Drills Reviews

the 3 9.6v makita drills we used for my fathers gutter business were bulldog tough(15 yrs).we used them 5 days a week, hr upon hrs of use, being dropped, smashed against trees, hit against buildings these things kept going. who knows how many thousands of screws these things put in. so now that my son is wanting a drill for xmas. this will be a super addition for his tool collection. thanks greg lewis

I have owned one of these 9.6v 3/8 makita's since 1990. They have done every job I have asked them to. From mixing paint + drywall mud, to drilling 3/8" holes in heavy metal. The most frequent for me though has been drill/ driving 1/4 " self tapping screws. A very demanding job. I have been the building and equipment manager for over 12 years now and am still using the same driver. I have though bought three more just like it over the last few years and now own 4 drivers, 1 sawsall , 2 flashlights, 1 cut off saw, seven chargers, and 14 batteries . All the same system ! Very convenient ! I love em. I have had no break downs , ever , and I treet-em pretty rough ! This 9.6v system was the biggest and the best on the market back then , and now it may not be the biggest , but It could be one of the very best system/sizes ever! A natural Classic.

Balance feels great...Has plenty of power, 1/2 " chuck, easy to tighten with one hand. Bought this a few weeks ago, and the kit came with upgraded batteries, from 2.6 mha to 3.0 with L.E.D.'s attatched and swivel out so that you can see in the dark. Comes with the handle...overall very happy with it, used it to drill 3" deckmate screws into trex with no problems and great control...feels like an 18 volt with the weight of a 14.4v. What can I say its the best drill used. Will keep everyone posted with any updates or new opinions.

I recently bought this drill to complement the 14.4 makita impact driver that I recently purchased. The drill they give as a bonus while nice, only has 350 in lbs of torque where this drill has 450. the difference is noticeable when you are boring holes for pipes and wires! This drill will spin a 2and 9/16 inch self feed bit no problem! There is a 3 speed gearbox, and a drill to driver switch that locks out the clutch, allowing you to save your desired clutch setting but turn it off for drilling operations. tne case is large enough for the drill and my impact driver and the NIMH batteries really do have better run time than any Ni cad. Get this drill, you wont be sorry!

Very good power, nice battery life and easy to use. When Makita released the newer m-force drills I looked them over. Then ran out and found this drill as fast as I could. It was a great deal and in every way I prefer it's design and operation over the new "improved" m-force. If I could find another one in stock for a good price I'd buy it! If the 18 volt here on amazon was just a little cheaper I'd get that one. Funny how the older drill costs more then the new one of same spec. Tells you a little about the new drill not being a change for the better.

This drill is more powerful than its 12 volt designation might suggest. It's got the power and torque one might find in an 18 volt drill. I'd never had a hammer drill before, but this baby sold me on them. Drilling in masonry, steel, wood - whatever. This drill can handle it! And at 1,300 rpm top speed, it's faster than some corded drills. If you need just one cordless drill to handle a wide range of tasks, this is your drill. It's one serious machine.

I bought mine here at Amazon. The price? Well I'm not supposed to say but Amazon's was the best found on the internet or off. (This is a somewhat specialized tool and isn't discounted often. I was unable to find it on sale anywhere.)...

This is one beautiful, well made cordless drill. It's almost too nice... I gritted my teeth, bit my lip and put it to the test.

No problems were encountered in any of the projects except for the disheartening layer of rock and wood dust now covering the once shiny drill and the heavy sigh ...

The Pro's:

**Keyless "one-handed" 1/2" chuck with the hold of a pitbull.
**Nickel Metal Hydride batteries-Enviromentally friendly. Last longer??
**Industrial metal gear housing.
**Total control variable speed trigger.
**Rubberized grip with unsurpassed ergonomics.
**Makita "T-style" design-Weight of drill head sits further back for better balance and EASILY sits upright (try this with a similar DeWalt or PC)
**Easily replaceable carbon brushes.
**Fit, finish and company reliability. (It's definitely a Makita!)

The Cons:

**Price-Ooouch! This is a premium drill and the price reflects it. (Sometimes you just have to splurge...and go without food for a month.)
**Nickel Metal Hydride batteries-Price once again. Last longer?? (Hmmm, I'm not sure about this yet. Time will tell.)

Summary: If you want the best in this class and can afford it, this is both the beauty and the beast in one finely crafted tool, designed to last...

I have had this drill for 6 months now and love it.As a keen home improvement fan and author of 2 books on gardening tools and design I have owned and used many drills.

This one is so well designed, Makita have thought of everything, the ergonomics and switches are a delight to use and the tool is very powerfull and balanced. I like the fact that you can stand it upright on it's battery without falling over and getting scratched. The chuck is so easy to use and you can switch from hammer to driver and back without altering the torque settings.

Builders working at my house love to borrow it and admire it.If you get 500 hours use from it then you can even change the brushes in seconds to get even more life from the motor. This is by far the best drill I have seen, and I've seen a few!

