Why Cordless Tools Took Over

[ron darner]

From Mechanix Illustrated May 1952  (And I used to work for Mosler Safe, in Hamilton, Ohio, from 1970 - 1976 . . . where - among other things - I drilled into safes to test them).

[Papaw]

I resisted cordless for years, until someone gave me a B&D cordless screwdriver that I put on the bench at my motorcycle shop fpr 6 weeks or so. Then one day I had a set of carbs off a Honda CB750 to overhaul. This is a bank of forur carbs with innumerable screws to remove. I did a couple, then grabbed that B&D and went to town! I still have it and another like it, but seldom use them. I have had several cordless drills in the past years, but batteries don't last, and never seem to be charged when you need them, so I use an eggbeater mostly when possible.

[rusty]

Hehe..at least he has a cordless safe.

I was in the basement of an old bank doing some work once. The manager showed me a tiny little mark on the vault. It was a circle about 1/2 inch wide and perhaps 1/32 of an inch deep. Some fool had broken into the bank and spent 3 hours trying to drill the lock. The vault door was made from 14 inch thick armor plate steel.....

[scottg]

I have a couple of cordless drills. I use them. They are never dependable though. Even though I get the best batteries, and rebuild the packs myself, they are still just batteries. Unreliable when the chips are on the table.

  I keep several ac drills and keep extension cords of many different lengths and wire sizes.
 I am happy I learned to handle cords before batteries became popular. 

 Know whats weird?
 Everyone rolls up cords just a bit different.
 If its my cord and I have rolled it up 100 times,  I can unroll and use it and put it back just fine. No sweat at all. 
  But wire has a memory.
 So if I try to use your cord, that you use all the time,  there will be nothing but misery.
And vise versa.
    yours Scott 

[Aunt Phil]

Ron all I'll say is RELSOM becomes oatmeal when it's attacked with impact carbide sharpened correctly and a medium speed hammerdrill such as an AEG.

Mosler DOD approved file cabinets and Post Office safes bought one of my pickup trucks back in the 70s

[Branson]

I got dragged, kicking and screaming, into cordless drills back in '86.  I use them all the time.  When I worked building theater sets, I learned very quickly to have at least one extra battery.  I usually have two extra.  That solves the problem of batteries getting drained -- put the drained battery in the charger, slap in the fresh battery and get back to work.  I have a big half inch that takes three hours to fill.  I hate the fill time.  The rest of my cordless drivers fill in an hour, less if you use one of the quick fill chargers. 

That said, I still have my egg beaters, and braces that go back to the 1830s and 1840s, and I use them.  I have a selection of center bits, quill bits, nose augur bits and spoon bits for the old ones, which I also use.  I recently bought a used Bosch 3/8 corded drill for those times I have to drill a bunch of holes in hard or green wood, and for the heavy work, my old Thor 1/2 inch hole hog never fails.

[m_fumich]

I used to do HVAC installation in new construction homes. Cordless was essential. There was always an extra battery in a charger for each person. If you use a tool a lot or if you have multiple tools that use the same battery, they're handy. The batteries are quite costly if they have to be replaced or rebuilt.

[wrenchguy]

I still use my yankees to the max. I have several with different bits laying around.  Lets see if some youngsters might chime in here????

[m_fumich]

So you an old school cordless screwdriver.

[wrenchguy]

So you an old school cordless screwdriver.

u got the "old" right!!!

[pritch]

What I see now in the building trades are the new-ish small impact drivers.  I use cordless drills a lot, but it's always good to have a corded back-up.

[Neals]

I used cordless a lot when I was working in building maintenance.  Loved em. Since I have retired I have none left and will not buy another. Having no heated shop to store them in and using them only once in a while they just are not practical. Besides corded ones are $ 5.00 each at the auctions unless its Makita then its $10.00. For the difference in price I can get boxes of toys (I mean tools) at most auctions.

[Ken W.]

I finally broke down last year and got a bunch of Craftsman 19.2 C-3 cordless tools.I had 3 years of Christmas sears gift cards to use up.I usually get 3 cards every year.I can't complain about them.They do their job.They are pretty handy to take in the woods to build a tree stand.I have a 3/8 drill , a small impact driver , AM/FM radio,4 different lights,a power plane,chemical sprayer, and a tire inflater.

[fflintstone]

I love my Milwaukee cordless tools but hate the batteries, no matter how I use or store them they go bad after 3 years.

[Papaw]

My two favorite cordless drills-

 Miller's Falls #77A
   
Miller's Falls No77A  Drill by Noel C. Hankamer, on Flickr
Forsberg Mfg Co Hand Drill model W-790 with a Whale logo. This looks a lot like the Millers Falls Model 77 but with a heavier frame. It has a 3 jaw chuck, a chef's hat top handle with space for bits (none included) and a solid wheel with no remnants of the label present. An excellent example of a less common tool maker from the early-mid 20th Century.
 
Forsberg Whale Drill by Noel C. Hankamer, on Flickr