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(More customer reviews)First of all I want to say that I am a around the house handy man and not a pro but I know quality when I see it and I have had a very decent amount of experience with power tools.
I am guilty of owning a Craftsmen 3/8 inch, 1/3 horse power, 3 amp, corded drill "I got it because it was on sale for close to half price,I paid $20 for it.
When ever I tried to use it as a screwdriver with its so called variable speed trigger,it would almost always rotate to fast which would result in it stripping the screw heads.
Most times when I tried to use it for tightening nuts or drilling metal it would stall,so to make a long story short it was under powered and the variable speed control was almost uncontrollable !! Oh well you live and you learn !!!
So it was time for me to get a "high quality drill".
I now wanted a drill that would have plenty of power and have a "very controllable" variable control trigger and most of all I wanted this drill to be able to last me the rest of my life and I wanted it to be the best darn drill money could buy and at a reasonable price,now is that asking for to much ?
So I went on the net and started reading a ton of reviews,I read up on cordless drills first but I was turned off by their overall price along with the "over priced batteries they use",and lets also remember their not the most powerful drills you can buy,they simply cannot supply you with the torque a corded drill can,and when you push a cordless drill it puts a tremendous strain on the battery and in return the same battery that might have held its charge for hours using it for light duty will now lose it's charge in a matter of minutes when you use it for heavy duty use.
I have heard of some of the best batteries losing their charge within 3 minutes after using the cordless drill to do a really tough job.
I still think cordless would be nice for light duty jobs as a second drill if you can afford one!
So after reading mega reviews on the net, I was still having a little trouble trying to narrow it down to one drill,but the Milwaukee 0300-20 and the "Milwaukee 0302-20 a keyless version of the 0300-20" caught my eye with it's 8 amp motor and with the claim that it has the best power-to-weight ratio in its class.
All I could think was yum yum,MASSIVE POWER and TORQUE galore, and lets not forget that it's made by Milwaukee!!!!
Now I'm thinking I've got to have this drill no matter what, so I called a local tool store and asked if they had the 0300-20 and they said yes,so out of curiosity I asked them if they felt that the 0300-20 was the best in it's class and to my surprise he burst my bubble and told me no, and he said that the
Milwaukee 0234-6 Was The Best In It's Class !!!
Man I was so surprised at what he had said,and the man that I talked to was the owner of that shop, so I'm thinking to myself he must not know what he's talking about,I knew a little something about the 0234-6, I knew that it had a 5.5 amp motor and that it was a very old model, and I also knew that the 0300-20 was a much newer model with an "8 amp motor" and they cost around the same,so I'm thinking to myself "Duh" that sounds like a no brainer to me...old vs new, 5.5 amps vs 8 amps,come on, give me a break!
I was also thinking to myself do the math Mr. Tool shop owner! So I got off of the phone with him and called another local tool shop and talked to the boss who's name was Mike and asked him the same set of questions and low and behold he gave me pretty much the same answer which was the 0234-6 is a much better drill then the 0300-20,then Mike went on and told me that the 0234-6 is the best drill on earth bar none !!!
He said that he has had his 0234-6 for 15 years and he used it as a pro and in 15 years it never failed him once,and it never needed any repairs !
Now I'm thinking I must be in the Twilight Zone and I'm also thinking does Mike not know that the 0300-20 has 8 amps and the 0234-6 only has 5.5 amps and the 0300-20 is a much newer model.
I need to also tell you that some people think the 0300-20 and the 0302-20 are just like the 0234-6 but only with more power......WRONG !!!!
I even called Milwaukee tools and talked to a rep and he told me the 0300-20 was just an updated and more powerful version of the 0234-6...."He Was So WRONG"!!!
After thinking for awhile I decided to get the 0300-20 over the Keyless 0302-20 for these reasons...
Keyed vs. Keyless Chucks
Keyed chucks are tightened and loosened with a small hand tool, achieving a tighter and more secure lock on the drill bit than keyless chucks. They also provide greater torque for when you need extra power. On the other hand, keyless chucks require you to manually turn the chuck, making for quick and easy bit changes.
* Keyed chucks are especially advantageous when removing screws
* For those who may be prone to losing a key, a keyless chuck would be a sound selection !
So today I went to Lowes and had already decided in my mind that I was going to buy the more powerful 0300-20, which is supposed to be "the so called newer version of the 0234-6".
When I got to Lowes, their they both where side by side the 0234-6 and the all powerful 8 amp 0300-20,but wait just a minute the 0300-20 does not have the same rock solid sturdy side handle that is screwed into the metal frame of the 0234-6 so when I held the 0300-20 in my hands and put a lot of pressure on the side handle it flexed and I said to myself "Oh No" I don't like this handle and most of all I hate the way that it is attached to the drill,I think it is attached in a very tackie and not very strong manner!!!
