Popular Woodworking 2005-12 № 152, страница 72

MAKITA

Another of the just-under-$200 drills, the Makita shares the Editor's Choice award with the DeWalt. It stands out as the only drill that comes standard with NiMH in the 14.4v category. This drill is also rated at 3.0 amp hours compared to 2.0 with most of the competition. That said, the performance results for this tool were mixed. It finished second in number of holes drilled, but in the middle of the pack in the number of lag screws sunk.

This drill is also one of the three-speed units, offering a middle gear with mixed torque and speed capabilities. Along with the third speed,

Makita added a fast bypass to switch between clutch-controlled screwing and full-speed drilling This is a handy addition. They've also included a task light mounted on the battery.

The Makita has the largest grip girth in the test and we noticed pretty high temperatures out of the motor and battery after testing. It's also the second-heaviest drill in the test.

But when balancing the performance, features and the feel of the drill (even with the larger size and weight), we felt this drill was one we'd buy and enjoy having in our shop.

METABO

The Metabo 14.4v drill has the unfortunate distinction of being the most expensive in the category (by $20), balanced with fairly mediocre results in the testing. It finished eighth in drilling holes and ninth in sinking lag screws.

It also finished in the middle of the pack on grip girth and motor and battery heat after testing, but is the second-lightest drill (behind the Skil). It does offer a short recharge time of 35 minutes, supported almost certainly by the fan-cooled smart charger. But other than that, it's a fairly basic and average drill.

Both Metabo drills in the test have a quirky feature that we've commented on before. The forward and reverse switch operates opposite of every other drill in the test. Again, this isn't a deficit, but it does take some getting used to.

While it's an OK drill, we don't feel that the extra expense is supported by the features or performance of the tool. Bottom line: While there's nothing wrong with this drill, your money is better spent elsewhere.

MILWAUKEE

Excluding the Skil, this is the least expensive drill in the test at just over $160. The features are mostly basic, but the Milwaukee does offer a reversible battery pack, allowing you to move the weight and size to either the front or back of the grip. This proves handy in tight spots.

This tool also offers a clever belt hook, but I'm afraid the value of this was lost on the woodworkers in our shop. In testing we found the Milwaukee drill had average results in both drilling holes and sinking lag screws, matched by average temperature readings after testing.

MOTY-KO

This one's a strange one. It's a new brand of drill that's actually not headed for the larger home-center stores. You'll be able to find it online and in contractor-supply stores.

I also say strange because the results on the drill are a strange mix. Priced at the high end of the pack at $199, it's a drill that actually produced the winning number of lag screws by a whopping 49 more screws! The results in the hole drilling were decent as well, but oddly out-of-sync in comparison to the screw test.

Motor temperatures were a little higher after

On the plus side, the drill weighed in on the lighter end of the scale and had a medium-sized grip girth. Taking the weight, size and grip into account, this drill had a very nice feel in the hand. And when you can shift the battery weight around, it's even nicer.

We like the feel and balance of the Milwaukee and though the performance results are average, average isn't a bad thing. In light of the nearly $40 savings over the other drills in the category, we've decided to give this drill the Best Value award.

testing, but still not out of line. Although heavy, it's not the heaviest drill and the grip girth was acceptably in the middle of the pack. The one-hour charger is also the norm, rather than an exception.

Two extra features on the drill include a fuel gauge to let you know how much juice is left, and a simple bubble level mounted on top.

While all of these things indicate a good drill that deserves recognition, we did run into some charging issues (it thought it was full, but it wasn't) during testing that give us pause in a tool that doesn't yet have a track record.

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