Cordless drill with a cord

[mklotz]

Having a few SLA batteries and a charger about has advantages in power outages. Summer is the worst here when the AC load overwhelms the utility. I've retrofitted some lanterns to work on 12V and have a few computer fans set up to keep us cool.

[handycrowd]

Actually this is a great idea. I've always got 'dead' cordless drills lying around which could easily be turned into workshop drills and saves me lugging my current drills out of the truck of an evening whilst pottering about in the workshop/garage.
Now why didn't I think of that...... ;-)

[Captainleeward]

I'm sorry but I see a cord. nice build though...:O)

[Ed Weldon]

Marv - You did it again. Reminded me of what should have been obvious, not to mention a bunch of add-on hints. I have two old Skill 12volt drills, batteries long dead, that I just can't to throw away. I think I'll try setting one of them up to be a small drill press with a fuse/switch/cable box/battery box. Perhaps the other will run a jeweler's lathe that will live with a battery in a little carry bag if I can get the speed up high enough.
Thanks, Ed Weldon

[mklotz]

Marv - You did it again. Reminded me of what should have been obvious, not to mention a bunch of add-on hints. I have two old Skill 12volt drills, batteries long dead, that I just can't to throw away. I think I'll try setting one of them up to be a small drill press with a fuse/switch/cable box/battery box. Perhaps the other will run a jeweler's lathe that will live with a battery in a little carry bag if I can get the speed up high enough.
Thanks, Ed Weldon

Drills with dead batteries spark many ideas for new applications. Dedicating what was meant to be a multipurpose tool to a single application doesn't seem so bad when the tool would have been discarded for lack of batteries.

My latest idea, for a long-dead Harbor Freight drill, is to somehow lash it to a length of pipe or closet rod, fit it with a scrub brush, drive it with a battery or 12V battery charger and use it to scrub the lower reaches of the shower tile. At my age bending over for extended periods of time or kneeling on hard tile are not pleasant activities.

[zetuskid]

yeh, and have you noticed the cordless batteries cost more than the drill. Oh, the schemes of mankind!

[Ed Weldon]

I've given some thought to how to put old cordless 12 volt drills to work; but a recent splurge on new Milwaukee 12 volt cordless stuff lowered the priority of an old drill saving project. But while thinking about it I came to realize that if you plan to power it with some battery charger make sure the charger can provide enough current at a decent voltage. This is where and experimental setup with an ammeter, a volt meter and a charged 12 volt battery are needed. And given that some sparks may fly either put the battery in an enclosed case or use a long set of jumper cables to keep the chance of a battery explosion far away from your old body.
About buying new batteries when the old ones fail. That will likely be a waste of money. The reason is that batteries either in use or one the shelf will only last a fixed number of years. So the new replacement battery you spend a lot of money on was probably made in the same year that your old ones were.
I kinda have a hope that Milwaukee's battery design will be around for a while. So they may be able to offer a decent guarantee on replacement batteries. But beware. There are more than a dozen odd brand name replacements sold to fit the Milwaukee tools at near half the price. Hard to say that they will be a good buy in the long run. Milwaukee has two sizes of 12 volt batteries, a big one and a small one. If you can invent a way to mount and connect one of these Milwaukee batteries to your old tool you are "off and running". If you are lucky enough to come on a damaged 12 volt Milwaukee tool or charger, that would be the easiest source of the Milwaukee female battery socket. I just checked eBay and there seem to be a number of sellers for used Milwaukee 12 volt charges with Buy it Now prices including shipping around $13-$15. About the same price as one of the cheap aftermarket 12 volt Milwaukee batteries. So you get 2 chargers and a battery around 40-45 bucks. I may do that for a couple of neat small 12 volt saws whose oddball batteries are long dead Since I already have all the new Milwaukee batteries and charges that I use on their drills. Ed Weldon

[mklotz]

yeh, and have you noticed the cordless batteries cost more than the drill. Oh, the schemes of mankind!

Yes they do, although the newer lithium batteries seem to last longer and aren't as bulky. But a 12 volt, 5AH SLA can be had for as little as $15...

https://www.amazon.com/UB1250-Sealed...d+acid+battery

and the charger will run another $10...

https://www.amazon.com/Sealed-Lead-B...d+acid+battery

So, for $25, you can have a reliable power source that will not only power your drill but will power emergency lighting, fans, etc., during a power outage.

Further, if you get a buck convertor...

https://www.amazon.com/DROK-Adjustab...s=dc+converter

you can step the 12 volt battery output down to lower voltages in order to power devices like radios, MP3s, etc. as well as charge that bane of mankind, the smart phone.

[Frank S]

I have a lot of dead 18v dewalt and Ryobe tools that some day I need to cord up.
I have no excuse not to really since I have a 24v battery bank of golf cart batteries for the occasional use the tools would receive it wouldn't hurt a thing to tap in at the 18v level or use a DC to DC buck converter to drop fro 24 to 18
The other day I needed my sawsall In a senior moment the idea to use the battery bank went completely by me.

[Ed Weldon]

Marv - Thanks for those links. Looks like you've zeroed in on the near best solution. As the rest of us try this out on our old tools we can offer little bits of further wisdom on individual conversions and electrical packaging and hookups.

One other thought. Are there any suitable(i.e. durable) male/female connectors that are economical and available to use for lthis low voltage application. While it may be tempting to use 120 or 240 volt connectors and extension cords this could prove dangerous especially for us as we get older and others close to us who are not tuned into the fine points of electrical things...............Ed Weldon