Well, I had an interesting experience with a recent purchase. I bought a Black & Decker Firestorm 18 volt cordless drill for my dad’s birthday. A few weeks after I bought it, I noticed in the paper that it had been recalled, due to some faulty wiring in hte trigger that could cause it to catch on fire (a definite feature). Now, I had purchased it at a BJ’s Wholesale Club, so it was not the most recent model, drill, but it only cost $70.
Since I preferred for my father to stay alive when using his present, I went to a factory service place to get it fixed. When I got home after having it fixed, I found that the direction switch no longer worked. I called the service place, and they said they would send me a new drill, if I would send back the old one. So, I agreed.
A couple days later, I got the new drill from UPS, and I had a nice surprise: it was the latest model drill, which would have cost $120 if I had bought it originally! I shipped the old drill back, and thought that that was the end of the story.
Well, a few days ago, I got a package from Black & Decker: yep, you guessed it, the old drill! I called and explained what had happenned, and the guy I talked to had no clue what to do. Therefore, he said, “Well, I guess you’re now the proud owner of two drills”!
The end result of this is, I bought one drill for $70, and got a second, newer model of the drill worth $120, and got to keep both!
Yeah, but on the $70 drill, does the direction switch work now? Or did they send it back without fixing it?
It was fixed. and the whole thing was charged to the Black & Decker Firestorm Recall Thingamajig, so I didn’t have to pay for shipping, or parts, or labor, nothing!
Quick, go buy your dad a Lexus.
Are the firestorm drills worth a damn? I have a good Makita but bought a Coleman 18v to have a spare I wouldn’t worry about loaning out. It’s the worst pile of crap I’ve ever bought. It has so little torque I can grab the chuck with my hand and stall the motor.
The firestorm is great. I suppose I could stop it by grabbing the chuck if the battery was really low, but since it isn’t it is great. It’s a really nice drill, and I really like the QuickConnect feature.
lieu, you slay me. That was a good one.
I have a Firestorm drill and it works great.
Not for the first time, Skammer has drill envy.
::Vanyel brags about his extremely long, thick, and powerful drill::
I can’t stand the things. My experience with them chiefly comes for working for Home Depot and the “store use” models we had. None of the employees ever actually used them if they could help it because they had the weakest torque and the shortest battery time. It’s been a couple of years since I used one, but I remember the Firestorm’s batteries lasting for about 10 wood screws. Just ten. After that you have to change batteries or recharge it. That may be enough for minor repairs around the house, and it may be enough for Vanyel and weirddave, but it’s not enough if you are building something or attempting a larger repair job.
Then they have improved the drill since then, Beeblebrox. It is a great drill in its current incarnation, even if it didn’t used to be any good.
So is it better than a Makita? Should I switch the object of my desire?
-Opal, who is currently suffering with a generic POS Walmart drill.
Well, I haven’t used a recent model Makita, but the one I used a couple years ago in high school was awful. So, in my opinion, yes, you should switch. But then, I’m basing that opinion on a drill I used several years ago, which was probably five years old at the time, compared to a brand new drill. So I could be wrong.
Hrm. I had always heard good things about Makita. A drill in HS may have been a tad overworked and mistreated, yes?
I’m not sure I’d take the home depot anecdote at face value. NiCad batteries do not hold a charge long term. You really need to charge it the night before you use it. The batteries can self discharge significantly in just a week. I use NiMH batteries a lot for photography and always have to charge just before a shoot.
Opal, if the price doesn’t scare you off I honestly don’t think you can go wrong with Makita aside from a cheaper, Chinese made drill they have. Costco has a 12v model with nickel metal hydride battereies for $120. The NiMH cells have more capacity than NiCad and are not considered toxic waste when you have to replace them. They also have user replaceable motor brushes so they don’t have to be dissassembled.
If you want a less expensive drill that gives a lot of bang for the buck get a Ryobi. I’ve got a 7.2v model that has enough torque I cannot stall it by holding the chiuck with my hand. I can easily stall the 18v Coleman even with a freshly charged battery. The battery is detachable so it’s a big step up from the cheap ones with internal, non-replaceable batteries.
Is anyone else being effected by the testosterone level in this thread?
So do you use your naughty bits with the drill you currently own? 
Take it from a tradesman Opal, buy the Makita.
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Power tools!
RR-rr-rr-rr-rr!!!
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