Makita

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Jgrden

Jgrden

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Joined
Mar 27, 2009
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hOUSTON, Texas
The electrician left his Makita cordless drill in my studio. We were installing stuff and I used his drill. I am hooked on this thing. Model BL1815 18 V. When we went to a local hardware store, found it for $229.99. Sheesh How do you pen turners rate this drill? I am used to paying $80.00 for a Craftsman cordless.
 
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John, I like the Makita fine, but I'm a DeWalt guy. I think DeWalt (a "hopped up" Black and Decker) is every bit as tough and reliable as Makita.

My wife works for Home Depot Corporate, so I usually know in advance when DeWalt will be "giving away" good products. For example, this past "Black Friday" DeWalt had good quality 18V drill with 2 batteries and a charger for $99. I DIDN'T need a new drill, but that price is less than buying 2 new batteries.

I'll shoot you a PM next time DeWalt is giving away stuff at HD and Lowes. I now have all DeWalt's cordless products. EXCEPT for my kick butt 7 1/2 inch 24 volt saw, all of the products use the same batteries. BOY that's nice!

I am also a fan of Milwaukee, but IMHO the DeWalt cordless tools perform on the same level. Now, on a corded SAWZALL, NOBODY comes near "Big Red".

Respectfully submitted.
 
John, I bought the Makita 2 pack for myself about 6 months ago at Home Depot. Put it on my card and got 6 months same as cash. Paid it off this month. I concider that as spending $50 a month on myself. Great tools both the drill and the driver
 
PenMan1 said:
John, I like the Makita fine, but I'm a DeWalt guy. I think DeWalt (a "hopped up" Black and Decker) is every bit as tough and reliable as Makita.

My wife works for Home Depot Corporate, so I usually know in advance when DeWalt will be "giving away" good products. For example, this past "Black Friday" DeWalt had good quality 18V drill with 2 batteries and a charger for $99. I DIDN'T need a new drill, but that price is less than buying 2 new batteries.

I'll shoot you a PM next time DeWalt is giving away stuff at HD and Lowes. I now have all DeWalt's cordless products. EXCEPT for my kick butt 7 1/2 inch 24 volt saw, all of the products use the same batteries. BOY that's nice!

I am also a fan of Milwaukee, but IMHO the DeWalt cordless tools perform on the same level. Now, on a corded SAWZALL, NOBODY comes near "Big Red".

Respectfully submitted.
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Okay, keep me posted. Sounds like you did your homework.

John
 
John and others:
Don't take this as a "dis" on Makita. They are great tools, and made right down the road from here. I used to buy the Makita tools because I could go to the plant and get referbs CHEAP. I can just get the first quality DeWalts (on sale) for less than the Makita referbs.
 
Frank Nemke sr. said:
John, I bought the Makita 2 pack for myself about 6 months ago at Home Depot. Put it on my card and got 6 months same as cash. Paid it off this month. I concider that as spending $50 a month on myself. Great tools both the drill and the driver
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Hey Frank, ole buddy, ole pal, how is everything in the wine country. We need to get together and make some wine cork pens. Mastantouno Winery corks.
 
I had a 14.4 v makita. Forever... and I. Got sand in the motor and it finally died... I would gladly buy another... I said I would never pay the festool premium they wanted for their tools, but after going to corian school for a week in utah, and using all of their stuff. For the projects, I can see where the money is well spent in buying nice tools and gettingwhat you pay for.., and shop on craigslist and check often for deals... sadly. My bank account is empty. But I do love my festool sander and track saw... and thanks to the local woodcraft I know the rep. For my area on a first name basis
 
PenMan1 said:
John, I like the Makita fine, but I'm a DeWalt guy. I think DeWalt (a "hopped up" Black and Decker) is every bit as tough and reliable as Makita.

My wife works for Home Depot Corporate, so I usually know in advance when DeWalt will be "giving away" good products. For example, this past "Black Friday" DeWalt had good quality 18V drill with 2 batteries and a charger for $99. I DIDN'T need a new drill, but that price is less than buying 2 new batteries.

I'll shoot you a PM next time DeWalt is giving away stuff at HD and Lowes. I now have all DeWalt's cordless products. EXCEPT for my kick butt 7 1/2 inch 24 volt saw, all of the products use the same batteries. BOY that's nice!

I am also a fan of Milwaukee, but IMHO the DeWalt cordless tools perform on the same level. Now, on a corded SAWZALL, NOBODY comes near "Big Red".

