Time for a new Drill & Impact driver....what's your thoughts?

[ETAF]

i'm just an enthusiastic DIYer NOT trade
Get the 3 speed impact driver, rather than the single speed one, so be careful on kits etc
toolstation sent me an email this morning , dewalt back in stock and they have a 3 speed impact driver
https://www.toolstation.com/dewalt-dcf887-18v-xr-cordless-brushless-impact-driver/p72076
With 2AH batts - which i do find useful on tools like the impact driver & Multitool make it much lighter and easier to move about
or
https://www.ffx.co.uk/product/Get/D...Li-Ion-Brushless-G2-3-Speed-Impact-Driver-Set
The bare unit impact driver is around £100 ish so with a 4Ah and charger from ffx
I use the 2Ah a lot as they make the tools much lighter , impact driver, and the multi tool - BUT - i'm just an enthusiastic DIYer NOT trade , and use the 5Ah on the Circular saw, planer and grinder mainly

 

[angelboy]

look good - 5ah is useful, but heavy
Not sure if your existing batteries will fit, not an expert , just looking at the shape on the 988 on ebay

I don't want the existing batteries. I want to get a new battery system and bin the old ones.

 

[angelboy]

i'm just an enthusiastic DIYer NOT trade
Get the 3 speed impact driver, rather than the single speed one, so be careful on kits etc
toolstation sent me an email this morning , dewalt back in stock and they have a 3 speed impact driver
https://www.toolstation.com/dewalt-dcf887-18v-xr-cordless-brushless-impact-driver/p72076
With 2AH batts - which i do find useful on tools like the impact driver & Multitool make it much lighter and easier to move about
or
https://www.ffx.co.uk/product/Get/D...Li-Ion-Brushless-G2-3-Speed-Impact-Driver-Set
The bare unit impact driver is around £100 ish so with a 4Ah and charger from ffx
I use the 2Ah a lot as they make the tools much lighter , impact driver, and the multi tool - BUT - i'm just an enthusiastic DIYer NOT trade , and use the 5Ah on the Circular saw, planer and grinder mainly

I was looking for that model for the impact driver. It's just choosing the battery power after that.

 

[angelboy]

Someone sent me this on another forum - it's quite worrying for Dewalt!

https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.dewalt.co.uk

 

[angelboy]

Milwaukee seem just as bad.....https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.milwaukeetool.com

 

[sxturbo]

you need to take them reviews with a pinch of salt, half of them arent even written in great english.

you will find that people generally tend to only complain about the bad stuff.

also both brands do a range of cheap tat aswell so they can cater to the lower budget, which is what tends to break down

if you look around trade sites you will see dewalt and milwaukee as the main brands, then makita, then hikoki and bosch lower down.

these are obviously the higher priced and specced models

I have had experience with Makita warranty service on an SDS drill was just under 3 years old and the gearbox gave out, was repaired within 2 weeks of sending it, was painless service.

that said i havnt had to use the warranty service of any other brand

 

[angelboy]

you need to take them reviews with a pinch of salt, half of them arent even written in great english.

you will find that people generally tend to only complain about the bad stuff.

also both brands do a range of cheap tat aswell so they can cater to the lower budget, which is what tends to break down

if you look around trade sites you will see dewalt and milwaukee as the main brands, then makita, then hikoki and bosch lower down.

these are obviously the higher priced and specced models

I have had experience with Makita warranty service on an SDS drill was just under 3 years old and the gearbox gave out, was repaired within 2 weeks of sending it, was painless service.

that said i havnt had to use the warranty service of any other brand

I've had a Dewalt multitool repaired under warranty and that was a great turnaround and easy to sort.

I was all Dewalt a few hours ago but now I think I'm leaning towards Makita......

 

[sxturbo]

I've had a Dewalt multitool repaired under warranty and that was a great turnaround and easy to sort.

