Yet another Cordless Drill question COO

[SO/PW newbie]

Hello,

I have a 3/8 Dewalt 12v cordless drill that is roughly 5-6 years old. It has served me real well. It has seen light use around the house, nothing major.

It was made in Mexico.

I messed up the Jacobs chuck real bad (my fault) and I cannot get it off for the life of me, it has a T-20 torx screw holding it on, and I have sheared 7 or 8 torx bits (SO, Carftsman, various bit sockets) trying to get it off. I have tried everything, heat, upside down canned air, liquid wrench, hammer, basically beat the thing to heck tring to get it off. I'm throwing in the towel.

I was at OSH earlier, and they have a replacement Jacobs chuck for $19, (the crusty package in back of the shelf is USA, and the ones up front are china)

One battery is dead, and the other battery is getting old. So it may just be time to retire it. ($40 for battery if this one goes out, $19 for a chuck) may not be worth repairing it.

Should I just replace the drill with a new one?
The new ones are made in China, but does anyone have any experience with the China ones? Are they just as good? Does brand really matter anymore?

My requirements are just a drill for household use (don't really have a voltage preferance), but I want a battery that wont dissipate in a week of storage (..cough.. B&D.. cough..). I also would like a chuck that doesn't woble much while drilling, and a chuck that holds the bits well without slipping. I would like to keep the price in the low $100's. I'm not completely sold on Lithium batteries, as if they sit for too long unused, and the cell voltage drops below a certain amount, it may have permanant damage to it. (not sure if this theory pertains to power tools or not,)

I may be able to find a smaller b/m store that may have an older one that is still made in Mexico.

What are your expert opinions?? Thanks for any responses.

 

[american lockpicker]

Get a Swiss Bosch, German Fein or Metabo.

 

[The Motts]

The screws in drill chucks are left hand threaded. Which way were you trying to turn it?

 

[SO/PW newbie]

Clockwise... I even broke a bit trying counterclockwise "just in case"...

I just looked at my reciept and it is a bit over 7 years old.

Where can I get a swiss Bosch?

 

[woody 73]

I am thinking the same thing,I bet you are turning the screw the wrong way. Put a few drops of nut buster on it,let it soak for a short time and turn in the other direction.
Replace the chuck,buy a new battery and that Dewalt should last you for a lot more years.

Around my area we have some guy that rebuilds batteries,his prices seem very good,maybe in your area you might have a service like that?

Goog luck,and keep us informed...

 

[SO/PW newbie]

About 6 of those the torx tips broke in the "righty tighty" direction. I'm hoping the gearbox didn't get messed up from all the pounding the thing took. It does have some wobble now and the chuch doesn't hold bit too well, but the sad part is that is still works. I looked on the dewalt website, and fortunatley they still offer alot of repalcement parts for it.

 

[MrMark]

Clockwise... I even broke a bit trying counterclockwise "just in case"...

I just looked at my reciept and it is a bit over 7 years old.

Where can I get a swiss Bosch?

That's your problem right there. You basically overtorqued that thing to the point where you aren't getting it off. I'm sure with all the bits breaking off the head of the fastener is ruined.

 

[nissan_crawler]

90% of the drills I've done, I couldn't get the screw loose. 90% of those, just taking a drill bit after it loosened it up, and spun it out. The other 10%, just had to be drilled all the way.

Hey, it's junk now, you don't have much to lose.

 

[SO/PW newbie]

Hey, it's junk now, you don't have much to lose.

Thats what I'm thinking.

So I'm looking online at those little 12 LiIon drivers (Bosch, Skil, etc. - they all look like the come off the same assemble line just different finsihing touched on them)
Anyone have any experience with them? One review on the Bosch on the lowes site said that the gearbox stripped out on him with light use, and other reviewers have mentioned wobble on the head.

 

[reptilezs]

i just got the cman nextec 12v. i am pleased for the price. got it for 45 plus tax. was on sale for 50 then 5 off 50 coupon. i use it daily in the shop as a bicycle mechanic. use for screwing on reflectors and drilling holes in sheet metal fenders or plastic bits. battery lasts over a week and charges in 30 min

 

[MrMark]

A lot of the Bosch drivers are made in Maylasia. Not bad these days. I was just in Lowes and saw a couple regular Bosch drills made in Switzerland. If I was in the market that is what I would buy.

