On Thu, 07 Sep 2006 21:14:16 -0700, Larry Jaques
wrote:



Try one out. You'll never think of your old rotary-only drills in the
same way again.

I think that no tool is optimally suited for every job. I have an
older Ryobi 12V that I still really like. It's really well-balanced in
the hand. The first set of batteries lasted about 4 years.

I also have a Ryobi 18V (I got it when it was about the same price as
replacing the 12V batteries, then I found 12v batteries for much less,
so now I have 2 cordless drills). I don't think these batteries last
quite as long, and the drill is heavier, but it does have more power.
The extra power is seldom necessary. I keep the 12v in the house and
the 18v in the garage. Sometimes I use both (drill bit on one,
phillips bit on the other)

For drilling through the walls and floors of my (brick) house I have a
Makita corded hammer drill. I don't usually put the second handle on,
which means that at some point I'll be posting here (typing with my
left hand) that the second handle is necessary to prevent wrist
injury. It's very powerful and the hammer feature really makes short
work of drilling through masonry. But I don't like it for driving
screws. It's designed to work at higher RPMs and I find the trigger
too sensitive to get the lower speeds you want for driving screws.

I also have a couple of older corded drills, a Skil and B&D. I find
these handy for really questionable work like wire-brushing and
anything else that's likely to gum up, heat up or jam up the tool.

I think that if I had no drills at all, I'd buy a 14.4 volt cordless
and the Makita Hammer Drill.

Just don't let your wife try it. You'll end up needing
two.

I had to read this twice before I "got" it. Or is my mind just in the
gutter?

Greg Guarino