HF battery drills

I'm going to be needing a battery drill for a small handyman business I'm starting , and right now I can't afford the one I really want . Anybody using one of the HF offerings ? They're a lot cheaper , but as we all know , cheaper tools often end up costing more in the long run - whether from dying in the middle of a job , or from screwin' up whatever you're working on . Same goes for their pin/finish nailers ... anyone have one ?

Reply to
Snag
Loading thread data ...

Do not let not being able to afford a Milwaukee stop you from getting your job done. If all you can afford is an HF get it, and get the profits in from the job. Then take them and write them off as tool replacement costs for a Milwaukee or Makita.

I had a long informative reply, but my fat fingers and this computer ate it.

Reply to
Bob La Londe

I had very poor results with a cheap battery drill that was similar to the HF one. It had a very bad charger and in general was no good. I have a Dewalt now and it never failed me. The charging system does a great job at charging and not overcharging batteries.

i
Reply to
Ignoramus21067

Let me put it to you this way: If you get out on a job, and your drill doesn't work, do you? There are MANY things that you can cut corners on, and cheap items are as good as expensive ones, but I don't consider a good battery drill to be in that category. Look at pawn shops. I have seen some killer deals there, and haggle with the guy from the moment you go in, offering him a lowball price. Walk around. Chances are, by the time you leave, they will want you to part with some of your money. If not, go to the next pawn shop. Check your local Craigslist. A friend of mine got a Porter Cable pancake compressor and three nail guns of various sizes, all never used for $125. Plus a good shock of hose, and thousands of nails.

You don't want your drill to take the rest of the day off when you are not finished. Look for one with an extra battery. Very important. I like my DeWalt 18v.

Steve

Reply to
Steve B

Check reviews on this site:

formatting link

-Brian

Reply to
rtandems

Yes, but the important point is that you do NOT have the money you spent on the cheapo. If you take that off the purchase price of a good one, it would have probably made such a deal that you would have bought the good one. Now all you have is an expensive fishing weight.

That's the problem with buying some of the cheaper items. You spend money, then end up spending more to get a good one, and you have a nearly worthless paperweight.

MHO

Steve

Reply to
Steve B

I checked five drills and got only one review. Pretty impressive. The excitement was too much, so I stopped and went and got a nitro pill.

Steve

Reply to
Steve B

This is basically true, and in addition, you have to subtract the time wasted because the tool was out of operation (something you mentioned in the previous post). Some cheap things work out OK, though.

i
Reply to
Ignoramus21067

The DeWalt 12V 2-speed is my favorite drill , used 'em for years at more than one shop . Light and plenty powerful enough to drive a 3" screw full-depth in hardwood .

Reply to
Snag

Which is why I asked , if a few had good luck with those , I'd buy one . Looks like I'm going to bite the bullet on the drill . Fleabay has the (model 972 , I think) one I like for around a hundred . If the guy buys that Camaro axle today , I can afford a decent nailer too .

Reply to
Snag

I bought a 18-volt HF drill for $19.95 a year ago. came with two batteries. Works just fine. For your purposes I bet it would get you by until you can afford a name-brand. Then it would be a good backup.

Reply to
RBnDFW

Steve , do your nitro pills also give you pounding headaches ? Worked in aerospace/missile stuff a couple decades ago . One of the solid rocket fuels I worked with used nitro . After the first headache I made damn sure not to get any on my skin or breath the vapors .

Reply to
Snag

Have had two of the HF drills. they are ok, but the charger will kill the batteries in short order. If you have a way of shutting off the power to the charger after 6-8 hours, then your batteries will last a lot longer. There is NO intelligence in the charger.

On the other hand, I have a Sears/Dewalt drill, with two batteries, at work that is over 10 years old. I replace the batteries 3 years ago with two off Ebay. We don't swap batteries until one is pretty well out of juice. Then recharge it for a day or two. The difference is the charger for this drill has some intelligence and does not ever overcharge and over heat the batteries.

The HF drill batteries should be good for about 1 year. Will that give you enough use until you can get a good one?

Paul

Reply to
co_farmer

If that guy that wanted this Camaro axle comes today like he said , I'll be getting the DeWalt I want ... if he doesn't buy it , I'll be gettin' the HF and unplugging the charger at night .

Reply to
Snag

I've got one of the HF cheapies, if you get one, buy your spare batteries at the same time, they're NOT all the same design, even in the same brand! For occasional drilling/driving, it's OK, it's not something you're going to want to use 8 hours a day, it's not up to running hundreds of screws at a time. For things like mounting a few hinges or maybe weather stripping a door, it'd be fine. You need at least two batteries for sustained work, the HF chargers tend to be not much more than a wall wart and a cradle with no smarts. The instructions say to remove when charged, not to leave them in all the time. If you follow those instructions, the batteries seem to last a fair number of recharges.

I bought one of their 18-gauge slight-head pin drivers, it works OK. The occasional jam needs a hex wrench to clear, some of the more expensive units can be cleared with bare hands. Check the limits on the pin sizes it'll drive, if you need shorter or longer nails, find something else. It was almost ridiculously cheap at about $10, cheap enough I could see if I wanted to invest in more expensive hardware. I use it for setting pins in rough wood storage boxes to hold them together while the glue sets. More controllable than the staple gun I tried.

Stan

Reply to
stans4

The HF that I tried worked OK but the battery died a quick death.

Later I found out that the charging system is not automatic and if you leave the battery on the charger too long it kills the batteries.

Reply to
Roger Shoaf

I find that 3 hours works for charging the battery. I've got a lamp timer, because I usually forget. Somtimes I'll plug it in about 8 PM and leave the battery and charger on my bed, figuring I'll see it in three hours when I go to bed.

My 12 volt Drill Master has worked for several years. As others have correctly mentioned:

  • The chargers are STUPID and will kill your battery if left plugged in.
  • Read the manual. For me, 3 hour charge works fine.
  • He's right, they have several designs of batteries. When I got them, the battery cost about as much as the drill. I got 12 volt so I could wire the drill to a car lighter cord, and run off a jumper pack when the battery dies. The battery hasn't yet died.
  • Spare batteries are excellent idea.

Never used a pin finishing nailer.

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

And check out pawn shops and craigslist. I use

formatting link
as you can search a defined number of miles from your zip code on CL.

Reply to
Bill McKee

And I buy some of my tools from Amazon.com Free shipping and no tax. And they will match any internet price.

Reply to
Bill McKee

Tomorrow I shop . There are a couple of pawn shops that have treated me well over the years , I'll check them first . I googled , best deal I found had 12v car charger , which might be useful in the field , but not as a primary . Might look at the Firestorm drills at BLowes , my son has one and he likes it . Heavier than the DeWalt I like ... but more powerful too . I thibnk I'll wait a bit on the pin nailer , I don't really need one just yet . Going to keep the money put back for when I do , though ! There's been a lot of good info from all who responded , and I'd like to thank everyone for there help . Right now , it's time to get cookin' on my dinner if I wanna eat tonight . (The wife stays in our camper over where she teaches during the week to save on gas . And I've turned out to have a talent for cooking !)

Reply to
Snag

PolyTech Forum 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.