Testing the Unique Features of Metabo’s Hammer Drill!
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- čas přidán 24. 02. 2024
- Metabo's SB 18 LTX BL I Hammer Drill has some of the more unique features of any drill I have tested. So now it's time to find out if it's worth it, or if you can pass.
#metabo #tools #powertools
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Metabo makes very good quality tools, many of them made in Germany.
This model is sooo nice: the feel of it, the unique greenish, german, sort of military design, the smoothness of operation, the power, the precision, and the pure material and build quality.
The impulse mode is very useful when taking out screws with broken thread.
The battery release system is very simple once you get used to it. You press the button with the palm you're holding the tool with, just as holding the tool as you use it, sliding your palm a bit lower to reach the button - and pulling the battery out with the other hand - and it snaps off quite easy and naturally.
It is longer in size, but overall it is less bulkier and lighter than the other drills in its class.
Even their mid-range model - the SB 18 LT BL - is probably the best drill for its price in therms of power it provides, quality and smoothness of operation (at least here in the UK). And it is also Made in Germany.
Another view recommended this method I believe. I’ll have to give it a try.
By the way - I won't be surprised if it turns out that Metabo actually makes the Festool Quad Drill-driver. The design looks suspiciously similar and we know that Metabo makes the Mafell drills for example. And we also know that some of the Festool tools are made by other companies ( like the multitool for example).
The clutch in the CXS12 is very similar in function to clutch on this.
It has a schlongy shape
In my opinion its one of the best if not the best battery release system.
It it designed to be used with the palm not the fingers.
The hand you are holding your drill with has to slide over the release button so that you can use your palm to push it,
used liked this its very intuitive and comfortable
I’ll have to give that a try.
Just the appearance of that drill stands out with quality. I don’t think German drills will ever be made or known specifically for the fastest, most powerful like here in the states with Milwaukee in comparison. U.S. market is basically, if it’s the not the fastest, it’s crap. Metabo seems
To have great hammering capabilities that usually spank the competition from what I’ve seen. I’d love to see the insides of that drill. Awesome video, I’m all for unique brands not in the main stream.
I agree that even on my own channel, I sometimes focus too much on power and speed, because let's face it... Speed and Power are flashy things to lead with. But as you said, It's not always everything.
Also thanks for the feedback. I appreciate it.
Awwww 💗 the clutch beeps :D
How unique!
Yeah, the Festool does the same thing. I actually really prefer it to the common chuck noise. Bosch also has a precision clutch setting on a newer drill that just kills the motor but no pleasant beep.
Good points TWT’s. Remember, drills are not only used for coarse drilling in wood.. there’s also woodworking purposes.
And not to forget either steel, glass fiber. I know Metabo that well that it compares to ie my now 18V “big” drill: Festool TPC 18/4.
That’s the one I use when drilling holes in shiny gel coat covered glas fiber - with a hole saw cutting out for instruments on the dashboard. The ability to deliver constant and predictable speed combined with the best trigger sensitivity and control is crucial for these kind of tasks. You really don’t want unexpected rpm jumps or a twitchy trigger - that easily results in cracked gel coat. So for general purpose this Metabo should cover it all. And yes, the anti kickback saves the workpiece too🤙
Fair points from you as well. I am not as familiar with some of the materials that you mentioned so I tend to focus on what I am familiar with so I appreciate others like yourself lending their perspective
@@TinkerWithTools Thanks, and keep up with your more “extended” reviews of the tools. A drill is not necessarily just a spinning shaft..
The price difference lies in mostly the electronics, such as the trigger, esc (electronic speed control) or MMC on the older drills. AEG and Metabo had these features many decades ago, in so they have pioneered this onto todays speed controls. Constant speed control or tourque compensated speed control are much more expensive to incorporate - Thus Festool and Metabo feature this among most other German brands. A while back only Japans Panasonic brand was equal or even better - DeWalt WAS terrible (old ELU) but they could make a serpentine out of your arm 😂 in sheer power and a “3 step trigger” that was a nightmare to control. Back then I switched to Makita who had fair price and good, but not necessarily top electronics. (Today, DeWalt has become much much better in this matter, they have good tools)
I appreciate the feedback. I’m trying to evolve and expand what I include in my reviews. It’s all a constant process.
I have two metabo cordless drills an older version with 797 inlbs torque and this version. Absolutely love it best drill by far I own use it daily for electrical. I know your testing had a couple stops in high speed but I have yet to experience that, it keeps up with my 2904 Milwaukee without a hiccup. I almost feel they underrated the power from my experiences. Regardless overall I put it in the top 3 only because of what I have experienced.
