[Paul B]

Erbauer are the only other manufacturer I can find in the same ball park:

http://www.screwfix.com/p/erbauer-eri6041pd-18v-2-0ah-li-ion-cordless-impact-driver/7485f

[lagerstarfish]

do you want an impact driver or a drill, Paul?

for a drill, that Bosch from Screwface is in the same ball bag

[Paul B]

Impact Driver. Happy with it being slightly smaller, it isn't getting used for taking bolt-ons on/off.

[Jim]

what will you use it for? go for minimum 12v, preferably 18v.
Got some erbauer tools, most have been pretty good for the price but don't last as well as the top brand stuff

[Paul B]

what will you use it for? go for minimum 12v, preferably 18v.
Got some erbauer tools, most have been pretty good for the price but don't last as well as the top brand stuff

Anything involving screws as my main drill is a PITA, heavy DeWalt thing. Depending on the outcome of another thread I may need to build a log store of some kind in the near future.

[andy_e]

What did you go for in the end Paul?

I'm after a drill which will be used for light screwing work in the near future but may involve a bit more heavy duty use in a few years. As I'm a cheapskate, I'm looking to spend definitely less than £100, the more so the better. Can anyone recommend anything please? There's a B&Q and a Screwfix not far from me and I'd rather get it sooner rather than later (i.e. no mail order). Cheers!

[Paul B]

I went for the Bosch Blue 18v combi that's listed above but with two 1.5Ah batteries instead of the one larger.

I'm not wholly sold on it if I'm honest. It doesn't have a cushioned chuck which means I maul screws more than I ought (and more than with Peewee's DeWalt of a similar price), also, the hammer function is pretty useless, again, my old DeWalt 14.4 XRP with a knackered battery does a better job by far (and I default to this even though I'm only getting one whole per charge).

I've seen equally good deals on Makita 18v trade stuff and I think that's where my money should've gone.

On another note I used a Makita 18v SDS for drilling limestone and I thought it was bloody excellent. This outperformed a 24v (although older) Bosch Blue and seems popular with cavers for its small form factor.


I still want an impact driver, even just a little 10.8 version for using inside tight space (ooh er).

[Fultonius]

So far, so good with my Makita 18v. I must caveat by saying that I've not really done much serious drilling with it.  Was about £100 with a whole pile of drill bits etc. thrown in.

[andy_e]

What do I need exactly? Impact driver? Combi? What's SDS?

[andyd]

Stop being a cheapskate and get a Makita. One with a rrp of 150 ish. You'll find a deal.

[andy_e]

Thanks. Anyone with any suggestions which fit the original brief?

[andyd]

Your brief is poorly thought through. I did exactly the same. I bought a 100 quid drill. Used it. It frustrated me. I bought a Makita and put the other one on freecycle.

[andy_e]

Thanks for the life tips, any get rich quick schemes?

[andyd]

Probably. But I get the impression that you're not too keen on accepting good advice. 

[andy_e]

Thanks for the good advice, which was "spend more money than you have". If, in three or four years time, it transpires that the sub-£100 drill that I bought proves to be frustrating to use, then I'll replace it. But for now, I'd like a sub-£100 drill that can do some light screwing work in the near future, which may come in for some more heavy duty use in a few years, although I won't be using it for lengthy DIY projects, just putting up the occasional set of shelves, for which a sub-£100 (which I can afford) will probably suffice.

[butters]

B&Q do a combi pack of the Makita 18v drill and an impact driver and that is available today for the princely sum of £140 on a cyber Monday online only deal. It should be noted though that they use a bespoke battery for those so if you are planning on expanding out to other cordless kit in the range then it is not the kit you want. the other downside is that the batteries are only 1.3ah but as long as you charge the batteries while using the kit (impact driver especially) you should be fine.  Apart from that I think that the drill and impact driver are pretty much the same as the ones I have (I have the ones that will run on LXT batteries though) and they are seriously good pieces of kit - built two log stores so far with the impact driver and it is a beast of a piece of kit - the second most abused piece of kit I own after my sliding mitre saw.   

