Thats all really….the wife wants ideas to send to my hopeless parents for my 40th, and a new drill would be nice. 18v because that’s what everyone talks about.

So what should I be looking for?

I’ve got Makita therefore it’s the best!!

To be honest i think it really comes down to whether you prefer yellow or blue.

I can’t comment on dewalt stuff but Makita LXT stuff is lovely to use. If you use it for longer jobs make sure you get at least a 3Ah battery.

+1 on the makita LXT, but the proper stuff not the incompatible battery B&Q versions.

http://www.screwfix.com/p/bosch-gsb-1800-18v-3ah-li-ion-cordless-combi-drill/8160g

And if you want another 3.0Ah battery…

http://www.screwfix.com/p/bosch-18v-3-0ah-li-ion-coolpack-battery/28488

I think you’d struggle to do better; I spent weeks agonising over what to get; comparing cost, torque, capacity, etc…

Never used Makita but I’ve had DeWalt stuff for years and it’s never let me down.

“To be honest i think it really comes down to whether you prefer yellow or blue.“

I suspect that’s genuinely what it boils down to.

Makita.

You’ll be happy with either. I prefer makita but both are good. Lxt is the range to go for. There’s loads of compatible stuff too. Screwfix have a nice dewalt bit set or a smaller wera one which both make good stocking fillers.

I have a dewalt. My son has a makita.
Makita is more robust, durable, powerful and expensive.
I was in Travis perking recently. They have a cracking deal on the dewalt model I have.
Mine cost £250 with an additional battery.
In TP it is about £115 for drill/battery case no spare.

makita,

Just so you can sing ‘Oh Makita you will never knooowwwww……’ every time you use it. Like I do. And everyone else, right?

Travis Perkins.

bosch blue 🙂

Defo need 3aH batteries regardless of the colour of the body.

Can’t go wrong with a cordless drill but recip saws can be great fun if you want to spend time thinking up things to chop up.

I sell both. bosch 36v and Makita 36v

the bosch tends to break more often.

Makita. Only because it’s what I’ve got. My 1996 drill / driver is still going strong, it has had new batteries about 6 years ago.

I’m having an 18v LXT drill and impact driver set for my birthday. I can’t wait to “reinforce everything with extra screws” 🙂

Milwaukee,
or Hitachi if they’ve sorted the pissy chuck.

Ask an expert….

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-N_UuImPL4E[/video]

Have had DeWalt power tools for years and no complaints at all.
As others have said above, I don’t think you will go wrong with either.

Happy makita lxt user here.
Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t think essential tools should need to be presents. Can’t you get the drill anyway, and a nice whisky for the present? Would a wife get an iron?

Makita, and I should know, I once worked for Screwfix.

Back when I worked in construction (long story), we used Makita exclusively. Nothing to compare to, but they always Just Worked without fuss.

Mlkwaukee. Be different.

Have Makita got over their battery woes? they are not what they used to be, but still pretty good! A sad fact many tool makers have cheapened their products and live off good reps from years past, old Makita was very durable.

So I’d say De-Walt on current evidence, the ones I’ve used have been faultless and smooth in operation.

I watched that episode earlier today binners, fantastic opening, I could only understand every fifth word or so but there’s no mistaking the gist of it!

Back when I worked in construction (long story), we used Makita exclusively. Nothing to compare to, but they always Just Worked without fuss.

Aah… The Rose tinted spectacles of nostalgia….

I must be one of the few people to have had a Makita go wrong out of warranty!

Whilst we’re talking about cordless power tools; I’ll be getting one of these when they get them back in stock:

http://www.axminster.co.uk/usb-charger-adaptor-for-power-tool-battery-packs

I never knew they existed until recently!

I work on sites…more than I’d care to at the moment. I see more Makita than anything else (by a long way) when it comes to drill/drivers and impact drivers. I like Bosch stuff myself, but I don’t do much drill/driving to be honest and I only have mine because they’re feather-light and I get bothered if I have to use anything with any weight to it after a few minutes. 😆 I reckon Makita will give you more bang for your buck. DeWalt do seem to be trying to up their game in the last couple of years after losing their reputation somewhat. I don’t think you’d go far wrong with either.

Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t think essential tools should need to be presents. Can’t you get the drill anyway, and a nice whisky for the present? Would a wife get an iron?

Yeah, I’ve been told I should think of something “nice” for myself, but I am really struggling

Matebo for me

Bosch/Makita /dealt are all good tools ime. Dewalt slightly worse.

However, brand isn’t everything. The diy sheds still sell nicd batteries and sometimes non standard Nimh for Makita.

Not all Makita18v drills are equal. The 453 (most common) is vastly inferior to the 458 – we have both and the 453 really struggles in comparison. Also consider what it’s going to be used for. For driving screws an impact driver is a revelation – the 10.8v impact driver in this set http://www.powertoolworld.co.uk/makita-lct204w-108v-lxt-twin-pack.html?gclid=CJfC7amhvcYCFcfnwgod2zoJWQ is a lot more powerful than the 18v 853 drill. That set is a winner for woodwork – an 18v impact can be too powerful for a lot of jobs – and if you’re not drilling stone would do most jobs better than an 853 drill

I’ve had that very Makita set and the speed selector on the drill driver started to fail soon after the warranty expired. Otherwise happy with it!

My DeWalt impact driver is the best power tool I’ve ever had, by a million miles. As said above though, I reckon Makita are every bit as good, if not better.

Recently went theough a similar decision process and ended up with Milwaukee

Just bought one of these:

http://www.diy.com/departments/bosch-cordless-18v-li-ion-combi-drill-2-batteries-psb-1800/849504_BQ.prd

Seems excellent and has a full 5*’s on something like 180 Amazon reviews (and people generally always moan about their drills on Amazon).

Is £3 cheaper at B&Q though…

Personally I use Panasonic. …but most guys I work with have either Makita or Deal. ….neither are bad …..but no comparison to Panasonic

I use in my business …. Makita. Use to use DeWalt but got fed up of batteries not lasting and poor durability of the DeWalt stuff.

I renovated a house and used makita power tooks, which were absolutely hammered, and they still work fine.

Makita LXT 18V here. Have a few of their tools and two batteries. The naked tools can be bought for very little money from places such as FFX. I always find screwfix to be expensive for Makita.