Cordless drill - Dewalt vs Milwaukee

[Electrics]

Much depends on the tool in question. Makita LXT drills range from the DHP453 with around 40Nm of torque and internals made from cheese, right up to the DHP486 with a wrist shattering 130Nm of torque and all metal gearing - how exactly do you manage to tar these two drills with the one brush?

Because specs and figures aren't relevant if the batteries don't hold charge and the chucks come loose etc.

What i'm looking for in a tool is that they're reliable so i can actually count on them to work when i need them. No good having 'wrist shattering torque' if the batteries start to die after a dozen cycles or the chucks are coming loose and need replacing. You could argue this is a battery problem but imo a tool is only as good as its battery since without them they are ornaments.

I had the Makita cordless and impact driver, and the circular saw and they were rubbish and real, real expensive. My opinion is based on their top of the range stuff. It's rubbish.

 

[LukeD]

Makita as a company is dying faster than ever .

 

[Mikegh]

What warranty are they all offering ,.Bosch has 3

Rang them one day with a trigger problem, they sent a courier out to collect next day and he dropped it back again,zero work on my part

 

[Midwest]

Never owned or used Milwaukee, my preferred choice is Dewalt.

Wouldn't use anything else, only because having the batteries, makes sense to stick with one brand.

As @nicebutdim said, which colour do you prefer!

 

[Electrics]

What warranty are they all offering ,.Bosch has 3

Rang them one day with a trigger problem, they sent a courier out to collect next day and he dropped it back again,zero work on my part

DeWalt comes with 3 years.

 

[Mikegh]

Seems Iike those 2 are very similar in their target market anyhow ,base pro level

The Milwaukee combi above twice the torque and probably way better build quality for twice the price

 

[Electrics]

Seems Iike those 2 are very similar in their target market anyhow ,base pro level

The Milwaukee combi above twice the torque and probably way better build quality for twice the price

Imo there's a limit on how much torque you actually need though. It's like people who pull their wires over X BHP in a car or bragging theirs can do 168mph when you can't even go that speed.

For almost any job on site, the torque is going to be just fine on any pro model of combi. Most of us have an SDS for anything bigger anyway.

 

[Mikegh]

Imo there's a limit on how much torque you actually need though. It's like people who pull their wires over X BHP in a car or bragging theirs can do 168mph when you can't even go that speed.

For almost any job on site, the torque is going to be just fine on any pro model of combi. Most of us have an SDS for anything bigger anyway.

Well that's right and the impacts can do the tougher work anyway

 

[Electrics]

Well that's right and the impacts can do the tougher work anyway

I'll give it its due the Makita impact driver was half decent but still relying on a crap battery.

 

[nicebutdim]

Because specs and figures aren't relevant if the batteries don't hold charge and the chucks come loose etc.

What i'm looking for in a tool is that they're reliable so i can actually count on them to work when i need them. No good having 'wrist shattering torque' if the batteries start to die after a dozen cycles or the chucks are coming loose and need replacing. You could argue this is a battery problem but imo a tool is only as good as its battery since without them they are ornaments.

I had the Makita cordless and impact driver, and the circular saw and they were rubbish and real, real expensive. My opinion is based on their top of the range stuff. It's rubbish.

You had a bad experience and that's unfortunate, but you've completely ignored every point I made.

What exactly is 'the Makita cordless and impact driver and the circular saw'? You're basically making my point, which is that they make far too many options and this seems to confuse people who have an expectation that all tools are equal, when it is patently obvious that this is not the case.

In honesty, I don't care. Buy whatever tools you're happy with, whether they be Dewalt, Hilti or Mac Allister. The OP asked a question, to which I've hopefully provided a reasonably unbiased answer and that's really what this thread is about.

 

[nicebutdim]

What warranty are they all offering ,.Bosch has 3

Rang them one day with a trigger problem, they sent a courier out to collect next day and he dropped it back again,zero work on my part

Most manufacturers are offering 3 years now - 1 year out of the box and a 2 more years if registered within 30 days of purchase - even Fatmax tools come with this warranty.

 

[Electrics]

You had a bad experience and that's unfortunate, but you've completely ignored every point I made.

