Charging battery powered tools

[BobnLesley]

...a lot of donated battery power tools in their inventory, some of them quite good brands ..
Unfortunately they don't seem to have batteries for most of them.

Battery powered hand tools can be given a useful second life by the simple expedient of connecting a two core cable to their battery terminals and crocodile clipping the other end of said cable to a car/boat battery.
The very best tool I've found for drilling S/steel is an 18v battery drill, powered by a 12v battery.

 

[ducked]

You can now get a 240v, 4 1/2" grinder for £40ish, reasonable quality too. Disposable at that price.

I keep my brushless cordless grinder for "best", certainly don't sacrifice that to cut stone or grind sh1tty keels etc.

OK, thats certainly of interest.

Quick Google shows quite a few, including a Bosch for under 20 quid, surprising (assuming it isnt fake) though I guess it wont be Bosch;s best

I'd probably keep it for "best", though, and use a library one for the shitty keels.

OT but I'll need a better lung protection solution. Separate goggles and mask, even with an exhaust valve, seem to steam up almost immediately in Scotland and then I cant see a thing under the boat.

 

[Refueler]

Pneumatic Needle guns were the mainstay of steel work prep on rigs and MN ships. Legions of the blighters, often working as a gang. I dare say there's a few on here who have spent many happy days/weeks/months with one as a deck apprentice?

As an Engineer Cadet, I spent much time trying to maintain/fix the guns...deck lads used to bu99er them up deliberately, so as to avoid work .

I most certainly do remember them .... and my ears do especially !! Imagine the noise on a steel deck over tanks .....

They really played havoc with your wrists with the vibration and if a needle broke - UGH !!

 

[ducked]

Battery powered hand tools can be given a useful second life by the simple expedient of connecting a two core cable to their battery terminals and crocodile clipping the other end of said cable to a car/boat battery.
The very best tool I've found for drilling S/steel is an 18v battery drill, powered by a 12v battery.

Thats of interest too, and would reduce my reluctance to buying a cheapo one, which I did maybe 30 years ago (so different tech). 12V battery failed almost immediately, but I never got around to fitting it with jump leads as intended.

I had wondered if the difference between 18V and 12V would be a problem.

 

[Refueler]

Battery powered hand tools can be given a useful second life by the simple expedient of connecting a two core cable to their battery terminals and crocodile clipping the other end of said cable to a car/boat battery.
The very best tool I've found for drilling S/steel is an 18v battery drill, powered by a 12v battery.

Exactly ....

Tip : Do not throw away the old battery - the drill / tool was designed to be 'balanced' with it fitted ... so open it up .. disconnect the batterys from the contacts .. put the external power cable in via a hole to the contacts and close up - plug back into tool.

Here's a video of my putting an old LiPo battery into an old drill .... once I find my LiPo's not flying my models so well - I repurpose the batterys to flashlights ... other uses where amp draw is less ... they last years like that !!

The video shows using a 4S battery ... which is max 16.8v ... it actually proved to be just a bit too much - especially that a LiPo can discharge at very high amp rates ... so I later changed to a 3S battery 2200mAh (12.6v max).
Of course once changed to LiPo - I only charge it with a proper LiPo charger .....

 

[ducked]

I borrowed a library wired SDS Makita and some chisels to try on the inside of the steel bilge keels.They had one with a charger and two batteries which I wouldnt hsve minded trying but it was significantly heavier. Quite a long walk from bus stop to yard, uphill on the way back. Also got an angle grinder with a couple of disks, but these are sanding (60 and 80 grit) and probaly not aggressive enough. Ill see what I can find.

I use disks made from aluminium cans for light rust removal and the application of aluminium to the surface (with a drill. There may not be clesrance to do this safrly with an sngle grinder).

Disks made from tin cans should be more aggressive, though not so easily scrounged up or made, so I havnt tried it so far.

 

[ducked]

Is the glue used on aluminium oxide flap disks likely to be water resistant? Thinking using wet (after power washing) might cut dusting, as long as it doesnt unstick the grit

 

[Refueler]

Battery powered hand tools can be given a useful second life by the simple expedient of connecting a two core cable to their battery terminals and crocodile clipping the other end of said cable to a car/boat battery.
The very best tool I've found for drilling S/steel is an 18v battery drill, powered by a 12v battery.

Please make sure if you connect an external power lead - that the original battery is disconnected .... if not there is risk of the original battery causing damage .... even catching fire ...

Example : I had a battery powered entry alarm on my Snapdragon 23 after repairs from some a******e who broke into it ..... to avoid having to changing battery - I wired it to the 12v on board ... few days later went back to the boat and found the alarm had fried and luckily disconnected itself .. Why ? The battery was still connected and it was the cause of the fried item.

 

[BobnLesley]

Please make sure if you connect an external power lead - that the original battery is disconnected .... if not there is risk of the original battery causing damage .... even catching fire ...

Unplug and safely dispose of the battery, cut off and remove the bottom of the drill handle that the battery clipped into and you will then be able to reach up inside and clip standard spade connectors onto the battery connection tangs; you might need to tweak/flatten those tangs with a pair of pliers to make the connection. I've actually used a Makita power drill wired like this at the masthead (I needed to extend the cable) connected to a battery in the bilge; I'd bought the drill (sans battery) from a charity shop in the USA for $2, to replace the UK bought one one I'd been using in this same way since the battery died in Turkey four years earlier.

 

[BobnLesley]

I had wondered if the difference between 18V and 12V would be a problem.

It works fine, but turns more slowly; which is why I found them good for s/steel.

