New Mafell 18V and 10,8V drill

Sorry for your loss. Guaranteed that the thief thought it was Hilti or Milwaukee (very much leaning toward Milwaukee).

The metabo bit holder: I couldn't figure it out, at all, and it fell apart into pieces in my hand.

Did you notice that it's pitch changes in reverse of the speed? It sounds like it's going slower when it's in a faster gear! :0

I bet you got the sweet new batteries, didja didja?

I love the electronic clutch so much on my SB 18 LTX-3 BL Q I hammer drill that I wanted a smaller non hammer model. I went searching for the now retired Metabo version of the Mafell drill.

I managed to find one new old stock at a retailer. The BS 18 LTX-BL QUICK Impulse drill is now in my hands. I love this thing. Small, powerful, precision, and I like the button switch for drill/clutch setting swapping.

Metabos well kept secret is their compatibility with Centrotec as well as having a standard bit quick change chuck. With the 3,1 3,5 and now 4 Ah batteries I think the drills are quite well balanced and in the case of the Mafell A18m and Metabo BS 18 LTX Quick I think the power in second gear as well as drilling is very good indeed. Puts Festool to shame.

Still could not shake the precision of Festool drills so even though I have given up on most of the Festools I realized that the DRC18/4, T18, BHC18 and DWC2500 drywall gun are terrific for my indoor drilling/driving needs.

Was a bit of a hard choice to get rid of the Mafell A18m and Metabo 18V drills but since there is no way to run a single complete system I ended up quite happy with the decision to split up sawing/grinding/multicutter from drilling/driving and keep them separate, indefinitely. This way I am not frustrated with Festools lack of options in the 18V range and I feel I can rely on Mafell/Metabo taking care of the rest.

(though I did get that Hitachi triple hammer impact at a ridiculously low price so there is a Hitachi Systainer acting as a free agent both indoors and outdoors...)

Great choice Holmz, whichever colour you choose. Some here like the instantaneous trigger reaction of the red one, some (including me) prefer the soft start of the olive green. It's my best cordless drill ever, by quite a stretch too in my opinion. In either gear it's a powerhouse; with the triple reduction accessory gearbox & long handle it easily drives a 7" auger into stony ground provided it's only pebbles, not boulders. With the accessory angle drive it easily outdrills any other (Makita) dedicated angle drill I've ever used.

A great allrounder at a pretty good price. However, just to toss you a curveball here's yet another contender:

www.discounttrader.com.au/product/metabo-18v-lithium-ion-cordless-tapper-bare-tool-gb-18-ltx-bl-q-603827890/

For the extra price of about the requisite number of Middies or Schooners that'd take you to the wrong side of .05, you could get this baby instead. Maybe it's not your personal cup of tea, but I dig it. One of the very few true tapping drills on the market, it seems equally as good as the "normal" Metabo/Mafell drill/driver clones at all their requisite tasks, plus there's that amazingly effective & I'm guessing after a bit of practice intuitive auto-reversing swarf-clearance function too. It has similar torque figures to the rest of its Mafell/Metabo LTX siblings, plus a marginally higher top speed in high gear, making it just that bit more effective for sheet metal, self drilling screws & pop riveting. Whilst I don't do nearly as much metalwork as I once did, I can nevertheless appreciate the virtues & versatility of this one. It also retains their fabulous Impuls feature too.

For me, an extra 1/2 Kg in the geartrain is pretty reassuring given its required tasks.  All that extra aluminium & steel augers well (hopefully) for a long & productive lifetime.  It's tapping capability is supposedly limited to a "mere" 12mm (1/2"??), which is more than sufficient for my personal requirements. The only time I've regularly exceeded this size has been the conversion of M10 x 1.5mm angle grinder accessories to M14 x 2mm This would be easily & I assume safely achieved with this tapping drill due to the relative softness of the accessories' threaded mounting flange.

Anybody who has snapped a shank over-tightening a bottoming tap in a stopped hole (guilty as charged) will appreciate the combination of a gutsy tapping drill fitted with a sensitive & presumably accurate electronic torque control/shutoff too!

I'm guessing you'll be doing quite a bit of metalwork with your OKA purchase & restoration project.  I could see that yet another layer of utility could prove to be extremely useful for you too.

It's not all beer & skittles, however. Metabo Oz aren't importing single row (3.1, 3.5 & 4.0AH) Li-HD batteries. Neither, unfortunately, can you or I. Meaning that with the bigger, heavier & more ungainly twin-row Li-HDs installed the drill & battery combo might get a bit too heavy for long-term comfort. The extra weight penalty of the tapping drill (about a pound or 500g) combined with another KG or so of battery might very well be the straw that breaks the central Australian camel-shagger's back. Or in my case set off yet another bout of debilitating carpal tunnel agony if used for extended periods.

I'm sufficiently impressed to probably be getting one myself, & could possibly sell you my own BS 18 LTX BL Q I with a couple of Li-HD batteries, charger & Metabox too if you're interested.

PM me if this appeals in any way...

It's been quite a while since I worked with a Metabo drill. I trust they've improved. Will be keen on what amps it's running with just as the entirety of the typical drill specs. Apparently, Milwaukee, Metabo, bosch, and fein are generally delivering or have delivered drills with tradable hurls. I love the correct edge include on my Festool, I realize bosch has another drill that offers this toss head. I wonder who else. It would appear that a drill straight on examination is all together.