The side handle on the 0300-20 was almost a deal breaker for me ,I could not break the handle ,but I sure did make it flexmore then I think it should have!
Now on the other hand I tried to make the 0234-6 side handle flex or bend, no such luck it was rock steady , and the entire 0234-6 is built like a tank and I'm not kidding.
Next I tried out the trigger on the 0300-20 and the action of the trigger was not smooth at all, it was very choppy at best,let me tell you their is no way on earth for you to use a drill as a screwdriver if you don't have smooth trigger action.
I will go one step further and say I feel that it is potentially dangerous to try and use a super powerful drill when its side handle is not very steady and when its variable speed control trigger is choppy.
You cannot control the speed with a choppy trigger...so that was the deal breaker for me, a bad handle and a choppy trigger !!!!
Next I tried the trigger action on the 0234-6 and it was super smooth, I was truly impressed with the 0234-6 and very disappointed with the 0300-20,so I took the 0234-6 home with me.
When I tried out the 0234-6 , I was so thrilled and shocked by the super high quality of this work of art !!! The speed control when using the trigger was superb ,you can use this drill as a super screwdriver any day of the week, I could get it to spin at the slowest speed imaginable,and when I pulled the trigger in all the way this high quality drill spun with such smoothness and power that I found myself laughing out loud and thinking to myself this drill is a master piece.
Speaking of power, the 0234-6 has a whole ton of power and I can't ever imagine it stalling on me or anyone else for that matter"Just read all the write ups on it"!!!
Don't be fooled by the other drills that have 8 and 9 amps, to many of the high amp monsters have a short life span and none of them not a single one of them can hang with the 0234-6 as far as quality and durability is concerned.
So as far as the 0234-6 vs The 0300-20 or the 0302-20
their really is no challenge here, the 0234-6 is the King of all drills and the 0300-20 and the 0302-20 are no competition what so ever, the poor trigger action and the bad handle on these 2 super high powered drills should make them some hard to control monsters!!!
Before I did my homework I was impressed with the larger number of amps the 0300-20 has, "8 amps sounded so much better then 5.5 amps, but now I know a lot better!!!
Be smart and consider the overall picture when buying anything!!
Quality is far more important then pure power alone, and let the truth be known, you could hurt yourself badly with a very powerful tool if you don't have complete control over it and use it with extreme caution.
Since the 0300-20 and the 0302-20 have such a poor side handle and a choppy trigger,in short that means you could never have full control over the 0300-20 and the 0302-20,and with all that power they have, you better watch out.
I am a very strong and large 300 pound "body builder" and I simply don't trust the 0300-20 and the 0302-20 !!!!
Now on the other hand, when speaking about the 0234-6,I simply and truly love this drill so much, that I don't even want to get a scratch on it! I might buy a second 0234-6 for use and put this 0234-6 in a picture frame or in my trophy case,because it is truly a mechanical work of art ...a real master piece and oh what a prize!!!!
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Milwaukee 0234-6 Magnum 5.5 Amp 1/2 Inch DrillProduct Description: For day in, day out drilling and driving in wood, steel, or plastic, there might not be a better tool than Milwaukee's Magnum hole shooter. The aluminum/magnesium alloy on the gear case cuts down on the tool's weight, and the glass-reinforced nylon handle makes it a bit lighter, too--but let there be no doubts: when it comes to results, this is the same heavy-duty, ridiculously powerful, no-nonsense tool it's always been. The shooter is built with a stacked design--meaning the drill's interior parts stack on top of each other--which makes replacing parts (like a switch) much easier to do as the whole drill doesn't need to be taken apart. The handle is designed so you can hold it two ways--either pistol-grip or with the palm of your hand resting on the top back portion--making the drill an extension of your arm. As a result, you can really get behind it while still easily reaching the trigger with your fingers. And the finger slots add comfort. The shooter's top-quality chuck is a Jacobs (the best). It's a two-handed chuck, which, for the types of applications this drill is built for, is exactly what you want. The carbon brushes are also easy to access and change.
One of our favorite new features on this tool is the long and superflexible Quick-Lok cord. If the cord gets cut or damaged, you simply unplug the damaged cord and replace it with the cord from any other Quick-Lok Milwaukee tool. If you're looking for a serious, long-lasting drill, you can't go wrong here. Milwaukee's hole shooter is a very high-quality tool that will serve you for years and years and years.
--Dori Anvinson
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