Making a Cordless Drill Corded

[NeedSpace]

I love my Makita cordless drill, well, when it used to work.



The drill itself was great, but really, cordless technology stinks. How many times do I go to drill something and the drill had run out of charge? Typically, I would take out my cordless, screw a few things in and then have to run and get my old craftsman corded drill that I have had since the 80s. Two years ago, I got another cordles, dewalt...nice but same problem. I don't understand the rage for cordless tools, they are all worthless.

So, stepping off my soap box I decided my craftsman is now on it's last legs. At $29.99 in 1987 to slowly dying, I would say I got my money's worth. I am not about to go out and spend $60 on batteries for something I can get new for $80...more cordless crap I don't want.

I don't want to throw out my drill but I want to convert it to corded. I will do my internet searches but I trust pelican people more than the internet so I wanted to start here. Has anyone done this? Sounds like it could be a fun project. Also, it makes me wonder why no one sells something like this? There has to be a market for it.

Here is my starting point.
Convert a perfectly good cordless drill to a corded one

[Joe Bob]

Batteries Plus will rebuild battery packs for a reasonable price.....

[KFC911]

I love my Old Milwaukee "cordless" (not cheap at $200 though)...of course I break out the REAL drills for tough stuff, but I wouldn't take anything for it.

[Rusty Heap]

As yours is a 12 Volt unit, you could always wire it up to a car battery charger, with or without the cigarette socket/plug.

[kaisen]

Brand new 12V batteries for that Makita are available for $22-29 depending on the mAh capacity

I can't believe for that ~$25 you'd go through the hassle and expense of converting it to a cord

[wdfifteen]

The charger crapped out on my 14 volt Makita. I didn't figure this out until after I bought a new battery. I couldn't find a new charger for less than $80 and waiting for it be shipped. Went out and got an 18 volt Rigid and I am so glad. It is 100% better - more powerful & battery lasts longer. But I'd still like to find a charger for my Makita.

[porsche4life]

Pat, send me a pic of the charger.... I may be able to help.

[Cajundaddy]

Wow! Anything can be done but adding a cord to a cordless drill just seems back-asswards somehow. A decent corded drill can be had new for $50 which is probably $$ competitive with a 12v transformer with enough current to run the old well-worn Makita. I have a 1/2 dozen corded drills that I never use so you could probably find several at flea markets for $5ea.

Personally I have been using Makita cordless since 1985 and I use them nearly every day. I still have my 20 yr old 9.6v NiCad but the new Makita 12v Li Ion are just so much better and don't suffer from battery charge memory or discharge during storage. A Li Ion Makita cordless gets used every day for speed work and driving screws. The 12V impact makes changing wheels trackside a 10 minute operation. The trick is to keep one battery in the gun and a second fully charged battery in the case so you never run out of juice. They will charge faster than I can run them down.

My favorite everyday tool:
Makita LCT209W 12V max Lithium-Ion Cordless 2-Piece Combo Kit - Amazon.com

[HardDrive]

I wouldn't bother converting it to corded. Not worth the hassle. But I 100% agree about cordless in general. I had one cordless Milwaukee drill. The (damn expensive) batteries gave out after less than 2 years. My corded craftsman drill from the 80s still works great.

[porsche4life]

You guys bashing cordless need to go get a makita 18v li-ion setup... The zebra ones.... Lightweight, badass, and good battery life.

[NeedSpace]

I figured I would get some neigh-sayers...Never the less I did it and it works. It took 20 minutes total and cost...um, nothing. Just used bits I have or haven't thrown out yet.

1) Figure out which contact was positive and which was negative. It was easy as it was labelled.
2) I cut the bottom off the old battery
3) Remove old NI-MH cells with pliers and vice grips
4) I took an old lighter adapter that has been in my box o' wires
5) cut and solder lighter wires to contacts in old battery sleeve.
6) Plug battery into drill, plug lighter adapter into my ac adapter.





It was a fun activity and pretty easy. Still it isn't particularly powerful. I think what I may do is simply replace the lighter with a long wire with some alligator clips and hook it up to my auto battery charger in the garage like Rusty mentioned. I could keep this as my garage drill.

Funny, I just remembered, I did this same thing back in highschool. I found an airpump that had lighter adapter that was broken. I hooked the wires to some nails and used it for the next 20 years with my car charger or car battery when on the road.

