Electric drill purchase

[David Mack]

5 minutes ago, BEngo said:

Wire brushes to suit are about a fiver.  You will want crimped wire, twist knot cup and twist knot saucer  styles to get into every corner, but on a simple job either of the twist knot shapes will be OK. ,again MSC usually havd them on offer.

 

Or Toolstation or Screwfix.

[David Schweizer]

When I was re-fitting Helvetia, I found that my 12 DeWalt drill ran out of power before the end of the day, even with two batteries. My solution was to make up a wooden plug with two brass contact strips and a long lead which was plugged into the space where the battery would normally be, with the end of the cable plugged into one of the 12v sockets. Result power all day and no battery charging overnight.

 

 

Edited March 19, 2021 by David Schweizer

[Tracy D'arth]

Defo angle grinder with wire cup brush. Mains on the inverter is best.  Have you thought of a decent Sandvik hand scraper? With remove rust and paint faster than wire brush.

[dmr]

50 minutes ago, David Schweizer said:

When I was re-fitting Helvetia, I found that my 12 DeWalt drill ran out of power before the end of the day, even with two batteries. My solution was to make up a wooden plug with two brass contact strips and a long lead which was plugged into the space where the battery would normally be, with the end of the cable plugged into one of the 12v sockets. Result power all day and no battery charging overnight.

 

 

 

That was the good old days, most battery tools are now 18 volts and if pushed hard probably take enough current to melt a typical 12 volt "cigar lighter" plug.

 

The battery technology is also so much better than it used to be. Twice a year I repair all the scrapes on the side between top rubbing strake and gunnel, taking them back to bare metal, if its not too bad the battery angle grinder can just about do a whole side on a single battery.

 

..............Dave

[David Schweizer]

9 minutes ago, dmr said:

 

That was the good old days, most battery tools are now 18 volts and if pushed hard probably take enough current to melt a typical 12 volt "cigar lighter" plug.

 

The battery technology is also so much better than it used to be. Twice a year I repair all the scrapes on the side between top rubbing strake and gunnel, taking them back to bare metal, if its not too bad the battery angle grinder can just about do a whole side on a single battery.

 

..............Dave

 

There are still plenty of good quality 12v drills available, and why would I even consider plugging an 18v drill into a 12v circuit?

 

 

Edited March 19, 2021 by David Schweizer

[dmr]

1 minute ago, David Schweizer said:

 

But I why wopuld I even consider plugging an 18v drill into a 12v circuit?

 

to drill holes very very slowly ?

[David Schweizer]

6 minutes ago, dmr said:

 

to drill holes very very slowly ?

 

You must have a very poor 12v drill, or perhaps you are not doing it correctly. My 12v DeWalt drill has two speeds and drills through steel more than adequately. In fact I hardly ever use my higher power battery drill.

 

 

 

 

Edited March 19, 2021 by David Schweizer

[Jerra]

1 hour ago, David Schweizer said:

 

You must have a very poor 12v drill, or perhaps you are not doing it correctly. My 12v DeWalt drill has two speeds and drills through steel more than adequately. In fact I hardly ever use my higher power battery drill.

 

 

 

 

I think the suggestion was what would result if you ran an 18v drill on 12v.

[David Schweizer]

38 minutes ago, Jerra said:

I think the suggestion was what would result if you ran an 18v drill on 12v.

 

Yes I realise that, but I was talking about an adapter for my 12v drill in order to run it off the boat's 12v supply. I never suggested trying to run an 18v drill on a 12 v supply, that was figment of DMR's imagination.

[jonathanA]

11 hours ago, dmr said:

.  A drill, a multi tool and an angle grinder should be on the list, don't bother with an impact driver.

 

.............Dave

Have to disagree with you about the impact driver. I got a screwfix drill and impact driver Bosch 18v set a couple of years ago and I'd say the impact driver is the most used bit of kit I own.

 

Besides using it to put in screws effortlessly and take them out again, its great for shifting rusted, screws,  bolts and nuts. What possible use would that have on a boat....

 

You do need good quality screw bits and adapters for socket sets.

 

Go and have a look in a mechanics tool box they'll have a battery impact driver as will just about any decent tradesman....

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 19, 2021 by jonathanA
Delete multi post

[dmr]

5 minutes ago, jonathanA said:

Have to disagree with you about the impact driver. I got a screwfix drill and impact driver Bosch 18v set a couple of years ago and I'd say the impact driver is the most used bit of kit I own.

 

Besides using it to put in screws effortlessly and take them out again, its great for shifting rusted, screws,  bolts and nuts. What possible use would that have on a boat....