Respectfully submitted.
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I also saw that, but I was wanting an impact driver. I've had one of those combo packs from Ryobi for several years, and it's time for new batteries . . . . again. Milwaukee had the impact driver and a hammer drill with 2 lithium batteries for $199 (black Friday). Plus, I'm hoping the lithium batteries hold up longer than the ni-cad in the Ryobi. So I guess I'm going to convert to Milwaukee. Maybe a cordless Sawzall next year. But my Ryobi tools will be going with my son. (If I can ever get him to leave home)
 
I hear ya, Bob. the lithium batteries WILL make you smile:)

I made the same mistakes with Ryobi. I work hard and I'm hard on tools. Ryobi is likely fine for the typical home owner, but most of their products just don't last for me. Three NOTEABLE exceptions are ($79 when I bought it) is the belt/disk sander combo, the BT3100 table saw (No longer available) and, believe it or not, the $89 scroll saw. The scroll saw WILL take pinless blades, but they are hard to find and hard to install!

HD here had the DeWalt scroll saw on sale for $299 on Black Friday, they were gone (at 5:30 am, I took the wife to work), I got a "ticket" so EVENTUALLY, I'll get one.

I am fond of "BIG RED", I've never had one fail, no matter how I mistreated it.
 
I have had a number of drills - mostly I'd purchase a new one and just go up one level when the batteries kicked on the old one, and I learned that a better tool makes things easier..

Began with Wal Mart black and decker..then a heavier duty no-name 18v, then a skil 14.4v,

then a corded dewalt...

hitachi after that

Now i'm using an 18v milwaukee, and I'm hooked. It came with an impact driver too - it's a wonderful tool!

I've got a milwaukee router too - big Milwaukee fan now!

Andrew
 
I have found most of the big name cordless drills to be fairly equal. My main drill is a 12 volt miwaukee 2 speed ( the little one ) it's great for what I do. If I had to get another 18v drill I'm not sure what I would get. My 18v Makita did outlast my 18v DeWalt but that DeWalt was one tough drill. The issue I had with it was replacing the batteries once a year. I have the Milwakee EVS body grip router and that is a great tool. If you go to any job site you will notice that all the old sawzall's are red. I hear that the Festool batteries for their drills last several years, I just can't bring myself to spend that much on a drill. Love my rail saw and 3 sanders.
 
I dove in head first last year and bought the Makita kit with the drill and impact driver in the green bag. They even threw in a flashlight. I have used it hard all year both in house and on the job as a construction electrician. Some of my contractors provide the 28V Milwakee drills. Also a great quality unit. I used to be a big yellow/black (DeWalt) fan until B&D down graded the quality.

If this will be your first tool with LI batteries, the first time the battery runs down, youi may think the tool just broke. They do not just get slower and slower like the old NiCads do, they just run and quit. Dead. Stop. No Go. DO NOT THROW THE DRILL AWAY! Just change the battery and all is well once more. I truly thought I had broken a brand new Big Red hammer Drill when the battery went dead on me the first time.

Makita, Big Red, Yellow and Black, for the small shop, just get teh best price. They all will outlast the battery packs. As always, YMMV
Charles
 
let's see, one $80 crapsman every six months or a $229 Makita that will last a lifetime? Pretty simple answer to me. buy good tools and you won't be rebuying them.

What I didn't see is where you contacted the electrician to let him know you had his drill, you know the one that he uses to make his living.
 
Displaced Canadian said:
I hear that the Festool batteries for their drills last several years, I just can't bring myself to spend that much on a drill. Love my rail saw and 3 sanders.
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I bought a Festo +/-15 years ago and one of the batteries died last month. The problem I have now is the cost of a Festool spare battery: 115€ (+/-$US155)!! While I was upset I found a used one on Ebay. When my actual two batteries will go to heaven my next drill will be a Makita. Some friends use Makita and I like to work with those tools.
Anyway I think that all the brand names have very good tools (Festo, Makita, Dewalt, etc.). Bot among those, what one could say about his preferred tools is IMHO a matter of habit.
 
I used to use DeWalt but switched to Makita when they had a good sale on the combo kit with lithium batteries and that was about 5 yrs ago. This is when the lithium batteries were just starting to get popular on the market. I have not had a chance to compare the lithium Makita to a lithium DeWalt but in terms of overall battery life (not charge to charge) I have found the Makita has far outlasted my DeWalts. This could be a difference between the lithium and nicad in general but I do not know that for sure.
 
I have also gone through a variety of tool brands over the years. Even though the tools vary some in quality, I have found the bigger issue seems to be the basic nature of Ni-Cad vs Li-Ion. Charles stated it very well; when you first start using Li-Ion, you will probaby panic the first time the pack runs down. Seems like the biggest issue with Ni-Cad is the memory charging problem, which is inherent with the specific way to charge them. The nicest thing about Li-Ion to me is that there is no charging issues to deal with. They run, they quit, switch packs, recharge, and etc. To me, there is nothing more frustrating than a Ni-Cad drill running down, not up to task completion. Just my opinion.
 
