Because we sold our fantastic '92 Accord several years ago, it's been a long time since I've visited this great website and written a post.

I could not think of another site better than this one to ask a question about a power drill, so here I am.

I've owned a 1/2" Milwaukee "Magnum hole shooter" drill for about 30 years. It still works great, but it's usefulness is limited by its size, etc.

I'm considering buying a gen. 2 Milwaukee M12 cordless drill/driver. The problem is that I hate batteries because of their limited life and cost to replace. However, they're great when you need a truly portable tool, where a power cord is practically impossible, you need torque control, etc.

Many times power is available and being able to run the tool using a cord would be just fine.

Is there some kind of adapter that could be inserted, as a battery is, into the cordless drill, and that adapter would have provision, say a typical plug, that could then be plugged into a typical extension cord, and this would power the drill? This adapter would have to convert 120V AC to say 12V, or 18V, or 20V DC, etc. I believe that having such a device would dramatically reduce the number of times the OEM battery would have to be used and, therefore, recharged, and I understand that it is the number of charge cycles that determines the useable life of the battery.

Are such adapters available for cordless drills and, if so, could you provide a link?

Thanks.

 

I stumbled on this:

Bloody expensive. I did not realize how big the converter had to be to supply the power/amperage to a say 20-volt drill. Now I do.

 

Seems to be a bit of overkill to me?

It has taken me a while to get away from the "cord" and even now getting away from small combustion engines. I've moved more to the "battery" side of things.

Leaf blower was my first step - about 4~5 years ago I wanted a blower as I was getting too old to rake anymore. I was getting rally frustrated with small engines and a cord just won't work in my yard. Ended up getting a battery powered one and was very happy with it. Two years ago the carb on the trimmer needs to be rebuilt, bought the carb kit and was planning on working on it when I saw a sale on a trimmer that was the same brand as the blower.....the gas trimmer is still in the garage and the carb kit is somewhere in the "parts pile".

Right now I'm shopping for a chain saw - small corded one won't go where I need to cut and the gas one hasn't been used in years...it might start it might not . Instead of even fighting with the gas one I'm looking at buying a battery operated one - it I get the same brand as the trimmer and leaf blower the batteries are interchangeable ?

Long rant of nothing that really helps your situation or question - just my two cents. Get the battery drill and I'd bet you will be happy with it.

 

When I installed two HE furnaces a couple of years ago, my big Milwaukee was completely inappropriate for driving small sheet metal screws, so I borrowed my neighbor's cordless drill/driver. In short, I loved the thing, but I was, and still am, reluctant to buy into the "battery thing", solely because the batteries have a limited number of charge cycles that, once reached, means one has to buy IMO expensive replacements, which is why I started this thread.

I borrowed his drill again when I recently had to drill some holes on top of our roof when I installed a new roof vent and hot water heater flue. I loved it again. Now I want to do some fence repair and I'm either going to have to borrow it again or buy my own. I don't want to ruin a friendship.

Anyway, now I'm rambling. I'll have to bite the bullet and buy a drill and swallow the cost of replacing batteries ............. just like everyone else.

 

So now I'm interested in the Makita subcompact combo of the drill/driver and the impact driver. Here's a fantastic video review of them.

The only potential problem I can see with it are the batteries, as described here by a disgruntled owner:

Now, I realize that sometimes problems that are reported on car sites as well as Youtube about various problems in various devices are not experienced by the vast majority of car or Makita tool owners, but I have no way of knowing what's real and what's not. But what I do know is that I don't want to buy a Makita and have to replace batteries just because some cpu in a charger or in a battery decides to make the battery unusable because the battery was too hot when you put it in the charger, the voltage was a bit too low on one of its internal cells, etc.

Have any of you HAF members had this same problem with their Makita batteries and, if so, what did you do about it?

Thanks.

 

Not a Makita, but Black and Decker, sure. I've had a few of them just pack it in even with a new battery. Same applied to my Porter Cable set.

 

Still looking at cordless options.



I now realize the advantages of impact drivers versus drill/drivers when it comes to drilling rather large holes or, especially, driving large screws.



But when it comes to driving small fasteners such as small sheet metal screws, when you don't want the fastener to turn literally one extra turn when the bottom of the screw hits the metal, the drill/driver with its adjustable torque ring seems to be the right tool for the job.



However, now there is the so-called 1-Key Milwaukee impact driver. Supposedly the torque is adjustable. But how adjustable is it? Can this tool drive sheet metal screws without turning the screw one extra turn after the bottom of the head hits the metal? You tell me, please.



Thanks.