling big holes especially in metal, electronic speed control is crap. The Metabo SBE 1100 plus is good, the Impulse models are not my thing!

In reply to jimtitt:

I would have to agree re Makita, my Bosch is 24v so can't comment on their corded drills. SDS is definitely the way to go and has be for years now.As for Fein, I can't find a SDS or percussion drill in their range, you didn't mean Festool? (which incidentally are for trades who don't like to get their tools dirty, ie shopfitters(they also have more sense than money)).

In reply to Voltemands: I've got a range of drills and would say the best is the 14.4 volt Bosch. it is used for a couple of hours everyday and even for missionary drilling up to 8mm. only downside is standard Chuck will only take max of 10mm bit

In reply to tatty112:

That's all very well but the same position gets boring(!) after a while...

In reply to Cthulhu: Ooops Kindle fire auto correct gone mad....... MASONARY/MASONRY drilling

In reply to tatty112:

Nah, I prefer the original. Nice bit of drilling followed by some screwing fnarr fnarr...

In reply to Voltemands:
you can get bigger twist-bits..but they might need a 13mm chuck (and drilling that big a hole might well need a fair bit of power anyway)
http://www.screwfix.com/p/blacksmiths-drill-bit-set-6pcs/81110

Trusty recon black & decker corded from the 80's has done me well for DIY, including masonery & concrete to fit a ground anchor.

Ryobi 14v nicad CHI-1442P has been fine for wood & thin metal, though not great for very small bits (2mm). Struggled to get through 20 bricks, even on hammer. Nice progressive trigger action & low speed for driving. (£49 for drill & driver).

used a makita 18v over the summer & it was about twice as good. Some offers on makita at the moment at e.g. screwfix. if i was buying new, i'd probably go for an 18v, as I might be using it away from power source.

In reply to Voltemands:

It really depends on what you're doing. If you have a normal fairly modern house which is all brick, and you're just planning on drilling holes and the like, then a 14 or 18v cordless combi will do fine. Pick a li-ion drill which is on offer at Screwfix by someone like Bosch, Makita or DeWalt. I have a 10.8v Makita drill driver, which is pretty good for most things.

If you have a house with particulary tough walls (i.e. stone) or need to do some light demolition work then a corded SDS is the way to go. Look for something around £100-150 in the above brands in the 2kg category. The power is measured in J(oules) and you're wanting 2 or above for a 2kg drill.

If you want to splash the cash then go all out for a Hilti Cordless SDS. Bonus point with one of them, is that you can use them to bolt if that's your thing.

In reply to JSA:

As I wrote, for wood or metal Fein or Metabo are the way to go. I didn´t assume the OP lived in some reinforced concrete bunker and wanted to drill holes in it all day, he wanted the opinion of "skilled individuals who make things for a living" and if metalwork od woodwork is his interest then he got my opinion for the best tool for the job. If it is for general work around the house with the occasional wall plug then the Metabo will serve him much better than a specialised SDS drill since the adaptor chuck to take a normal drill makes them excessively long, unhandy and innacurate.

In reply to Voltemands:

Don't bother with a non-SDS drill. We could never get curtain poles in properly because our windows have some kind of reinforced concrete lintel above them. Our corded power drill wouldn't scratch them. We bought an SDS drill and it goes straight through.

There is no point at all buying a non-SDS drill if you might need it for masonry. We got a DeWalt but I think all the major brands (Makita, Bosch etc) will probably be fine.

In reply to Cthulhu:

ahh you're the 'get a good bit of wood in your hand give it a good rub down and then maybe do some Damn good drilling, screwing and hammering' kind of guy

In reply to Voltemands: Wow, this generated a lot more responses than I anticipated. Will have a read...

In reply to Voltemands: Some really great replies and information in this lot, thanks all for taking the time to share your knowledge. It looks like a few brands keep getting recommended so shall look for Makita, Bosch or dewalt at about £120 (ish). I'll be using it mainly for wood and metal work but I may need it occasionally for masonry, I'd hate to be restricted by my choice so shall likely get one masonry suitable. It does however look like I need to have a good think whether a corded or cordless is my best option.

Thanks again.

In reply to Voltemands: If it's mainly wood and metal and will see fairly regular use I'd personally go for one of the big brands Li ion 18v cordless drills. We have Makita at work and they have a hammer function which can cope with light stuff. But they are great drills and pack plenty of power nicely weighted too if using them a lot. Not sure on the cost on alone though all ours have been twin packs with the impact drivers. Then grab a cheapy sds when needed pointless having an all singing one for light duties.

In reply to Wallm0nkey: i love my impact driver, quality little tool!!!

In reply to jimtitt:
The OP hasn't said what he would be using it for, maybe he wants one that can also drill masonry.

I didn´t assume the OP lived in some reinforced concrete bunker and wanted to drill holes in it all day,

Who does?

he wanted the opinion of "skilled individuals who make things for a living" and if metalwork od woodwork is his interest then he got my opinion for the best tool for the job.

I think I would class myself in the above statement given that I've been a joiner for 22 years and have drilled just about every material there is to drill.

It's well documented on the forums what you do for a living, but to assume that because I didn't say what I did for a living therefor I don't really know what I'm talking about does come across as somewhat arrogant.

All the best.

In reply to Voltemands: If the OP wants to drill metal, wood, masonry and concrete etc then don't go for the SDS after all, go for a minimum 12v cordless with hammer action.

In reply to Voltemands: This is a top bit of kit for all round use;

http://www.screwfix.com/p/dewalt-xr-dcd785c2sf-gb-18v-1-5ah-li-ion-cordless...
Mark.

In reply to tatty112:

Poor old Chuck.

In reply to tom_in_edinburgh:

Well, for goodness sake give Chuck a break from the missionary! That could help compensate for the size limitations.