Cordless drill......

Gents, Thanks for all the good feedback, I too had no idea Panasonic made cordless drills. I will check it out for sure, I am thinking 18volts is where I want to be. Hopefully I can find something as well balanced as my Makita for ten years ago they were hands down the most ergonomic.
 
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 ??

If the packs come apart (many don't) you might be
able to put new cells in it. The only thing you need
to watch is to make sure you use the same type and capacity.
In other words don't get any ideas about upgrades. Use
the same type and capacity. The cells are probably a
series of 1.2 volt "sub C" type cells that have tabs on each end
so that they can be soldered together.
I never ordered anything from these people but here's a
a place that sells the batteries to rebuild a pack, just to
get an idea.
http://www.batteryprice.com/nicdbatteries.aspx
 
Just realized that I bought my Makita 9.6V drill 20 year ago, have two good batteries and one that I may experiment with refiiiling. Since B&D bought up DeWalt and Porter Cable and took everything offshore I bought a new Ryobi 18V drill and saw. Figured if I am forced to buy foreign I might as well get something that works.
 
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??


DigiKey has (or had) a pretty decent selection of different sized tabbed and non-tabbed batteries.

Solder works fine, based on a few battery paks I've rebuilt. Solder melts around 450F, afaik. If your batteries and surrounding space get that hot I think you've got bigger problems. :D
 
We use Dewalts and I have an 18 volt Li-io Makita for my truck here at the shop. The Makita is the most ergonimic drill I have used. Light and feels greatin my hands. However, it doesn't have enough speed for any real drilling, with only 2 speeds. THe Dewalt Li-io is a drilling beast for wood and aluminum.

However, the newer Li-io ones aren't nearly as tough as the last generation model. We would use those to drill 3 inch holes in mature concrete day after day with no problems. One or 2 holes with the new generation and clutches get weak and the drill starts to get hot.

The Ryobi's are great drills, affordable batteries and they seem to last. I charged mine daily for a full year and I don't think I had a cell go bad. Also, I believe the newest generation of Ryobi tools can use the older batteries and visa-versa.
 
I like Bosch, & have a 12V with one good battery & one I never use, that might work again if I try zapping it. :scratch2: I have a jigsaw they made too, but it's not "as" nice as another I had awhile back. They called it the Swiss watch of power tools. :smoke:
 
I have re-celled my Crafstman drill a couple of times, and my Remington shaver, too. I order the proper size cells with solder tabs on them off the web. Look around for the best deal, lots of them on that auction site. Saves a lot over the "store-bought" replacements.

Reece
 
I'd still like to know if anyone has tried this welder trick? I'd be curious to know how the battery acted afterwards, and how much extra life they get...

I don't have any batteries that are bad, but it's more a curosity thing...
 
Most welders put out AC so I don't think the battery would like that cure.

You could try DC with a 100 or 120 Hertz ripple from a full wave rectified supply.
 
I have one of these.
DSC03201.jpg

works like no other drill I have ever had!
have used it all day on install projects without draining a whole battery!
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00928169000P

Best cordless drill everrrrrr!
batteries are cheap!
cheers,
tal
 
I would go buy a new Dewalt .

Agreed.

I have a mid-1990s DeWalt drill; all beat up from years of construction and ranch work. My wife thought I was nuts to pay $80 for a new battery for it this year, when she saw a new Craftsman drill, complete with 2 batteries, for $69 on sale. I couldn't explain it. I like it and it works perfectly, and it's so beat up that nobody wants to steal it.

I'd still like to know if anyone has tried this welder trick?

TOO early for this post... The 4th of July isn't til next week :smoke:

Seriously, I wouldn't.

Charles
 
Another vote for DeWalt, I've had the 18 volt drill/circular saw combo for 12 years, and last year the batteries went belly up and figured it was time to buy new batteries. I had to rethink that idea when I found out the batteries cost $80 each. I looked around slickdeals.net and found a link to Amazon for a refurbished kit consisting of the newer (much stronger) drill two batteries, case, and holster for $90! I junped on that offer and am very happy I did. The new drill is a step up and the batteries are 18 volt XR (extended run time). A couple of times a year I volunteer with a group called Dallas Ramp building wheelchair ramps for the homebound and get a chance to compare lots of tools, Impact drivers are the new cool tools for driving screws and bolts, but my DeWalt can keep pace with most of what I've seen. I've read about the welder trick and kept my dead batteries to maybe try it some day but thus far I've been to 'smart' to try it. I also read that the two things you can do to prolong the life of your batteries is to recharge them in a cool place, and to take them off the charger after re-charging and let them come to temp. for 10 minutes before put them to work, don't know if it helps but it's now my standard procedure.
 
Most guys are going to tell you need 18V or more but I've been happy with half that much. I got a great deal and bought a 9.6V Dewalt in 1994 and love it. So much so that I had it rebuilt for $59 when it needed a new motor. I figured I couldn't replace it for that cheap (but I was wrong see below).

My brother says my 9.6V is just a "pu**y drill." However, I rarely have to go for my 5A corded drill but when I do it has enough oomph to twist me off the ladder. My 9.6V cordless is also light enough for lots of overhead work. I've used my brother's 18V DeWalts lots and they are very nice but heavy particularly when working overhead. I do really like the 18V DeWalt hammer drill.

My advice is to pick the drill and power you want carefully because you may end up stuck with your choice. Cordless drills will usually outlast the batteries. When you go to replace the batteries it's usually almost as cheap to buy a new drill than to replace 2 batteries. Plus, the new drill usually comes with 2 new batteries, a case and a charger. In my case it made sense to stay with 9.6V so I could use the new batteries in both my the new and old drill. I ended up finding a new DeWalt 9.6V with 2 batteries, a case and charger for $60 on sale at Lowes (right after I rebuilt my old one for the same price). Regardless, it's convenient to have two cordless drills. I keep one in the basement and one in the garage and enjoy having 4 batteries.

I also like Ryobi. 6-7 years ago, for my cabin I found a 9.6V Ryobi at Home Depot for $20 with 1 battery, a case and a bit set. Nice drill but I gave it to my son. I still needed a cabin drill so a couple years ago I bought a 12V Ryobi at Home Depot on sale for $20. It only came with a charger and 1 battery (no case or bit set). It's a step up power-wise from my 9.6V DeWalts but not quite as well made. Not complaining about either Ryobi given the price. Nice drills for the money.

As far as other brands, I've always heard from the trade guys that the Panasonics are the best but pricey. I've also heard that Hitachi makes a good drill.
 
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Panasonic is the only one for me.+ recharges in 20 minutes.....best ergonomics of them all. Feels good in your hands.:)
 
It has been mentioned a couple times, but I use Ridgid (18V, LiIon) cordless power tools every day on my job, and they have been fantastic. I use an impact driver more than a drill, but they are all rock-solid. EVERYTHING is under a lifetime warranty, even if the tool is used professionally. I can recommend them without reservation.
 
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