Drills Reviews

I bought this drill for a planned home improvement project after being disappointed with 2 prior cordless drills I had bought over the years.
These other drills suffered from short battery life and poor grip with the chuck mechanism.
Before buying this time, I went to Consumer Reports, who gave this item high marks all around.
I'm completely satisfified with it.

I was looking for a small but still powerful cordless drill. This little dynamo filled the bill. Its light weight but does a great job for its size. The batteries are long lasting and recharge quickly. It received a best buy rating from Consumer Reports and so far it is living up to its rating.

Okay, I'm a little late to the cordless tool thing, this being my first cordless. The Bosch 3214-2G is everything it claims to be. So far, so good. Lots of power and lots of torque. I particulary like that it is NOT made in China. Having read lots of reviews on different 14.4 cordless drills, I settled on the Bosch. I would recommend the drill, shoot it handled a 4" hole saw w/o trouble.

I have had this kit for over a year and a half. I use the drill for lots of chores even use it in the chicken houses for water lines(raising and lowering) and feed lines(lowering). The saw is great for all those little maintenance chores that would be a pain to have to take a cord with you also. Also great for fence repairs when you are out "in the north 40". A must have. Just wish I would have got the recp. saw too.

I bought this combo pack over a year ago. As a maintenance contractor, this set has been a godsend. I do everything from remodeling, new home additions, cabinet making, and about every kind of home repair you can imagine. The Dewalt drill has performed flawlessly since I pulled it out of the box. And believe me, I have put it through everything I know possible. From drilling through oak to anchoring in concrete. The saw is also a very handy tool for most every job around the house. It's small and light enough to use freehand with one hand. My only problems: the 6 1/2" blades are a pain to find and the saw tends to drain batteries fairly quickly. In my line of work, I have used everything from Makita to Craftsman. My advise: spend the extra money once on a dewalt and you'll never regret it.

I bought this combo pack over a year ago. As a maintenance contractor, this set has been a godsend. I do everything from remodeling, new home additions, cabinet making, and about every kind of home repair you can imagine. The Dewalt drill has performed flawlessly since I pulled it out of the box. And believe me, I have put it through everything I know possible. From drilling through oak to anchoring in concrete. The saw is also a very handy tool for most every job around the house. It's small and light enough to use freehand with one hand. My only problems: the 6 1/2" blades are a pain to find and the saw tends to drain batteries fairly quickly. In my line of work, I have used everything from Makita to Craftsman. My advise: spend the extra money once on a dewalt and you'll never regret it.

This hammer is an excellent complement to a full-fledged framing hammer. Because it has a shorter handle than the Estwing framing hammers, it works great for sheathing roofs and roofing, as well as other closer-in work. Still has the rip claw like a framing hammer. The 20 oz. weight gives it the right punch to drive nails without being unwieldy. The new shock-reducing handle does seem to work. Certainly softer than the old handle style.

I purchased my Estwing 20 oz. Vinyl Grip Rip Claw Hammer from a certain Blue store recently. Although it costs more than other hammers, the Estwing is superior due to its simple one-piece design. During a long day of installing wood siding with this hammer recently, I appreciated its flawless weight distribution and rigidity. The grip is of excellent design and proves comfortable day after day on the job-site. After a redesign from previous generations (which I have occationally used), the new grip material is softer, thereby reducing vibration noticably over previous models.

Let me start by saying that I am not a contractor and I don't use my tools for a living. Having said that, I do all of my own home repair/renovation work and at one point or another I have built everything from furniture to room additions to a 24' by 40' pole barn. I have owned this hammer for a long time - at least 6-8 years, and although the metal has tarnished to a dark grey it is still in as good of shape as the day I bought it. The face has remained very flat and true and the handle grip is holding up just fine. I love the balance of this hammer and the weight is just right for jobs like framing where power is more important than finesse.

All in all this is what I would consider a useful and indestructible tool at a great price.

