# Makita 3 Speed Drill BHP451



## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

Will this Makita drill outperform my DeWalt?



I have said it before but I will say it again. As much as I used to like makita I always loved dewalt drills. Metal gearbox, 3 speeds, and they can really drill concrete. I have an old 2 speed nicd makita drill that I stupidly melted the brush holders on. It's made in japan. And it has all the torque in the world. But it doesn't have that high speed and while it is good for drilling concrete it isn't great.


I didn't think makita ever made a 3 speed drill, but they do, or at least they did. BHP451. They also make BDF451 which does not have the hammer function but looks identical otherwise. Both seem to be discontinued and I couldn't find any 3 speed drill on makitas site other than impact drills. I manage to score a BHP451 on ebay for $35!!! 



https://www.ebay.com/itm/202833036152



The current lithium makita drill I have is pretty good. It's brushless but it just doesn't have that high speed or torque and it sucks as a hammer drill. The chuck it came with was a pos and I quickly swapped a metal chuck on from a dewalt drill  I got it for like $85 in mint shape from a pawn shop with a mint 3ah battery so I don't regret buying it at all.


I doubt I will get it by the end of next week. When it does arrive I will definitely test it well and post the results.


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## CaptainBob (Jan 3, 2011)

I don't know about your particular drill, but I know Makita makes great cordless drills and seems they are overlooked in favor of a Dewault or a Milwaukee. I don't own any but I have used a few at shops I worked for in the past and I think they are just as good if not better than Dewault.


If you remember, Makita had one of the first popular cordless drills out in the 80's with their 9.6v battery drills.


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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

CaptainBob said:


> I don't know about your particular drill, but I know Makita makes great cordless drills and seems they are overlooked in favor of a Dewault or a Milwaukee. I don't own any but I have used a few at shops I worked for in the past and I think they are just as good if not better than Dewault.
> 
> 
> If you remember, Makita had one of the first popular cordless drills out in the 80's with their 9.6v battery drills.
> ...







The problem is this, Makita seems to have decided that they are going to ride the high from their brand being king schit on turd mountain for so long. Ever since they moved majority production to china from japan things have gone consumer grade instead of proffesional.


Makita used to make great cordless drills, but since their lithium stuff I have yet to see a great cordless drill from them. Some good ones yes, but not great. I think the biggest issue is their reticence to make a 3 series battery pack. Also, they are so worried about keeping lithium discharge levels to a safe minimum they are holding back their tools. I have a great makita cordless drill, but it broke and it takes nicd batteries, not lithium.


Why the phuck won't makita issue a real powerful cordless drill like their old stuff when they have lithium batteries now? I want a drill that will break my wrist if it catches and will spin like crazy.



I am hoping the drill I just ordered will be it. But even if it is, they have discontinued it. DeWalt's flex volt system seems like a real winner and I think ultimately I will be switching brands.














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## Tango (Jan 13, 2018)

skoronesa said:


> The problem is this, Makita seems to have decided that they are going to ride the high from their brand being king schit on turd mountain for so long. Ever since they moved majority production to china from japan things have gone consumer grade instead of proffesional.
> 
> 
> Makita used to make great cordless drills, but since their lithium stuff I have yet to see a great cordless drill from them. Some good ones yes, but not great. I think the biggest issue is their reticence to make a 3 series battery pack. Also, they are so worried about keeping lithium discharge levels to a safe minimum they are holding back their tools. I have a great makita cordless drill, but it broke and it takes nicd batteries, not lithium.
> ...


I bet if they only make them consumer grade is that they sell a lot more to them making more money than the very few pros who buy them. Then you have the fact that most pros are cheap and buy the most inexpensive on the market... So that brand still wins if the pros buy them too!

It reminds me of a lot of stores where they only sell clothes that fit the majority of people (small people), you will never find and XL, XXL shirt or pants in them. Even wally world has gone on that trend, they no longer sell XXL shirts in their stores. I have a very hard time buying clothes now and have to order most of it from the net.