It could be part of the breaking in period but I was also going through thicker 4x material. I think it’s adequately powerful.
Great video! So glad you cover the E clutch too. Don't know if I've seen a hammer drill go that fast through concrete. That's probably one race it would beat the Milwaukees and Dewalts.
It’s around the speed of the Makita LXT but some of the others would beat it.
I bought this (BS 18 LTX BL I) back in 2020. I've mainly used it for Ice Fishing (adapter/ice drilling) :D, but also for metal/ceramic drilling . I also own the KHA 18 LTX BL 24 (hammer drill with vacuum cleaner), SSW 18 LTX 400 BL (impact wrench), Power 160-5 18 LTX BL (battery compressor). The tools and batteries are excellent. Waiting for the 18Vx2 (36V) chainsaw.
I mainly use Hikoki (18/36V) and Bosch (12V) so I do agree that the battery switching is a bit fiddly on the Metabos - prob since it's different from everything else.
I held off on buying this one for several years and even when I received it, at first it's just a bit odd. But the more I use it, it really operates quite well. I wish they had better availability where I live but I guess there just isn't high demand for every brand in every market.
I agree with most of what you say. Metabo for me is primarily good for metalworkers. The new version of the 3 speed drill can be bought with a extremely good chuck with very little runout and able to hold bits a lot better than practically any other handheld drill chuck. This is important when cutting large diameter threads for example. Also speed 3 is 4000 RPM which is very good for small diameter drills for metal. Downside is that it is quite long.
There are like 6 or 7 versions of this drill motor basically and they have a lot of unique features like a metal tapping mode.
That's one sweet drill I remember I wanted the previous generation Metabo SB 18 LTX BL with 1300 inch pounds of torque and 18 clutch settings unfortunately at the time and my voice decided to go with Bosch
Both are quite nice tools. The Metabo is a long drill but it’s not as bulky as my Bosch stuff.
@@TinkerWithTools that doesn't bother me I am used to using older DeWalt drills like dw988 or dw995 they are big Munsters by today's standards now I have used one since 2018
Oh Metabo was clearly lying about the 1300 inch lbs.
@@robertrada4783 maybe that's why it's not on the market or other issues that this one improves on
I have the standard Metabo cordless drill/driver. German-made and very high quality.
I agree. This one is German made as well.
The pulse mode is very useful for steel drilling and i think that's more where they're aiming for with that feature.
You are right. The main things they mention are removing stuck fasteners and drilling on hard surfaces.
I’ve got one of these drills and Yes the pulse mode is for when you are drilling into steel . I’m not a fan of the way you remove the battery but you do get use to it.
Nice review of the drill i'm in the metabo system too and i have to say the products like the plunging saw which is the most powerful of all plunging saws with 66mm of cutting depth mab you could do a review of it too. One more thing i'd like to add is that i noticed you used the li-power batteries for the test wich aren't the best metabo batteries, next time you do a review buy some LiHD Batteries first because they are more powerful and you can draw more energy over a longer period of time. Greetings from germany : )
They are on the list of things to buy, but I figured I would dip my toe and first before I go all in. There is only so much budget to go around and if I spend it all on a single tool or video it starts to make some of the others less interesting. So I have to spread the spending out over a few months.
Unpleasant battery change not withstanding, I think that the cross manufacturer battery compatibility is awesome. I wish the industry would implement battery standardization across the board.
Yes I think the CAS is incredible and wish there was more cross compatibility in batteries. The EUs attitude towards the consumer is a bit more friendly than som. That was meant to be plus in the first part of the video but I finally remembered it in the end.
I always thought “Metabo” was a stupid name, but not that I know it comes from MetalBorer (in Deutsch), I kind of like it.
Yes I want to see more
What tools from them most intrigue you. Can’t promise that’s what I’ll get but just curious to know.
I've found that if you flip the drill over in your hand and use your thumb to press the battery release, it works pretty well.
A few have suggested that. It won't ever be my favorite battery change mechanism but it does make it nicer.
Fantastic drill and hope you continue to expand into the Metabo line. I’ve been using them for a couple years and love them but I completely agree on the battery release. It’s the one thing I hate about the tools. It’s so counterintuitive for me and I still fumble with it years later.
I wish they were sold at brick and mortar store near me. They are really nice tools.
@@TinkerWithTools yeah I could never find any in the SLC and Utah valleys. Funny enough though in the super remote spot I’m at in Montana I found a little shop about 30 minutes away that does sell some.
