Question about power tools?

• 

  Car-la-la on 07/10/2012 - 21:51

  yes it matters - like everything…
  Why would you expect that a $30 power tool is the equivilent of a $300 power tool?

• 

  c64 on 07/10/2012 - 22:23

  i don't think it really matters for occasional use. a cheap chinese one would be fine for a year

• 

  ESEMCE on 08/10/2012 - 09:21

  First up, every non specialist store that sells power tools has a range of cheap tools, so shop around and have a look at the Kmart, BigW, Bunnings, Masters, Mitre 10 options before springing for the Target version.

  Make sure the casing fits together reasonably well and the trigger functions OK.
  Last thing you need whilst drilling is the cheap, plastic handle cutting into you, or the stupid trigger jamming at full revs or being so had to press you drill into the wrong spot.

  If you're buying a corded drill, pay the extra to get a Hammer drill. then you have something that drills well into wood/metal (with wood/metal bits and Hammer off) and something that is capable of drilling into concrete/brick (with masonry bits and Hammer on).
  If you're buying a cordless, get the highest Voltage you can justify.. more torque (twisting force) which means more power while drilling. Cordless Hammer drills are available, but I think they're more professional grade tools, not sure that they're available as Cheapies

  Final tip, buy good quality drill bits (expect to pay as much for a good set of bits as you pay for the tool). the cheap Chinese ones tend to be made of softer metal therefore blunt easily and snap easily and I had some that came with my cheapie drill that weren't even straight!

  • 

    _Bruce_ on 08/10/2012 - 09:45

    I agree that bits are probably more important than the drill. The big difference between cheap and expensive bit is heat tolerance, as once the bit reaches a certain temperature it will lose it's cutting edge. This means if you have a cheap drill bit don't go too hard, you'll just destroy the bit and it won't cut any more.

  • 

    StewBalls on 08/10/2012 - 10:05

    Cordless Hammer drills are available, but I think they're more professional grade tools, not sure that they're available as Cheapies

    Yep, they are available…Bunnings has them from around ~$70 for Ozito…I've had one myself going on 4yrs now & it's still going strong! Mind you, Ozito would be the lowest I would go for power tools, I had a $20 Kmart hammer drill once that never made it thru half a dozen holes before it was stuffed. At least Bunnings have a great warranty with Ozito stuff, which is pretty well made IMHO…sure, it's not DeWalt quality; but it's not DeWalt prices either! :p

    +1 on the bits advice, cheap ones are a spectacular waste of money & time.

    • 

      ESEMCE on 10/10/2012 - 10:18

      I have a 14.4V Ozito Cordless and it's still going strong at 7 years age.. Came with 2 batteries that still hold a decent charge..

• 

  frewer on 08/10/2012 - 11:07

  Thank you for your advice guy, after read it. I think i will go with these 2:

  http://www.bunnings.com.au/products_product_710w-13mm-ozito-… for $34
  AND
  http://www.bunnings.com.au/products_product_frost-drill-set-… for $25

  The cordless one doesn't provide much infor/benefits, so i go with the corded one. http://www.bunnings.com.au/products_product_ozito-12v-cordle…

  I need it for DIY bed base and other things, at the end of it i still have the tools to keep n some extra bucks for ozbargain and wife's shoes … wait a min where is my saving had gone @_@
  What do you think?

  • 

    _Bruce_ on 08/10/2012 - 11:53

    My take on cordless:

    Batteries WILL die sooner or later, more so if you rarely use it. For cheap drills replacing the whole thing is often cheaper than the battery. This doesn't mean don't get one, but unless you need something really good, I would just get something cheap, simple and disposable. Convenient for the odd pilot hole or other simple task.

    Corded drills can last forever. Personally I would spend a bit more here to get one that should last at least into double digits with years (though it is always a bit of a gamble anyway).

    Another consideration on a cheap drill is the chuck. You can get keyless or keyed chucks and while keyless is great, a poor keyless chuck is very annoying. On a cheap drill I would pick keyed, but they are getting hard to find (I guess features sell drills not usefulness).

  • 

    Geewhizz on 09/10/2012 - 07:49

    The benefit of a cordless one is that you can take it anywhere. If you do decide to go for cordless, I'd highly recommend going for one that has L.ion batteries though - they're a bit dearer but far superior.

    If you're unlikely to really need cordless at some stage, you're going to get more bang for your buck with a corded one (unless there's a power outage lol)

    • 

      frewer on 09/10/2012 - 17:00

      Thank you, i still remember what a feeling when power outage happen at where i used to live.