Aren't mains drills great?

[A.Lee]

I fitted a new mortice lock to a PO door today. Big heavy thing with steel reinforcement to both sides. I started with my Bosch cordless, which went flat after a hour or so,changed battery, and that went a bit later. So to the back up plan of using the B+D Quattro mains drill from around

1992.

Christ it is a revelation - so smooth and powerful. And at least 15 years old. When drilling metal, it makes the Bosch feel very amateur.

Mind, it's crap at masonry drilling, and screwdriving, which i tried today - no, you cant control it enough to drive screws in.

And to think I was going to give it away, as I used cordless all the time now.I'm really glad I've kept it - it is invaluable for large wood augers, and even 10mm drills through steel. Alan.

[terry]

Yes amazing at times. Recently had to drill a few holes to run #12 AWG (that's 2.5mm) 3 wire plus ground (Oops, sorry! Earth) lead through several floor joists. The cordless wasn't at hand so fished out the old 115 volt B&D bought years ago (at least 30) for 9 bucks on sale. Ran the extension cord and with a spade bit bashed the holes through a series of about five 2 by 10 joists. Surprised how well it worked. For 'big' jobs though I'd still use my 230 volt Wolf bought on Paradise Street Liverpool in 1953! Nowadays, here in North America, the Wolf is run either on a hefty

115/230 transformer which is also the extension cord or from 230 volt sockets at our two work benches. Built two houses with it and it still works fine. It'll outlast me!

[Dave Plowman (News)]

I've got an even older B&D 'Tradesman' and it's excellent for screwdriving. Slowest speed is 50 rpm and it has a sort of soft start. And far more torque than any cordless drill I have - apart from the impact type. Only thing lacking is a clutch for maximum torque.

[Andy Dingley]

I'm no fan of cordless drills, unless working somewhere _really_ awkward.

I like my 1950's 1/4" Bridges so much that I now have two of them. One sits permanently with a plastic abrasive brush in it. They're lighter than my cordless and yet more powerful. Beautifully made too. I rarely drill anything over 1/4", and if I do, then my huge AEG SDS can swap a non-hammer chuck onto it.

[boltmail]

I've got a Fein mains drill, which is just fantastic, when I remember to use it. One of the best things about them is that they run at an rpm which is nearer to adequate for smaller bits in wood, unlike most cordless drills. It has by several orders of magnitude the best drill chuck I've ever used (or seen), too, top top end Rohm, silky precision.

[Clot]

Still have a late 50's B&D which I use for countersinking/ soft wood drilling; I love it, so light and so useful.