My take on cordless drills

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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.

Folks that are adamant on corded stuff haven't used the current generation of cordless stuff. These are not your fathers cordless tools. You get what you pay for.

Originally Posted By: zzyzzx
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.

Depends on what "fine" means.
smile.gif
 
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I have had great luck with 18 and now 20V DeWalt, and Hilti cordless drills.

When my current DeWalt dies I'm going to order this drill.
http://www.amazon.com/3511209-18-volt-Cordless-Hammer-Keyless/dp/B009PMVAJE/ref=pd_sim_sbs_469_7?ie=UTF8&dpID=41QQErGMWSL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR160%2C160_&refRID=196WKTVEG35MYK5FXHSN


Good tools will last decades, the cheap stuff breaks in short order. Cheap cordless tools give the good ones a bad name, a good Hilti will run circles around anything Craftsman has ever made.

As for corded vs cordless both have their places. I often work on job sites where getting power is a PITA. I have a Honda 2000 generator which really helps but it can still be inconvenient. The modern battery drills are very good, just as strong as corded and they last long enough.

Most of my contractors use cordless tools, they are so much more convenient. Framers and sheetrockers still use mostly corded stuff but they are the minority. Also they typically "own" the job site so they can run cords everywhere.
 
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I have one of the $15 cordless ones from Harbor Freight. It's great for small jobs in the house like hanging pictures.

Not much good for heavy drilling. But it has its place and I'm very happy with it.
 
Corded will always work until the motor burns out. For casual users that can be a lifetime.

Battery-based tools will only work until calendar or use-induced aging causes the battery to fail. This can be 10 years if treated well, perhaps longer if nursed to the ragged edge. But they will fail. Doesn't matter how expensive the tool or fancy the name.

Unfortunately when battery based tools fail, the batteries are a planned obsolescence type item, so they will likely not be available when you're ready, at least not from the primary supplier. Ive seen this with my IR tools and some DeWalt.

It is my hope that the gamble I took on the Milwaukee M12 and M18 fuel tools will be an OK one and the battery availability will remain. We will see.

But I will buy a corded tool over a cordless one in most any application it is sensible to do so, since I know it will have a much lower lifecycle cost and longer life. Some stuff like drills and drivers are extremely useful cordless, so I do keep a few different ones around. The battery capacities are high enough that you can do some pretty rigorous jobs one one charge or with just a spare battery or two.
 
Originally Posted By: Al
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.

Folks that are adamant on corded stuff haven't used the current generation of cordless stuff. These are not your fathers cordless tools. You get what you pay for.

Originally Posted By: zzyzzx
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.

Depends on what "fine" means.
smile.gif

I wasn't aware they came out with cordless tools where the battery keeps a charge for a year and they last for 50 years. For people who infrequently use a drill/etc there is no NEED to buy cordless. And your "get what you pay for" speaks here as well. Why buy a $200 drill when you use it twice a year and a $30 corded works just the same. I'm not anti cordless. I've have 18 volt DeWalt XRP gear for over 15 years. I barely use them enough these days to make it worthwhile. I'm usually having to charge something when I need it. I'm aware the Lithium Ion stuff doesn't discharge as fast for I'm not buy another system. I recently took 6-8 bad batteries to the recycle center. A lot of money. If I were to do it over I'd buy corded tools and the little Honda generator to run them.
 
I have both corded and cordless. My dad gave me his old Makita 1/4" impact & drill set. Probably 15 years old, they work fantastically. Used them today. They take the same battery and I got one a year ago from Batteries Plus for $45.

I'd rather not drag an extension cord across the yard to my trailer just to drill some holes. The cordless is almost always my go-to tool unless I'm drilling a bunch of 1/2" holes like last week, then I crack out the corded.
 
Originally Posted By: Al
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.

Folks that are adamant on corded stuff haven't used the current generation of cordless stuff. These are not your fathers cordless tools. You get what you pay for.

My dad did not have any cordless stuff.

I have had several sets of corded drills over the years, all the while having the same corded drill (some black and decker drill). I no longer have any of the cordless drills, but the corded is still going.

I have the problem mentioned above, I may not use it for 2 months, but then use it for 2-3 days. Batteries were always dead or short charging, so limited use. Last time I used a cordless I was replacing a fence. Had some Craftsman I got as a fathers day gift a few years before, even had 2 batteries. After about an hour, both batteries were dead, so out came the corded and I finished with that. Have not used, wanted or needed a cordless since.

I am sure the new stuff is great, but the corded one I have works for me and my needs. If and when it dies, I will look into a cordless.
 
There is another cordless thread going at the moment, I have responded to that.

But, in short, I use Ridgid cordless, I have used them almost daily for about 5 years. I have claimed on the batteries when they get to short cycle, there has never been a problem with their lifetime warranty

I could not imagine using a corded drill for many of the duties I put my cordless through.
Driving screws for instance cannot be done precisely with any corded drill I have used in the past.
Working in the yard, is much easier if you do not have to carry an extension lead (and find a place to plug it in)

I do have a corded hammer drll. It has it's uses. But is not used that much these days.
 
