Drill buying?
Shawn, Better value for the money, as you have read ,is the corded models, and if you are only going to have one drill I would suggest these also. If by chance you do go cordless make sure you get one with two batteries. Without it you will always want to drill and not have a battery. I bought a 12.6 volt cordless Ryobi about three years ago with two batteries at HD for 29 dollars. It was a special buy thing, and it has been great, but I also have an older Makita downstairs too. Sheresa
Man what a good way to start arguments. I personally prefer cordless drills as I tend to find myself nowhere near power when I need it. 2 batteries is a must, and I wouldn't get anything smaller that 12 volts. Black and Deckers "Firestorm" line is essentially a watered done DeWalt drill for Harry Homeowner, but still a good drill for your money. Ryobi and Delta are also decent drills for your money. The bulk of your money in drill purcahses these days goes to name brand and the material that the drill is made out of. Your may not be able to see or feel the difference between an Firestorm drill, and a DeWalt drill, but drop them both on the floor a couple of time and you'll know. Depending on how hard you run your drill maintanance availablity may be a consideration. One of my former employers bought Makita drills which were considered disposable because nobody repaired them. I personally destroy six of them in a 2 1/2 year period. My DeWalt "Frankendrill" on the other hand was rebuilt/repaired/overhauled five times. Most of my drill damage was a result of drops 20' and over. Unless you want to go really cheap and by a Chicago Electric drill ($12.00) there's not to much you can go wrong with. Personally I would'nt buy a cordless drill for less than 75.00, but my tools pay for themselves so YMMV Good luck