I purchased this kit recently and have been very pleased with its performance. The driver/drill is a joy to operate with very smooth variable speed, lots of torque and simple driver to drill mode changes. The metal hydride batteries are definitely superior over Ni-Cad ones. The included flash light is also very handy and easy to operate. The swivel head is very useful. I have not seriously used the tool belt as yet, but it seems to be very sturdily constructed and should do a good job. All in all I am very pleased with this purchase.

I like to read reviews that get to the point but I have to explain the story to emphasize Makita screw guns. I purchased the 14.4 Makita to add to my arsenal of Makita screw guns. After many brands and much abuse, I found Makita to be one of the best! I've owned and used about every brand on the market. Some good some bad. On the bottom of the list Dewalt. I have purchased different Dewalt guns and have had to return them same day because gears have striped out or on one occasion, the entire housing shifted open right in my hand while driving screws (also a 1-week-old gun). My 9.6 Makita is 7 years old and I just keep feeding it fresh batteries. I use screw guns for everything from driving, drilling, to mixing drywall compound in 5 gallon buckets (18v) and they keep coming back for more. The best improvement on the 14.4 is the metal cover on the chuck. It does not rotate if it comes into contact with material. If you ever marred a finished surface with the chuck you know what I mean. As far as the new gear shift, I haven't had any problems so far. You can't go wrong with this screw gun.

My 4 year old DeWalt 12 volt is dying a slow death, and it has only had homeowner use. One battery now holds a charge for 15 minutes of work time and the other is a little better. The clutch slips without much torque on it, even at the highest setting. The chuck won't hold smaller bits. And with hurricane season coming, I needed a drill that I could rely on. So Brown delivered this Makita yesterday. I haven't had much time to work with it yet but so far I'm impressed.

There are only two drills, that I am aware of, that have NiMH batteries (Panasonic and Makita). From my experience with notebook computers, the NiMH batteries cured many of the problems with NiCad batteries. There is no set, so you don't get only 20 percent of the battery's runtime after they have been charged a few times. And a charge lasts much longer. So why not go with the Panasonic with its incredible amp hours. Well I was put off by several reviews that talked about their motors burning up. OK, I know that this could have been planted to sway people like me, or it could have been a rare exception. But you pays your money and you takes your chances. I was looking for a reliable drill with a long service life.

So how does the Makita compare to my old DeWalt.

Both have dual speeds. But the Makita has another sliding switch that kicks the clutch in and out. When set to screw position the clutch is engaged and when set to drill position the clutch is locked out. This would have been a nice feature on the DeWalt, after its clutch started slipping.

The chuck on the DeWalt has one ring that you hold while tightening the bit. The Makita has the normal outer ring and a smaller inner ring. It doesn't seem to make much difference when chucking up a bit; you grab the big ring and run the motor. But when releasing a bit you must use both hands to turn the rings in opposite directions to break the bit loose then run the motor if you need to open up the chuck. This will take me some getting used to.

The DeWalt has a 2 position foward/reverse switch above the trigger. The Makita has a similar switch in the same place but it also has a middle trigger lock position. This will also take some getting used to.

Both drills weigh, balance and feel about the same in my hand.

The Makita has external replaceable brushes. It would have been nice if their documentation gave a generic part number for them that could be found at any electrical supply house. My Hitachi router does this. Hopefully, there will be a number on the brushes themselves.

The Makita comes with a smart charger with several LEDs giving charging information. The charger goes into trickel mode after achieving a full charge. The standard DeWalt charger is very basic. And I am not sure if the DeWalt smart charger, that I bought later, is any better.

The Makita has a metal gear transmission. Thats got to be a good feature. I don't know about the DeWalt.

The Makita came with a flashlight that should be useful. The documentation promises 220 minutes (over 3-1/2 hours) on one charge.

The toolbelt is nice but heavy (2 or 3 pounds). But the belt does not fit around my fat girth. Would have been nice if the belt was about two inches longer or I was about ten years younger.

I am looking forward to seeing how the 14.4 v does when driving 3" deck screws. The DeWalt 12 v just barely didn't have enough torque to run them all the way in.

