Well in my area I have been told by many that there is but one or two companies that supply a cordless drill to their employees and that the vast majority do not. I guess it is just the way it is around here. I am thinking of just not using one at all (including borrowing other people's) and see how they like my sudden sharp drop in productivity. Problem with that is it will likely result in a much more substantial loss of income than the cost of a drill when I get a much lower raise.
As for the Harbor-Freight drills, I researched tham and am not interested because:
1) They don't cost much less than a Ryobi
2) They have a 90 day warranty
3) Their instruction manual says you need to recharge the battery for at least 16 hours before EACH use
4) They only come with one battery and if you buy an extra one it costs nearly as much as the package which includes the drill - which also puts it at more cost than the Ryobi by the time you get second battery
I would like to find another company though. As it stands now, I am still a first-year apprentice and tools I have had to buy that I shouldn't have include:
1) Shovel
2) Ridgid Pipe Cutter
3) 3/4", 1", and 2" pipe benders
4) Clamp-type multimeter
5) Electrical tape in various colors, spray paint (to mark ceiling wires) and a ton of little screws and nuts.
And a whole bunch more I am sure that are not jumping into my head right now. Of course the company claims I am not required to buy any of this. Funny thing though is the job simply will never get done without it and they know it and they do not purchase the stuff even with ample notice that we need it. They just get on us to get it done. Exact same scenario as with the drill, I could choose to absolutely not buy another thing and watch as the job never got done and I'd feel it and a whole lot more come raise time. So I play ball because I want to stay in this field.
BTW, everyone I have talked to says this is the best company by far to work for in Northern Colorado. Guess I'm just lucky!
