I’ve been needing a new drill for a while, with a new house purchase on the horizon, I’m finally able to justify one. Budget is about £150, these caught the eye:

Thinking the Makita, based purely on charge time…

Ive had one of these for about 5 years. I mean this genuinely, you needn’t pay more;

http://www.screwfix.com/p/erbauer-erh396ddh-14-4v-2-6ah-li-ion-cordless-drill-driver/21639

I’ve got that De Walt. It’s a fair bit lighter & has 3 batteries so charging time is moot.

Close call between the Makita and the Bosch. The Dewalt’s battery at 1.3ah is a bit of a joke.

If it was me I’d go for the bosch as it’ll do more things, faster, for longer. The makita however would probably outlast the house. How much are spare batteries?

I bought the De Walt one on Tuesday for £120. With 2 batteries as oppose to 3.

I’ve got the Bosch, albeit with a smaller capacity battery. The chuck is the only weak point, it doesn’t autolock quite as well as it could, but it’s compact, pretty light and plenty powerful enough for anything that I wouldn’t get the SDS out for.

With a 4Ah battery, charge time is moot, as the battery will last bloody ages outside of a purely industrial environment.

Bosch for me with the almost industrial li-on battery … The dewalt 1.3 Ah battery is not as bad as you think

I have the makita, excellent drill and the quick charge is brilliant, more than enough torque for any diy jobs and mine gets used and abused around the farm and workshop – most of my cordless tools are makita just because they work time and time again and the plastic housings can take abuse or dropped from heights without cracking like cheaper alternatives.

The Dewalt at 1.3Ah is seriously underpowered.

I’ve got the Makita one. Only gets DIY use, but it’s very very good.

And Makita sell lots of body only tools that use the same battery, so you don’t have lots of different batteries and chargers hanging around.

Looking for a replacement drill too. Just watched the official video of the Bosch and it shows the bloke drilling what looks like well over 13mm into brickwork, yet the spec states 13mm is the max. Me being stupid?

Ive got that DeWalt, it came with a 1.3ah battery and i bought a 3ah as extra. The 1.3 is so good for DIY i hardly use the 3ah, only while the 1.3 is charging (which is really short). Its got the umph to drill holes through tough (black) brick or through joists.

No idea how it compares but it has not come up short in any task ive asked of it refurbing my whole house so im happy with it.

Is it the LXT Makita? LXT is their pro range with metal gearbox.

I use mine almost daily as I make and fit wardrobes and kitchens. It’s lovely to use and the battery has been excellent. 20 mins charge time means you don’t need 2.

I have a lighter DeWalt also, but it doesn’t feel as light in the hand.

The hammer drill works fine, but to go through concrete you’ll need an SDS jobby, like a Titan rotary Hammer from Screwfix for very little cash.

EDIT – just checked the link. It’s the one I’ve got. A real beaut, and surprisingly the 101 piece kit that comes with it is pretty useful. Although pick up a set of HSS drill bits, a couple of good 6.5 mm masonry bits and a tic-tac pack of de walt PZ2 driver bits to go with it and you’re set for life! The magnetic bit-holder is the best I’ve had. Don’t lose it 😳

Doh, me was being stupid. 13mm bit not depth 😳

I was In the same position and I chose this,

http://m.screwfix.com/p/dewalt-dcd776c2-gb-18v-1-3ah-li-ion-cordless-combi-drill-xr/17648

All 3 are good and will do a fine job. Personally I’d go for the makita. The fast charger is great and its a nice drill. Very versatile and ample power.

That Makita is £135 with Wickes (with the 34 piece kit).

I’ve got that makita from screwfix as well.

The battery lasts long enough to make charging time mute. I charged it up last month and I’ve probably used it for some job or another on the boat every other day and it’s not flat yet.

Only ‘complaint’ is I hate box sets of tools, as I’ve now got a box with assorted drill bits in it (great), but I’ll end up with another box with HSS bits that don’t fit in it, and assorted hole saws, and nut runners, and other stuff. Yet it seems a waste to bin the box! 101 piece kit is usefull though just for the extra screwdriver bits, it’s great having the right philips head driver for the screw rather than stripping it with the nearest posidrive bit etc.

