Cordless Power Drills and Drivers
 

Hi Folks,

I'm looking to get a cordless power drill/driver set for home/domestic use. Primary use will be for assembling furniture, minor/light repairs to stuff around the house. I will require one that has the capability to drill through ceramic tile (bathroom) and was wondering if anybody had any experience and insight as to what to look for in a drill/driver.

I'm not partial to any particular brand, but would want something that won't crap out in two to three weeks, and has a good warranty. Any advice, wisdom, and input is appreciated. Thanks in advance!

I’ve been happy with my ryobi, also the one+ battery system makes it easy for buying future tools and not paying more for extra batteries

For normal household stuff like you're wanting to do any decent brand will do what you want just fine (B&D, DeWalt, Makita, Ryobi, Milwaukee, etc). I've got Black & Decker drills that are 8+ years old, a Dewalt that's about the same, a big Makita that's probably 30 years old and I've never had issues with any of them.

If you've got credit card points see what you can get with them, that's how I got the first of my Black & Deckers. It reno'd half my house, built my kids slide, etc.

Get one with a brushless motor. High voltage units are heavier, may be more difficult to control and/or use for long periods of time if you’re not used to them. Don’t buy shitty drill bits.

Did the mods take away your search button?
https://www.revscene.net/forums/6682...ss-drills.html

But to contribute something useful.... Drilling has a lot to do about the drill bit itself, so like Jmac said, don't buy the shitty ones

Any particular make/model you recommend, or minimum voltage? I am thinking 12V might do the job, but I am not sure.

I need a drill that will have enough power to drill through the bathroom tile so I can install a shower bar. Where I'm unsure of which voltage would be the absolute minimum without killing it.

Also, any particular brand of drill bits to recommend?

Interestingly enough, my search functionality is crippled on several forums.

The real risk there is cracking the tile, not running out of power. Definitely get good bits and go slow.

Do you have any spare tiles from the bathroom to practice on? If you don't maybe grab a couple cheap ones of the same type from the hardware store to get a feel for it.

edit: one other suggestion I thought of, get something compact (in terms of size between the chuck and the back end behind the motor). I've run into issues with clearance more than anything else over the years.

This is what I am afraid of - cracking the tile. The current owner did not leave any spare tiles, but I believe I found the tiles from Home Depot, and they aren't entirely expensive, so I can afford to break a few before doing the real damage on the two bathrooms.

I recommend any brushless, minimum 18V, and the proper tile/glass drill bit for your job. Brand doesn't really matter as long as you go with one of "better known" brands as listed up there.

Dont waste your money on brushless, get the cheap ryobi

Impactor 12v small battery. You dont need a huge 18v to put in 20 screws.

If you are using it 4 times a year, why pay 30% more for brushless.

I use my tools day in day out, so its a different story.
Personally all milwaukee, every time they break i have had free warranty.

Even if they aren't the exact same ones, if you can get some that are the same material it should be enough to give you a feel for it. A drill bit guide (or a scrap block of wood) might be handy if the bit ends up wanting to wander on the tile.

There's good deals to be had on your local CL. Seen some near new impact/drill sets for half off retail. As someone else said, brushless is overkill for light home use. I am personally in year 5 on an entry level non-brushless Makita 18V impact/drill set that gets daily use and so far no issues.

Ryobi is the answer. They have a ton of tools that use the same battery many designed for home use that other companies don't offer. They also always go on sale. Mighty car modes (way before they were sponsored), Tavarish, and other YouTubers use Ryobi. The maker space I am a part of also uses Ryobi. Remember you are buying into a battery system.

Some great points here, guys. Thanks a bunch.

I won't be using the tools on a daily basis unlike some of you, so I think that's where the difference is. Like I said, this will mainly be for domestic home use only The tools won't be used for my livelihood.

I'll have to keep my eyes peeled on the Ryobi, seeing as Home Depot sells it. There is a Home Depot literally a block from my next place (5 minute walk door to door.)

Same for me. They're coming out with a new HP+ line that is more compact. I have a ton of Ryobi stuff and the fact they use the same battery is awesome.

Milwaukee M12 is also a good alternative, not as powerful as the M18 but likely enough power for the home user.

Update: Ended up getting a 20v 1/2" Craftsman brushless drill/driver combo at Lowes for $99. There was a sale on some Dewalt drill bits and screw bits for cheap as well. Win!

Can't go wrong with craftsman they always make good stuff. Only problem is when you need batter replacements you're more likely looking for a new drill instead.

For the $99, I had accepted that should the battery ever die, it would be more economical to buy a new drill instead. :p

how did it go drilling the tile?

if you haven't done it already grab these guys:

https://www.homedepot.ca/product/bos...set/1000656732

top tip; before you start drilling push the tip of the bit into the tile you should hear a small crunch. that will help seat the bit and it won't walk on you and scratch up your tile.

I just used a sharp regular bit, put some masking tape down and went slow, that worked for me, ymmv

Thanks for the pro tip!

I haven't done this yet as I found an alternative solution to my shower situation. Additionally, I have to figure out what I want to do for a permanent fix, whether that's to get a full shower door or a bathtub screen, and the type of shower head/system for the master bathroom. I just moved in to the place last week and still have a tonne of crap to unpack. :alone:

Hey guys, I swapped to DeWalt so I have a Bosch set of tools (drill/driver, impact driver, cordless circular saw, jobsite radio, 4 batteries total) that I am no longer needing. Was wondering if anyone on RS was interested before I posted on Craigslist!

Out of curiosity, any particular reason you switched?

The wider tool selection on Team Yellow. The Bosch tools are great, they have good batteries, their tool selection on this side of the pond is not as good as Milwaukee or DeWalt or even Ryobi.

Honestly...I wanted a heated jacket and it's either Team Red or Team Yellow haha!