Power tools

Anyone know any review sites – sort of Bikeradar for power tools?

Also any suggestions for Hitachi or Makita cordless combi drill/drivers? My Hitachi batteries have given up, and ridiculously it looks like it is cheaper to buy a new drill than two new batteries.

http://www.reviewcentre.com/consumer_reviews27.html
Or use a company called Re-cell to fit new better batteries inside your knackered packs.

bosch gear is resonable, price wise and very reliable.
makita good but you will have to pay a fair bit more.

The new Makita LXT Li-ion kit is great. Ebay should get you a 2 battery kit for about £200.

Screwfix were offering the Makita NiMh 3 battery combi drill for £79.99 which is an absolute bargain for frequent DIY USE. They also have the new Hitachi Li-ion kits going fairly cheap.

Makita, never DEWALT, theyre overpriced and crap, says the ex dewalt user.

The older Dewalt stuff was great. The newer stuff has yet to keep up with the competition.

My old 14.4v XRP Combi was lovely in it’s day.

Get yourself a Festool and be done with it…… 😀

Nah, get yourself one of those single-speed retro babies ……

Yo Stompy,

Festool rocks!

However if you want to put big stuff in easy then Makita Impact drivers are by far the best thing. Buy a 2 o3 battery drill set with as many Ahs as poss and then buy a "naked" impact driver and voila!

Olie

I’ve been really disappointed with recent dewalt stuff, I find it heavy and clumsy to use, and you can get stung with non-EU market mexican made guff if you buy online. Only worth considering if you have small hands, as the battery design allows for a smaller grip.

Makita and Bosch stuff has always been good value for me, even the cheaper green bosch stuff.

With the newer Li-ion batteries on the scene the older technology Ni-Cad and Ni-Mh stuff is very well priced at the moment with either higher amp/hr batteries or more batteries then you would have got in the past.

I generally lean toward Makita stuff, maybe its just what I’m used to but I find their stuff quite controllable, certainly more so than Dewalt. Screwfix’s own brand "Site" tools might be worth a look – made by Makita, seemingly with their older technology and very keanly priced just now. If you’re not using drill drivers an awful lot they might be worth a look.

Second the makita impact drivers, fab, very light and very powerful. Make a fricking racket though, good for making it seem like you are doing an awful lot more work than you actually are. The tool to reach for when the client in in earshot.

Just replaced my last dead cordless drill (DEWALT) for the 18v Makita on offer here:

Makita BHP453RFX

Battery charges in 20 min and has lasts me all day, with the DEWALT it would want a boost at lunch time!

S*** loads of torque for a cordless as well, my mains powered drill never makes it to the van any more!

Not the cheapest bit of kit though.

Anyone know any review sites

Screwfix customer feedback on products it not bad either.

That’s a really good price for a combi drill with a 3Ah Li-Ion battery ski.
I would go for that CaptainMainwaring. Although I bet spare batteries are a scary price !

Thanks everyone. Top advice as usual. Think I will go for that Makita ski. Bit nervous about only having one battery, but 3.0ah is dead good, and as its Li-Ion I am not so worried about frequent recharging knackering it too quickly

As a slight aside, I could replace my old Hitachi 2.0ah battery for £70. How stupid is that when you can get a complete new Hitachi drill with 3 x 1.4ah batteries for £117?

Agree with the De Walt comments – wouldn’t touch them with a bargepole. Elu routers were great though before they and De Walt got taken over by B+D

Your right, Elu stuff was the best back in day… hmmmm 😉

Still got an Elu chop saw that has been on site work for over 10 years and although now a little battered she still goes like a dream. Don’t make them like they used to……

Dewalt has been part of Black and Decker since 1960. People seem to assume that Dewalt is/was a german brand. Mr Dewalt, inventor of the Radial Arm Saw (or the Wonder Worker as he called it) started his company in Pennsylvania back in the 1920’s. B&D bought Elu in the 90s and applied Dewalt branding to some of their lines.