Expert: Jamie Yocono - 11/29/2006

Question
Hi Jamie, This may be out of your relm of expertise but i'll ask anyhow. I'm trying to decide on a cordless drill to buy. A porter cable "9826" 19.2v 1/2" chuck, 2 speed 340in/lb torque with ~329 uwo, or a Dewalt 929k-2 18v 3/8" chuck,two speed with 400in/lb torque and 340 uwo. They are both very nice drills and exactly the same price. I'm sure you have better things to do than help me make my decision but...I need help!  Please, do you have an opinion or can you shed some light on my choices. Thanks!  Jerry Wallace  

Answer
Jerry,

As a matter of fact, this IS sort of in my realm of experience. So I will give an opinion- but please realize- it's only an opinion, nothing I can give you specific numbers about. But in all the years of owning tools, I've owned a lot of brands. Not necessarily the exact tools you mentioned, but both of the brands you've mentioned. And here's my opinion...

I think Bosch drill is the clear winner.

Right now, I own 4 different cordless drills, and BY FAR, the Bosch beats them all. For some reason, it holds a charge better than all the others, and it simply works better. I have two DeWalts (a regular one and an angle one) and both have problems. One has a bad switch, and one has a bad chuck. I also have a Craftsman (someone gave it to me as a gift, frankly I wouldn't buy one) and it simply won't hold a charge after driving about a dozen 2" screws.  I use the Bosch 90% of the time.

Now that doesn't mean that the Porter Cable isn't good. In fact, it might be. But I will say this- the only PC tool that I really LOVE is their router. There's nothing better than a PC 690 router, and I own several. But every other tool of theirs that I have owned isn't that great. I recently bought and returned two PC screw guns that were bad. The good news is that they failed within the first 2 weeks of owning them, so I learned a good lesson.

Anyway, I vote for the Bosch, but you should seek a second opinion. I think Fine Homebuilding Magazine did a cordless drill comparison, and you should look at their ratings. Google them, and then see if you can find their article. They are usually dead on in their recommendations.

Last thing- are you sure you need THAT MUCH drill? My arm gets tired holding something that heavy, so I pretty much stick to the 14 volt drills. Just something to think about, bigger isn't always better. I like a more agile tool, and don't need that much OOOMPH. The battery recharges in no time, and since they give you two batteries, I never lack for power. Just a thought.

OK, good luck, I hope this helps. Please feel free to write back if you have any further questions after reading this. And if this answer was helpful... please take a minute and rate my service. Thanks!

Jamie Yocono
Wood It Is! Custom Cabinetry
Las Vegas, NV
www.wooditis.com