Cordless Tool Recommendations

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TheRealZed

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I was a Makita guy for a long time, started to wear them out around the time the battery tech was changing and the tool range was exploding. I opted to buy cheap tools to get by for a bit... I have to say they have way exceeded expectations and done much better than anticipated, however it's time to buy some better gear. Any recommendations on battery platform? Milwalkee has good support here, as does Makita. The big box store pushes Dewalt and Ryobi, Bosche and AEG are around.

Comments thoughts?
 
You really can't go wrong with Milwaukee and they have a wide variety of tools. DeWalt is a preferred brand amongst many contractors. I think DeWalt started slipping years ago. For a discount brand if you have Harbor Freight you may want to look at their Hercules brand which is highly adequate and they have a 5 hour battery available.

At the end of the day I like Milwaukee the best.
 
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BeefJerky said:
You really can't go wrong with Milwaukee
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I think they now have the best range down here, plus they will build kits for the right $$ if you are buying enough. I like the feel of the tools that I have used.
 
Had DeWalt screw guns since the 12V came out. The first one was a beast. Built many, many decks, sheds, horse stalls, hung gates, etc with that thing. It finally wore out and I bought a new one as I still had the battery packs. The new one didn't last two years. Bought a Milwaukee 18V (M18) package. Screw gun and an impact gun, two batteries, and the charger for $200. I'm loving them. Didn't know if I would like the impact gun, but was pleasantly surprised when it was able to effortlessly take the lug nuts off my pickup truck. Now I also own the M18 caulking gun, circular saw, and reciprocating saw. Very handy having cordless saws for spot repairs around the place. Also appreciate the fact that the reciprocating saw doesn't require tools to change the blades. So far I am very pleased I went this route. The tools seem to be good quality and everything works as advertised.
 
This thread brings to mind how manipulated we are by branding. We use a product be it tool, food item, auto or clothing and we stick by the name as they always treated us well. Slowly things change, management, ownership, design, service. Then one day we realize what we thought we had no longer exists. Like Liberty safes, I don't own one but many of my buds do and they swear by them, now they're swearing at them. One more way we are dazed and confused..

On tools, was a Makita guy in the 80's, then converted all to dewalt first 12v then 20v and have had good service with them. For serious work I still love those tools with long cords and three prong plugs....
 
i have been on the dewalt platform for years...18v now 20v ...and they have been good tools ....i also have been around other brands...if i were to start a new platform today i would go with Milwaukee they are producing some very good tools that are consistently across the board at the top of performance levels

fwiw ....have also have/had makita hitachi ingersolrand portercable, BD , hilti
 
Never had a problem with Ryobi other than them growing legs.
 
BackwardsEngineer said:
Slowly things change, management, ownership, design, service.
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I had Dewalt in the early 90's, corded. I ended up giving all my tools to my father, long story, anyway, I bought Dewalt less than 10 years later and they weren't half the tool. Still OK, but not nearly the quality. We had a Bendix washing machine as a kid, lastest the family 25 years, so I got one as an adult. Seven warranties calls in the first 12 months, junked it after the warranty ran out. I can go on, and on... it seems that a brand is either building and good or some asshole is milking its history for max $$$ return and screw the brand. So many greats have died.

BackwardsEngineer said:
Then one day we realize what we thought we had no longer exists.
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Ahmen...

"You get what you pay for" is no longer applicable!

"You never get what you don't pay for. Otherwise, it's a crap shoot" needs to replace that saying.

BackwardsEngineer said:
For serious work I still love those tools with long cords and three prong plugs....
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Me too... but I hate cables. Mine are all bobtail with XLR connectors now. Works well with the added benefit that most people will not walk off with a tool that has an odd looking plug on it.

BackwardsEngineer said:
On tools, was a Makita guy in the 80's, then converted all to dewalt first 12v then 20v and have had good service with them.
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They are still good from all reports, the range is OK but skewed more to woodwork. That does suit me somewhat.

It's this whole committing to a battery platform that's an issue.

I've had great life out of Bosche Blue Jacket tools and their cordless stuff is well priced down here... but the range sucks. That said, they have some great low voltage tool designs that the others just don't do.

This palm router is genius, total control...



I can see that I will probably end up with a couple different battery platforms, Probably 12v and 18v...
 
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nickndfl said:
Never had a problem with Ryobi other than them growing legs.
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I think that the consumer end is very well engineered these days. They are cheap, but enough for what most people actually do. They are a good option for your average weekend warrior, IMO.

I tend to get a little ambitious, I've taken up the 5 year warranty on my cheapy tools a number of times. Mind you they went down with an impressive fight for their cost. Down here, some trades just use them as throw away tools. So cheap that they don't care that it lasts 12 months, they have another on the shelf ready to go, and it still ends up cheaper than spending $$$ and often having them stolen off job sites. Only works for certain tools, some like circular saws just don't cut the mustard.
 
zed,
Not sure they are available down under but Speed Queen top load washers are flat out awesome... bought one for every place we've owned and also given them to the kids and in laws... 10 year warranty on the transmission and drive train.
 
BackwardsEngineer said:
zed,
Not sure they are available down under but Speed Queen top load washers are flat out awesome... bought one for every place we've owned and also given them to the kids and in laws... 10 year warranty on the transmission and drive train.
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Speed Queen are down here in a commercial capacity. Most laundromats run their gear down here, but I have never seen a retail offering!
 
 
I see Milwaukee Fuel systems with repair folks.

They seem to be light weight from what I can tell.

Staying with one battery architecture is key IMO.
 
Goldhedge said:
I see Milwaukee Fuel systems with repair folks.

They seem to be light weight from what I can tell.

Staying with one battery architecture is key IMO.
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The ones I have used seemed hefty, I've not heard much criticism of them from that perspective.
 
BackwardsEngineer said:
Not sure they are available down under but Speed Queen top load washers are flat out awesome... bought one for every place we've owned and also given them to the kids and in laws... 10 year warranty on the transmission and drive train.
Click to expand...
I agree on the Speed Queen washer and dryer. We have tried other brands over the years and Speed Queen beats all of them. Really built well and worth the extra couple hundred bucks.
 
From all the tests and reviews I've seen Milwaukee has the best batteries.
 
When Stanley bought out DeWalt (sometime around 2008 I think?) it started going downhill a bit.
I have a set of Porter-Cable cordless tools that have served me well, but I am not terribly hard on tools.
Porter-Cable is also owned by Stanley/Black and Decker, along with DeWalt, Craftsman, and others.
 
Thanks. I think I'm doing Milwaukee or Makita. At this point it's leaning Milwaukee.
 
Update:

In addition to all the M18 tools that I listed in post #4, I have added a M18 battery powered string trimmer to the collection. Compared to our old Black aand Decker battery string trimmer, it is a beast. Much better built all around. I added a couple of 6.0 mAh batteries for longer run times and am quite impressed at just how much fence line I can trim on a single charge. And it takes heavier trimmer line than the old B&D.

Once again, Milwaukee for the win.
 
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