HF battery drills

I would pass on the Milwaukee, I got 4 dead batteries and a dead charger, but then again it is 3 years old.

I think my next new cordless might be a Makita, my 15+ year old Makita battery still holds a partial charge.

Thank You, Randy

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Reply to
Randy
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These guys rebuilt several of my packs and made my tired Makita tools run like new:

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--Winston

Reply to
Winston

Reply to
stans4

"Randy" wrote

I would not part with my OLD Makita 9.6 as it is great for a lot of stuff. Not everything, but that's when I get the 18v. out. Or the corded.

Steve

Reply to
Steve B

On Wed, 24 Feb 2010 08:37:51 -0800, the infamous "Steve B" scrawled the following:

OK, there you have a good price.

They just might be. I seldom see stuff for any less than full retail up here, and I saw the same crap in LoCal when I lived there. Ghastly high prices on decent stuff, and way too high a price on dead, old, or worn-out goods which were missing batteries, chargers, cases, chuck keys, etc.

Every time I've been into a pawn shop, I wonder how in the hell they stay in business. One pawn shop here sells used pistols (well, he tries, anyway) for prices higher than the manufacturer gets for brand new pieces.

-- "Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it whether it exists or not, diagnosing it incorrectly, and applying the wrong remedy." -- Ernest Benn

Reply to
Larry Jaques

Note the moral: If you have to buy cheapies, buy two. Then if one dies you can still finish the job, and if there's a terminal failure you use one as a parts burner for the other.

Harbor Freight builds "Okay" tools, as long as your use doesn't involve beating on them with a rock they'll last for a while. But their repair parts system is hit-and-miss at best, and parts for older things, fuhgeddaboudit.

I have a few 18V DeWalt drills, and they DO get beaten on daily (swinging 1" Ship Augurs and 1-1/2" Selfeed bits when roughing in) and have had very good luck. Melted one motor's brush-holders off the molded glass-filled motor end bell, and now I know better and let it cool off between too-big holes.

DeWalt has the new Nano stuff coming out that's Li-Ion instead of Ni-Cad. If you can get a deal, go for it - but I haven't seen any good deals on consumables for the Nano stuff yet, notably the two-pack deal on replacement batteries they run a few times a year.

The Nano packs are MOSTLY backwards compatible, which is a bonus. There are only a few old things that can't run the new packs, they need to come out with a new Radio/Charger for one.

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Reply to
Bruce L. Bergman

I would like to respectfully disagree. Some of their tools are perfectly good and usable, like, say, hammers, some vises, lights, etc. Some are, to the contrary, useless junk, such as those drills with bad chargers that damage batteries.

i
Reply to
Ignoramus26960

It's a contract. Offer and acceptance. If there is not mutual agreement, there is no contract. I laugh often in pawn shops. Once at a higher than new retail price. Again for a lower than actual worth price. And again when I see some overpriced item being carried out the door.

I can not say that everything I have ever bought in my life has been a killer deal. I don't think anyone can honestly say that.

Steve

Reply to
Steve B

What he said.

Steve

Reply to
Steve B

On Thu, 25 Feb 2010 00:29:14 -0600, the infamous Ignoramus26960 scrawled the following:

Hey, if you guys can't figure out how to RTFM, as short as they are, and spot the large "DO NOT OVERCHARGE BATTERIES" warning enclosed (in at least one place, if not two) you're on your own. ;)

Hammers, sledges in particular, are dangerous items from HF now that they're attempting to glue the heads on instead of properly shaping the handle and wedging the heads on. When you're really swinging a 5 lb sledge and the head comes flying off, it's gonna -cost- somebody something. I'm terrified of that new ploy.

-- "Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it whether it exists or not, diagnosing it incorrectly, and applying the wrong remedy." -- Ernest Benn

Reply to
Larry Jaques

Actually, I agree with you. I recalled that I bought a peen hammer recently and its glued head is already acting suspiciously.

i
Reply to
Ignoramus2215

Getting five years service out of the batteries is better than I got with some name brand cordless drills.

Buy whatever you want and do whatever the hell you please, with it.

I buy a lot of tools two or more at a time now that I'm disabled. By doing so, I don't have to go looking for tools. I can leave them where ever I'm working around the house and still have tools in both shops. I already spend too much time limping around to do whatever task is at hand. Extra tools allow me to get more done. I still have and use tools I bought while I was in junior high school, in the mid '60s. I have two table saws, two radial ar saws, a couple compound miter saws, a couple drill presses, about 15 corded & cordless drills. I probably have over 120 screwdrivers, not counting the 1/4" hex drive bits. I have at least five sets of socket drivers, and three sets of automotive tools so that I can carry one in my truck, keep one in the garage and another in my metalworking shop. tools are meant to be used, and do wear out. No matter what you buy.

I buy drill bits and other small items in bulk, because they wear out. I used to buy 1/8" drill bits by the pound because I wore out so many while drilling out rivets in some equipment. They weren't cheap imports, they were US made industrial grade. They are cheaper in bulk, and you don't have a job come to a screeching halt for a few cents worth of tooling.

Just like when I was in business, I bought things by the bag, box bundle or crate. I did most jobs in one trip from stock in the truck and made more money that the ID10Ts that bought a single outlet box or stick of conduit at a time. They spent more time at the wholesalers picking up supplies for one job than they did working. I generally went once a week or every other week to restock my truck & shop. I was in and out in under 15 minutes, usually on a Saturday morning when most of my customers weren't open for business.

Reply to
Michael A. Terrell

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