Like just about every other topic under the sun, this is about "it depends ..."

Corded tools have the (essentially) unlimited ability to run and never worry about running low on power. For repeated use tasks, that go on for hours, it's hard to beat this. Or, tasks that consume an inordinate amount of power for long bursts (drilling several large holes through 1" steel plate for example). In a production environment (think commercial manufacturing) this is a key concern; you need power for HOURS with little interruption. Here, corded tools make the most sense. Or, perhaps you have to cut many, many 2x4x8 boards, or cut lots of OSB. Here, the heavy amp draw over many long uses would deplete a battery quickly. Again - corded power makes sense. And if your projects almost always happen in one corner of your basement or garage, then the portability of cordless drills has little appeal.

Cordless tools have three advantages, but only if you are in a position to need the advantages.
1) No cord means complete freedom, and a FAR wider range of distance to provide service
(when I build pole barns, there is often no EL on site, so several charged batteries were sufficient. The barns are often hundreds of feet from a house and dragging an extension cord all the way over is not probable. Or, ever try dragging a cord across a steel barn roof as you're placing panels down? Now try it with three people ... You get the point. Other times I've been out trying to secure a fence at the farm, or doing other "power tool" tasks where I'd either have to drag a generator and cord, or just enjoy the simple essence of a battery tool!)
2) short duration tasks have less complexity.
(need a drill-driver or quick cut that will literally be all of 7 seconds or less of use? Why get out the cord when the battery tool is self-powered?)
3) no cords means no tangles and no tripping over cords (self-evident if you're running a large project and have several tools around the site, especially when on a roof, or such)

It is important to note that Lith-Ion batteries have greatly (and I mean GREATLY) improved the power and life-cycle of cordless tools and their ability to serve. My Craftsman C3 systems came with the "old" NiCad. They were OK, but nothing great. But luckily Sears saw the benefit of marketplace opportunities, and so they now offer all "new" tools with the Li-Ion units, and those same Li-Ion batteries also fit my old tools. So a few "new" batteries make my "old" tools "new" again! I have three large Li-Ion packs now and find I can pretty much do any task using one as one is in use, another in "stand-by" and the third perhaps charging, if needed.


So ...
Corded tools have their place.
Cordless tools have their place.

And that's why I own both.
 
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I have one cordless drill...it is basically toy-grade and used for 5-minute tasks. For real work, I use corded tools. (Most are at least 25 years old.)
 
I hated cordless drills until I bought a top of the line Dewault; I use it all the time and the batteries literally last a month before needing to be charged. Granted, I've only had it for a year, but the batteries still seem to hold the same charge as new. Previous cordless drills from Ryobi and Bl;ack and Decker were useless after a few years; batteries wouldn't hold a charge and the drills had no power.
 
Even my lowly rigid 18V 1/2" hammer drill will do some real work and has a helper handle for a reason. Also it has a great speed controller and runs down to 60rpm controllably.
I was working on my brush hog top hitch point and ended up cutting 1" holes with a hole saw through 1/4" plate... Low speed, high torque with me leaning on it pretty hard to keep it cutting and not burning up the saw.
For me anyways, its my main drill, the old cheapo corded getting the dirty jobs like wire brushing rusty steel wheels.
 
Originally Posted By: IndyIan
Low speed, high torque with me leaning on it pretty hard to keep it cutting and not burning up the saw.
For me anyways, its my main drill, the old cheapo corded getting the dirty jobs like wire brushing rusty steel wheels.



I think the Low speed, high torque (coupled with fine speed control) is key, and where cordless drills reign head and shoulders over most corded drills.

Most corded drills seem to be only One speed (Fast) Which is not ideal if you need to precisely set a screw.
 
in all the drill instruction manuals though, they indicate not to run with at partial speed for long periods of time as that will burn up the drill, so having fine speed control is not the ideal way to do that task.

If you are cutting through metal, a better technique is to use the clutch to zero in on the exact best cutting pressure at the full speed for your drillbit that maintains cutting.
 
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Originally Posted By: raytseng
in all the drill instruction manuals though, they indicate not to run with at partial speed for long periods of time as that will burn up the drill, so having fine speed control is not the ideal way to do that task.

If you are cutting through metal, a better technique is to use the clutch to zero in on the exact best cutting pressure at the full speed for your drillbit that maintains cutting.

You mean slip the clutch the whole time?? I don't think that's recommended either.
I think I just cleaned the chips out every once in a while and gave the drill and bit a bit of a rest and cool down by free revving it with no load.
Anyways, if I was going to be drilling 1" holes in plate everyday I would use something else, but for the odd tough job, the 1/2" cordless hammer drills can get stuff done.
 
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