Which lithium ion drill/driver to buy.

[sunama]

I need some advice.

I shall be doing some woodwork, drilling some holes through 100mm blocks of timber and screwing these into other pieces of timber.

I shall also be driving screws of size 6x180mm into pieces of timber.

In summary I'm looking for a drill/driver which can drill timber and screws screws.

Bear in mind that I am DIYer and not a professional.

I currently have a Bosch SDS portable drill (which is unbelievable) and an electric hammer drill. I also have a cheapo, portable Challenge 14.4v drill, whose batteries no longer hold their charge.

The device I now buy will essentially complete my collection of drill/driver tools which I hope to keep for the next few years. Its main use shall be screwdriving and also to drill minor holes into wood (for anything major I shall use the other more powerful drills).

I've narrowed my options down to the following:

Ryobi LSD1202PB (includes 2 12v lithium ion batteries and charger and has keyless chuck)
£65inc delivery.

Bosch PSR 300LI (includes 1 10.8v, built in lithium ion battery and charger and has a hex chuck)
£34inc delivery.

Bosch GSR 10.8v (includes drill, 1 10.8v lithium ion battery and charger)
£70

Given that price is important, which would you gents recommend? Right now, Im thinking the £34 PSR 300LI offers good value as it essentially the same as the GSR 10.8v (which is top quality), except it has built in battery and so is more bulky than the GSR.

The Ryobi attracts me because I get 2 batteries. While the Bosch GSR10.8v simply oozes quality and virtually all reviews give it top ratings.

Which should I buy?

 

[neds]

Have you not considered the the Bosch GDR 10.8V You can get the GSR and GDR for about £130 if you shop around, as if you are going to be driving in 180mm screws you could do with an impact driver... Any impact driver will be fine.

What you really need is the Ryobi deal that was on for ages , drill driver + an imopact driver. Why does it have to be Li-Ion? There are some Hitachi deals kicking about too.

 

[sunama]

TBH, I am trying to spend as little as possible.

The impact driver you are talking about above is quite pricey for my liking. The 180mm screws will only be going to a depth of about 70mm into the timber (the remaining space will have been pre-drilled, so the screwer will merely slot in).

Do bear in mind that I am a DIYer and any tools I buy tend to lay in my cupboard for months/years getting used for only a few hours per year.

I just want to make sure that I get the best deal possible.

The reason why I want to go the li ion route is because my current portable drill (cheap Challenge extreme drill) has NiCd batteries and they fail to hold a charge. This seems to be a problem which NiCd and Nimh batteries suffer from. In other words, without any use, the batteries weaken and eventually die. Li Ion batteries don't suffer from this problem, so I want to go the Li Ion route.

In saying all of the above, I seem to have found a great driver, with good reviews:

http://www.screwfix.com/prods/83288...ills/Site-SMB600-14-4V-Cordless-Drill-Driver#

It seems to be made by Makita and has great reviews. Its quite cheap at £40. Only problem is that it uses NiCd batteries and not Li Ion.

 

[Deluks]

I shall also be driving screws of size 6x180mm into pieces of timber........

Bear in mind that I am DIYer and not a professional.

6x180mm is not a 'diy' sized screw, what major construction project are you DIY-ing?

I'd agree that li-ion would be a good move, from your choices the Ryobi or Bosch GSR would be best, but the impact driver suggestion would trump either of those.

 

[sunama]

It is indeed DIY.

110mm of the screw will be threaded through a hole in a piece of timber, while 70mm will be screwed into another piece of timber, which shall hold the 2 peices of timber, together.

The problem with an impact driver is the cost.

I don't particularly want to spend £100 on an impact driver which I will be using for a few hours per year.

 

[big-all]

you definitely need 14 or 18v assuming you want a hammer drill for flexibility anything less is for drilling or driving

lithium ion is expensive new science and costs twice as much

so you wont get a usefull tool without paying the price

i definatly suggest you go for ryobi 18v as you have 30 tools from the home and garden that fit the same batteries

iff you want to go 10.8 you must go the proffesional route as the diy route will not give you the power in this voltage

assuming drilling holes in brick are are part of the remit then non off the 10.8 from any direction can handle walls
you certainly wont get lithium ion for much less than £100 that has any great power or flexability

edit--
nothing sub 18v unless its a impact driver has any chance off 5x100 never mind any thing bigger
the bosch blue drill driver may manage a 5x50 but nothing bigger i will try tommorow as i have one

 

[sunama]

I only need to drill holes into wood, though. This drill will never be used for drilling into walls.

For hammer drill, I have a Bosch SDS drill.

Cost is definitely an issue here.

