Cordless drill......

twitch54

Super Member
After ten years my trusty Makita can no longer keep a decent charge and with replacement batteries costing $80 each :sigh: I'm thinking it's time for a replacement rig.

any good recomendations ??
 
try zapping you batteries to bring them back to life, here's one of many "how to" sites

http://www.instructables.com/id/Revive-Nicad-Batteries-by-Zapping-with-a-Welder/

It is much safer to store the zapping energy in a large electrolytic
capacitor.

Take a 10,000 to 20,000 microfarad capacitor with a rating of 25
volts or more. Briefly connect the capacitor to a car battery,
observing correct polarity.

Then connect the capacitor to the NiCd cell to be rejuvenated,
again observing polarity (+ to +, - to -). Hold it connected
for a second or so, then disconnect it. Check the DC voltage across
the cell. Repeat a few times if necessary.

When the short is cleared, you will get a substantial
fraction of a volt. Immediately put the cell on a slow charge.

You may get weeks, months or years of extra life. It is
important to inspect each cell in a pack, and to apply this
procedure only to those cells that exhibit a short (nearly zero
voltage).
 
Being in the same position as the OP, I recently soldered in a 12v DC power supply to my Dewalt 12v drill. I have yet to be annoyed by being tied back by the cord. Actually, I have had rare occasion to use more than the six feet of cord I supplied it with.

If you are determined to go cordless, you could always buy some sub-c batteries and recell it yourself. For even less, you could buy one of the no-name batteries from Harbor Freight that shares the same voltage as your Makita, crack it open and put those cells into your Mak's old battery shell.
 
Buy or recell the batteries. I have (3) 9.6V Makitas (2) conventional and 1 right angle. I can still find batteries for those and they just won't die. You'll go through 3 or 4 Dewalts before you wear out that Mak.
FWIW I bought a 2nd complete and a pre assembled recell package for my Roomba from Tenergy via Amazon in March. So far so good.
 
It is pretty annoying to have a drill that lasts longer than the batteries, but the batteries cost a substantial fraction of what a new drill costs. Sumpin' wrong.

Electroking: when you say "observe correct polarity" when connecting the cap to the car battery, I assume you mean +/+ and -/- there also? Just to be clear.

I have a Sears drill with this problem, already bought one new battery, it's dead now, and I'd re-cell it but where do you get sub C's with those tabs and how do you spot weld them together??
 
It is pretty annoying to have a drill that lasts longer than the batteries, but the batteries cost a substantial fraction of what a new drill costs. Sumpin' wrong.QUOTE]

Depends on your point of view and whether you're a pro. If you make a living with that drill, cordless tools are a time is money proposition. You buy 2 or 3 batteries for the drill on day one anyway.
 
buy a rigid 18 volt.. not quite as robust of a drill but pretty good and they have a lifetime guarantee on the batteries (they are lithium ion as well) so supposedly if they dont hold a charge you take it into home depot and they give you a new one.
 
Well I almost started a thread a month ago to ask the same question. We need a tool section!:D

It comes down to price. And battery quality/life. There is a under $200 category and and $300 category.

Woodworking tested them and liked Makita (the better blue models are U.S. made). Dewalt was a step down.

Cheaper models under $200 the Ridgid is good cause it has the lifetime guarantee including batteries.

Other to consider though expensive: Panasonic and Bosch.
 
I've been happy with my Porter-Cable cordless for the past three plus years. Model number of this one is 826.
 
One word....

MILWAUKEE

Milwaukee 0622-20 18 Volt Lok-Tor™Heavy-Duty Driver Drill (discontinued)
Awsome beast of a 1/2 inch drill. 495 inch lbs of torque. Came with 2 batteries, charger, side handle, case.

I've owned DeWalt, Craftsman, and Makita Drills before the big red came along. All were 18 volt models. The Dewalt was good. I used it for a couple of years untill someone stole it from me at work. The Craftsman was just barely okay and the batteries sucked. The best thing about the Craftsman was that it came with a worklight that used the same batteries. I should've thrown out the drill and kept the light LOL. The Makita crapped out drilling in tough steel but I admit that I was working it hard. IMO if a toolmaker claims a professional model, it should be able to handle the tough work load.

Before I got the Milwaukee I burned up a brand new Makita 1/2 inch drill while drilling in 1/4" stainless at work. The Makita lasted about an hour total working time. Even though the Makita was under warranty my boss agreed to buy me a new drill so I went with the Milwaukee. I could'nt be happier with it's performance and battery run time. Actually of all the drills I've owned, the big red has the best batteries so far. It is a heavy sucker though.
005-1.jpg
 
Last edited:
Having used a cordless drill everyday for 16 years I have had Makita, Milwaukee, DeWalt,Craftsman and my Panasonic PRO Ev6450 GQKW 18V is Amazing it has more torque than any other drill at lower settings and will run for days on a battery charge. Not necessarily cheap but worth every penny. I am sure the model is probably updated by now but WOW this is some Drill! One of the Superintendents for a Huge construction company turned me on to these.



IM000000.jpg
 
Last edited:
It might be more than you need, but I use a Milwaukee 28 volt Lithium 1/2 inch cordless Hammerdrill.

It's tough, has enough power to handle drilling in masonry and the battery packs have an indicator built in to show you how much charge is left in the battery.

I also have the 28v Sawzall. Very handy.
 
My dads drill can get three holes out of two batteries now. :yes:

And it seems noone is selling a corded drill at garage sales anymore. :thumbsdn:
 
Having used a cordless drill everyday for 16 years I have had Makita, Milwaukee, DeWalt,Craftsman and my Panasonic PRO Ev6450 GQKW 18V is Amazing it has more torque than any other drill at lower settings and will run for days on a battery charge. Not necessarily cheap but worth every penny. I am sure the model is probably updated by now but WOW this is some Drill! One of the Superintendents for a Huge construction company turned me on to these.



View attachment 156517

I've tried them and the Panasonics are awesome. If my Makita's ever bite it that'll be what I get.
 
Back
Top Bottom