I agree that Makita is the way to go. For my saws and stuff I go with Dewalt, but for cordless tools I use Craftsman 19.2V.

B

I agree on the Craftsman 19.2. I enjoy working with mine quite a bit. I picked up the drill/driver & right-angle drill combo for $100 a little over a year ago to do renovations on our house, and have been very happy with it. They keep coming out with additional tools that use the powerpack too, and some of them are even worthwhile.

I used to run a DeWalt contracting until I finally killed it off, leading to the Craftsman. Would I sling the C-man for contracting? Don't know, but for general home duty and modestly serious work, it does just fine.

(BTW, the DeWalt was preceded by an old 9.6 Makita that died a valiant death contracting <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />)

James

Im a Snap-on Addict, I just paid off a 8000.00 Bill ( which took me a total of 2 hours to rack up ). Yeah felt good, now I want more. I have never had any problems with Ryobi Power Tools. I looked at the Ridgid and Huskey stuff at Home Depot about an hour ago, Not to impressed. FireStorm is ok, but like you all saying the battery life sucks. Craftsman's Batteries last longer and those are terrible too, but still good enough to buy with the warranty they offer too. I have a little 12.0 volt Ryobi Drill that out last's my dad's 18.0 volt Skil ( I think thats what it is ) drill, in both power and battery life. It has enough power to get the job done on 1 battery most of the time. and I paid 45.99 on sale at Home Depot. and the wife can use it with no problems like twisting her wrist ect. Never seen firestorm really used hardcore though. But tried them out at Home Depot on one weekend. Light jobs they are fine.

What you want to stay away from is any brand were the battery is charged from some plug in pin and the transformer plugs into the wall....THESE ARE CRAP AND CHEAP AS HELL. Those type batteries will maybe last a year. Get a nice unit that has a nice quik charger were the battery plugs into a charger base and no little box plug that goes into the wall. I have a home model Makita, not a construction line model, but the batteries and charger base are the same. It's a great drill for around the house and small projects. I went thru two Firestorms(cheap) and a Craftsmans(18.8v) that had the cheap charger and batteries. I believe I paid around $110(eBay) for my Makita setup, two batteries and a flex lamp and case. If you're not using it for daily work purposes, a good home version will work fine.

Here's a 1/2" home version
http://cgi.ebay.com/MAKITA-14-4-v-1...Z007QQcategoryZ82265QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Here's a 3/8" home version
http://cgi.ebay.com/MAKITA-14-4-VOL...Z006QQcategoryZ28057QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I couldn't find a 1/2" construction version listed. They have alot more aluminum built into their housing and much heavier..

Also, keep your batteries out of the heat. Heat kills batteries

The other thing I forgot to mention earlier is that if at all possible go for the lithium ion battery tools. A lot more juice in the batteriess and also a lot lighter. Second choice would be metal hydrate batteries. My least favoriate is the old Ni-cad bateries. Also pay close attention to the amp hours. Higher the better. The fire storms, cheaper Black and Deckers, Ryobi, Ridgid all have low Amp hour batteries This is partly why these brands are so much cheaper. If you don't understand amp hours think of the difference of 450 crank amp automotive battery versus lets say a 900 crank amp battery The bigger battery will crank your engine longer before dying. Same thing applies to tool batteries. But don't forget, bigger battery = more $s.

I live too far out of town to own super cheap stuff. I've got the 18v Dewalt case, soon to add a 'girlie' saw, as the circular saw grip is too big for my hand, almost to the point of being dangerous. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/scared.gif" alt="" />

Also scored the twin pack contractor's batteries and a 3 place charger this past fall. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" /> When I put up my greenhouse a few years back, my drill went almost 7 hours before I had to swap out another battery.

I'm a happy camper. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />

I refuse on principle to by B&D "Firestorm" throw away tools.. don't buy DeWabble DeWalt either... For still relatively inexpensive, non commercial use, been happy with Ryobi.

For the commercial stuff, Ridgid is making some power house, lifetime warranty gear...

Reason for no B&D "Firestorm": had their battery powered drill and portable light.. The drill motor started slipping internally.. (probably a plastic gear pressed on a shaft).. and the piece da' resistance.. when the bulb burned out in the light the only way to get it out would have been to destroy the lamp housing.. (heat "welded" together plastic).

Also won't buy any design that has non replaceable internal battery.

I do have a B&D adjustable torque, replaceable 3.6V battery powered screw driver still going strong.. but it was bought before they decided to go with short life, throw away designs.

I love my garden, what type of things do you(can you) grow up there in your green house.

Sorry...OT

I'll PM ya. For the rest of you guys, it's all legal <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/nana.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" />

I have a tax-payin job. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/shiner.gif" alt="" />

Suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuure it is ... <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" />

Richard <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/patriot.gif" alt="" />