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Does anyone have an opinion on the Makita 18v Li-ion drills/drivers. I had posted another ? on here about Panasonic Li-ion and received a couple of responses. I am going to buy new drills for our cabinet shop and want to get the most for our money. The Makita pkg. that I am attaching a link to is cheaper, 18v, and includes a sawzall whereas the Panasonic I was looking at is only 14.4v and doesn't have the sawzall. Thanks for any input you can give me.

http://www.amazon.com/Makita-LXT407-18-Volt-Lithium-Ion...d=1218895658&sr=1-21

as I said in your other post it depends on your need?
If you need all the other stuff it would seem that the makita kit would be your buy. the 14 vs. the 18 is really longevity of your battery before recharging. your need vie your other post was placing screws in finish work. the Panasonic will do what you want. we can't make a decision for you, only give our opinion and I have stated mine.
good luck

Mike

That is really all I am asking for is people's opinion. I would like to know what people who have used these tools think of them before I purchase them. I don't need someone to tell me what to buy, just your opinion. If you happen to use a Milwaukee, Dewalt, Hitachi, or what ever and think it's the greatest that's what I would like to know. I guess I should have titled my post "opinions on the best Li-ion drill/driver." I just found this Makita kit for $359.99 while the Panasonic kit is $439.99 and does not include the sawzall. If people who have used the Makita think it is total junk then maybe the extra $80 is worth it. I am only alloted so many $ each year for tools. I want to make the best of what I get.
The drills will be used in the assembly of cabinets. I run a 4 man shop that builds casework for schools all day every day. I have not used any brand of cordless tool with the Li-ion batteries and that is what I am trying to find out about. It seems to me this is the direction all tool manufacturers are going. I am not looking for something that will just do the job. I want something that will last and hold up. It is one thing when you are buying something for occasional home use but these will be used 5 days a week 8+ hrs. a day. We are currently using Dewalt 14.4v cordless drills with the Ni-cad batteries. These batteries don't seem to last. I am just looking for a better product. Once again, all input (your opinions) are appreciated.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: mecabman,

The Makita and Hitichi are great tools but for the past 6 years most of my guys have switched over to the Ryobi 18 volt impact tools and have never had one fail. And they cost 1/3rd the price. In 6 years of these tools being used every day by three diffent crews I've had two battery out of the 8, I own fail and there less then $48.00 for two new ones. We also have never had a Dewault battery last more then a year. One Dewalt hammer drill I bought burned up the first time I used it. I had to finish the job with my $69.00 Ryobi that still works years later.
At the price difference in the base tools you could buy twice as many for the same price and be able to add more manufacturing lines.
We use these tools all day for anything from simple screw driving. drilling, installing 1/2" galv. lag bolts, nut driving.
One simple tool I use to check out tools is to go on line on Amazon.com and just look up the tool on there. At the bottom there's going to be consumers comments about that tool that they have bought and used.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: joecaption,

I have never used or even held the Panasonic product, so I can't give a comparison. I do have an opinion on the Makita though.

I have a PC and a Makita 14.4 Ni-cad drill. The PC is ten years old and is on its second set of batteries. The Makita is 3 years old and one of its batteries gave up and is now rebuilt.

As I was looking for a new drill/impact driver I looked at the ones that were locally available in the big box stores. Rigid, Milwaukee, Dewalt, Bosch, and Makita.

After feeling the weight of the lithium ion tools, I decided that was the way to go for my next driver. I chose the Makita 18V lithium Drill/impact driver set. The tools are very comfortable to hold, they have good balance and a small size.

When I first saw the LED on the driver I thought It was unnecessary, but now that I have it I have found that I like it.

I've had the set for 6 months now, no complaints, if I had to remake the same purchase I would choose the Makita again.


Steve

Snap On did a test between the Li-ion,a makita and a Nicad Snap on drill.The Snap on outran the Makita and this is what a Snap On dealer in my area told me about 2 years ago.

I'm going with the Ridgid 18v next month. They have a two year warranty and a lifetime service on both the tool and batteries.

I have several tools made by Ridgid and they all work fine, but before you go buy one just try calling any of there so called auterized service centers and see if they really do work on them. The two I called in VA did not even do warrenty work on them. I've emailed the address on there web site a dozen times and have never recieved a reply.
All I was looking for was some replacement filters for there smaller vacuum. Home Depot sells the vacuum but only sells the high dollar Hepa replacement filter.

Joe
I don't want to highjack this thread.
but I've would be very concern about buying tools from Home depot. Their financial future looks to be in jeopardy?? By saying that, those guarantees may be at risk???

Mike

The reconditioned Ridgids don't have the lifetime service,a year on them.I have one I bought a reconditioned cordless circular saw from a Cummins tool sale.It has "Recon" melted on the tool and battery.For recipicating saws,go with a Milwaukee and I found they make the best recipicating saws out there.I never had a problem with mine,a cordless and a corded yet and still are holding up.

Home Depot has nothing to do with factory warrentys. The manufactuer is backing them at there authorized service centers.

mecabman,
Here is my opinion on Cordless Drill drivers;
You really can't go wrong with Makita or Panasonic, both are well made and both get great reviews. Although Panasonic usually get slightly higher reviews for their battery longevity, Makita has always been the first on the market with new cordless technology and the Makita LXT has every top review for cordless lithium-ion drills that I've seen. I've also had a chance to try it at the woodworking show this year and it's a very powerful well designed tool. I loved my old Porter Cable drills but wouldn't recommend them anymore since PC was taken over by DeWalt, because the old PC quality on their drills is just not their anymore. I would stay clear of anything Craftsmen, even people who use to swear by them realize the quality of their old tools has long been replaced with cheep parts and multiple bells and whistles to entice people who don't know any better (but their still charging as much & more as the good quality brands). DeWalt usually makes good cordless tools, but you always hear about problems with the batteries and some just burning up for no reason at all. I've only tried Ridged and Hitachi cordless tools a few times and they really seem to be well made, but their are a lot of mixed reviews on their longevity. I usually never recommend buying anything Royobi, except for their cordless drills. Their inexpensive, work amazingly well and are actually a pretty good deal for both homeowners and professionals alike. I've never tried their impact drivers, but since Joecaption recommended them, I feel confident they'll do a good job. Currently I own an 18volt Bosch drill driver and circular saw kit. I've had it for about 7 years and it's still working great, so I would highly recommend Bosch. I also had the opportunity to try the Bosch 10.8 volt lithium-ion PS20 pocket driver & PS40 Impact driver and I know about 15 repair/service people who own both. The PS20 is a great little driver that only weighs 1 1/2lbs, runs longer and outperforms most larger drill drivers and because of it's smaller size is great for cabinet assembly or any other time where you need to get into a small space. The PS40 only weighs about 2lbs and has 800 lbs of torque in it's small 6" size. This year I plan on buying the PS20 / PS40 kit. Actually I just checked and Amazon has that kit for 219.00 (it's sold by CPO Bosch), but on the CPO Bosch site they sell the kit for 199.99 plus a $20.00 mail in rebate until 9/4/08 so it's only 179.99 for both, that's the same price as the PS40 sells for alone when it's on sale (BTW you can't use the rebate on Amazon orders).

But this is just my opinion, I hope it helps.

Stay away from Bosch,all they make is junk.My father once bought one of their circular saws back because of no power at all.My father hates anything made by Bosch.Bosch is a non profit company and are not worth working for.I heard this from my local Snap On dealer whom knows someone that worked at Bosch.I have Ryobi's cordless circular saw and it is a big POS.