Need Drill Recommendations

I borrowed a cordless from my boss today and was really impressed with the torque and power. Rigid 18v. I'm getting one for the house.

 

I'm not a huge do-it-yourselfer, outside of brewing it myself. When I decided to stop buying pre-milled grain, I went with a cheap black and decker corded model to power my mill. I use B&D to make coffee, might as well use them to make beer, too. I rarely use my drill for other things, so went cheap. Don't envision a lot of DIY house projects requiring cordless, so am willing to be tethered to an electrical outlet for the 10 minutes per month I run my drill. And if I did have a swanky, cordless drill, so I could, you know, build a kitchen or a bathroom or finish a basement or make a deck or whatever, I would still use the corded one for homebrew. Of course, I would use it less than 10 minutes a month, because all that house work wouldn't let me brew as off. Go cheap or go home, that's my motto. At least on this one.

 

Ya....lol. My framer/concrete/painter buddies put it when your on blue collar budget go Ryobi. But Good ol’ Dave (concrete/welder/fabricator) DeWalt all the way!

 

I'd buy a cheap corded drill from Harbor Freight and just leave it attached to my mill if I was doing it all over again, something cheap like this https://www.harborfreight.com/38-in-variable-speed-reversible-drill-60614.html

 

This is the exact one I use for my mill and it’s always attached. They make one has a speed dial and I’d buy that one if this one breaks. Only problem with this version is that it spins as fast as hard as you squeeze the trigger so you gotta have a steady hand. I’ve gotteb used to it but it would be nice to set the dial down and just squeeze the button all the way down.

 

For those who don't leave their drill attached and are considering doing so, supporting the drill when not in use will take stress off the main roller shaft and help keep it from bending.

For those who haven't taken the leap toward DIY around the house, HERE's an entry level cordless unit for less than $20.

 

Actually, I just remembered that I do have an entry level cordless. The fact that I forgot about it speaks to my previous comments about not being a DIYer. It is also Black and Decker, I think. But it wasn't charged one time I went to mill some grain so I bought a corded one to avoid this issue. I figured that on this particular day, I faced two choices: plug in the drill and wait until it has enough charge to run it, or spend that time to run to a store, buy a drill with a cord, and never have this problem again.

 

You can buy any brand cordless tool . . . but you are married to their respective batteries/charger. The last thing you want is a Dewalt drill and a Ryobi impact driver and a Milwaukee sawzall. Once you pick a manufacturer you'll be tied to that line of battery for a long time. I tend to favor Makita, all my follow-on cordless tool purchases are tied to this decision. The new lithium batteries are great, but expensive. You really want change-ability which you only get by sticking with your initial brand.

FWIW, I have a big-ass cordless Makita drill with lots of spare batteries . . . but I bought a heavy duty corded Black & Decker for the mill (open box on eBay, 'bout 20 bucks). Mr. B&D leads a quiet sheltered life and never even gets dirty. My Makitas are pounded pretty roughly and always have concrete/wallboard/wood-shavings grit on them.

I've never heard of limitations on variable speeds of cordless drills. Not saying there isn't any, but I run variable speeds all over the place and never had problems (over many decades). Not sure about that 500 rpm speed for your mill. I turn my Monster Mill somewhere around the low 100s with good results. Also, the entire time to grind ~10 lbs of grain is maybe 2-3 minutes. With a rest period while reloading the hopper the drill never goes more than one minute continuous . . . aka; not breaking a sweat.

 

I hear ya! To be fair, I didn’t love my comparisons, but I was just trying to make a point (in the Colt v. S&W debate, I actually vote Ruger...). The Japanese wheels kick ass and have actually dared to innovate in the last couple decades.
However, I stand by my Ryobi diss. Seen too many of those things break down on the job site. The price difference between budget and well made battery power tools is small, but the quality difference is huge. Buy once, cry once.

If my dad saw me use anything but DeWalt...he’d bludgeon me with it!
Except for the sawzall. No DeWalt alternative could pull him away from what he sees as the ultimate handheld recip...

 

The limitation of "continued use in variable speed range" was from DeWalt and might pertain only to the particular model for which the manual was written. I can't think of an instance where I've used my variable speed in continued use at any speed other than all-out full bore.

500 was referenced as a max since Jack Schmidling said "The mill should not be run beyond about 500 RPM as the efficiency starts dropping at around this speed because malt is thrown around rather than being fed through the rollers."....I'm not saying the spec's are comparable for VikeMan's Schmidling (sounds like a German tyke owned by a Norseman), nor am I suggesting the low 100s aren't optimal.

Edited:
@VikeMan, if 'twas me I'd probably go with a dedicated corded drill for the mill, in the upper end of the homeowner stuff. It'll always be ready when you are and will likely be the last drill you need to get for your mill. If you're retired drill is cordless and if it's your only drill, you'll miss the portability (provided you are or aspire to be an around the house DIYer).

The deal shown by @Prep8611 in the next post looks like a really good one. I personally would pick up on it if I wasn't already committed to DeWalt by previous purchases..

 

Found the best deal https://www.homedepot.com/p/Milwauk...BEgIB3_D_BwE&dclid=CKfuu4Tdp9wCFce4swodFxMFUg

 

Since I don't often need a big drill, I went inexpensive and bought a low-speed 1/2" corded drill from Harbor Freight. Its dedicated to the mill, so it doesn't get used that much and its retail price was $60 and there are always 20 or 25 percent off coupons posted.

The grunt of that drill allows me to run my MM 2-2 at a pretty low speed. I find that the lower the speed, the better the husks look.

 

One more and then I'll let it rest, maybe. Without knowing if OP has any interest in a cordless set, other folks might be in the market for cordless tools and checking out options/opinions.
Found this 20v kit when comparing stuff at Home Depot....another good deal. Same price as the 18v Old Mil set.

 

As a mechanic I have put black and decker, dewalt, and old milwuake to the test and makita blows them all away.

 

Freudian slip?

 

Oh, right. I meant Milwaukee's best.

 

Man we are passionate about our cordless tools . I use Ryobi because it is cheap, life has taught me I will probably lose something before I break it. I had a complete 18V Ryobi set from about 20 years ago, or whenever they first came out. I replaced the batteries once and then just said fuck it. When in laws place flooded last year I needed something to cut sheetrock out, so I picked up a set of Ryobi tools that contained the drill, impact driver and Oscillating tool. Nice thing is all my old tools will still use these batteries, so definitely still with a brand

 

I just use a Black & Decker corded that I got from Wal-Mart. You don't have to use a cordless drill, corded drills have plenty of torque for this small job.

 

Long time makita user. They were first to market with 18volt and i still have the same drills and batteries. 12+ years of daily use. And abused regularly. Once dropped my drill 35’ off a scissor lift onto a concrete slab. Battery and drill were fine. Makita 100%

 

I'll also recommend the 18-V Ryobi One+ as a really nice economical sytem. I have a number of their tools, and all have been great. I'm been building a deck the past several summers and I use the impact driver and 2 drills all the time. The impact driver will easily drive 3/8 inch lag screws (with a proper pilot hole). I also have the circular saw, string trimmer, leak blower, a dremel-like tool, and a flashlight. I would probably use some other system if I were a contractor (likely Makita), but for the average handyman I think the Ryobi is a great system. Buy only the Li-ion batteries -- the NiCad are indeed junk. BTW, I indeed use the drills to mill grain.