I've had a shitty corded drill for 25 years that I brought to the marriage, and I'm finally biting the bullet and replacing it. After some study I've selected pic related (DL6290A-10). From multiple reviews including Consumer Reports it sounds really really nice. It's dirt cheap (50 bucks), powerful, easy to use, charges fast, lightweight (2.6lb with battery), has a 1/2' chuck, and just about the only downsides are that it only comes with a single battery and the chuck is plastic.Anyone familiar with Skil tools? What's been your experience?
ps: here's my current shitty drill
>purposely summoning the namefagswhat is wrong with you
>>2886836Don’t worry guys! I’m here!>consumer reportsJfc. If you’re only looking for a drill and do very minimal DIY stuff, it will be real nice to use compared to that old corded one.If you want to be more handy and possibly buy more cordless power tools, go 20V/18V. Lowe’s had had Skil 20V kits on sale for killer prices, that brand is some nice weekender grade tools for the money. 12V is the compact lower power size, 18V-24V will be full size tools and you will be able to use the batteries on a wider range of tools.However, Skil is a name that has been bought and sold recently and it’s hard to tell the longevity if you expect to be able to get tools and batteries for that line for 10+ years. Ryobi 18V at Home Depot is by far the best choice for DIYer because of their huge range of tools and they jave maintained batteru compatibility for longer than any other brand and didn’t leave their customers with a garage full of obsolete tools when lithium batteries became the new standard
>>2886847Tripfags*
>>2886836> 25 yearsKeep it for when the battery isn’t charged and don’t want to wait 4 hours.Also, you’ll go back to it in 2 years when the battery is kaput on the cordless drill.In my opinion, skil makes good stuff though, I have their flooring saw and a skilsaw (both corded, of course).Dispite my skilsaw being the lowest end model, I’ve put that thing through absolute hell and it still works great.
>>2886850> leave their customers with a garage full of obsolete toolsCan confirm, I’m still using all my ryobi cordless tools from back when they were dark blue. Some of them I found in a dumpster.My old 20+ year old NiCd charger doesn’t work with the LiIon batteries though, but I recommend the little wall-wart charger unless you’re a contractor. Plus it’s easy on the batteries.
>>2886852Wew anon, sorry to break the news to ya, but it’s 2025 now. Healthy power tool batteries will hold a charge for years as long as you don’t put them away 100% dead. And if you did put it away dead, ajy reputable charger will get a little 2.0Ah battery like that up to 75%+ charge in the time it takes you to get the rest of the tools you need for the job.And Skil probably isn’t the same company that made your saw. A few years back the brand was dead, and Chervon scooped it up to use on their new weekender line of tools. So they have Flex for contractors, Kobalt for the Lowe’s shelves, and then Skil for home gamer tools to compete with Ryobi and Craftsman. And then the couple items labeled “Skilsaw” are the new worm drive tools and such, a handful of heavy duty contractor grade saws.
>>2886847Wait I did? How? Am I just a moron?
>>2886850>>2886852>>2886859Thanks anons. I'm excited to pull the trigger and get it.
>>2886850>Jfc. If you’re only looking for a drill and do very minimal DIY stuff, it will be real nice to use compared to that old corded one.Yeah, I don't do much. I'm looking to get into it more but I want something nice and easy to use to get myself started.
>>2886875I’m the moron. And spend too much time looking at the tool aisles of Lowe’s and Home Depot.Also still worth considering the Skil 20V if you want to expand in the future. But honestly, at $49 for that 12V in the OP, you’re not sunk into it much if you ever want to change in the future.Other honorable mention- Hart 20V at Walmart isn’t bad at all for occasional DIYers.
>>2886885Nice. I found out there's an even newer model that got rid of the plastic chuck in favor of a metal one, for the same price. Same name just ending in A-11 instead of A-10.
