Utility drill: corded or cordless?

[Jeff Thies]

I have the 12V Hitachi and am not crazy about it. Low speed is too high, I wind up using the 18V for driving screws. I do like the size and weight.

Jeff

If you are going to use it for work I

[krw]

These guys do pretty well, too. I have used them.

They can use newer, better, cells (higher energy).

I replaced the cells in my PC for about $35. Most seem to be about 50% of the new battery price.

[aemeijers]

New Battery price is usually within 20 bucks of the price of a whole new drill, around here. (consumer grade at big box, not a 'trade' brand like Milwaukee, of course.)

Like inkjet printers and cartridges, in many ways. I see plenty of battery tools and inkjets, sitting by dumpsters, in the afternoon 'free' pile at garage sales, and in the dollar aisle at the thrift stores. Not a very green business model at all.

Standard disclaimer- I love my 24v B&D drill that I bought off the remainder table at Lowes for 25 bucks a few years back. Still on original battery and holds a charge well, even though I can go months without using it. Great for small jobs and screw shooter duty, but not enough power for any sort of production work. I went out and bought a corded Makita for that sort of stuff, since it was the only brand I could find in my price range that looked like a drill, instead of a kid's toy ray gun.

[krw]

Ok. I don't buy "consumer grade" tools. Certainly Harbor Fright is cheaper than DeWalt.

Do they pretend to be "green"? Why should everything be "green"?

The only corded drill I own is a Baosch hammer drill. I own something like ten cordless drills and drivers. Some of the older ones are no longer used but probably will be on the next outside project (rebuilding a fence).

[David Nebenzahl]

On 10/14/2010 10:32 PM Prof Wonmug spake thus:

Yes; forget new drills. Get an older one, probably about the same vintage as your Craftsman, but reversible.

My favorite drill used to be my Craftsman, which is probably a lot like yours (3/8", all metal) but reversible. I've replaced the speed control on it, then later did an almost complete drill-ectomy on it when I found one just like mine at the local recycled-goods store for $10. Still works fine.

But my best drill nowadays is the Milwaukee "hybrid" that was given to me by a friend/client. I say "hybrid" because it has a metal body but a plastic handle (orange). That thing has so much torque it's amazing; almost as much as some 1/2" drills. I only have two complaints about it: poor placement of the reversing switch (just above the trigger), making it easy to reverse the drill unintentionally, and it's so strong and heavy that it coasts for a long time after releasing the switch. Other than that it's perfect.

If you have a place that sells recycled or salvaged stuff, look for a drill of this vintage. Chances are it'll still work, and work well.

So far as chucks go, I actually prefer a keyed chuck. I attach the key to the cord so it's always there, and am confident that the bit is being held securely. Small price in inconvenience here.

[jw]

From what you said, but a corded one. If a battery sits, it just dies away. Of course if your Craftsman is still working, why buy anything? It's probably made better than any new ones.

And chuck keys are a GOOD thing. I hate those keyless chucks. They dont hold well on any tough work. Just have a SPARE chuck key on hand. I misplaced mine recently and I got my spare. The next day I bought another one, and the day after I found the lost one. Oh well, it was only a couple bucks.

[Jules Richardson]

The keyless one on my Dewalt's served me well so far - I was expecting it to be junk, too, but I can't think of a time when it's failed to work (a handful of times where it's slipped because I hadn't tightened it enough, but none where it just hasn't coped)

I really hate cordless drills, though - give me a cord any day.

Do hand-held drills with chuck keys come with somewhere on the drill body to store the key? Seems like bad design if they don't. My bench drill has a nice indentation in the top of the case, so the key lives there when I'm not using it.

cheers

Jules