This is one of those tools that you never knew you couldn't do without until you got it. You will never want to use your drill for a driver again. More compact, more power and much less likely to round out the head. That last point is one most people won't think about until you use this tool. Due to the operation of the impact action, it doesn't "ride up" on the screw head as easily, thus doesn't strip the screw head. As for the other reviewers comment about picking up at Home Depot for less, it's a different model - the one sold here at Amazon for $219, even cheaper than Home Depot and with free shipping and no sales tax making it about $25 cheaper on Amazon.

I received this tool from Amazon last week and put it to work driving screws on concrete forms for my house building project. This was my first experience with an impact driver and I was very impressed with how powerful it was, considering that it is so light weight and well balanced. It really took the work out of driving screws. Even the 3" screws driven through double 2X lumber went in quickly and without effort. It only took driving the first few screws to get the feel for feathering the trigger to keep from overdriving them, which you could easily do if you gave the driver "full throttle". The variable speed trigger is very smooth. I highly recommend taking the plunge and adding this wonderful tool to your arsenal.

I had never used an impact driver before and I'll admit I was skeptical! Since I had an older 14.4V Makita and I needed a second drill anyway for a big deck project, I decided to buy this combo. WOW! I don't know how I ever got by with just a cordless drill for driving screws. I tried the impact driver with 3.5" deck screws in the pressure-treated pine framing of my deck. I was absolutely amazed at how fast the screws went in, and the bit never jumped out of the screw head like it would with a regular drill. In addition, it takes very little pressure on the tool, since the impact action does the work for you. My arms and wrists really get tired using a standard drill for driving screws, due to the amount of pressure needed to keep the bit from tearing out the screw head. I suffer from mild carpal tunnel syndrome, and this has eliminated the wrist aches and fatique I used to get from using a standard cordless drill for driving screws.

The impact driver is lightweight, perfectly balanced, and a real pleasure to use. The free 1/2" Makita drill makes this the best deal around. The batteries and charger are compatible with my older drill, so I am VERY pleased. Makita make great products!

The only down side of this purchase is the noise level produced by the impact driver. It's not really that bad, but I would strongly advise wearing hearing protection when using it. Since I usually use hearing protectors anyway with most of my power tools (everyone should!), that hasn't been a problem for me.

(This is an amendment of my earlier review, based on some feedback from the discussion posts. Thanks M. Black and Stevie Q for your comments)

My Dewalt cordless drill had served me well, but the batteries were getting weak, and I thought it time to step up to a new technology. There were several choices out there: Panasonic's superb, long-life drills, Hitachi's cool-looking powerhouse, and Milwaukee's 28 v lithium ion kit. Which is the best choice?

I almost bought the Panasonic, which was a great value for the drill alone, certainly from appearances a better buy than the Makita. But I thought I could use the extra tools in the kit. Ultimately, I went for the kit, and I'm glad I did. Put me in the category of those who never had that much use for battery powered tools (other than a drill) because of my perception that they had limited power. I always wanted the biggest, the best. The Makita lithium ion combo kit changed my perception.

First, the drill. That 560 in-lbs of torque is more than enough. It compares favorably to Milwaukee 28 v.'s 600 ft-lbs, and weighs less, only 5.2 lbs. The drill has 3 speed settings, and within each setting you can also vary the speed by pulling the trigger less or more. You have to wonder how they crammed all of that power in such a light tool!

Well, it's not just a drill. Flip the top switch, and it's a hammer drill. I had never used a hammer drill before, always having forced those concrete bits using a regular drill, which worked okay. But as a hammer drill, this Makita tore right through tiles and concrete so fast I had to slow down--deep, fine holes without overheating the bit, and fast. What a pleasure.

All of the Makita tools in this kit have a light that comes on when you start to work. Touch the trigger, and even before the tool starts spinning, your work area is illuminated. If you are working in an area where a lot of shadows are cast, this is a really nice feature. Unlike the Hitachi which also has a light, this light runs right off of your rechargeable battery (apparently the Hitachi requires separate batteries).