 

[vssjim]

Drill out the screw replace the chuck and have the battery rebuilt, I really do think older cordless stuff lasts better than newer cordless stuff does.

 

[JASTECH]

+1 on Swissland.

Sence I had surgery on both shoulders I gave my battery heavy DeWalt 18v to my Dad. Then holding others I went to Milwaukee 18v Lion which is lighter but has more power then my Dewalt and out last it too. The little drill/driver that came with it is a blessing to me, light and strong and small for tight areas.

Thanks, JASTECH

 

[bbriggs]

I've been using Dewalt cordless for well over a decade and finally made the leap over to lithium when they came out with the 123 cells in 36 volt. I switched over my 18 volt line to lithium soon after, and just bought into the 12v max line (not 123 cells there, though, sigh). The new tools are holding up very well, better than the old in some cases. I dont ever want to go back to NiCd; too heavy and loses too much charge when not in use. As for China vs Mexico, I think the quality remains very good in this case.

Dewalt has put some effort into selecting appropriate battery technology, using high-efficiency motors, and ergonomics. For around the home and light duty I'd include the new 12v max Dewalt lineup in my comparison list. That drill is now my go-to drill (before the 18v, 36v, or corded) for most drilling tasks.

 

[Busted_Knuckles]

Lowes had the Lith-ion 18v Bosch Drill, and Impactor, bag and two batteries for $200. They are Malaysia made. Ive got 6 other bosch cordless drills, and two cordless saws, made all over Europe. Anyhow, I cant tell the difference between the Malaysian two in comparison to the rest, as far as quality of construction. Chuck is perfect and tight, and Ive run that Impactor into the ground, and its not skipped a beat. Id buy them again. One of my guys has the same set in Milwaukee, his are slower, and louder, but have a better battery system, and I believe cost the same. They have also taken a serious beating.

 

[SO/PW newbie]

Chuck is perfect and tight,

I guess thats what I'm looking for. I can't stand it when the chuck wobbles out of round and you cant drill or drive screws in well.

One thing I liked on the old chuck was the knurled grip that you could rotate to get the screw bits to line up with the head of the screw without having to rotate the entire drill body.

I'll swing by one of the hardware store to actually look at the stuff in person. What gets me is that the display models (being a bit older) COO never matches whats on the box, and the boxes are usually locked in the cage beneath the display, so you can't actually see the one your buying.

Also at HD, it took 15 minutes for anyone to show up to unlock a flashlight for me, they have no service at all. Finally one of the employees just used his box cutter to cut the pack off the locked hang peg.

 

[american lockpicker]

Where can I get a swiss Bosch?

Lowes. Look for the 18V hammerdrill(works as hammer or regular) and have an employee open the box, remove the battery and look at the bottom if it says made in Switzerland(some say Malaysia) your good to go. Also stop by the post office before you go and ask the lady behind the counter for a change of address kit which should have a 10% off your entire purchase coupon for Lowes.

 

[SO/PW newbie]

Well, I figured "what have I got to loose", so I took the dremel to the chuck. I had the drill apart and the gear drive was tightly sealed in plastic bag, and dremeled the heck out of the thing. about three hours of griding and trying everything possible (and breaking 1 more t20+ bit) I got it down to the core and was able to get the dam thing apart. The threads weren't seized on the centerbolt, but it seemed the screw head cold welded itself to the chuck.

Here is what is left of the keyless chuck- it was pure carnage, that chuck was built like a tank.

Now its off to OSH to pick up that last USA jacobs on the shelf, and I can order the replacement screw from dewalt for under a buck.

The drill runs perfecly fine and it doesn't seem like the spindle has any wobble.

If I had just drilled the screwhead out, it would have been a 5 minute job, but I don't have another drill...

 

[gc11090]

I have the new dewalt 12 volt lithium ion. It is great! Batteries will still be totally charged weeks later, and last a long time while using them as well.