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How many hand held power drills in your shop?

4K views 48 replies 45 participants last post by  docholladay 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
I was delighted with the response I got to my question, "How many routers in your shop". It was very interesting and informative.

So I decided to try another, "How many hand held power drills in your shop?" I would like to include both corded and cordless but I want to exclude drill presses, impact drivers, and power screwdrivers. I'm only talking about tools you can hold in your hand and drill a hole.

I have 3: a lightweight (12 volt) Hitachi cordless that is my favorite, a corded heavy duty Black and Decker hammer drill, and a cordless semi-heavy duty drill Festool with the 4 different heads. As an FYI, I would never have purchased the Festool if I had not found a used one at a very reasonable price.
 
#2 · (Edited by Moderator)
3:
1: Dewalt 18v cordless hammerdrill - used for masonry work, and drilling (high torque)
2: Dewalt 18v cordless impact driver - used for driving ANYTHING (this thing is a beast). can actually drive a 3" lag bolt into a 2×4 without pre drilling (the 2×4 WILL split though)
3: Dewalt 9.6 lightweight driver - used for driving in woodworking projects as it has very precise control and will not overdrive anything.

my problem is that as of late I haven't been having much shop time, and all batteries have gave up completely - won't charge, and won't keep charge… but that would happen to every cordless with batteries and seldom use.
 
#5 ·
Only 2! A cheap cordless from a plastic toolkit (from Target or Walmart) and a Dewalt corded. It's all I need, but one of these days I'll invest in a better cordless drill/impact driver set from Ridgid or Makita.
 
#7 ·
If i count the ones in my truck that travel in and out of my shop I have 9 18 volt dewalts four 1/2" four 3/8" one of witch is a right angle plus four corded drills one 3/8 one 1/2" and one close quarter drill and one hammer drill I guess that makes 13 all together.
 
#9 ·
I have three, two battery Makita's, and an ancient corded Skil, about 30 years old, which is the ultimate power driver if I need it. Nothing stops the Skil, except your ability to hold it steady against the torque. The latest Makita is my power drill, 18Volt, not much stops it. The other is a 9.6 volt, replaced an even older one. Still used a lot because it is light weight. The Skil is not used much any more. The Makitas do the job just fine. I also have a Dewalt screwdriver, heavy duty thing, so I use it for most of the driver jobs.

Right now, don't need another drill…..........
 
#11 · (Edited by Moderator)
4 hand held drills. Err….I mean 5!

2 corded drills. A 3/8" variable speed with forward/reverse Milwaukee and the same with Craftsman brand. The Milwaukee is the superior drill as many will already know.

2 cordless drills. A 19 volt Craftsman that has given me good service for the past several years but is showing the wear and tear of hard work. And a new Makita 18 volt ion drill, I am enjoying the compact size, lightweight comfortable grip and excellent torque of this drill very much. I want a second Makita ION drill and a cordless skillsaw to go with it.

Oops, I also have a Harbor Freight hammer drill still in the box. So that makes 5 hand held drills.
 
#12 ·
In response to thatwoodworkingguy - - Interesting. My only corded drill is also my only hammer drill. Every once in a while I need a hammer drill. 99% of the time I have it set up with a Kreg pocket hole drill bit and I use it quite a bit in that mode.
 
#14 ·
I have 1 corded dewalt. I had two craftsman battery powered ones but they finally gave up the ghost last summer…thus the dewalt. I'm kinda of off battery powered tools right now, I'm having a hard time reconciling the environmental impact of all these exotic metals (and there disposal) against the convenience they provide. Not that I am a raving tree hugger or anything, just wondering if it is good stewardship to use these, that and I seem to be getting more into hand tools (manual not just hand held ;-)
 
#20 ·
Very interesting topic…

1 Hilti Hammer Drill
1 12V Porter Cable
1 12V Dewalt
1 18V Milwaukee
1 7.2V Makita

Corded Milwaukee 1/2"
Hole Hawg
Makita
Old 3/8" Skil

Hand drill (rotary)
Hand push drill (my dad's - he called it a Yankee drill, whatever that means)
 
#22 ·
7, Dewalt 3/4" monster, Milwaukee 1/2" corded, rotohammer & 18v lithium, Makita 18v lithium (my favorite). Do hand powered breast drills count? Have 2 of em. I guess you may start a new topic; how many impact drivers do you have! Got 6 and I can't live without them!
 
#25 ·
Crap, maybe my wife is right, but to her credit, she didn't say anything until my drill collection hit double digits, "why do you need that many drills?" My response, "everybody does!" How do you delete a thread on LJ's, she doesn't need to read this. HOWEVER, I bought most of them on e-bay for a fraction of their retail:
1- 12v cordless,
5 - 14.4v cordless, one of them impact,
4 - 19.2v corless, one of them impact, one hammer,
3 - corded, one of them hammer.
All but 2 of the cordless were e-bay. Maybe $25-$30 at the most. Very few people here like Craftsman, but all my cordless are Craftsman, the oldest is probably 10 years old and all still run like champs!
I thinking about having future drill purchases shipped to me at work.
 
#26 ·
Milwaukee 18v driver
Milwaukee 18v impact
Craftsman 18v driver
B&D corded

believe it or not I like the craftsman the best too, it has the more torque than the Milwaukee, although its about 8 yrs old and slowing every day. the next drill I buy will probably be a Craftsman, I've been so happy with that one.
 
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