SDS - drill, hammer drill and it will also work as a chisel like manner - bloody awesome piece of kit that will be next on the butters tool list. Definition and more details here . 

[SamT]

What do I need exactly? Impact driver? Combi? What's SDS?

SDS = serious hammer action for regularly drilling in concrete brick and limestone, uses SDS bits which have a special shape so they 'click' into the chuck. (thinking of putting any bolts in?)

Impact driver - cross between a screwdriver and a hammer drill.  If you are screwing up stuff real tight - or long screws into dense material, the hammer action stops the tip jumping out of the screw head.  Useful for undoing over tightened stuff.  Route setters will often use imp drivers for bolting holds on.

Drill driver - handy for general DIY round the house, a hammer action is nice (I've found that my SDS is a little too powerful for the crumbly plaster and brick in our house, and I end up with a cracked hole thats too large instead of the neat hole I was hoping for).

One thing to consider - if you're ever going to end up with other battery tools, its nice for them to all use the same battery.  i.e. - I chose an 18v makita SDS when looking on the basis that many other folks have them so I can borrow their batteries, and I'd most likely end up with a makita 18v battery angle grinder/ impact driver if and when I buy them.

Bosch or Makita every time in the caving world (cavers use a lot of battery tools underground in harsh environments so need to be reliable and tough).

[andy_e]

Ah, right, thanks butters and SamT, so I don't really need an SDS then! Seems like overkill! Looks like a drill driver will probably suffice then.

[andyd]

You said you were a cheapskate. You didn't say you only have 100 quid.

[butters]

Ah, right, thanks butters and SamT, so I don't really need an SDS then! Seems like overkill! Looks like a drill driver will probably suffice then.

Drill driver will be more than sufficient for what you need - you are getting into a different level of DIY when it comes to requiring an SDS drill - think installing extra back boxes for electrical sockets and the like which is when they become invaluable compared to doing it with manual tools especially if the brick is hard like some Sheffield bricks can be.   

[andy_e]

Not like those soft southern bricks eh?

Thanks. Tempted by the Erbauer one Paul posted at the top of the page given Jim's testimonial on Erbauer.

Whilst we're on the subject, I need to cut down a piece of wood (five plies thick, ~10cm x ~1cm) in a nice straight line. My floppy hacksaw will make a pig's ear of this, what sort of hand-saw wouldn't?

[butters]

The wood is 10cm wide by 1cm thick yes? Get either a decent handsaw or for a bit more control a tenon saw which has a stiffened back on it which will help keep the cut straight but gets in the way if the wood you are cutting is thicker (which I don't think is the case for you). If you are cutting a straight 90° then use the saw to get the line to cut if you don't have a set square to hand (the handle has settings for 90° and 45° cuts built in). 

[andy_e]

Perfect, thanks. I'll probably go for the tenon saw as I'm a shaky bugger at the best of times.

[Paul B]

Thanks. Tempted by the Erbauer one Paul posted at the top of the page given Jim's testimonial on Erbauer.

That's an impact driver. The combi equivalent is here:
http://www.screwfix.com/p/erbauer-er1603com-18v-2-0ah-li-ion-cordless-combi-drill/7645f

A Ryobi One system might be a good option as you can expand into other tools as/when necessary.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ryobi-LLCDI18022-Cordless-Batteries-Charger/dp/B00DYSZQJA

or just buy super-cheap from Lidl/Aldi/Homebase (Worx) and accept you'll likely replace it at some point in the future.

Our house is solid stone construction which makes drilling into anything of structural value quite tricky with a lightweight drill.

[rodma]

Thanks for the good advice, which was "spend more money than you have". If, in three or four years time, it transpires that the sub-£100 drill that I bought proves to be frustrating to use, then I'll replace it. But for now, I'd like a sub-£100 drill that can do some light screwing work in the near future, which may come in for some more heavy duty use in a few years, although I won't be using it for lengthy DIY projects, just putting up the occasional set of shelves, for which a sub-£100 (which I can afford) will probably suffice.

who said spend more than £100?

Stop being a cheapskate and get a Makita. One with a rrp of 150 ish. You'll find a deal.