 

You do need good quality screw bits and adapters for socket sets.

 

Go and have a look in a mechanics tool box they'll have a battery impact driver as will just about any decent tradesman....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I live on a boat fitted out by the previous owner who appear to have put every screw in with an impact driver, getting them out is a nightmare, screws should be put in carefully by hand ?, and nuts and bolts should be done up with a hint of copperslip so that an impact driver is not needed to undo them ?. An impact driver should be a tool of (almost) last resort.

 

...............Dave

 

 

[David Schweizer]

46 minutes ago, dmr said:

 

I live on a boat fitted out by the previous owner who appear to have put every screw in with an impact driver, getting them out is a nightmare, screws should be put in carefully by hand ?, and nuts and bolts should be done up with a hint of copperslip so that an impact driver is not needed to undo them ?. An impact driver should be a tool of (almost) last resort.

 

...............Dave

 

 

 

I agree. Helvetia was lined with pine matchboard which was secured to the battens with brass screws,. Brass screws (especially slot head ones) do not agree with powered screwdrivers, and resist being screwed in at all without pilot holes which have been pre threaded with steel screws. Too many in any one day was a recipe for a sore shoulder.

[blackrose]

What do people think of Parkside power tools from Lidl? I know they're not the best, but for cheap tools they seem pretty good to me. I'm talking about the mains power tools. I've no idea what their batteries are like.

Edited March 19, 2021 by blackrose

[TheBiscuits]

33 minutes ago, blackrose said:

What do people think of Parkside power tools from Lidl? I know they're not the best, but for cheap tools they seem pretty good to me. I'm talking about the mains power tools. I've no idea what their batteries are like.

 

Remarkably good for the price, and come with 3 year warranty.

 

The one that impressed me was the slide compound mitre saw - it came with spare brushes,  which suggests they expect it to last a fair while.

 

My current angle grinder is one of theirs as well.

They seem slightly better than the Aldi versions generally, but it varies by product.

[starman]

8 hours ago, TheBiscuits said:

 

Remarkably good for the price, and come with 3 year warranty.

 

The one that impressed me was the slide compound mitre saw - it came with spare brushes,  which suggests they expect it to last a fair while.

 

My current angle grinder is one of theirs as well.

They seem slightly better than the Aldi versions generally, but it varies by product.

My Lidl battery drill is still going strong after four+ years of pretty serious use for boat renovation and general diy. It's brilliant. My general maxim is buy a cheap drill - all it has to do is drill holes which is pretty basic stuff - and expensive saws because there's nothing more frustrating than an inaccurate saw. So Lidl drill; deWalt table saw.

[Onewheeler]

On 19/03/2021 at 10:07, Hudds Lad said:

Screwfix, Toolstation etc. often have competing deals on the DeWalt twin pack of 18v brushless drill and impact driver, just a matter of seeing who has the cheapest deal at the time.

 

Very good drill. I've had mine for at least six years now, no obvious loss of battery capacity, used regularly. A bit lightweight for hammer drilling into masonry but unless you're creating a mooring that shouldn't be an issue. My previous battery drills lasted just a few months.

[TheBiscuits]

10 hours ago, starman said:

My general maxim is buy a cheap drill - all it has to do is drill holes which is pretty basic stuff

 

A cheap drill with high quality drillbits will make a much better hole than an expensive drill with low quality drillbits.  I have seen a lot of people get this wrong ...

 

There is a place for serious drill kit- think core-drilling big holes in concrete or steel - but they are unusual jobs for most people.

[Detling]

Buy the drill and batteries at the same time if not going for a premium brand, such as Makita and De-Walt. In our family we have 3 Aldi 18V drills they have been excellent and two have worked very hard for 2 years now. Although they look the same on 5 of the 6 sides, and even have the same slide and latch mechanism, every one requires a different charger and will only fit into the drill it came with, minute differences in print size and spacing. I agree with the comments on a battery grinder, I have one with two batteries and a fast charger it takes 15 minutes to empty both batteries and a hour to charge one. If just cutting a nail sticking out  it is brilliant cutting the odd pipe etc very convenient, but cutting steel  it paving/brick I  get the mains grinder out

[starman]

20 hours ago, TheBiscuits said:

 

A cheap drill with high quality drillbits will make a much better hole than an expensive drill with low quality drillbits.  I have seen a lot of people get this wrong ...

 

There is a place for serious drill kit- think core-drilling big holes in concrete or steel - but they are unusual jobs for most people.

Exactly - my drill was from Lidl but my drill bits certainly weren't!