I ignored your point because it was stupid.

When drills fall to absolute bits because they're crap i don't care that it's got better specs on paper, it's still a piece of crap and i won't ever buy them again, which is what happened with Makita. I don't remember the numbers since i sold the lot to someone else but they were the most expensive drills Makita make, which is a point you ignored because it didn't suit your argument. Almost £400 for the pair + 2 batteries and a charger, their top of the range stuff. And it was gash.

I rate my trust in brands based on how that brands manufacturing holds up to scrutiny with daily use. If i buy even a couple of bottom of the range 'professional' tools and they fall to bits then i don't care that their 18v XYZ version has better gearing or more torque, i won't buy their brand again because they are known to me to use crap materials and have rubbish build quality. But you do you.

Makita are rubbish. It doesn't matter whether one of their specific drills is good or not, based on owning several of their products i'm saying that they're garbage and i won't buy them. That's the price companies pay for making shoddy products, which Makita's are in my experience.

 

[nicebutdim]

For almost any job on site, the torque is going to be just fine on any pro model of combi. Most of us have an SDS for anything bigger anyway.

I'd tend to agree that for most people huge torque is unnecessary, but those tools tend to be built to a much higher spec. 40Nm is going to get spade bits through 2" of timber, but drills at that level generally have plastic gearing. 80Nm+ is going to do the same job without bothering the drill unnecessarily and 130Nm is going to breeze through effortlessly.

I ignored your point because it was stupid.

When drills fall to absolute bits because they're crap i don't care that it's got better specs on paper, it's still a piece of crap and i won't ever buy them again, which is what happened with Makita. I don't remember the numbers since i sold the lot to someone else but they were the most expensive drills Makita make, which is a point you ignored because it didn't suit your argument. Almost £400 for the pair + 2 batteries and a charger, their top of the range stuff. And it was gash.

I rate my trust in brands based on how that brands manufacturing holds up to scrutiny with daily use. If i buy even a couple of bottom of the range 'professional' tools and they fall to bits then i don't care that their 18v XYZ version has better gearing or more torque, i won't buy their brand again because they are known to me to use crap materials and have rubbish build quality. But you do you.

Makita are rubbish. It doesn't matter whether one of their specific drills is good or not, based on owning several of their products i'm saying that they're garbage and i won't buy them. That's the price companies pay for making shoddy products, which Makita's are in my experience.

I think we can end this here as it's yet another thread turned sour by some irrational desire to be right and prove everyone else wrong, despite the fact that 'supporting evidence' only materialises when you don't have a point to argue.

I'm primarily here to learn and couldn't care less who makes the 'best' tools (despite my tongue in cheek comment to the OP about Makita). OP's question has been answered and if you have something constructive to add I'm sure they'll be eager to read it.

 

[Mikegh]

The number of different models is ridiculous anyway

 

[nicebutdim]

I ignored your point because it was stupid.

When drills fall to absolute bits because they're crap i don't care that it's got better specs on paper, it's still a piece of crap and i won't ever buy them again, which is what happened with Makita. I don't remember the numbers since i sold the lot to someone else but they were the most expensive drills Makita make, which is a point you ignored because it didn't suit your argument. Almost £400 for the pair + 2 batteries and a charger, their top of the range stuff. And it was gash.

I rate my trust in brands based on how that brands manufacturing holds up to scrutiny with daily use. If i buy even a couple of bottom of the range 'professional' tools and they fall to bits then i don't care that their 18v XYZ version has better gearing or more torque, i won't buy their brand again because they are known to me to use crap materials and have rubbish build quality. But you do you.

Makita are rubbish. It doesn't matter whether one of their specific drills is good or not, based on owning several of their products i'm saying that they're garbage and i won't buy them. That's the price companies pay for making shoddy products, which Makita's are in my experience.

For informational purposes, here's a video AvE made several years back, as part of a series drawing comparisions between top end Makita, Dewalt & Milwaukee combi drills and his observations are certainly interesting.

I'd draw particular attention to the chucks as Makita have never used plastic chucks on top of the range drills, which is at odds with your claim about owning a £400 Makita combi complete with plastic chuck.