I am writing to ask you guys what the important considerations are when you buy a 18V cordless driver drill and hammer drill? I wanna buy professional 18V driver drill and hammer drill for wood, metal and rarely concrete (masonry) works. I would like to ask you which figures are needed to compare among a number of models.
For example : Torque? RPM? Length? Weight? Battery? Gimmick function like IoT?
Additionally, how much torque do you think is appropriate?
I’m going to suggest that you buck the trend that 18v is “better”.
I switched from 12v and 18v Bosch tools to just Milwaukee M12 tools. The M12 Fuel tools have the power and performance of mid range 18v tools. My M12 Fuel drill has more power than Bosch’s 18v drill. I really like this because it means that I only have one system of batteries.
For drilling concrete and masonry, I’d strongly advise you to consider buying one of the compact SDS tools. Of course, I have the M12 but the point is that the SDS tools have much higher impact energy than “hammer drills”. My little toy size M12 SDS easily and quickly punches 1/2" holes in concrete.
For my brother, Makita’s 18v black sub-compact tools made more sense for what he does as a home owner. These tools are 12v sized but pack a serious wallop of power and have some clever features.
When you are buying a cordless power tool - you are also buying into a proprietary battery platform
If a drill/driver is NOT the only tool that you plan on ever buying - then you might want to see what else the manufacturer offers. You might find it easier to stick with one battery platform if you extend your cordless tool collection.
Home-Depot’s Ryobi lineup - for instance - may not be up to hard industrial use - but they seem to offer lots of DIY and homeowner aligned tools - some not as available in other lineups.
Ergonomics can play a big role - so what fits good in my big mitts - may be anathema to my wife. She likes Bosch 10.8V (aka 12V) tools better than Milwaukee M12 - citing handles that feel better in her hands. She also likes some Makita compact 12V tools that have slimmer handles because they use slide in batteries.
Because of ergonomics - it would be good to lay your hands on your top picks before you buy.
Milwaukee seems to dominate in the 12V class with the most offerings. But others seem to be launching alternatives to compete for the compact market (Dewalt’s Atomic tools being introduced exclusively at Home Depot and Makita’s 12V CXT lineup come to mind)
Dewalt and Milwaukee seem locked in a head to head competition in the 18V (20V max) class
Dewalt Flexvolt represents an innovation that you might seriously consider if you plan on buying a circular saw or other high demand tool. Milwaukee has responded to this challenge with their HD and XC 18V batteries - up to 12Ah in capacity. Makita seems to be going the route of offering some two-battery tools for 36V operation.
Bosch also produces professional grade tools - but Bosch seems to be a bit slow in bringing some of their tools to the USA market.
The Big 3 - are Dewalt, Makita and Milwaukee. Add Bosch into the mix as #4. Other brands you might consider - have fewer offerings - but you could look at: Fein, Festool, Metabo, Metabo-HPT, Porter-Cable Ridgid and Ryobi. House brands like Kobalt (from Lowes) have some fans - but may be phasing out as Lowes replaces some or all with Craftsman from SBD (as opposed to Craftsman from a Sear’s OEM)
Harbor Freight seems to be saying that they are stepping up their game with their Hercules house brand - but based on their less than stellar track record with power tools that they have branded with names like Chicago Electric, Drill Master and Bauer - IMO I’d look elsewhere.
That reminds me… I don’t recommend Ryobi for heavy pro use. A friend of mine who is a mason bought a bunch of Ryobi tools and he really liked them… until they all failed for one reason or another.
His flexvolt tools are still going though and I think he’s probably going to get more in that line.
So inline a bit with Fred’s comments when I was shopping for a new cordless drill a few years ago I was mostly concerns with getting into a battery system that would also support my other needs later.
I was not remotely interested in the 12V lines of anyone including Milwaukee mostly because for a few dollars more you get more capability out of even the lower tier 18V stuffs. Main premise here was that I was only going to get into one battery line.
My secondary considering got into where the items were made or where the parent company is based. This did lead me to discount a few systems and lead me to the Dewalt path I took.
Not that I think the Milwaukee product is bad mind you. But for the dollars on a item, between the milwaukee and the dewalt they are fairly evenly matched and there are places where they flip flop. This was also before FLexvolt was a thing. But I figured if I’m going to spend that much money I might as well spend it with a company that has to pay corporate taxes here in the US on all of their “profit”. This is a political thing nothing more. Today Dewalt makes more items in the US than others so that does help. At the time I made my selection I was still looking at 2, made in china drills.
I also agree on the don’t buy a hammer drill statement - I have no plans to. LIke the other guy said I would get a small rotary hammer when I have a need for masonry drilling. Might even get a old corded one since I don’t have alot of use for that.
My other big considerations - going back to the battery system was checking out the mating Impact Driver, and recip saws.