12V L-ion drills

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8
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Twin Cities, MN
I like to have 2 drills in the shop, at a time; one for holes and one for driving screws. Anyone have one of those 12V L-ion drills (Bosch, Milwaukee, Rigid, Makita- they all make them)? Which one?
I've looked at them, specifically the Bosch, and like the idea of the smaller size. However, I can get a (2nd) Bosch, L-ion, 18Volt for the same price (or cheaper at the moment) so I'm wondering how the 12V hold up. It'd be nice to not have the weight/size of an 18V for driving a few screws, etc around the shop, but if I'm not saving money by doing it, I'm having trouble convincing myself to go smaller. Any opinions?
 
I've got a little milwaukee and a ryobie one. They are handy to have around for certain tasks, but I wouldn't consider them to be all that useful for driving screws into wood.

They work fine for thing like assembling 'stuff', or removing lightsocket screws, etc...

I look at them as being a pretty useful for a ratcheting screwdriver, if that makes sense.
 
The 12 volt should be a little lighter, but my new 18 volt ion dewalt weights a whole lot less than my older 12 volt dewalt. Just depends on what you're using it for. If the screws are more delicate, the 12 volt may be a better option, but both should have a torque setting to keep you from twisting any screws off.

Also you may look to see what other tools use the same batteries, down the road you could pickup a saw or some other tool at a cheaper price without the batteries/charger and use the same ones from the drills.
 
Ahh, I see what you are talking about. Mine are smaller than that are are basically pistol grip electric screwdrivers...

Pay attention to Darren, Ignore my response.... :rofl:
 
I have one 18V L-ion Bosch already, got it to replace an older CM 19.2V NiCad that was like carrying around a cinder block. I agree, the 18V L-ion drills are a lot lighter than the NiCad.
The 12V drills that I'm seeing are even smaller (they just became abundant at the local homecenters, from what I know, I don't know really how "new" they are.) I never looked at "smaller" before. Many of them boast that you get similar power in a smaller package.
I may just end up getting another 18V. Menards ad is $139 for the 18V L-ion Bosch, that's a very good price.
 
I have the little Bosch drill and driver (don't have the impact tool yet) and I really like them both. They've become my "go to" tools instead of my 14.4V DeWalts.

Power is adequate for most tasks, and battery life is good. The quick recharge feature is nice, too, but not all that necessary given the reasonably long battery life.

They're great little tools, and I'd buy them again in a heartbeat.
 
I have the compact 10.8/12v Hitachi driver + impact driver set. I've used them in my hobby shop for about 18 months now and they work fine. Nice and light, and just go and go.

I've even used the impact driver around the house driving (up to) 3" screws into framing -- ie: when hanging shelving in the garage, or when assembling the boards for our outdoor rink. I wouldn't think it was up to all-day use like that, but for occasional work it is fine.

It is quite a bit lighter than my old full-size 12v NiCd Hitachi drill.

The one disconcerting thing I find with these Lithium batteries is that there is no warning at all when they quit. The drill just STOPS. The first few times I was sure that I'd broken something. My set does not have any sort of a juice-remaining-gauge.

eta: oh yeah, at the CHW show last month I used the Bosch 12v drill/driver for 3 days and it also is very nice. This was just drilling into pine, as that is what we were using in the project area, so I haven't tried them in hardwood. I was NOT that impressed with the comparable Black+Decker units that we also had there.
 
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