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## ShtRnsdownhill (Jan 13, 2016)

I have a contractor that use to try and buy the best quality tools so they dont break and has spent a small fortune over the years, now he buys harbor freight 2 at a time of any tool and has had very good luck with them, the 2 cost way less than 1 of the name brand and they are ALL made in china...so far they last just as long as the name brands..I have a bunch of harbor freight tools and they have lasted, you just have to know the limitations of any tool so you dont burn it out...
your not gona drill a 1 inch hole in concrete with a cheap harbor freight drill, but a harbor freight rotory hammer will do it with no problem, wouldnt matter what brand smaller drill you would probably burn it up...


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## V.A Hydro-ooter (Oct 14, 2018)

If you are considering switching brands let me recommend Ridgid. I used to be all in on DeWalt but now the only DeWalt power tool I have left is my corded right angle drill.

The Ridgid octane hammer drill I have has plenty of power and speed. I've done many holes in concrete and 3 1/2" holes for flanges with it. Plus, if you buy it from home Depot and register online, the tools and batteries have a lifetime warranty. I used to spend about $100 a year buying DeWalt batteries. I haven't had to spend a dime on replacement batteries for the last 12 years. 

The only drawback is that Ridgid's 18v line isn't as deep as some of the other guys. It has most of the base tools I need though.


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## dhal22 (Jul 30, 2010)

CaptainBob said:


> I don't know about your particular drill, but I know Makita makes great cordless drills and seems they are overlooked in favor of a Dewault or a Milwaukee. I don't own any but I have used a few at shops I worked for in the past and I think they are just as good if not better than Dewault.
> 
> 
> If you remember, Makita had one of the first popular cordless drills out in the 80's with their 9.6v battery drills.
> ...


Mine was red, circa 1986. It looked something like this:

I was just a helper but used my red Makita for tightening cast iron no hub couplings, turning copper fitting brushes, etc. The foreman was so impressed he ordered battery powered drills for every plumber on the project.

I cut the handle on fitting brushes and could polish copper fittings way faster than my plumber could use them. I had clean fittings lined up for blocks.


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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

dhal22 said:


> Mine was red, circa 1986. It looked something like this:
> 
> I was just a helper but used my red Makita for tightening cast iron no hub couplings, turning copper fitting brushes, etc. The foreman was so impressed he ordered battery powered drills for every plumber on the project.
> 
> I cut the handle on fitting brushes and could polish copper fittings way faster than my plumber could use them. I had clean fittings lined up for blocks.





Those are the rarest of the rare of makita tools. Protect that like gold. It can be worth a lot to a collector if you can believe it.


I too cut the handles off fitting brushes or on the cheap ones just squash the wire handle.










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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

Update:







I got the drill in the mail yesterday and didn't try it until today. It seemed a little funny. The geardbox didn't feel right when switching and I had to bump it to get it to run. The gearbox seems to be fine now, think it was just the plastic slider itself.


The bumping to run however is something I have seen before, melted brush holder. Luckily a new brush holder is only $6.


On another note my 300$ bandsaw needs a new armature. The actual motor shaft with wire windings. Something like a rock must have gotten stuck in there because one of the wires abraded through were it connects to the contact end of the stator.


Also, the lower blade guide bearings are fugged up with cast iron bits and pvc bits. Corroded together.



$60 for a new armature for the bandsaw :sad2: I expect work will reimburse me though.















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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

*Update:*


Got the brush holder installed like a week and a half ago. My order of parts was delayed by about two weeks because they were waiting on the armature for my bandsaw to come in from makita japan.


The drill is really powerful. Unfortunately in 3rd gear when using a 1/2" concrete bit if I pushed too hard the clutch would go loose. I ordered another gearbox on ebay for 53$ shipped and put it in a couple days ago. It's mint now, definitely a dewalt killer!!!


Bandsaw:



My bandsaw is also all good now. It made some funny bearing noise when I first assembled it but after bangin around in the van for a week it's back to normal.


The only bad part is the website I ordered the parts from has crap for packing material. They shipped it in a bubble mailer. How the armature fan wasn't cracked I don't know. The thin cardboard box it was in inside of the bubble mailer got crushed and the carbon brush box was crushed too. Would it kill them to use the FREE usps priority mail boxes? Seriously, the post office provides them FOR FREE!!!!




The name of the website began with an e and included replacement parts. I am never buying from them again!!!!:vs_mad::vs_mad: I waited almost two months and the parts almost got broken in transit because they skimped on a couple bucks! Phuck them.










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