If you’re an old-timer like me, you probably remember the iconic Makita 6093D cordless drill, which was powered by the company’s 9.6-volt stick-style NiCad battery. I purchased mine well over 30 years ago and still have it, along with one or two other more recent (but still “antique”) Makita drills with NiMH batteries. All of them would probably still run if I could find replacement batteries, but I’m not even tempted to look, because I have Makita’s XPH14 18V LXT hammer drill/driver, which is better in every way than its well-regarded predecessors.
I’ve been using this drill for over a year now and have really come to appreciate its high-torque, 1,250 inch-pound motor. In low-speed mode (0–550 rpm) and fitted with a mixing paddle, the drill is great for mixing up batches of mortar for tile. I’ve even chucked in a special bit that fits into a sailboat winch, attached myself to a halyard, and had my son use the drill to safely and smoothly power me up to the top of a 50-foot mast. That’s not something that any of my other cordless drills would have been capable of, and it brings that same kind of power to situations where you might need to drive a big auger bit through studs for tasks such as running electrical cable. To handle all this power, it comes with a secondary handle.
With a high-speed range up to 2,100 rpm, an adjustable clutch, and compact size, it functions well as an everyday drill/driver. It weighs 5 pounds 2 ounces with the 4.0-Ah battery I typically use, and measures only 7 inches in length, still leaving plenty of room for a big, 6-inch-long bit to fit between 16-inch-on-center studs. And if you need to install some anchors into masonry, it functions as a hammer drill too, with a rate of 0–8,250 bpm in low and 0–31,500 bpm in high. Currently available for $111 as a bare tool on Amazon, it’s a steal. makitatools.com