After using a Dewalt 18 xrp for the last 2 years, I bought this drill after the dewalt "walked" off on a job. I have really been surprised with this drills performance, it is stronger than my dewalt and the batteries last quiet a bit longer. The makita has performed flawlessly for me the first 6 months now and has exceeded my expectations which was to be at least as good as my old trusty dewalt. This is a professional grade tool!

The makita 18 volt hammer drill is the best drill you can buy. I am an electrical contractor and have bought many of the yellow ones and the red ones but after using them every working day for 8 years we have our opinions. The battrey life is twice as long. It has more power. It is constucted better than the others and when its operating it doesn't feel like its going to fall apart. Makita started the cordless craze and their batteries used to last 7 years and cost only $30 Now some batteries last 2 years and cost $80 to replace! One test is worth a thousand expert opinions so go for it. Sid Sutherland, Sutherland Electric,Brush Prairie, WA

I am a tile installer and I have to remove tile all the time for prep. This tool is great for tile removal, I have used one for about 3 years now and it is still going strong. I actually use to remove tile by hammer and chisel, not no more. This is even better then renting one of those pneumactic tile removers that you hook up to a air compressor. I use this in conjunction with the Bosch concrete grinder and WOW, you would not believe how fast you can get tile up and grind down the thinset. Great product.

I bought the Makita to help in renovating a remuddled kitchen. I wanted to clear the stove/sink wall of poorly installed ceramic tiles which looked daunting if done by hammer and chisel. Much to my surprise, using the Makita, I was done remarkably fast...with a bonus of it being enjoyable. The tool is comfortable to hold and of reasonable weight. In fact I was done before any fatigue set in. The variable speed trigger gave me very exacting control of chisel penetration and minimized wall damage. Eye and ear protection of course is a must. I'm now considering the bathroom. For removing tile it excels.

I had to remove quite a bit of kitchen tile on the counter and the backsplash and this tool did it with ease. I originally budgeted 2 weekends to do this tile removal job, but I finished it all in one afternoon using this tool. I removed all the counter top tile, tons of backsplash tile, tile that was adjacent to a bay window, the sink and the faucets and this tool worked perfectly. It's almost surgical in the way it takes out the tile. I used the bigger of the 2 chisels that came with it and left the speed setting at the default setting. For the initial tile removal, I would work the scraper along the grout lines at about a 45 degree angle and the tool went through mortar like it was butter. I was especially impressed with the way it would chip up the mortar bed/chickenwire that was under the tile. I plugged the tool into a wet/dry vac that would turn on when the tool turned on and I ran the vacuum hose through the handle and zip-tied the end of the vacuum hose to near the chisel. Thus as the scraper generated that really fine dust, it would get sucked up by the vacuum. I figured I vacuumed up about 5 pounds of dust, given how full the vacuum bag was, when I finished. The best part was that my arms weren't totally wiped out from 5 straight hours of running the tool. Granted it's an expensive tool, but if you have to remove tile this beats a sledge hammer and chisel and it's fun to use!

Incredible tool. Removed tiles from a concrete floor with ease.
I recommend purchasing the 3 inch scraper assembly sold separately to help with the removal of tile adhesive.

Though this padlock appears to just have shot up in price from $6.99, I'd still recommend it. It's easy to use, and easy to reset the combination to whatever you want and can remember easily. It's weight is significant, as only the number dials aren't metal, so the supersaver shipping is an unexpected bonus.

I have used combination padlocks for years and it's hard to get a good one. I've tried every brand. These are the best ever made. Why are they so good? 1. Because you can so easily reset the combination, 2. Because the loop space is so generous that it fits through any locker or latch, and 3. Because the numbers are so large and easy to read.

I just married into this family.
They have many of these locks.
The person who used to reset the code on them is not here.

I just need to know....HOW TO RESET THE COMBINATION on these locks. I understand there is a CHANGE KEY? Is it specific, or can I use any other object such as a pin/needle.

If possible, I need a step-by-step explanation on
HOW TO RESET THE COMBINATION ON A Master Lock 175DLH Resettable Combination Padlock

I have owned 4 of these locks; one for 7 years and it has been outside on the front gate to the truck yard the entire time.
It is opened and closed 1 to 2 times a day, with out any problems.
The other 3 are inside locks and have changed combos on them with out any problems.

Milwaukee makes the best tools out there. Quality, power, reliability. This drill/driver has all the power of a corded unit, without the cord. If the rest of their tools are any indication, this will last you well over 10 years.

I'm a Prop Master at a very busy regional theater. So when it came time to replace our old driver/drills, I needed something that could take some serious use and keep delivering. The driver/drill is the tool that gets used more than any other in the shop, so it had to be the best. After researching every 14.4V driver on the market, I bought 4 Milwaulkee 0511-21. I found that when drilling or driving screws it is great to be able to get your hand right behind the axis of the bit. You can't do that with a T-handle driver. You can even counter balance the normaly heavy endedness of the pistol grip by inserting the battery in backwards! This driver is incredibly durable and powerful. I was able to put sixteen 3/8" holes into 1/4" thick steel plate in no time and still go on to drive a pouch of screws! The new chargers will charge batteries and go on to keep a maintenance charge on them. I would recomend this tool to anyone.