>>2886836I bought a skil impact and drill a couple years ago at menards when it was on sale, it’s fine enough for the occasional home project but not as nice to use as the dewalt power tools I use at work. If I could do it again I’d probably just buy dewalt makita or ryobi
>>2886836I have that exact drill. I keep it at the house for basic stuff, along with the air compressor from that line. They’re decent for the price, only suggestion I would make is to check at Lowe’s, they have some crazy deals still from the holidays. >pros>easy to charge the battery, either with the normal charger or a usb-C>very comfortable and light>brushless, solid features for the price>skil 12v has a surprisingly extensive line, if you ever decide to get the air compressor to keep in the truck, or a sawzall to hack up branches, they have you covered. You can even get a small circular saw for 50 bucks with a 4amp battery and it’s fine for cutting 2x4s, plywood, etc for small DIY stuff. >cons>as other anon said, it’s not too much more money to get into a “traditional” 18v/20v system, which will have even more options and power (which comes in handy if you end up tackling larger projects)>hammer feature is about useless except for putting small anchors into walls… which to be fair is all you would really need this drill to do Overall I’m happy with my purchase, bc like you said it’s dirt cheap, and if you decide to upgrade eventually you can buy into something like dewalt/milwaukee/ryobi and keep this around the house for hanging picture frames and scrubbing bathtubs like I do.
>>2886891Thanks so much anon. Really happy someone has the exact model I'm looking at.
>>2886886Side note: they sell this drill with 2 options>comes with an actual dedicated charger like you would imagine a power tool to use>they’re sneaky and don’t show what the charger looks like, then give you a usb power brick and cord for the USB-CI’d try to find the version that comes with a metal chuck, and also includes the dedicated charger. You can always just use a “phone brick” and usbC if you find that to be more convenient, but it’s nice to have the charger plugged up in the garage so it’s never lost.
Note that Skil doesn't consider Amazon an authorized retailer, so the warranty doesn't apply there. Get it from a Lowes.
>>2886896Really? That’s wild considering Amazon sells Denali tools which are made by Skil and use Skil batteries.
>>2886885jesus, all of skil's worst tools in one combo
>>2886910skil's warranty on amazon is the exact same as lowe's
>>2886915The only iffy thing is that little box cutter. The rest of those are great homeowner items. I use my 18V inflator way more than I ever thought I would, it’s great for big inflatable innertubes and shit instead of blowing for an hour, plus it does work on car tires. Cordless fan is great, plus a lantern and a work light, those are a few things where you could buy them from Walmart and they suck balls when they run through $20 worth of Duracells in a few hours, but they’re great when you run them off good lithium cells in a power tool battery.Detail sander for the missus’ arts and crafts, plus EZ mode on drywall repairs, and 12V hackzall would be prime for trimming trees plus any light demo you may have like that Ikea shelving unit that needs to fit in the trash can.
>>2886916I think anon is wrong about that, or maybe he bought some Skil on Amazon that came from a third party seller. Picrel def looks like an official Skil storefront on Amazon.I believe DeWalt and Craftsman are good on Amazon, but I know the TTI brands aren’t. So people have gotten pissed before buy Milwaukee on Amazon when the 3 year battery warranty becomes a 22 month warranty since Amazon isn’t an authorized retailer and Milwaukee will use the serial # on the battery/tool for the mfr date rather than the date you bought the tool. If it were to come from Home Depot or Acme or whatever official website, the 3/5 year warranty on battery/tool starts from the day on the receipt.Also any Milwaukee or Ryobi tools purchased on Amazon are coming from a random ass seller and you have no clue if it’s even real. They’re doing some super good counterfeit batteries these days.
>>2886918In my mind I can hear that flashy new battery circ saw struggle when it meets its first 2x4.
>>2886954Old 18V NiCd 6.5” circ saws were definitely in that camp. Early brushed versions of 18V lithium tools weren’t the best either, especially considering nobody was doing larger than 1.5Ah-2.0Ah batteries those first few years so they weren’t using motors capable of pulling more than a couple hundred watts. But ever since the brushless motors came out and larger battery packs, there’s no issue going through 2x material with 6-1/2” and 7-1/4” brushless circ saws. Add the newer blade designs too, brands are doing thin kerf lightweight blades that do great with high speed brushless motors.
>>2886955Old Skilsaws used universal motors. I had one and ran it on 108 volts DC by stringing together several 12v batteries and putting them in a backpack. Worked great. That was before saws were worth a damn.
>>2886853the old NiCd chargers cant charge Lithium batteries but the new ones are dual chemistry and can charge the old batteries if you still have them sitting around.
>>2887017> 108VAccording to skil and dewalt, they imagine that is 120 V because the marketing departments don’t know too much about engineering or math.When asked, they just say “20 V” is just what it’s called, not what the nominal voltage is.
