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--Ty-- t1_iy6ewgt wrote

Reply to comment by Sure-Leg-6769 in General Feedback/Getting Started Questions and Answers [Weekly Thread] by AutoModerator

More number more better.

In all seriousness, though, I have not yet found a limit on the amount of torque I need, but my needs may vary from your needs.

That said, I'm a bit perplexed by your question. You ask if there's a better option than Ryobi, and that you already have 12V milwaukee and 18V makita.... you know those are both miles better than Ryobi in terms of build quality, right? Stick with your 18V Makita platform, and pick up a nice drill or drill/driver combo, and it will outlast your ryobi by years.

The more you spend, the more you will absolutely get when it comes to drills and impact drivers.

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Sure-Leg-6769 t1_iy6lz8v wrote

Well I only have a single battery each for the Milwaukee and Makita. The Milwaukee impact has been great but the Makita was bought as a weed wacker/leaf blower kit. Leaf blower broke after dropping it from ~2 ft and the weed wacker is pretty poorly designed so I'm not particularly enamored with Makita.

I've had pretty good luck with Ryobi but I wouldn't mind upgrading a few of the tools (namely the multi tool and circular saw, along with the needed drill).

Ignoring my current battery, Makita would be your pick then?

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--Ty-- t1_iy6zsy1 wrote

The power tool companies found at Home Depot and the like focus on construction, and that's where they put out their quality products. The more.... "homeowner" type of products, like leaf blowers and weed whackers are meant to be cheap, weak things, that just help the companies cover the market and fill all possible niches. I've seen the blowers and weed whackers offered by most of those power tool companies and they're all cheap things. If you want quality cordless garden tools, then you gotta go with a quality garden power tool company, like Sthil or Husqvarna.

That said, when it comes to construction-focused tools, the Big Three all put out good stuff, which each company being known for one trait more than the others

Milwaukee tends to be the most powerful. They also have fantastic platform integration with their clothing lines and packout cases.

Dewalt tends to be the "default" because of a balance of price and quality. They also offer flexibility with their 60V lineup and 20/60V flex batteries.

Makita tends to be the best-built. They are known for lasting forever, and taking the most abuse without breaking. This goes doubly for old makita. Any of their tools that are still made with the original all-plastic castings with no rubber overmouldings are nigh-indestructible. You can take those things to Pluto and back.

Since your only other 18V battery is makita, I'd say go with them. If you act fast you can get a drill/driver combo kit with a battery for a great price with cyber monday deals.

The more you spend, the more you will get. Each of these companies puts out three different tiers of quality, at three different pricepoints.

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Sure-Leg-6769 t1_iy8pi5o wrote

Makes sense about the yard maintenance tools. I figured the Makita would be more solid, but after one drop the leaf blower trigger only works about 30% of the time. The weed wacker has good power but the string dispenser doesn't dispense very well and has a tendency to fall off.

I ended up pulling the trigger on a 18v mid-tier Milwaukee brushless drill and a [brushed] oscillating tool.

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--Ty-- t1_iyb9xfk wrote

Enjoy your new brushless drill!

One thing to keep in mind though: No standard drill is designed to mix concrete and thick mortars. That requires so much torque, it's likely to burn out even the best drills. If you're mixing up very dry or thick mortars, you should get a mixing drill. They're geared for very slow rotation but very high torque. Useless for anything other than mixing, but at least they can handle the application.

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