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OK I'm in the market for a new cordless drill/driver, anyone have any suggestions for what's good at the moment?
I don't need hammer action, do need good speed control as I use it as a driver a lot, compact and reasonably lightweight would be good, 12v-14.4v no more, max 1 hour charge preferably less.
I'm looking at the Metabo 14.4v Impulse Lithium Ion, a bit more than I wanted to spend but a great looking drill, I do like Metabo stuff and the 3 year warranty inspires confidence!
Also considering DeWalt, Makita, maybe Bosch, all the usual good names.

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Graham in Shepperton, England

Good, Quick, Cheap, pick any two.

I just bought a 12v DeWalt. Mainly because they're all I see our company maintenance crews use. My previous cordless spoiled me. But, was slow to charge. And, when when I needed new battery pack, they were nowhere to be found. Bought the DeWalt, got the old battery pack reworked. Now, I have two.

Still need the old electric for heavy and long duration stuff.

Bill

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Mini -Tug, KH Tahoe 19 & Bartender 24 - There can be no miracle recoveries without first screwing up.
Tahoe 19 Build

Dewalt has come out with a 36 volt which will cut a two inch hole through a 2X with a greenlee/forsner type bit...really agressive. (Good for the plumbing trade). Heavy maybe. I have been running two 18V dewalts for years and finally one of the batterys died and I picked up wicked cheap Makita torque drill/driver which is only 14.4 but has a really short neck which allows me to get into some spaces I normally wouldnt be able to reach.

I think everyone has improved their battery operated tools as well as the battery itself. I might have to dig back through one of my woodworking mags,...I think they rated them a while back

SS

My Makita has held up good, the drill itself has taken a beating from me. I have had to replace the batteries though, I think batteries are the 1st part to go in all of them.

We use the Ryobi 18 volt units. They have lots of other neat tools that all use the same battery. Batteries are cheap at $40/2. Take a heck of a beating and still work even when they should be totally worn out. Initial cost is also less than the other name brands. We use their 18v circular saw all the time also.

When my 18v Dewalt takes a dive, my next will be the Ryobi. Less cost all around and works as well as any of them.

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One day.

I love my 1/2" Porter Cable 14.4v ($119), but to be honest the chuck/clutch assembly on my corded Ryobi ($29) is better. I too would go with a Ryobi next time.

Robert

I bought a new drill/driver earlier this week, got a very good deal on a Bosch 12v, one of their blue professional range. You get a full 3 year warranty if you register it online, which I have done of course, I'm also considering one of their handheld circular saws for all the Cedar strip I have to cut in a couple of months time.
The drill is good, it's more compact and lighter than my other one and only slightly less powerful, with a one hour charger and two batteries. I'll still need to get another more powerful one when my old drill finally dies, and at that time I'll probably go for the Metabo Lithium Ion one unless there's something better on the market by then.

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Graham in Shepperton, England

Good, Quick, Cheap, pick any two.

If'en ya have'nt used a cordless circular saw yet, when you do, you'll look for other projects to use such, they'er great! You'll find it's best to adjust the blade depth, if for no other reason than to conserve power. (Not that youdon't do such anyway.) I like to use the thin blades for the same reason.

Bosch is putting some good stuff out there, these days.

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One day.

I'll be getting a 240v mains circular saw John, for the amount of strip I have to cut I don't think a cordless will do. The Bosch GKS 65 is the one I'm looking at, a nice compact 190mm blade model rated at 1600W.
I'll be using thin blades to minimise waste, when you're cutting nearly a kilometre of strip an extra 1mm blade width makes a significant difference!

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Graham in Shepperton, England

Good, Quick, Cheap, pick any two.

The best part about the ryobis is that they are so inexpensive you can practically throw them away if they get dirty.

Steve

I concur and understand with ya Graham. You'll have more than enofe filler for your epoxy

The cordless is just handy, I use mine more than the corded one. But ofcourse it depends on what one is doing/working on.

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One day.

What is the best thin kerf blade...Fien or Freud or someting like that ?

Steve

I don't know if they are the best, but I use CMT tungsten carbide tipped blades, their thin kerf blades are 1.9mm wide and slice through any timber with ease.

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Graham in Shepperton, England

Good, Quick, Cheap, pick any two.

CMT's are high on the list, so are Forrest blades.

http://www.forrestsawblades.com/

Something you'll wont to have along with a thin kerth (10") blade.
http://www.forrestsawblades.com/dampner.htm

(I wouldn't recommend a high-end blade to someone that hasn't used a tablesaw that much. At least not till one knows his/her way around one. I wouldn't recommend a thin kerf for the same reason.)

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One day.