Yes, I hate box sets too – but you can go to a mate’s to do a little job with most of the stuff you need in the one case. I often wish it was just a bare case for the drill, but as you hardly need the charger, just stick the Makita in your big tool box.

Cheers all. I’ve got assorted Bosch stuff dotted around the house and none of it has ever let me down, with that said, still struggling to see past the Makita…

Makita, had mine 4 yrs. Use every day. Have impact driver and circular saw. All excellent products.

I’ve had my makita a few years now and it keeps on working.
Also have a angle grinder and die grinder from them ( both mains powered ) and they have also been perfect

I have the Bosch with a pair of 1.3Ah Li-ions – very impressive piece of kit.

20 mins charge time means you don’t need 2.

Eh? A battery ALWAYS runs out just when you need it.

Whatever you buy a minimum of 2 batteries are essential, unless for purely short-DIY use.

Get a makita lxt….I have Bosch and the batteries are rubbish (though its the older nimh).
I have a makita impact driver and strimmer and the build quality is epic.
The 18v LXT range has a great selection of body only tools at sensible prices.
Shop around though as I found places MUCH cheaper than screwfix for makita.

However , naturally with this being STW, what you really need is this:

http://www.onlinepowertools.co.uk/prod/makita-18v-lithium-ion-11-piece-kit

This is a good price:

http://www.fastfix.co.uk/makita/Makita-BHP456RFWX-18v-LXT-Anniversary-Combi-Drill.html

Whatever you buy a minimum of 2 batteries are essential, unless for purely short-DIY use.

But if you’re more than a short DIY user you’ll be having 2 drills on the go anyway, 1 for pilot holes, 1 for the screws etc. so you can still manage for that 20 mins.

LXT Makita all the way. i have a bunch of the LXT stuff and its all amazing. fast charge, long run time and wonderful to use.

Makita. LXT here too 3.0ah battery 130 quid from Wickes
Bloody fantastic

I’ve had bad experiences with Bosch, AEG + Elu (now DeWalt) battery drills; now use the Makita 18v with the two small batteries (makes the tool much lighter in the hand than with a big battery and as the recharge time is short, capacity is not an issue, assuming you have a spare!).

Makita, it’s the only one you will look cool with surely.

When I was looking about 6 months ago the De Walt was by far the best deal – cheaper and 2 batteries rather than 1. Not regretted it.

I’d go for the Makita, you’ll be more productive with the kit it comes with than the others.

None of them, go for the aeg 18v with 2 x 3.0ah batteries 139 at screwfix

I had a step down in spec (compared to the LXT your eying up) Makita 8 years ago on a del wiht screfix 3x batteries and fast charger and its done it’s self proud and wouldnt hesitate to buy one should this one ever wear out (unlikely)

Thanks all. I went for the Makita.

So we can now add Makita to the growing STW Aspirational List

How STW are you?…….(tick all that apply)

Wood burning stove
Audi (or vw if you can carry off a T5 van)
Haus Hausen Woodpile
Road bike
Cross Bike
Fat Bike
Singlespeed
Full suspension mtb (carbon of course)
Hardtail mtb (carbon/titanium or niche steel)
Bikepacking
3 bike trips abroad per year
Holiday home
Malt whisky collection
Makita power tools
Au pair (either for the kids or for yourself to have a bit on the side)

Anything i’ve missed?….

😉

3/15.. must try harder!

Makita are good though…bought the cordless lxt drill with just one 3.0Ah 18v; can’t personally see any need to buy it with more…if it runs out of power, by the time I’ve brewed and drank a tea its fully charged again. Plus you can buy the bodies of other lxt cordless tools (ie no battery) and add to the toolkit…got a lovely cordless lxt reciprocating saw the other week 🙂

*Ticks off several on that list* 🙂

Somafunk: you missed the whole coffee snob piece.
Coffee bean burr grinder
Coffee press
Bean humidor*

*I’m not sure these exist. Sound like a nice idea though.

And (unrelated):
Watch winder