[SA Chris]

So I've managed to knacker mine - chuck won't release and I've tried everything to get it to open (it was an old 2nd hand Power Devil and a bit long in the tooth anyway).

So, what's worth looking at? Ideally want to spend much more tha £50 if possible. Going to be doing a lot of drilling and screwing (fnarr) soon, as woody construction is about to commence. Going to be mostly drilling into wood, but will be a bit of (cinder)brickwork too.

Thanks

[nik at work]

Typo?

Ideally want to spend much more than £50 if possible

Current king of the crop seems to be the makita 18V li-ion, which you can pick up for £150 with one battery (or ~£300+ with three, it's the battery that costs).
B&Q had a makita 18V li-ion drill for £99 last time I was in (last week) BUT be warned that the battery is a non-standard size so won't fit other makita kit if you do plan on building up an appropriately manly sized collection of cordless tools, also they are only 1.3amp/hr rather than the usual 3. However it's probably well made and a pretty good deal at the price for "hobbyist" use Of course if you just want something that will drill some holes in a few bits of wood and screw them together most of the random brand B&Q stuff will do the job, but don't expect longevity.

To drill into brickwork get a cheap as chips corded hammer drill (you can pick up shit SDS drills for £25 nowadays) and just run it into the ground. Brickwork capable cordless stuff is expensive. Unless you mean that lightweight blockwork stuff, in which case just use a butter knife...

[SA Chris]

yeah, not a typo! If there was something that was really the shit i might stretch to close to £100

The makita one looks good, and I don't intend building up a collection of cordless tools,

Having a look further though, the corded ones are way cheaper, might go down that route!

95% of use will be indoors.

[nik at work]

In that case get a cheapo corded SDS and a cheapo cordless drill/driver, you should be able to get both of them within your £50 budget. At that price I'd imagine that they're all much of a muchness and you might as well go for the colour you like...

[shurt]

I got a dewalt cordless drill at b and q 100 quid reduced from 200. I've used it for work for the last couple of years (im a handyman) and its good as a driver or drilling through brick etc. battery sometimes runs down quite quickly if doing lots of hammer drilling but the other battery charges in 30 mins; I've never been sat waiting for a battery to charge. It's not so hot going into stone or solid concrete but a lot depends on the drill bit. Bosch blue for the money are really good. If you're a messy worker (i tend to be) then the less cables the better imo...

[Jim]

budget for this thing starts at £100 IMHO unless you want to throw it away next year. If you're going to be doing a lot of screwing getting an 18v impact driver is a must.
Niks on the money for a hammer drill, I got from Aldi nearly 10 years ago for £25 thats still going strong (although I've got a new bosch one thats 1/4 of the weight and more powerfull)
Personally I like bosch blue stuff (don't get the green stuff, it doesn't last, cheap for a reason), screwfix normally have an offer on decent 14.4v or 18v drill/drivers for £99 although don't seem to at the moment, if i didn't already have 3 cordless drills, 2 impact drivers and a cordless screwdriver I'd be getting this http://www.screwfix.com/p/bosch-gsb-18v-li-18v-4ah-li-ion-cordless-combi-drill-coolpack-battery/69942 tho (although I might just get it anyway).
last one I bought was 18v hitachi combi drill with X2 batteries and 18v blank impact driver for £170ish, great combination.
Make sure you get Li-ion batteries

[Somebody's Fool]

If you do listen to Jim and go for an impact driver, this one will be fine for building a woody (panels onto timber and screws into wall plugs etc). It would be useful for putting bolt-ons on too.

http://www.screwfix.com/p/erbauer-cdi108l6-10-8v-1-3ah-li-ion-cordless-impact-driver/84723#product_additional_details_container

[Jim]

I have the bosch blue 10.8v impact driver and its a noisy waste of time, don't bother. The 10.8v screwdriver is much better as its a lot quiter for a start. If you get an impact driver don't mess about with anything less than 18v

[Obi-Wan is lost...]

