My take on cordless drills

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I owned a Craftsman cordless drill until the batteries wouldn't take a charge.
I found it more of a hassle dealing with batteries vs running an extension cord.
The big drill is a mid 90's Black & Decker Quantum Pro variable speed 1/2" hammer drill.
American made and purchased at Wal-Mart for I think $70.

The small drill is a Ryobi 3/8" variable speed clutch drill I bought for $40 at the Home Depot.
Both are very nice drills and I'd rather use these anytime rather than cordless whenever an outlet is handy.

I've never had a situation where a cordless drill was necessary. It seems like most people
can't imagine buying a corded drill these days.

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Corded and cordless both have their place.

There are times I don't want to use up my battery, and out comes the corded drill, like for making Kreg pocket screw joints, and there are times when the corded drill just has too little control when driving screws, even with a clutch.

Old cordless drills whose batteries have died get some 10 gauge wiring and some alligator clamps if they are 14.4v or under. I've not tried to hardwire any drills with higher voltages than that.

I've a 9.6v craftsman drill, battery long gone, that is a torque monster on 12volts with 10' of 10 gauge to a 12v battery.
 
The new cordless stuff is fantastic. I purchased a 4 tool set last year for $150 bucks with two batteries. I remodeled my 1900 sq ft home using them. They even make a cordless nailer. Shoots 1000+ nails on one charge. Amazing stuff.
 
First cordless drill I bought was to drill out some rusted screws on my license plate on a car parked in the street. No way to get electricity where it was.
 
corded drills are indispensable for things like driving lag bolts, drilling concrete, stripping paint with a wire brush, and mixing paint/thinset/etc. I have a cheap black and decker 1/2" for that. it's 20 years old and apparently will never die.

On the other hand, handyman duties are much easier with a cordless. The early cordless units were not-so-great but the 20v and up are solid - they have a lot of power and hold a charge for a long time.

Only downside of cordless is for the occasional user - the batteries do not like to sit unused for a long time.
 
If you can't buy the good stuff and use it often, the corded stuff is probably the better bet.
 
I really hate cordless tools. I have never felt the need to use power tools during a power outage, so what's the point? They cost more, the batteries are a big PIA, the tools cost more and aren't as good as corded tools.
 
Originally Posted By: skyactiv
I've never had a situation where a cordless drill was necessary. It seems like most people
can't imagine buying a corded drill these days.


A couple years ago we had a rental property that our tenant with fake ID turned into a pot garden and our utility cut the electrical until we can restore it to habitable condition.

Our work day start when we have a set of fully charged batteries, charge our batteries at lunch (in restaurant or fast food), and the day end when it ran out again.
 
Not a drill, but cordless sawzalls are great for trimming stuff on larger properties
My cordless impact can do 700 ft lbs for 40 to 60 tires before swapping packs

Cordless is actually great for the homeowner interested in repair and upkeep. There are downsides with batteries, but for the most part the light use and ease of use trump the practicality of cords.

I still have a corded saw all and magnum hole shooter, but if I ever built a cabin it would be done with cordless for the most part
 
I have a DeWalt 18V cordless impact that i bought from a pawnshop in february of this year to remodel our farmhouse. I bought 8000 screws and the Dewalt did around 7500 for the project. We added 4 oak decks a decent sized shed and also did cabinets and board and batten with green lumber, barnwood and plywood. Still to this day the dewalt will snap the heads off of any screw that it touches if u keep the button pressed. Its very lightweight and I cant imagine doing another project without it. I know the thread is about cordless drills but the Dewalt line of cordless products is pretty amazing.
 
I love mine. I have a couple corded units somewhere but they are gutless compared to today's cordless tools.

I've mixed grout with my cordless (19.2V Craftsman with a NiCad) - depleted the battery quick but with 2 I got the job done. I run wire brushes for little things. Lags are better installed with an 18V impact than any drill.

I've drilled in concrete with the M18 Fuel one. My wife has used that for an art project of hers where she drilled holes for a couple boxes of Railroad spikes, etc. I don't have to worry about cords getting in the way and can work wherever I need to.

Outside of a Hole Hog, I bet most corded would be pressed to match the torque of today's brushless cordless. The M18 Fuel is a BEAST.

In fact most of my hand tools are cordless - drill, impact driver, hammer drill, circular saw, rotozip, etc. The Circular saw, with the right battery will keep up with homeowner duties - you just need one of the 4AH+ LiIons. It will cut 2x, plywood, etc.

The only corded I use on a regular basis is the angle grinder as when I need that I need that for long periods of time.
 
I hung sheetrock with an ancient corded drill and hundreds of screws. Even though it didn't have the clicky torque things I had precise control. Didn't mind the extension cord as it was all one room.

OTOH my cordless impact and a 10mm socket is amazeballs for tearing into a car for a big job (timing belt or clutch etc) and getting all the goofy small stuff off.
 
If you use your tools daily, go cordless.

For the rest you really should buy corded, THEN cordless if your wealthy. Batteries are TERRIBLE for the environment, Americans don't recycle and throw batteries in trash.




Quote:
The small drill is a Ryobi 3/8" variable speed clutch drill I bought for $40 at the Home Depot.


Hot Dog!! I have been searching high and low for a AC powered drill with cordless features like that.
 
I've had need of a drill maybe 2/3 times in the last 5 years, every time the batteries need a charge and it's my understanding it's not good to leave them pluged in all the time.

I'll just stick to corded.
 
Originally Posted By: cat843
For people still sold on corded, you need to try the newer ones that are brushless. Dewalt and Milwaukee and others make them.


My 1940 -1980 corded ones still work just fine.
 
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