LumberJocks Woodworking Forum banner

For shop users, Corded or Cordless Drills and why?

4K views 88 replies 61 participants last post by  bigblockyeti 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
I'd like to get opinions and preferences on cordless and or corded drills, and why?

What brought this question on is that in my past I've purchased cordless drills and have found them to be useless when needing a drill only to have a dead battery in which takes 8 hours to charge or either a battery that doesn't take a charge at all because it was left on the charger days on end.

I purchased a skil last year, kept both batteries on a continual charge and now they don't hold a charge at all so I've come to rely on my B&D 3/8 corded drill, which is working great but it's just a bit heavier and bulky then the cordless drills.
 
#2 ·
I've got a 14v Makita that I love and use for almost all my woodworking. I've also got a corded Dewalt drill that is also a great drill but it just has too much power for almost everything I need it for as far as woodworking goes.
 
#7 ·
Corded. For the reasons you list. Cordless tools I have found in the past have always been battery dead when I need to use them, and by the time the battery is charged enough to function, the time available to work is gone. Keeping the battery on a slow charge doesn't seem too good for battery longevity either…

I have never really considered having a cord to be that much of a problem. I have good cords, and good cord winders so cord management is very easy for me.
 
#10 ·
My corded drills (5 of them) rest comfortably in the tool locker and are ready to spring into action while my three cordless (Bosch) drills and drivers handle the bulk of the work.

I have had terrible luck with cheap cordless drills from B&D and Skil.
 
#13 ·
High quality cordless in the shop for convenience sake. I have multiple batteries and one is always charged. When I am doing more construction type of work (building a deck, hanging drywall), I reach for the old corded drill though…the charger can't keep up at that point.
 
#15 ·
I have 18v makita set, driver and drill with the smart charger, takes about 15 min. these I use for the bulk of my work, had them for over 5 yrs, I have a corded dewalt for heavy duty drilling, I would not own a skil or a recent model B&D, I do have 2 B&D corded drills that are over 40 yrs old, but the cords are pretty worn.
 
#16 ·
I am a light user on drills don't have a big demand so I'm thinking of going shopping again looking for a better quality corded drill maybe something not as big as the B&D
 
#18 ·
Yeah, I think the cordless drills I have are just to much on the cheap side and are useless.
 
#20 ·
Forgot to mention … one of my corded drills is an old B&D that is 67 years old. My dad bought it the day before I was born. It doesn't get used much, and I change the grease in it about every ten years.
 
#21 ·
I have 2 fleets of drills and batteries. I have a 8 batteries for my Dewalt 18V Xrp tools and 5 Lithium Ion batteries for my Dewalt 20V kits. I always have atleast one battery on charge. I also have a 14.4V Dewalt that never leaved my shop. I have a 3/8" Dewalt corded that has been used once. If anyone is looking for a almost new corded drill I want to see one. Less than 5 minutes of run time.
 
#22 ·
This discussion is really incomplete until your bring in battery chemistry. The old nicad batteries are total junk. The problem is they are still being sold in most stores. The batteries run down just setting on the shelf, they take forever to charge and the voltage drop is terrible. The new lithium stuff is in a whole different class. Most of the big companies are on version 2 of lithium tech and it just keeps on getting better. I have left batteries on the shelf for months in a freezing garage and they are still ready to go. I got a Milwaukee M12 Fuel (brushless) 2453 compact impact driver for Christmas and it blows my mind every time I use it. I don't think I could use one battery up before the other one was charged. Lithium batteries are rated for thousands of charge/discharge cycles. If you forget to charge one and leave it dead for a month it will charge right back up. Do that with a nicad battery….
 
#23 ·
Corded. About the only advantage I would find with a cordless drill is to have a clutch on it. That's about it. I got my Corded Dewalt for about $50 or $60, and it's way more powerful than any cordless I've tried. I have not tried the new 18v and 20v drills, but I see no reason to spend the money.
 
#26 ·
I use both.

I really like the little Bosch 12v drill/driver. It's very easy
to move around.

I'll note that battery replacement is the biggest annoyance
for me with cordless. The best practice from all my research,
is to let any battery cool thoroughly before recharging it,
even the lithium batteries. Of course it is hard to restrain
oneself from slamming a spent battery on the charger
when driving deck screws… all I can say is that if you do
that your batteries will probably wear out quicker.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top