Ok, enough of this drivel. All tools are NOT created equal. One 18V drill
may be 10 times better than the other. Price usually does indicate the
quality, durability, features, etc. Albeit some comparable models may differ
in price by more than 100 bucks. For occasional around the house handyman
tasks, i.e. hanging pictures, doors (hinges) etc, the cheaper thrift store
models will suffice. If you are a little more adventuresome by building your
own deck or shed, remodeling your basement etc, you may opt for a more
expensive tool if you plan on completing the job before you burn up the
cheap model. In other words don't try to use a 3 cylinder economy car to
pull your houseboat. Yes both are vehicles that get you from here to there,
but one is better designed to pull the boat. Same deal with the drills. When
you step up again and decide to start your own handyman company and build
decks and sheds for "others" then you need to get into a more "professional
series" piece of equipment. The DeWalt cordless products fit that
description. Next step down Craftsman Professional, Bosch High End. Then on
Down to the Skill, Milwaukee, Ryobi, Craftsman, Rigid, Porter Cable.
After that you get the home tinker stuff like the Chicago Electric, more
Skill, Black and Decker. Yes I know DeWalt is Black and Decker but FYI
Mercedes is Chrysler.
So to sum it up for you, If you don't need a $300 dust collector drill
sitting in your already cluttered garage, opt for a $39 Chicago. If you want
a little more drill for only a little more money go with a Craftsman
(regular series), The professional Series is quite a bit higher. The
Firestorm, Skill etc are all in the same range and some come with some nifty
little toys that you probably won't use, like a light, sander, etc.


ReRe
"willshak" wrote in message
...
Harry wrote:

"Trent©" wrote in message
...

On Wed, 27 Oct 2004 07:58:37 -0400, "Harry"
wrote:

Ryobi and Skill are
brands, it's just that they are lower quality that others (DeWalt,
Makita,
etc.)


Lower quality? No. Simply different specs. Some are production
tools...some are handyman tools. Both are good quality...but within
their own realm.

Chicago Electric, Drill Master, etc. are imported, no-name, cheap
stuff that is named by each store that imports them.


No...that's not correct.

So, in terms of my
question, as to how they compare, the quality of these
store-named-imports
are lower qiality than the low-priced brand ones (Ryobi, Skill, etc.)
RIght?


Wrong. Within their own right, the quality is good.

A good analogy...sailing. If yer going 5 miles along the Atlantic
coast, a 30 hp motor and the Queen Mary or similar super liner will
both get you there. One will cost more...and be over kill for the
task at hand. They will both have the quality to get the task
accomplished.

But if yer goin' from New York to England, the 30 hp motor probably
won't make it. The QUALITY will still be there...but will be
overshadowed by the enormous task at hand.

Enter into the equation...prejudice. Many folks are prejudiced as to
the tool and the retailer selling it.

An example? If I had a choice between a DeWalt & a Ryobi...I'd take
the Ryobi every time!


I'm so confused :-( I mean I understand the logic, and I understand
that part of this is personal preference, and all that, but from an
"amateur handyman's" stand point, let's see. If I needed a cordless
drill to have around for the ocasional use, an inexpensive 14.4 V
Chicago Electric would be fine. However, if later on I wanted to,
let's say, finish my basement, then I'd need to go out and buy a more
expensive model. Is that right? Or unless I use the cordless drill
on a daily basis, to make a living, then a cheaper model would be
O.K., even if I decide to do some bigger projects around the house?

Like someone else said in this thread, it'd be good if someone had
experience in long term use of many different models, so they could
give a comparative opinion. But, that is not a very common thing, so...


Long term does not mean anything. It is the amount of use that
determines the life span of the tool.
You can buy a cheap tool, use it a few times a year to cut a few pieces
of wood, drill a few holes or drive a few screws, and it will probably
last as long as the most expensive tool.
My Ryobi 18v cordless is a few years old, and if I add up all the times
it was actually running, it would probably only add up to a couple of
hours. I probably pick it up no more than 10 or 12 times a year and use
it for a couple of minutes of actual running time. If you are using a
drill/driver for wood, it probably takes less than 5 seconds of running
time to drill a hole or drive a screw.
The biggest continuous job I did with my Ryobi drill was installing a
vinyl picket fence on 3 sides around my inground pool two years ago. The
fence consisted of 14 - 8' sections, screwed between 4x4 PT posts, and
included 2x3 studs that I slid into the hollow plastic fence rails for
added strength. Each 8' section required 4 hangers with 6 screws for
each hanger (2 to hold the hanger to the 4x4 post and 2 screws on either
side of the hanger to hold the rail), for a total of 24 screws per
section. Including the hardware for two gates, that's probably around
360 screws. At 5 seconds per screw, that's about 1800 seconds, or 30
minutes of actual running time ( I did have to replace the battery at
least a couple of times).




BTW, why would you take the Ryobi every time, if you had a choice
between a DeWalt and a Ryobi? I think I'm missing something.

Finally, I want to thank you, and every one else, for your thoughtful
comments.