Now, the circular saw. What, pray tell, can you possibly do with a battery-operated saw, I thought. The answer, I have found, is just about anything, and better than I could do it with my electric circular. My other saw is the worm-drive Skilsaw, perhaps the top-rated circular saw. It hasn't come out of its canvas bag since I got this Makita. I really put the Makita saw to the test, ripping 8-ft pieces of bubinga , 1 1/2" thick the full length. Bubinga, also known as African rosewood, is one of the densest, hard to cut woods around. I could get a good 3 8-ft rips before the battery played out. Now, that may not sound like much, but then, you have to know bubinga. On 2" zebrawood (also a hardwood) I could get 5, and I reckon it could get 10 8-ft rips on pine. And for a guy making furniture, it gives me all of the cuts I need between charges. So the power to cut just about anything is there. Just don't expect to run all day on a single charge while sawing. With the extra battery on the charger, you should be fine.

But the real beauty of the saw is in the quality of cut and control. Whether a cross-cut or a rip, the cut is really smooth, with no wood burns. And the blade guard never gets stuck, even when I'm shaving off the finest amount on an edge. It is so well balanced that I can control it with my left and alone (and I am right-handed). Now, compare this to my monster Skilsaw worm drive. Powerful, yes, but difficult to control, with a lurch when you start it up. Both hands are absolutely necessary. On trimming edges, the blade guard often gets stuck (and this is common on almost every other corded circular saw I have used). So, you have to use your hand to slide up the blade guard while holding the monster with the other, which is difficult. Because it is so powerful and hard to balance, wood burns are common. Keeping it flat on the wood while shaving off the edge is next to impossible. I get much better quality cuts with this Makita. A further advantage is the dust reduction. The Makita, first of all, has a finer kerf blade, 1/16" I think. So, dust is reduced proportionately. Most of the dust exits through a cleverly designed hole in the blade guard in a neat little pile next to the cut, instead of blowing it all over me and the workshop. The texture of the dust is different also; it's not fine dust that blows all over the place, but slightly coarse, so it stays put. Now I won't exactly say that I exit the shop dust-free. But I will say, there's a lot less dust on me, and shop clean-up is a lot easier. And unlike the Panasonic cordless saw, the Makita takes standard arbor diameter blades which you can pick up cheap almost anywhere.

Finally, the impact driver. What's this? I'd never used one before. Well, it is extremely light to begin with, just over 3 lbs, and puts out 1280 in-lbs of torque, which is over twice that of the drill. By using short bursts of power, it knocks in bolts and heavy duty screws with a lot more ease than your drill, without torquing your arm off. In fact, you hardly feel any torque at all. It's not for every screw, because it has no clutch, so it will break off screws and bolts that can't handle the 1280 in-lbs. Reversable too, so great for changing tires. I've found myself using it quite a bit. I've driven #12 screws into 2" of hardwood without so much as a starter hole. It's the tool to use when a lot of torque is required. By comparison, the Milwaukee 28 lithium ion impact driver delivers 600 in-lbs of torque. That's nice for lighter screws, which would not break on the lighter torque. But then, for lighter screwing, I use the drill, with its adjustable clutch. Comparing weight, Milwaukee's impact driver weighs over 8 lbs vs. 3.3 lbs for Makita's impact driver and 5.2 lbs for Makita's drill. The hammer drill and this impact drill combined will pretty much takes care of all of my drilling and screwing needs.

The set also comes with a light, which will stand up anywhere and which you can use to illuminate your work area. With all 3 tools providing their own light, I've never used it in the shop. But as a flashlight it's great-lightweight, and 5 hours of run-time on a charge, and the xenon bulb is very bright. You can stand it upright and point it at a white ceiling and it will illuminate the entire room. If you need a broad area lit up for some reason, it does quite a good job. The head is adjustable, so you can point it perpendicularly or at a 135 degree angle as well.