[aigel]

Just get the new model. You will be amazed. Battery technology has actually come a long way in the last 10+ years.

G

[look 171]

Not having to drag a cord around is worth more then money itself. Especially if you have to drill a hole right in the middle of the house in the crawl space where you might have to get through a 2'x2' hole. There's a place for a corded tool for sure, but cordless tools have been so powerful lately that only if we have do some heavy drilling then it comes out of the tool box. We pop 2" holes through 2x4s with cordless drills and a self feed bit all the time. Slower then a corded tool for sure. If you factor in the time to get the cord, and rapping the cord during clean up is actually slower. Snagging my shoe over the cord is a real PITA.

[rnln]

I got a Ridgit with 2 bateries for less than 2 years. Now each charge last me less than a minute. The new batery cost $100/each.

Anyone know how to rebuild Lithium batery?

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

The charger crapped out on my 14 volt Makita. I didn't figure this out until after I bought a new battery. I couldn't find a new charger for less than $80 and waiting for it be shipped. Went out and got an 18 volt Rigid and I am so glad. It is 100% better - more powerful & battery lasts longer. But I'd still like to find a charger for my Makita.

[Aragorn]

Originally Posted by rnln

I got a Ridgit with 2 bateries for less than 2 years. Now each charge last me less than a minute. The new batery cost $100/each.

Anyone know how to rebuild Lithium batery?

I remember a thread where Zeke/Milt had suggestions about rebuilding laptop batteries I think.

There are a few sites on a quick google search that show how to rebuild Lithium batery pack and where to get the parts. If you are not comfortable doing it, don't.

I can't imagine a decent corded drill costing too much from a pawn shop. New cheapies can be had for around $30. I would spend $30 just to not have to wait the recharge time for the battery. If you are out in the field, then cordless is the way to go though.

[look 171]

Originally Posted by rnln

I got a Ridgit with 2 bateries for less than 2 years. Now each charge last me less than a minute. The new batery cost $100/each.

Anyone know how to rebuild Lithium batery?

go to your local Interstate battery retail store. They will rebuild it for you.

[rnln]

I see a bunch of rebuild articles for Ni-cad, have not seen one specified Lithium Ion.

Thanks Look. You meant Sears and such?

[GDNF2ET]

Originally Posted by rnln

I got a Ridgit with 2 bateries for less than 2 years. Now each charge last me less than a minute. The new batery cost $100/each.

If you bought it new and filled out the necessary paperwork within 90 days, the batteries are replaced for free for life..
Power Tool Warranty - RIDGID Professional Tools

From a contractor POV, Dewalt has been my cordless tool of choice for many years.The new battery technology that the major brands use is amazing..More torque, longer lasting , no memory...

[teenerted1]

Originally Posted by NeedSpace

I figured I would get some neigh-sayers...Never the less I did it and it works. It took 20 minutes total and cost...um, nothing. Just used bits I have or haven't thrown out yet.

1) Figure out which contact was positive and which was negative. It was easy as it was labelled.
2) I cut the bottom off the old battery
3) Remove old NI-MH cells with pliers and vice grips
4) I took an old lighter adapter that has been in my box o' wires
5) cut and solder lighter wires to contacts in old battery sleeve.
6) Plug battery into drill, plug lighter adapter into my ac adapter.





It was a fun activity and pretty easy. Still it isn't particularly powerful. I think what I may do is simply replace the lighter with a long wire with some alligator clips and hook it up to my auto battery charger in the garage like Rusty mentioned. I could keep this as my garage drill.

Funny, I just remembered, I did this same thing back in highschool. I found an airpump that had lighter adapter that was broken. I hooked the wires to some nails and used it for the next 20 years with my car charger or car battery when on the road.

what is the amp rating for that wall adaptor? i ask because the one i have wont run anything more powerful than a phone charger or a plug in coffee cup.

[NeedSpace]

Originally Posted by teenerted1

what is the amp rating for that wall adaptor? i ask because the one i have wont run anything more powerful than a phone charger or a plug in coffee cup.

It puts about 1 amp. Honestly, it works, but only fast enough probably to do screws, and perhaps not that tight. I got it at radio shack about 10 years ago. That's why I am going with plan B and connecting directly to my battery charger.

BTW, when I use it in my car lighter, the speed is about what my other cordless puts out, maybe slightly slower.