On 26 Apr 2005 14:05:28 -0700, the inscrutable "
spake:

I used to try to buy American, but nothing seems to be made here
anymore, and in the last couple of years I've bought a few Hitachi and
Bosch tools, which have all been excellent, but none of those are
cordless...

I had the chance to try out the Bosch stuff at a Big Blue World Tour
event last Saturday which hosted the Bosch tool truck. I played with
their 12v and 14.4v impact drills and was extremely impressed by their
power. Using the impact meant virtually no pressure against the screw
was needed, making driving a lot of long screws MUCH, MUCH easier.

If I'd had a spare $160, I'd have brought one of the 14.4 volters
home. (The 18v model didn't have any appreciable difference in battery
life but was considerably cha-chingier.) The tool truck had $30-50 off
the sale prices at Diamond Home Center. That put them at about half
that of Panasonic's gilded prices. I didn't look at model numbers 'cuz
I wasn't buying.


I want something fairly lightweight for general purpose drilling and
screwdriving. It'll be used in a shop, so battery life isn't terribly
important, and 3/8" capacity is enough. I don't need a hammer drill. I
do want a good clutch and keyless chuck, and a tool that feels
right--not sure if that comes mostly from balance or materials or what.

You probably can't go wrong with either a Panasonic or Bosch impact
drill/driver.


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