Milwaukee has a 28 v lithium-ion set. Milwaukee's 28 v are good if you are doing exceptionally heavy work, and you will get more done on those massive 28 v batteries. But I can't imagine doing much more than cutting through thick, dense tropical hardwoods, which my Makita does just fine. And the Makita tools weigh less-a LOT less. Makita's battery charge time is 45 minutes vs. Milwaukee's 60 minutes. Using the two batteries, I have never been lacking for power between charges. Since the Makita gives me more than enough power, it was a good choice for me. Recently I note that Milwaukee is selling a lot of reconditioned lithium ion equipment and not the new equipment. Maybe there were some bugs to be worked out. I've been working the Makita tools daily for about 4 months now with no problems.

What about those lithium ion batteries? All indications are that they are supposed to take a lot more recharges than even NiMH, and the weight savings contribute to the ergonomic beauty of this whole set. There is a great discussion at the Tool Barn website on this set, including the advantages/disadvantages of lithium ion batteries, and it is worth a read. Apparently, some believe that they can lose amp-hours over time, even if not in use. Makita denies this. Their charger is fan-cooled to control the effects of overheating on battery life, and it charges them up full in 45 minutes, which I can verify. The 3 amp-hours will go a long, long way on everything but the saw, and even with the saw, it should get you by until your spare is recharged. Personally, I can't say if those batteries will lose power with time yet, but it's not really an issue, given that the cost of a pair of new batteries is reasonable, which I can budget for every couple of years if necessary.

In conclusion--if you want a set that is lightweight, ergonomically exceptional, will light up your workpiece, powerful enough to drill, screw, or cut just about anything, will last long between charges, and is a lot easier to control than your current mega-tools, the Makita set is cutting edge. It out-specs the competition in every way that matters to me, and at the price I paid, it really can't be beat. If you don't need every tool in the set, check out offers on any individual tool and see if the extra tool for free is still on offer.

Treat yourself! This stuff will keep you smiling for years to come.

I bought this combo kit as an impulse from home depot. There was a mail in promo for a free Makita recipro saw. There was also a Home Depot promo for $100.00 off. I paid $399. for everything. The impact driver alone is worth almost that much. Makita makes great tools. They are durable and comfortable.

I would say that I'm an occasional "Do-it-yourselfer" from Mililani, Hawaii but this combo kit from Makita just blew me away. I can't believe the technological advances of their product since my first Makita cordless, a 9.6 Volt Drill-Driver 20 years ago-and I still have it. You'd expect an 18 volt cordless tool to be very bulky, but the tools in this kit are compact, very ergonomic, well balanced and not bulky. You won't be wasting energy, straining to work the tools. You'll also appreciate LED lighting on the all the tools. The power and torque behind the Circular Saw, Impact Driver and Hammer Driver-Drill are impressive compared to other brands I've tried. The free mail-in offer for the Cordless Reciprocating Saw was impressive too. It packed power just as my corded Reciprocating Saw. The High Capacity Lithium-Ion Batteries did not fail me. They packed a lot of juice and lasted a while in between charges. Also, I came to appreciate the 4-Position Flashlight. With all the rain that we've been having lately, the flashlight came in handy during blackouts. I didn't need to bringout my gas lantern; flashlight supplied all the light we needed. Overall, the tools performed flawlessly and I had joy using them. This 18 Volt Lithium-Ion Cordless Combo Kit from Makita is truly a great product. Aloha.

For the price, everyone should have one of these in their toolbox. Its great for those times where you need a little bit of leverage in a small place. I have personally found mine most usefull as a helper when hanging a door, it was just the right size and thickness.

Due to its thickness, this is not a strong pry bar and it does have some flex, but it will do for anything a reasonable person would attempt with a 7" long pry bar. The relatively thin thickness is also what makes this pry bar so handy, it is not that thick bar of steel like most pry bars, this thing is only slightly thicker than a stamped piece of sheet metal.

If you dont expect a "real" pry bar when you order this, you will be very happy with what you get, especially for the price.

