Thanks to everyone who responded here. I'll post back w/ the outcome. Because the drill is still in excellent condition w/ no chuck problems; I'm leaning towards the rebuilt batteries, as mine can be rebuilt for about $35.
I have, on very, very rare occasions, used the clutch when driving screws or bolts into something I did not want to take *any* chance on damaging/stripping. I've used the clutch to barely snug the fasteners and then went back and finished the job by hand. Think about those particle board computer desks for example. I've put a few together for friends and used the clutch to set the plastic dowels and some of the screws. I'm all about power tools. :-)
However, even in those cases, I can't imagine using the clutch at it's minimum setting. If Mike has been driving screws through wood at the minimum setting on a Dewalt, there is something else wrong.
Hey Chris- if you have a hobby shop that's nearby- look for the k&s materials that are commonly used by model railroaders- they have a tin plated sheet that can easily br cut with a old scissors- like 8 thou thick- used em for my rebuilds using salvaged surplus cell and they work fine for contact strips. alternatively if you are good with some needle nose pliers you can break the old strips loose about half the time and reuse them. takes some wiggling and torquing to the batt at the same time allpy some pull(rolling) on the pliers. Pat- who has also frozen a cell to solder with a gun -dunno what the freezing does to the longevity of the cell though. Pat
I've decided to do just that and will be sending the batteries to hartsbatteries.com for rebuild.
Thanks again for all of the great advice.
Hasn't been my experience with HF battery tools and I've bought a lot of their stuff lately. Doing my part to support the China trade imbalance.
HF products tend to not be leading edge, so you won't see a lithium powered Hitachi equivilent.
In my experience, the chucks on their drills aren't quite as good as a quality brand. They don't guide the bit as well when tightening and loosen up while using.
Their drill bits are crap. They may be titanium coated at the molecular level, but they don't clear sawdust while drilling very well. They also don't seem to be very sharp to begin with. OTOH, you can buy a box of 50 and toss them after the job when they cost less than $10 on sale.
Their saws are fine. In fact, I really like my 12" compound chop saw.
Grinders and other hand tools are fine. I wouldn't buy production equipment there, but for household usethey work fine.
-- "Tell me what I should do, Annie." "Stay. Here. Forever." - Life On Mars
That's true and something I really miss. I had an early 12v B&D drill and always used the screw/drill speed shift as well as the screw clutch. The HF drills don't have either of these and top out too slow on the variable trigger.
-- "Tell me what I should do, Annie." "Stay. Here. Forever." - Life On Mars
Consumer Reports tested a Harbor Freight cordless drill several years ago, and it ranked at or near the bottom and was much weaker than many drills that operated at lower voltages. The fastest and most powerful drills came from manufacturers favored by contractors, including Porter Cable, DeWalt, Bosch, and Hitachi, and their 14.4V and even some of their 12.0V drills outperformed other brands of 18V drills.
1-2 months ago, Home Depot was closing out some Ryobis and was selling 18V models (both the P211 and the inferior P811) for $50 with 1-2 battery packs.According to patrick mitchel :
I was thinking of that too, but I wanted to make do with what I had. The copper tape is also on hand ;-)
I usually end up mangling them beyond useability.
I've seen it suggested. I don't think it does any harm to the cell, and give you a few extra seconds soldering...
Hey Chris; I soldered up a couple of packs for a friend that was vacationing in Socal area - going back to central oregon. He brought with him 2 packs- 1 milwaukee and a dewalt xrp 18v pack. The dewalt showed a bunch of bad cells- dunno what happened to it- the charger may have mischarged the pack and the millwaukee had several bad cells- since I had purchased several of the harbor tools packs (1.7 amp/hr cells) I made up the
2 batts in the lower (than the 2.6 cells in both packs). When he got back from vacation , he told me that both batts worked and charged as normal packs . That worked out to 10 (US ) dollars a rebuild. The upside is that I got enough cells to make up a new (2.6 amp/hr) pack(stick pack) for the 9.6 makita drill that refuses to die.HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.