Lost a dear friend

[pierhogunn]

Well, I have to admit this, but it looks like my trusty, been everywhere with me cordless drill and her batteries have gone wandering.

Any suggestions

trying to keep under $150

[LCHIEN]

If you don't have an impact drill already, this Craftsman 19.2V combo will give you one at a very reasonable price (< $100) for two pieces with common batteries
http://www.bt3central.com/showthread.php?t=34556

[cork58]

Drill

If you care to spend more.

I was talking to our Dewalt rep just last night and he said the new 18v tools are comming out and most dealers are cutting the price on last years models by 50%. A 10 piece set would be around twice what you want to spend but you will be getting alot more for your dollar.

The new tools are lighter and very well balanced. Unlike the ones on the shelf today. I didn't buy the complete set this year because I knew this would happen! I did buy the impact driver though. I just couldn't wait after seeing it. In Alaska right now you can get the complete kit for $300.00. I expect the price to go down alot in the next 3 weeks. OH the great thing they did was make sure the new battery will fit the older stuff! I was really impressed with the new line but will get the older version new at half price or better. The dealers are being very slow in putting the new sutff out because of inventory which he didn't like. Duh. You may go to your local guy and make an offer, you might be suprised of what he will do.

Just my thoughts.

[cabinetman]

Well, I have to admit this, but it looks like my trusty, been everywhere with me cordless drill and her batteries have gone wandering.

Any suggestions

trying to keep under $150

See what you get for calling your drill a "HER". This time of the year "Christmas", there are all kinds of sales and promotions. Just keep your eye out (not literally). Just keep in mind some of the details you would like in the tool. Be wary of the 3 - 4 hr charge models, they suck. Get more than one battery, and some of these multi-tool deals that use the same battery are pretty cool.
.

[eccentrictinkerer]

I'm a Panasonic guy. I use the 12 volt version of the drill, impact driver and saw everyday. They are light-weight and powerful. Spendy, though.

When I started my handyman business, two contractor friends told me this was the way to go. I'm extremely happy.

The new Makita drill and impact driver combo look tempting, though. Li-ion batteries are the way of the future. Hope they get a saw soon.

[pierhogunn]

I've seen several people sing the praises of the impact driver, why?

[LCHIEN]

Impact driver

re: impact driver

its totally amazing if you use one.
Basically the principle (from wikipedia) is
In operation, a rotating mass (the hammer) is accelerated by the motor, storing energy, then suddenly connected to the output shaft (the anvil), creating a high-torque impact. The hammer mechanism is designed such that after delivering the impact, the hammer is again allowed to spin freely, and does not stay locked. With this design, the only reaction force applied to the body of the tool is the motor accelerating the hammer, and thus the operator feels very little torque, even though a very high peak torque is delivered to the socket. This is similar to a conventional hammer, where the user applies a small, constant force to swing the hammer, which generates a very large impulse when the hammer strikes an object. Energy is stored over time, allowing a very strong, but short output impulse to be generated from a relatively weak, but constant input force. The hammer design requires a certain minimum torque before the hammer is allowed to spin separately from the anvil, causing the tool to stop hammering and instead smoothly drive the fastener if only low torque is needed, rapidly installing/removing the fastener.

The net is that it will drive screws, nuts, bolts with a LOT of driving torque but not the torque that wrenches your arm or tends to break the bolt or cam out of a phillips bit. The internal impact mechanism concentrates the force and the reaction forces in the hammer and anvil mechanism. At low torque it simply spins rapidly seating the fastener, then switches to impact mode when higher torque is required.

The cordless electric impact drivers generally have 1/4" hex sockets as the driving connection and you can put in any screwdriver bits, or socket adapters.

I used to refuse to have any cordless tools except a drill driver... now I have the drill driver and a impact driver, and for really driving big lag screws or breaking bolts loose and such the impact driver gets the call.
Try one, the light will come on!

[Zenaca]

Check out the Milwaukee at lowes for $129 . It is about the same size as the Bosch Impactor . http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?actio...-22&lpage=none

[Uncle Cracker]

Remember that, although these impact drivers are great for their intended purpose, they are not meant to be used for drilling. You'll still need a drill if you get one.

[eccentrictinkerer]

Re: Impact Drivers

When driving hundreds of deck screws, you'll notice that your wrist gets sore, really sore. That's because your wrist has to counteract the twisting force applied to the screw.

When you use the impact driver that force is cut to a small fraction of that of a drill-driver.

Plus, it's just great to own cool tools!

[LCHIEN]

Remember that, although these impact drivers are great for their intended purpose, they are not meant to be used for drilling. You'll still need a drill if you get one.

yes, i should have said that. Early in this thread I recommended buying the Craftsman combo drill-driver and impact driver set for $99. Has a 19.2V full function drill driver and a impact driver, 2 batts, 1 fast charger for that price. Actually made by Ryobi for Sears Craftsman. If you don't like cases, you'll love this set - no case.

[Cheeky]

The Ridgid 18V drill is $99 at HD (down from $150). I have one (one of too many) and registered it for Ridgid's Lifetime Service Agreement.....so if the batteries fail, or the drill fails, they will fix or replace the respective item for life.

very good drill IMO

here's a nice deal, on the cheap (39.99), for a 19.2v Craftsman drill

one other simple thing about impact drivers: they don't strip screwheads, even when you don't pilot!

if you want to try one, go to a Home Depot with a Hilti rep, and try one. It's probably the most fun tool IMO. Drilling 3" srews is so dang fun!

Check out the Milwaukee at lowes for $129 . It is about the same size as the Bosch Impactor . http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?actio...-22&lpage=none

the Bosch PS-20 is basically the same thing as this, for $30 less (more if you consider tax at lowes). and the PS-40 for $30 (less if you consider tax, blows both of them out of the water.....800lbs of torque in that lil puppy!