A drill and a drill driver are essential to work quickly without flaffing swapping bits the whole time. My Makitas are only 14v but are good. Go for 18v if you can. Something like this http://www.diy.com/nav/fix/power-tools/drills/Makita-18V-Lithium-ion-Combi-Drill-with-2-Batteries-12988839?skuId=13499666&icamp=HP_ProductBox9 looks pretty good, deals with two batts are pretty common. If you can stretch to this as well http://www.amazon.co.uk/DeWalt-D024K-Percussion-Drill-Kitbox/dp/B003ASTKN2/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1383252109&sr=8-4&keywords=corded+drill would be a good combination. SDS are good but heavy if your working above your head a lot.
Avoid 12v, green Bosch, no brand. I rate Black and Decker for cheap corded. Check Argos deals.

[Obi-Wan is lost...]

Similar DeWalt deal to the Makita....http://www.screwfix.com/p/dewalt-dc100ka-gb-18v-1-3ah-ni-cd-cordless-combi-drill/73596?cm_sp=Homepage-_-Slide-_-DeWaltDC100

[Jim]

FFX are another good place to buy power tools from

[north_country_boy]

I have the bosch blue 10.8v impact driver and its a noisy waste of time, don't bother. The 10.8v screwdriver is much better as its a lot quiter for a start. If you get an impact driver don't mess about with anything less than 18v

I have a Panosonic 14.4v Impact Driver and Drill. 14.4v is more than powerful enough. Putting on bolt on holds with a 18v impact driver will most certainly lead to more hold breakages...

[Jim]

but 18v is much better at driving 4" screws through 2"x4" tho

[north_country_boy]

but 18v is much better at driving 4" screws through 2"x4" tho

Not sure you'd notice the difference to be honest, especially if you have a decent 14.4v impact driver.

[Jim]

I have both and yes there is a big difference (drill/driver not impact)

[Obi-Wan is lost...]

An extra £10 off the 18v DeWalt one at B&Q this weekend... £90 for 18v with two batts could be hard to beat....http://www.diy.com/nav/fix/power-tools/-brand-dewalt/DeWALT-18v-Combi-Drill-and-2-batteries-10668127

[Edit]...although just noticed they are Ni-Cad batts so maybe the Makita is the better deal.

[namnok]

only problem with sds is you have to buy the chuck bit to use any non sds drill bits.
i managed to get a bosch set from b&q some time ago and i love the sds esp when i need to work off old plaster and stuff.

[SA Chris]

This was supposed to simplify choice! I've got a potential offer of nearly new second hand Hitiachi li-ion one, will see how that specs up.

Thanks all for advice.

[grumpycrumpy]

This was supposed to simplify choice! I've got a potential offer of nearly new second hand Hitiachi li-ion one, will see how that specs up.

Thanks all for advice.

Go with it Chris ........ Good make Hitachi ..........   

[Jim]

i've got some hitachi stuff, its pretty robust but not a scratch on the bosch blue stuff in terms of quality

[grumpycrumpy]

Maybe blue Bosch has got better recently, they didn't impress me the last time I bought one, constantly had to replace broken trigger units, brushes etc., batteries were shot after six months use, basically they were pants ....... The 14.4 Hitachi impact driver I got two and a half years ago has never given me a single problem, and I use it a lot, plus it has an incredibly sensitive trigger, I was even able to use it for screwing 3x16's through plastic last week without cracking the acrylic ........... Something I've never even thought of attempting with any make of impact driver ......... As for needing an 18v for putting screws through 4x2 ( 2x4 is an Americanism and should never  be uttered in a timber yard this side of the Atlantic) , just drill a pilot drill first and, if you put a little candle wax on the screw  first, you could  put it in with a yankee without too much trouble  ......... 

[Jim]

drilling pilot holes, only worthwhile if its going to be visible and/or the wood is at risk of splitting. building stud partition walls or woody's you just want to bang it together without pissing about too much. same for candle wax on the screws, just buy decent screws, most good wood screws are coated.  unless you have time to kill etc...

[shurt]

I'm with Jim on pilot holes. Lots of cheapish screws around with sharp ends designed to be used without pilot holes e.g. turbogold from b and q. You've also got the option of banging them it with a hammer to get started until you get into the swing of it...

[grumpycrumpy]

If you want to prevent the ends of your timber splitting, and most people do as you're taking away from the integrity of the wood, then you blunt your screws, the sharper the worst,  and nail your studding together, so much cheaper  .........

[underground]

If you want to prevent the ends of your timber splitting, and most people do as you're taking away from the integrity of the wood, then you blunt your screws, the sharper the worst,  and nail your studding together, so much cheaper  .........

Do you mean deliberately blunt the screwd before driving?