Drill?
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I use a corded Craftsman (Sears brand) 3/8 inch electric drill. Variable speed, reversible, keyless chuck, and it probably cost me like $40 or $50.I've had it for 10+ years, I use/abuse it a fair amount, and it has yet to let me down. Of course, sometimes I wish it were cordless, but it's nice that it Just Works even if I have to use a long extension cord. One thing I like about Craftsman is that many of their tools have a no-questions lifetime guarantee from Sears. I think that actually excludes electric tools (like a drill), but good to know for pliers, screwdrivers, etc.
I have 3 recommendations:-cordless. I had a corded a long time ago but half the time the thing I was drilling wasn't near an outlet, so extension cords were in play. And the cords really do get in the way. -get at least a 14v, but better yet go up to 18. Helps you drill through wood. Cordless drills are rated in volts, corded seem to be mostly in amps. I have no idea what a good ampage is. -lithium ion. Most current drills use nicd has the dreaded memory effect so over time loses charge capacity until one day it croaks. The battery of my Skil cordless just kicked it so rather than fork over $40 for a battery I bought a Craftsman lion drill for ~$100. It's great. It's much lighter than nicd ones & in theory can stay fully charged for a long time on the shelf. I can't seem to find the exact one I bought on the Sears site but this is similar: http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00929010000P?vName=Tools&cName=Portable+Power+Tools&sName=Drills The "professional" line is about $100 more than the Joe Shmoe line but in the store they were practically identical. Has a cool little led that shines on the work area...small touch but makes a big difference (I just redid curtains myself). I went to the Hillsdale Sears but I would guess the Mountain View/San Antonio one has em as well. Amazon has this one for $100 which seems ok: http://www.amazon.com/Skil-2815-02-Lithium-Drill-Driver/dp/B000TAHTB4/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1221275979&sr=1-11
We have a Makita. It is cordeless. We love it. Not as good as a Dewalt, which is more of a professional model, but is somewhere between a Dewalt and a B&D. It has decent ergonomics and gets the job done. The only drawback is battery life. It uses rechargables and you get a spare. It is easy to swap in the new one. But if you were doing a home remodel, or some other project that requires a lot of drilling, you may come up short.
Thanks everyone... I decided to go with cordless after all, and chose this 18V Li-ion Milwaukee model:
Looks like a decent unit that will hold you over until the inevitable - the powers of the force lead you to Bosch.
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