I love my Makita 18V drill but I REALLY love my 18V Makita Impact Driver. Talk about driving screws! I got mine "refurbished" from TylerTools.com. I have had good luck purchasing refurbished tools from there. Most have looked like new and I have not had a single problem. My theory is that if they are refurbished they at least have been tested.

Just my 2 cents...
 
I got my battries rebuilt at interstate batteries. I learned to buy the best tool I could. Construction work is hard on tools. My uni-saw is from the 50's, still going strong. I was able to wear out a Milwaukiee sawzall. Got a rebuilt one and it is still going stong. The durability of the higher priced tools pay for itself over the years.
 
oldsmokey said:
I got my battries rebuilt at interstate batteries. I learned to buy the best tool I could. Construction work is hard on tools. My uni-saw is from the 50's, still going strong. I was able to wear out a Milwaukiee sawzall. Got a rebuilt one and it is still going stong. The durability of the higher priced tools pay for itself over the years.
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What? you can rebuild these lithium batteries???? They cost $79.00 new.
 
I have the 10.8V drill and impact driver and love them. Now they dont have the power of 18V but for door nobs and 2 inch drywall screws (which is what I use mine for) they are GRReat!! and no problems with them yet.
 
I own 4 Makita 18v impact drivers, 3 Makita 18v 1/2" hammer drills, 1 10.8v Makita impact driver, and 1 10.8v Makita drill. I own an construction company and my employees are hard on tools. We used to use DeWalt cordless tools but when lithium ion came out, we switched over. Makita had the best battery technology when we switched and I have been VERY pleased with everything Makita. I also have 4 Makita corded circular saws, 3 Makita reciprocating saws, and a Makita cordless ricip saw. My 2 jigsaws are DeWalt. They are both junk! DeWalt makes great tools in some of their stuff. Some of it is not worth the box it comes in! Every few years, one particular manufacturer will leap frog the others with new technology and will lead the pack until the others catch up. Makita did that with lithium ion batteries. I could not live without my Makita impact drivers and I have 3 of them for my own use.
 
I own a Makita BPH452, 18V. All I can say is Wow. It's a sweet tool. Powerful, with a nice smooth variable speed trigger response. What I like most is the fact that I can pull it out after weeks of non use and the charge is always good. Can't say the same for the Panasonic I used prior. You wont be sorry if you get it.
 
You can add me to the list of happy Makita owners as well! I have the same drill/impact/flashlight combo that a couple others have mentioned. The combo wasn't much more than the driver alone, and the impact driver is fantastic, and well worth the little extra it cost in the combo.
 
We went to Lowe's today to buy some bulbs for my ceiling lights and then went looking for Makita. The sales person said Lowe's does not handle Makita and I would need to go to Home Depot. I almost had my wife convinced and that piece of information put the effort on ice. eh eh, I have not given up.
 
PenMan1 said:
I hear ya, Bob. the lithium batteries WILL make you smile:)

I made the same mistakes with Ryobi. I work hard and I'm hard on tools. Ryobi is likely fine for the typical home owner, but most of their products just don't last for me. Three NOTEABLE exceptions are ($79 when I bought it) is the belt/disk sander combo, the BT3100 table saw (No longer available) and, believe it or not, the $89 scroll saw. The scroll saw WILL take pinless blades, but they are hard to find and hard to install!

HD here had the DeWalt scroll saw on sale for $299 on Black Friday, they were gone (at 5:30 am, I took the wife to work), I got a "ticket" so EVENTUALLY, I'll get one.

I am fond of "BIG RED", I've never had one fail, no matter how I mistreated it.
Click to expand...

I have the Ryobi BT3100 table saw -- a GREAT saw. There is a forum didicated to this machine. Definitely a fluke that Ryobi offered such a precide little machine ...

I have a Ryobi scroll saw, and it is OK (I do not do that much scrolling). I gave a Ryobi drill I had to my sister-in-law. :tongue:

My mix of power hand tools ranges from DeWalt to Ridgid to Makita to Craftsman. I like them all for different reasons. but I tend to review products like crazy before I buy, and often it boils down to how a tool feels in my hand. My favorite tools tend to be the Ridgid -- love the ergonomics of the router and belt sander I have, and plan to get their trim router next. Every time I pick up one of their tools, it jsut feels right in my hands.

The one tool I own that just amazes me is my DeWalt planer, the DW735, their top of the line model. Simple to use, incredibly smooth cuts.

Now, as far as Makita -- I have a cordless drill I bought in the early 80s, and just bought a new NiCad battery last year! And this thing has been a real workhorse, and even dropped from the top of my ladder numerous times, and still runs great. I'd definitely buy a Makita again.
 
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I've got a 9.6v Makita I purchased back in the 80s that still serves me well. Had to replace the battery a few years ago, but it's definitely held up to the test of time. Back then I was a mechanic and really used it a lot. Now, as a computer tech it mostly gets used during home remodeling efforts.
 
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