Dewalt vs. Makita

DannyLlama

DannyLlama

Elite Member
Ok Tool Heads!! Which one is better ?!

I need to get a cordless drill set and I find the Dewalts has similar specs to Makita with a smaller price tag.

I think I will go with Brush less as it seems more effective in all around ways but budget.

:cheers:
 
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DannyLlama said:
Ok Tool Heads!! Which one is better ?!

I need to get a cordless drill set and I find the Dewalts has similar specs to Makita with a smaller price tag.

I think I will go with Brush less as it seems more effective in all around ways but budget.

:cheers:
Click to expand...

I've got a dewalt 20v max cordless, 15 minute battery quick charges and it has a good amount of power for what it is.

this one, to be exact
Amazon.com: Dewalt DCD771C2 20V MAX Cordless Lithium-Ion 1/2 inch Compact Drill Driver Kit: Home Improvement
 
Having had both, I'd say Dewalt. For the most part better built and much better technology with their lithium batteries. If you find a screaming deal on a Makita, they are no slouch either. Both drills are made in the PRC at the moment, but I think Dewalt may be sending production back to Mexico. I had an old 12v Makita cordless (think 1998) that was made in Japan. Still works today.

Buy a set (drill and impact) that caters to your needs.

You'll be happy with either.
 
You didn't ask, but I vote Ryobi. I've had a set of Ryobi cordless stuff for nearly ten years. Regular use, and I haven't had to replace a battery yet.
 
KidVermicious said:
You didn't ask, but I vote Ryobi. I've had a set of Ryobi cordless stuff for nearly ten years. Regular use, and I haven't had to replace a battery yet.
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This.

I've had Ryobi stuff since about 1996, when we bought our first house and bought a cordless drill. A couple of the oldest batteries have died, but all subsequent versions work with the older tools. Some of the newer tools are very cool, too - like the leaf blower and the weed wacker which both run on the same batteries.

Every time I need a new tool, I *think* about switching to Dewalt or Bosch, but they're so ridiculously expensive that it's hard to justify for me as a DIYer - not a professional. My Ryobi stuff still works great.

The only exception I made was when I bought a miter saw. I wanted accuracy and precision, and interchangablity with the battery operated tools was obviously not a concern. So I ended up getting a Makita, which is awesome, but was still cheaper than the other brands.

I don't know if there's any tool line that's actually made in the U.S. which is high quality. Someone please chime in if they know of one.
 
I don't know of any drills that are made in the US anymore, it just got too darn expensive to go from cradle to product here. I do know Dewalt is pushing to start assembling drills and the like here due to worse than awful quality control in the PRC. And Dewalt is not the only company to do such. At least it is some degree of US job creation.

Most Ni-Cad batteries (think 5 to 10 years old) were made in Japan and even with taking more abuse than a substitute teacher in a 5th grade classroom they held their own. Now the Ni-Cads are made in Mexico, and don't handle heat well. The new kid on the block is Lithium for batteries and probably will be for a decade; it is a vast improvement over Ni-Cad IMHO in many ways.

For the OP it is all in what he will be using his drill for. When I did contract work for my brother's best friend a decade ago, my old Ryobi would not cut the mustard. The Dewalt I purchased ran circles around it. Nonetheless the Ryobi is fine for occasional DIY work.
 
I've never had a bad tool in general from the major guys (excluding a shitty harbor freight cordless drill). I would go with anything, we have a Dewalt and a Black and Decker 12V at home and then an 18V Kawasaki that's pretty boss.

Dewalt, Black and Decker, Ryobi, Makita. They're all boss and get the job done, the tools I have that are Dewalts probably take more abuse and keep going strong but that's not to say none of the others would do the same.
 
I vote Makita all day long. Ryobi isn't bad either and my Dad has had great luck with Rigids (Home Depot house brand).

Something about the cheapness of Black and Decker rubs me the wrong way, and I stay away from Dewalt just because they're owned by Black and Decker (no real good reason).
 
I bought a Dewalt sawzall/drill 18v combo set about 7 years ago.
They have taking many beatings and still work like new, love them.

That said at my job we have mostly Makita tools and they work just fine also.
 
Can't go wrong with either,
I grew up using makita's, having a father in construction makita was the way to go 15-20 years ago. Having said that I just bought a DeWalt 20 volt lith/ion impact wrench and love the thing. Went with DeWalt because it just seems to have more compatible tools if I decide to invest in other toys.
 
DannyLlama said:
Ok Tool Heads!! Which one is better ?!

I need to get a cordless drill set and I find the Dewalts has similar specs to Makita with a smaller price tag.

I think I will go with Brush less as it seems more effective in all around ways but budget.

:cheers:
Click to expand...

Honestly you can't go wrong with either.

It seems like every other month Ryobi, Black and Decker, Rigid and other companies are coming out with some other gimmick gizmo to add to their line up. I read that as a cry out to people who are in the market (and may also shop at the sharper image)....

Also those cordless impacts are the cat's meow...
 
eplanajr said:
Also those cordless impacts are the cat's meow...
Click to expand...

I don't know what that means? :/

Thank you everyone for your response! I have looked at Ryobi and they are reasonably priced. But having had a sub pro drill, I can't take another sub pro drill, the one I have (i forget the brand) frustrates me more than anything so I just want one that works well and will last me a while. I think I will be going with Dewalt, they are less expensive than Makita and seem to have good reviews.
 
MyHigh said:
Cordless impact...basically the same as an air impact like you see at tire shops, but no air.
Click to expand...

X2. Get a small impact driver. They're more expensive, but it will pay itself off after a few uses. I recently fully drywalled a full room over lath and plaster. If I had to screw all those screws over my head using a normal sized drill, I would have gone nuts. And then I redid a portion of deck and the impact side of it drove in 4" deck screws with minimal effort.
 
Oh "lath & plaster" are cuss words in my house!!

Sorry for the confusion on my part, I have an impact wrench it's basically a drill but has a 3/8" chuck so you can use your socket sets (impact approved) while working on the truck. Basically mine is for changing my tires and other small wrenching on the truck.

Impact drill is a drill that also has a hammer effect going on while you use it. I believe that's what the OP is looking more towards getting, and like Hepar mentioned it does very well with heavy use applications ie: lag bolts and such.

Picture is what I have
image.jpg
 

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That's the same Dewalt that I have and I love it. No battery issues as of yet. I do think it's important with any rechargeable to make sure you do a good job of cycling the battery. If you're good at that, they should hold a good charge for a long time.
 
This is what I have- they were my Father's. He raved about them and put them through pure hell. When he passed they became mine.


Makita LXT211-R LXT 18V Cordless Lithium-Ion 1/2 in. Hammer Drill and Impact Driver Combo Kit


mktrlxt211-r.jpg






After using the Makitas I sold my Dewalt stuff on Craigslist and will never look back. I put these through torture and they keep asking for more. Awesome tools!!


:)
 

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