Are lithium ion batteries the way to go are NiCd batteries ok? My problem is that my current NiCd batteried, cheap drill has completely lost power and this has turned me off NiCd batteries completely. I've read that LiIon batteries are MUCH better in terms of holding their charge and longevity.

The choices I have are:
Ryobi LSD1202PB (includes 2 12v lithium ion batteries and charger and has keyless chuck)
£65inc delivery.

Bosch PSR 300LI (includes 1 10.8v, built in lithium ion battery and charger and has a hex chuck)
£34inc delivery.

Bosch GSR 10.8v (includes drill, 1 10.8v lithium ion battery and charger)
£70

Site SMB600 14.4v (NiCd batteries, but more torque)
£40.

These are my choices. £100 drills are not an option.

Which to buy for wood drilling and wood screwing?

 

[big-all]

nicads are fine they will last for years
you need to use them and charge them every month or so
but do not charge untill they are nearly flat as in iff you can stop the chuck in high gear or it noticably slows down after constant grip for a few seconds then charge

lifted from my previouse post incase you missed it
edit--
nothing sub 18v unless its a impact driver has much chance off driving a 5x100 never mind any thing bigger
the bosch blue drill driver may manage a 5x50 but nothing bigger i will try tommorow as i have one icon_biggrin.gif icon_wink.gif

also worth noting hex drive drills only go up to around 5mm

 

[sunama]

edit--
nothing sub 18v unless its a impact driver has any chance off 5x100 never mind any thing bigger
the bosch blue drill driver may manage a 5x50 but nothing bigger i will try tommorow as i have one

In that case my most realistic option is to initially screw the big screws using the drill driver (whichever one I decide to buy) and drill the deeper part of the screw using my Bosch 24V drill (which I've just checked and it does have variable speed). The only problem is that the Bosch is heavy and won't have the same level of control of a lower powered drill/driver.

I'm trying to avoid ending up with a hoard of expensive power tools which I have barely used.

 

[sunama]

also worth noting hex drive drills only go up to around 5mm

I have to say that I'm not a fan of the hex drills.

 

[big-all]

all the 10,8v are hex drive

 

[sunama]

Yep.

For drilling I hate hex chucks as it means I have to buy a whole new set of drill bits.

What I could do is get the Site SMB600 for £40. Use this drill to drive in the tips of the big screws. Then to drive the deeper part of the screws (which requires more torque), I switch to the Bosch 24V.

Bear in mind that I will probably drill pilot holes into the timber, to allow smoother entry of the big screws.

Does this plan sound good?

EDIT: I've been looking at how impact drivers work and how easy they enable long screws to be pushed into wood. I think an impact driver is what I need (as suggested earlier in the thread).

I've found this AEG impact driver for £73 including delivery.
AEG BSS14 Cordless Impact Driver 14.4v & 2 X 1.5ah & FREE DT8302 Dewalt Work Belt
http://www.buyaparcel.com/pageview.php?page=show_product&ecommerce_stockcode=AEGBSS14

OR for £50
http://www.diy.com/diy/jsp/bq/nav.j...search&ts=1260243005228&isSearch=true#reviews

 

[big-all]

aeg are from the same stable as ryobi
they are aimed more at the pro market so great value for money it will out perform your 24v bosch by around 100% in other words twice the performance on big screws your 24v will stall whilst the impact powers ahead
you can also buy several other tools to fit the batteries

aeg will be about with full repair and spares for years to come where as the diy products from the sheds or argos have no spares or back up and are out off date in the next catalouge sale

i have a bosch blue 14.4 impact i will see how it perfoms on a 100mm 6 if you like

 

[sunama]

... it will out perform your 24v bosch by around 100%

Wow. I was used to using the cheapo drills from Argos. As an example I have an mains drill, black and decker which cost me around £50 from Argos. When I got the Bosch (which I paid around £400), it oozed quality and its ability to cut through brick and concrete, like a hot knife through butter was unbelievable.

Now you are saying that AEG will be a step up from the Bosch blue?

i have a bosch blue 14.4 impact i will see how it perfoms on a 100mm 6 if you like

That'll be great. I think I'm erring towards the AEG impact driver now. I saw a youtube video of how easily impact drivers can push screws through wood and it was eye-opening. I now understand what you were on about earlier when you stated that an impact driver is what is needed for me to push through the big screws I intend to use.

So, I am currently looking at the AEG 14.4v impact driver at £73.

 

[Deluks]

That AEG is a good deal. Also try this

At the end of the day though, most drill drivers would do the job if you pre-drill a suitably sized pilot hole first.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilot_hole