The Wonder Bar II is small, light, inexpensive, and amazingly handy. It works great as a small crowbar, and I was surprised by how useful it is to have a selection of lever arms and grip shapes available to meet various nail-pulling needs. This may deliver the best value for the money of anything in my tool box.

well size does matter... when your talking about pry bars that is.

this pry bar is so handy i have one in each of my toolboxes and i never leave home without one.

good work Stanely!!!

I've had real difficulty finding a crate to fit this product. They claim to fit a "standard" 13" crate, but most crates are now a bit larger, I believe, in order to hold file folders. Be sure and order the Bucket Boss with the crate to avoid frustration.

The Crate Boss is made of high quality materials like all the products from Bucket Boss/ Fiskars. Intelligent design features for utility and convienence.
The Crate Boss has 27 outside pockets and 13 interior pockets. It has the convenient cordless drill holder that the Bucket Boss has. Generally the pockets are BIGGER - a pocket for a 30' tape measure, flashlight. There are two large flapped and velcroed pockets you can use as nail pouch type compartments.

Some important points:
The Crate Boss fits a 13 X 13 "DAIRY QUALITY" Crate only. The Crate Boss DOES NOT FIT the flimsy plastic office filing system "milk cartons". You may have to do some searching for a correct "manly" milk crate.
The Crate Boss has a "Full Bottom" to keep things from falling out through the crate. This a REALLY nice feature!

There are some positive and negative points when comparing the CRATE Boss with the 56 pocket BUCKET Boss product. Both products are very well made with intelligent design features. Both use the same hard use materials. And should last an exceptionally long time.
The Crate Boss has a lower center of gravity than a comparably filled Bucket Boss. It has less tendency to tip over when in the back of your pickup. It does tend to slide around though.
It also isn't easily carried with only one hand like the Bucket Boss can be.
There is enough room in the Crate to carry other power tools like a circular saw that you can't get into a Bucket Boss bucket.
I love Bucket Boss products and the CrateBoss is another useful product.

There is no limit to how many tools you can cram into this great organizer. I bought my crate boss some time ago, but it sat on a shelf until I spotted an old milk crate in an abandoned warehouse. Since then I have been amazed at how many ways you can store tools, bottles, tape measures, flash lights and any number of other items. If you don't feel like putting everything back in its place, you can just chunk it into the open area in the middle of the crate. Later, you can sort everything out and put it in its place. That suits my style perfectly.

THE GATEMOUTH JR. IS AN EXCELLENT BAG. I PUT MINE TO THE TEST IN A HARSH INDUSTRIAL ENVIRONMENT AND IT SEEMS TO BE HOLDING UP PRETTY WELL SO FAR. I DID HOWEVER MANAGE TO GET A HOLE IN ONE OF THE FRONT POCKETS BY PUTTING A PAIR OF IDEAL CRIMPERS IN IT. I LIKE THE BAG VERY MUCH AND HAVE IT SO FULL OF STUFF, I AM THINKING ABOUT UPGRADING TO A PRO SUPER GATEMOUTH.

With loads of pockets and a large mouth opening this tool bag is outstnading in every way. I keep my cordless drill inside with an assortment of hand tools outside in the various sized pockets.

The sewing is strong and the handles are firmly attached and after three months of use there is little if any wear on the bag.

I'll definately buy others from this line.

I install LAN's for a living, carry all my needed tools in this compact bag. It is amazing how much you can fit in it. It is also one of the most durable things I have ever bought. This bag would still be a bargain at twice the price.

I have a smallish yard with quite a few bushes that need pruning. I should note that none of the bushes have excessivley thick branches. It trims them all very nicely. Additionaly, It is not too heavy for me to hold for a lenghth of time.

The only reason I give it four stars instead of five is that Black and Decker should make it cordless like they do their weedwackers.

these hedge trimmers do the trick. The new safety trigger lock is kind of awkward, but still easy to use and lightweight.

Being 60 and female and needing to shape up some boxwoods, I have found this trimmer is just the fit for the job. It is lightweight enough, yet powerful enough for me to get the job done. The weight and overall size allowed me to shape up my shrubbery with minimum effort and time and with results that I am proud of. I am extremely happy with my new trimmer!