I was all Dewalt a few hours ago but now I think I'm leaning towards Makita......

they have a very good range and are well regarded, reliable to boot.

 

[Deleted member 174758]

I've been using a Dewalt DC988 for 15 years...

My thoughts? Yes, it's definitely time for a new kit!

Every review I watch there doesn't seem to be a brand or model that's and out'n'out winner. They all have strengths and weaknesses

And that's before you take into account personal biases, paid promotions, etc. There is no such thing as a "killer range". They all have their strengths and weaknesses

 

[blup]

Very good offer from Screwfix for Makita twinpack, with 5 Ah batteries

Makita DLX2336ST 18V 5.0Ah Li-Ion LXT Cordless Twin Pack | Kits & Twinpacks | Screwfix.com

I have the combi drill which is more diy than professional but is fine around the house, good hammer action.

Blup

 

[angelboy]

I was just about to place an order for a Makita twin pack (https://www.ffx.co.uk/product/Get/M...815-18V-2X5.0Ah-Brushless-Li-Ion-Lxt-Twin-Kit) and then I watched these videos and now I think I'm back to Dewalt!

I can get the Dewalt DCF887 impact driver and the Dewalt-DCD996 combi drill with four 5Ah batteries and two chargers for £10 more than the Makita twin pack. I'd have to buy from different suppliers.

 

[ETAF]

I would say quite a difference between the 2 - The impact driver, Even as a Diyer , I use the 3 settings quite a lot , usually just on setting 1 or 2 for screws and when i used Nuts/bolts tend to use 3 - Coach bolts on Fence posts a few times , and also removing OLD nuts from lawn mower blade etc , i would not be without those 3 settings now.
And of course you have 3 speed on the drill, NOT sure how often you used the speeds on your old drill, and more power looking at the spec
I decided not to but the DCD9 series after getting a SDS drill with 2 chucks as that now fills the gap for the very cheap dewalt drill i got in the kit. _ BUT the drill has done a lot of work for me DIYer again, 14mm holes in brickwork , and 30mm fostner in 6x4

 

[Deleted member 174758]

Oh, wow. And there's me having spent the last 14 years using Makita 18 volr LXT gear and I have obviously been wrong. After all, I didn't watch a YouTube expert before I bought into the system.

Joking aside, as a carpenter I bought into the Makita system because at the time (2007/08) there was simply nothing comparable on the market. A lot of other joiners did the same which I think is why you still see a lot of us using Makita kit on site (still far more than any other brand IMHO). Most non-Mak joiners I come across use DW (probably 1 in 4).

Milwaukee? The plumbers seem to like it (lots of specialised kit for them) but in 6 years and several large projects I can only think of 3 chippies who had the red stuff (and only one guy who is a Bosch fan, who I still work with)

TBH I think that the differences between the top of the range tools from all the big firms is miniscule, regardless of what the figures seem to say. It's only at the periphery of the core ranges that you see major differences these days. For example I pointed out that Milwaukee is strong in plumbing trade specific tools, Hikoki and Milwaukee are both strong in nailers (so are DW, although their guns are problematic in hardwoods and some denser man made boards) and Makita seems particularly strong in gardening kit. At the end of the day if you are going to buy something for the next 10+ years it makes sense to try tools before committing if you can - price isn't everything.

Please note that whilst Ibought into one system, this is NOT an endorsement of any particular make

 

[blup]

Plus 1 for the Makita battery system and range of tools.

The 481 drill is heavy and powerful, ideal for larger augur bits but not as versatile IMO for other combi drilling. That said the impact driver could handle a lot of the screwdriving applications you would need it for.

Blup

 

[angelboy]

Soooo,
I can get a Dewalt DCF887 with two 5Ah batteries, charger and case & a Dewalt DCD996 also with two 5Ah batteries, charger and case for £10 more than I was getting the Makita 481 & 154 with two 5Ah batteries, charger and case.


Does this sound like the way to go?