Just ordered one of these:
http://www.screwfix.com/p/product/9647J?mi_u=67274130&cm_mmc=Email-_-E16W01BE-_-Hero1-_-9647J&_requestid=150467
At £99.99 inc VAT you can't really knock it. A professional grade drill with 2x Li batteries. The batteries on my Makita are starting to get a little tired so this should be a worthy replacement. This Bosch also has a 13mm chuck against the 10mm one on the Makita.
If you've not had 18 volt lithium jobies before for a cordless you'll note the difference for sure, my current cordless came with them.....woz amazed.
Lawrence.
I've got a couple of Hitachi ones similar to this -
http://www.screwfix.com/p/hitachi-dv18dg...rill/8652f
One hammers and one doesn't. They're wonderful. One oddity is that they keep going until the last gasp from the Battery then stop as opposed to the usual 'Fading out' with NMHs.
Alan
That looks rather nice. My collection of Ni-Cad drills (also Bosch) are getting tired - only 1 of my 3 12V batteries is any good now, though the 14.4V ones are still doing OK. Last time, I bought a new 12V drill to get 3 batteries for free (a crazy deal!), but now, I think it's time to move on. Shame, as there's nothing wrong with the drills.
A while back, there was a discussion about DeWalt (IIRC?) drills that were on offer from Screwfix. Did anyone bite?
The 13mm chuck appeals. I wonder how this will be for smaller stuff. I don't yet have a pillar drill at home, but I'm able to do quite decent metalwork with a hand drill. I'm guessing this is quite a big unit compared to the older ones, but the batteries are obviously a fair bit lighter than Ni-Cad. Looking forward to the full report
I've often used 2mm drill bits in 13mm chucks no problem.
Lawrence.
I might have posted this 'photo before, anyways it's here again, done with the cordless on a fully charged 18 volt lithium job.
Holes made with a 65mm hole saw, timber was some 2" ugly fast grown fibrous Sitka (Tanalised) the uncompleted cut on the right hand side was half way though when the charge expired: [
attachment=13854]
Lawrence.
Please don't tell us that there are matching holes in the top of that cabinet they're standing on ...
I have a brushless Dewalt and that too works at the same rate until the battery runs out. It doesn't slow up or fade as it runs down. The work led does flash to warn you it's running down though.
Arrived a few minutes ago. It's not brushless which is s shame. There's a LOT of torque. With Li batteries I suspect there's electronics at work optimising the battery life. I don't think the voltage is especially constant over the useful life so it needs a fairly complex controller to keep everything working correctly. When it thinks the battery is low it just shuts down to protect the battery.
Typical abysmal Screwfix packaging. Large cardboard box with drill (in case) wandering around inside. Lucky that the socket which was likewise wandering around wasn't smashed.
I too have bought the brushless Dewalt drill and have added a few of their 18V XR range tools to my armoury and have found they do not die suddenly ,unlike my old faithful Makita.
Regards
Robin