 

[Refueler]

Unplug and safely dispose of the battery, cut off and remove the bottom of the drill handle that the battery clipped into and you will then be able to reach up inside and clip standard spade connectors onto the battery connection tangs; you might need to tweak/flatten those tangs with a pair of pliers to make the connection. I've actually used a Makita power drill wired like this at the masthead (I needed to extend the cable) connected to a battery in the bilge; I'd bought the drill (sans battery) from a charity shop in the USA for $2, to replace the UK bought one one I'd been using in this same way since the battery died in Turkey four years earlier.

See my previous about 'balance' ..... I like to retain the battery weight - so the drill / item stays balanced in hand ...

 

[ducked]

Lidl were advertising a 12V "starter set" (Hmm...so it wont last then, or "starter" in the sense of a little cheap heroin?) with the drill/driver, 2 wee batteries, a charger, and some bits for 39.99, or 29.99 with Lidl Plus. Didnt seem to have any in local store though.

I'd consider that but I'm told joining Lidl Plus via a non-UK phone doesnt work. Might check later.

 

[Chiara’s slave]

The Lidl 20v stuff is said to be a good buy. Not as good as a pro tool costing 3 x as much, but that should be obvious.

 

[Sea Change]

The Lidl 20v stuff is said to be a good buy. Not as good as a pro tool costing 3 x as much, but that should be obvious.

I've used both. You do get what you pay for.

Cheaper drills can be rubbish for stainless, they don't have the torque at low speeds.

I've also had Parkside tools die on me, whereas my Makita set that I bought in 2015, and then used to build a house, is still going strong.

I'd say the Lidl stuff is maybe similar quality to Ryobi, but not in the same league as the pro stuff.

 

[DownWest]

I mostly use wired tools, because they are more powerful. Recently been buying B&Q's Titan cordless 18v and pretty pleased with the drills and the SDS hammer drill. The angle grinder much less so, as it seems to be torque limited and cuts out if one tries using any force. Still, it is quite handy for little things, just expected better.
De Walt used to be very good, my small wired angle grinder is 25(?) yrs old and still excellent. After B&D bought them out, the quality dropped and I fused a hand drill. Looked inside to see if fixable. Quality was crap, rather less than a visually similar, but older B&D; So in the bin.

On proper SDS, I was far from the w/shop and needed to drill some holes in concrete. Had noticed a DIY store, so looked. Bought an Einhall budget one; It was cheaper on time and hassle than going back. Well, it is 23 yrs old now still good. Huge amount of work on the renovations here.

 

[Sea Change]

I mostly use wired tools, because they are more powerful. Recently been buying B&Q's Titan cordless 18v and pretty pleased with the drills and the SDS hammer drill. The angle grinder much less so, as it seems to be torque limited and cuts out if one tries using any force. Still, it is quite handy for little things, just expected better.
De Walt used to be very good, my small wired angle grinder is 25(?) yrs old and still excellent. After B&D bought them out, the quality dropped and I fused a hand drill. Looked inside to see if fixable. Quality was crap, rather less than a visually similar, but older B&D; So in the bin.

On proper SDS, I was far from the w/shop and needed to drill some holes in concrete. Had noticed a DIY store, so looked. Bought an Einhall budget one; It was cheaper on time and hassle than going back. Well, it is 23 yrs old now still good. Huge amount of work on the renovations here.

SDS drills are probably the tool that I've killed the most of. I should have bought a decent one years ago. Instead I've killed two Parksides and a Titan. All corded btw.

 

[Stemar]

I'd say the Lidl stuff is maybe similar quality to Ryobi, but not in the same league as the pro stuff.

I'd agree with that. As a "tool for the job", that will only get occasional use afterwards, Makita is a waste of money when Parkside will do it - I've got a fair few tools like that, including a "Dremel", a big angle grinder and an SDS drill. They come out a couple of times a year and do the job; maybe not as well las the real thing, but adequately. OTOH, my cordless drill and impact driver are Dewalt, and I don't buy Lidl drill or screwdriver bits.

Incidentally, I was in Screwfix the other day, and they have an 18v drill and driver set much the same as mine for, IIRC, £168. You only get little batteries, but I was surprised how long they lasted in use

 

[BobnLesley]

SDS drills are probably the tool that I've killed the most of. I should have bought a decent one years ago...

I bought a top of the range Black & Decker hammer-drill when we got our first house in the early 1980s, which remains my go to drill whenever I've something serious that needs a hole in it

 

[ducked]

Angle grinder (Bosch) seems to be working quite well on the cast iron, though of course it leaves pits. Still cant really see anything much while I'm doing it though

Didnt get to try the SDS chisel since the borrowed library Makita didnt have a hammer-only mode, which I should of course have checked. Might get a chance to swap it later.

Turns out sunflower oil and aluminium, which dries in about a week in Taiwan temperatures (and perhaps as importantly, UV levels), may not do so at all on practical timescales in a Scottish winter. Has to go in the water April.

Ooer.

I'll try a heat gun on it but I suspect I may have to try and get it off, more haste less speed stylee. Looked good too.

Fortunately only on the outside of the bilge keels, but some offline testing would have been a good idea.

 

[seeSimon]

I bought a top of the range Black & Decker hammer-drill when we got our first house in the early 1980s, which remains my go to drill whenever I've something serious that needs a hole in it

Yes. I had my father's old BnD tools for many, many years. All metal...even the gears . They had an excellent service depot in Plymouth with often repaired tools while you waited, at very reasonable prices.
Sadly, like so many manufacturers, they later seemed to sacrifice any pretence of quality once bean counters were in full command?

At the other extreme...About 20 years ago, I bought a very cheap (£20ish) no-name Chinese SDS breaker, specifically to strip a lot of plaster/render off walls. So as to save my decent tools. Looks like this below.
To my shock, and some embarrassment, it's still going strong(ish)...
It even came with spare brushes, as yet unused.