That’s awesome. I wish we had a speciality tool store here that could be just a one stop for everything. The people that live near something like acme, atlas Machinery or Ohio power tool have me officially jealous.
You had said you were building a cabin or a house up in Montana, right? Did I remember that right?
@@TinkerWithTools yep, I left St. George because of all the Californians and moved up to 40 acres in the mountains of Montana. I’m really able to put my tools to work now!
Good video! Any plans to review the new MHPT DV18DC? The ~1200 in. lb 18V one, with the new design.
I have it and the newest 36v model that I have already reviewed. Those will be in a comparison at some point in march. I’m trying to space out drill videos a little bit more than I have in the past. It’s good though.
@@TinkerWithTools Good stuff! Would you say that it's more worth it to get the old DV36DA model or the newer DV18DC, assuming the price is about the same? I know you talked a lot about the fit and finish in the DV36DC review. Thinking as an upgrade from my DS18DBFL2.. already bought the 8Ah battery and fast charger for $98 last week on Amazon.
The 18v so far really just feels like a clone of the new 36v but maybe something will manifest in the testing. I do like the refinements of the newer drills but that’s not to say the old 36v was a bad drill.
TWT’s - Another tip for you: Pick a medium size fastener/screw and test your drills the following:
1: Push the trigger to a select speed, preferably fairly slow - AND KEEP your finger static.
2: Drive the fastener/screw all the way in until it seats where you want it - WITHOUT moving your finger (Thus not fast rpm’s..)
3: Release the trigger just when the screw has set where you want it
See how your different drills handles this.
One application for this is where you typically stretch your hand high and have to press agains the screw head while trying to compensate with the trigger with your thumb, and still seat the screw nice on the surface.. Again, this is about letting the tool ease the task, and deliver a nice finish (including no cam out and a nice looking screw head…)
I’ll have to give that a try with a few drills.
Put it AGAINST the METABO HPT 36 volt the new one that you have we can see what is better the GERMAN or Japanese one
I have some stuff in the works for that drill, so it might be a while before i get to that video but I'll see what I can do.
the BS 18 LTX BL Q I model is their strongest one here in Europe (stronger then this model) and Mafell (mafell is the bigger and better brother of Festool) uses that model as well with some upgrades since they can run on the CAS battery system. It has a removable chuck and you are able to add different types of bit holders on it, kinda similar to Festools centrotec but then it is the OG. Also their LiHD batteries are a bit stronger then the battery you are using (Li power). The harder to change of the batteries is apperently due to the CAS system.
What is it that makes that model stronger than the one I showed. I know that model has a few additional features than the one i have here but from what I can see, they have the same torque and I would venture the same motor given that. I know that the Q models have the quick change system for the chucks and such... just couldn't stomach the $700 kit price for that model that is currently available to me. If I get this kit and then the bare tool of that model, I can have both for roughly that same price... seemed like the better deal to me.
As for the batteries I did see that LiHD batteries. Given this was my starting point was just to buy a kit and then enable myself to by bare tools and batteries moving forward.
@@TinkerWithToolsI am sorry, maybe it is the same model, I thought the I was extra but now I am not sure. It is at least the non hammer drill I usually have. I think what makes these so good is how smooth they operate. All drills now are at a level that the hardest hitter isn't necesarrily important anymore, ergonomics are so important and if it takes a second more to drill in a 8x260 spax, then that is fine. I have Dewalt, milwauke and hikoki drills but always go for the Mafell drills (metabo CAS battery related brand). It is smooth, silent, extremely powerfull and save with anti-kick back and has built in levels (not on the metabo).
I understand that a kit was not the best option for you, the Q models are so nice to use if you do a lot on site work imho, changing bits on the fly. For me they are worth it and I don't want to force them onto you if that makes sense, I am just glad you give a good brand a good review. If you go more into Metabo (or Mafell, or starmix or...) then the LiHD batteries make sense but I understand completely that you have to try everything out first.
Yeah, there will definitely be more models coming to the channel and I was looking the the LiHD batteries earlier today as well. Is the Mafell worth looking into if you already have the Metabo? Mafell isn't that common where I am so I am just genuinely curious.
Having just typed the comment about Mafell I looked up what the hammer drill kit would cost me? $900+ and it has a 3-6 month lead time. That one might not be coming to the channel anytime soon.
