I may have mentioned I picked up a Master Mechanic cordless drill at the hardware store, because we needed one, and because it was a fraction of the cost of the Dewalt they carried. It’s fine for household stuff, but not suited to building the railings for our new deck. The contractor had left his Milwaukee and Dewalt drills here, so I used the Milwaukee. I was impressed. I’d like to get a more-capable cordless drill. I’ve narrowed it down to these two:
Not particularly useful, but I refuse to even consider Dewalt since they started that asinine “Unit Watts Out” crap instead of torque to confuse consumers doing research.
The reason it’s more compact is because it uses a smaller battery (12v instead of 18v) and has a smaller chuck (3/8 instead of 1/2.) (The DeWalt also does come with a soft bag.) These two tools are not really comparable.
Here is an 18v, 1/2-inch chuck Milwaukee drill which is more comparable to the DeWalt.
FWIW, I have the version of the 18v DeWalt model they were selling about 10 years ago, (DC759KA, which it looks like may still be available, and does come with a hard case.)
It is a superb tool that has seen constant abuse for a decade and continues to work flawlessly. My experience with several other DeWalt power tools has been similar. No complaints.
My only experience with Milwaukee has been with their hand tools, but they are all top notch. So I’d say get whatever tickles your fancy.
But if you’re building a deck, I assume you would be using the drill primarily to drive fasteners. If that’s the case, I’d recommend looking into an 18v impact driver instead. You can also get combo kits with both tools, which IMHO is an excellent investment.
The new compacts pack a lot more oomph than you may think. A 12 volt high torque motor packs a punch. The half inch chuck is an advantage for a drill, but I have a heavy duty corded drill (not to mention a drill press) for that heavy duty work, for a drill driver a 3/8 chuck, small and lightweight are what I’m after.
I have no way of knowing what model Milwaukee drill the contractor has (nor his Dewalt, for that matter), but it looked like the one in the OP. I remember its small size. He and his guys used it, and his Dewalt, to screw down the deck planks. I used the Milwaukee to screw down some deck planks with 3-inch screws, after he ran out of screws. (I said I used it on the railings in the OP. Actually, I used my corded drill.) The two things I noted were its compact size and its power. If it’s good enough for him to make a living with, and good enough for me to use on a deck, it’s probably all I need. OTOH, there’s nothing wrong with more power!
Impact drivers are purpose-built for driving screws and do so effortlessly. The biggest problem you’ll have is driving screws straight through the wood if you’re not careful; the torque does all the work and driving even 5" screws requires almost no pressure at all. I questioned for a long time whether I really needed one but as soon as I got one it instantly became my favorite tool.
I can’t think of any other projects that will be so big. And except for the railings and a few screws I put into the planks, it was entirely built by someone else. I liked using the Milwaukee, but I didn’t use the Dewalt. I like 18 v because, well I’m a guy, so… But the 12 v red one was great. Incidentally, they have a 12 v Dewalt at the pawn shop that looks almost new. It comes with the charger and one battery, for $60.
I have both of the drills in the OP at my disposal (the Apts own the Dewalt and I own the Milwaukee). I vote Milwaukee. I use it almost exclusively. By the way I used to use Makitas because of the price. They perform well enough but they don’t hold up. Of particular trouble is the connection with the battery. I’ve gone through a few of them. No more.
Not so fast there. If you are looking for a tool to drive screws, don’t buy a drill. Get an impact driver. Drills are for drilling holes, not driving screws. I have something similar to this, what I bought also came with a cordless circular saw. Don’t wimp out on the screwdriver bits either, what they sell at the big box stores are crap. I buy Allen brand bits from Tacoma Screw Products, they are the same bits we use at Boeing and last many times longer over the cheap bits.
I have two DeWalt drills, one being a straight-up reversible with adjustable torque, and the other being the DCD785C2, which is a 20V drill/hammer drill. I like them both and use them for everything. The latter tool is a bit aggressive for driving screws, but works fine once you’re used to the torque.
