I’m thinking of investing in a cordless drill-driver. I’ve got a gift card to Woodcraft, so whatever I get is coming from there. They’ve got a terrible selection of drills, which is understandable, since they specialize more in fine woodworking. It comes down to the Makita and the Panasonic.
Now, I initially lean towards the Makita, since I’ve always had good experiences with the brand, but it comes with an impact driver, for which I have absolutely no use. I would end up giving it away, and I am not thrilled with the idea of wasting the extra $80 or so.
So that leaves the Panasonic, which looks comparable, and doesn’t come with any expensive extraneous garbage. But I’ve never worked with a Panasonic before. Does anyone have any Panasonic tools?
I’m a little wary of getting into an unfamiliar brand. In my experience, for example, Porter Cables have terribly weak chucks and Dewalts have balance problems. What will the panasonic’s problem be? Should I just stick with what I know?
Panasonic cordless power tools generally set the standard for battery power and longevity. You can often go down a size (18v to 14.4v or 12v) and get comparable power in a lighter more compact size. Panasonic supplies many of the battery cells to other manufacturers.
Google “power tool reviews” for more detailed observations.
I have two 9.6V Makitas which are over 15 years of age, and while I wouldn’t say they’re the best, they were near top of the chart when I bought them. If I had it to do over, now, I’d probably buy Bosch. (Honest-I wrote this before looking at the linked article :D)
I am a died in the wool Dewalt Fan. One thing you can do with DeWalt (maybe other brands also, but I know you can do it with DeWalt) is you buy one tool with two batteries and charger, and then buy bare tools only to fill out your collections. DeWalt also has bare tools available in both new and reconditioned. I have never had any problems with a DeWalt recon tool, and they are cheap!
I buy some of my tools via Amazon and the rest from Tool King Tool King is an Amazon retailer, but sometimes they have cheaper prices on their own site, sometimes cheaper on Amazon.
Of the two tools listed I would go with the Makita, and don’t give away the impact driver. They are handy as hell, and you don’t want to work with only one battery. I just bought a DeWalt Li-ion impact drill driver, and I love it. Great for driving screws and nuts and bolts.
I have the Makita set and I like it a lot. It replaced my old faithful 14.4V Porter-Cable cordless drill which finally gave up the ghost (and FWIW I never had any problems at all with the chuck).
The impact wrench is very useful - it outclasses any cordless drill for sinking big screws (including lag bolts), it’s extremely light and it’s very compact. I’ve used drill bits with 1/4" hex ends in the impact wrench when I had to work in tight quarters where the drill just wouldn’t go.
The lithium ion batteries are great, super lightweight.