@@TinkerWithTools if you are soley looking at the drills, I think the mafell is not necesarrily worth it, the inside is the same, but the boy is reshaped and the gears are smoothed out. If however you do high end timber works, everything from mafell is far superior then any other brand, even the track saw is miles ahead of festool. And their jigsaw is just another tool then any other jigsaw on the market, it is a beast. Not sure how the prices are in the us, but it is a premium brand with premium prices, worth it if you use them to make money imho.
Do you know the German Metabo impact is a trippled hammer to but if you buy it before 2020 or 2019 it is made in Germany after that date it is made from China just a heads up and taking the battery off it's easier if you flip the drill upside down and put your thumb on the button. The master Force got the impulse mode to
I’ll have to try that. And yes some of their tools are now made over seas it just depends on the model.
As a long time Metabo customer (decades?) I can assure you that you can stop at the amazing drills. The collomix mixer they rebrand is decent (if they still sell it here). The Steinel heat gun they rebrand is ok. Maybe the very latest grinders and nibblers are good. But Metabo mostly makes and sells a lot of awful rubbish to fill out their cordless line. The worst tools I’ve owned said Metabo on them. Great corded grinders and great drills though. More so, service and support is just as weak as you imagine it is. I’ve waited months for basic wear parts. The repair “warranty” is pay up front and they decide if they’ll reimburse you. Last time I looked, they only could repair SOME tools in the USA (they had a list). And yes, everyone hates the battery release mechanism.
I appreciate you sharing your experience. The grinders and the drills are most what I have heard positive things about with them. I had considered warranty and service at this point in my ownership so I am glad you shared that point.
Next step : Festool TPC 18 Quadrive...if you have the budget 😂
I’ve thought about it for sure. I struggle with buying it just because of the price. I have the lower cost (hard to say that about 300 dollars) 12v stuff and like it.
No, don’t bother. Fein has a completely made over version of their 4-Speed ASCM on Bosch batts. Save up for that.
I've seen a lot of people with the notion that made in Germany is some how much better than made in Mexico or made in USA or made in Japan and or china. Why is German made held so high as of standers?
Pick this metabo and a dewalt or Milwaukee and you can just feel the build quality of the metabo just feels so much more solid. No shaking of the battery even on my one that’s at least 8 years old and I even bought my older one used. Maybe I’m somewhat biased because I love using my metabo but I do have all 3 of those brands and metabo definitely feels more solid to me. Not to get off subject but I have an older bmw 2000 323i and a Porsche Cayenne I don’t know to me it’s just something about German engineering.
First, I think that good tools can be made just about any where in the world. Germany has a long history of engineering focus with high quality output to show for it. Where I think you get the stigma of German made or made in the USA being a sign of higher quality is simply that the producing something in those countries comes at a higher cost so if they are producing something in that manner, they don’t cheap out in ways you might with lower cost manufacturing in countries that offer it.
In reference to this tool in particular it the materials used, the build quality, the way functions all stand out as being top notch. It feels engineered for a purpose instead of a price point.
@@garrisongMetabos are mostly well built, but people in the US seem to think they're this prestige brand, but they're really not. Their carpentry tools are nothing spectacular, for instance.
They shine when it comes to metalworking and concrete, so their grinders, Rotohammers, and specialty Sanders, and their 3-speed drills. It doesn't matter if they come from their German factory or Chinese factory, and you'll see it in the price, regardless of which factory it came from
That's what you get when buying a high end tools like that and hilti😅 they didn't give a shit about power. All they care is build quality and reliability which i prefer over the 3 big brand
As long as they have good enough power, I will agree with you that there are other things that matter just as much as those other things.
@@TinkerWithTools i think the power of it are more than enough to get the job done, Metabo and hilti are my end game brand, that's me that's my take.
I agree with you on both of those about power. My comment was more a general statement that I poorly worded. For example the Makita impact drivers aren’t the most powerful but they are powerful enough that everything else being excellent is what stands out.
Sir I request to you, can you able to give me a drill machine, i will be so thankful for your help, please sir
Any drill machine u can ,
Thank you sir
I don’t have any that I am giving away at the moment since they are continually used in testing but if I find a good way to offer some of those tools up to viewers in the future I’ll be sure to come back and let you know in this comment.
In my opinion that drill is god awful especially for over 300$, so many better choices in that price point
Not saying you are wrong but I am curious about two things. 1) have you used this Metabo? 2) what drills do you prefer and what type of work do you do with them?
@@TinkerWithTools as a plumber if I’m using a drill it’s mainly for drilling holes, so my go to is Milwaukee but dewalt and makita are also nice
@@glenarseneau1231 Metabo makes best cordless drills.