Makita Drill

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TroelsM

TroelsM

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Joined 2003
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#1
Hi.

What's the opinion on these (older) cordless Makita drills?

A few years back they were popular in repair-shops (right?).

I would guess that this model is at least a few years old?

The one in the picture has no torque-setting but has 2 speed settings. It's only 7.2V but with low speed that should be OK for small-medium screws.

I know that the battery probably is not-so-hot, but with two batteries and a fast charger that won't be a problem for hobby-use.

Regards TroelsM
 

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#2
I had one of those for years before it was nicked from site. Great drivers. Don't worry about the 7.2V rating, it likely has more torque than most DIY 18V units. Oh, and you can still get the batteries from Makita dealers.
 
#4
Yup, list price is expensive. Your best bet is to find a "trade" tool repair/distributor place that will do you a deal. I seem to remember paying about £35 for the one I had to replace, (was dropped from height - they don't bounce! 🙂)
 
#5
A quick guess would be that list-price for a standard (2Ah ?) battery-pack in Denmark is approx 80$....

A Sub-D cell (3300mAh) is approx 8-9$...

All in all it's to expensive to buy "old" battery-tools when the batteries are sold at these prices. ( - a bit like cheap inkjet-printers... )

Regards TroelsM
 
#6
I've never tried it, but it should be possible to build your own pack using those Sub- D cells. I saw a circuit on the interweb ages ago that showed how to build a spot welder out of cheap caps to make up the connector tabs for battery packs for RC cars.

Also, I wouldn't grudge the cost of a pack for a decent driver like that, a cheap one yes, but that should give you years of service.

:edited for content.
 
#7
Oops. It's Sub-C NOT Sub-D! My bad.

I've soldered connector-tabs to these sells and if you got the right (BIG!) solder-iron (Weller, type 9, flat, big) it should work.

There's of cause always a chance that you'll "cook" the cell...

Regards TroelsM
 
#9
You can buy the sub-c cells with solder tags, in any RC model shop at a favorible price.

My guess would be it would set you back like 40 USD. The real cheap solution is to go and buy an el-cheapo cordless drill from a home improvement shop...that would give you two sets of cells for like less than 40 USD.


Magura 🙂
 
#11
Unless you can buy it really cheap, I wouldn't recommend older Makita drills. They simply can't compare in power and functionality to more recent designs. Last year I bought this small 14V drill, which is a more recent product, and it was not only very reasonably priced ($120) but it's also very well balanced, strong (it already fell from the roof of my garage), powerfull for its size, has clutch (that you really need) and comes with two good batteries 😉

An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
 
#12
I didn't use the drill enough to justify buying a new battery pack, so I stuffed a piece of plywood up inside the old battery pack to hold the contacts in place (with a length of zip cord soldered to them), and now I just hook it up to a 12V battery when I need it. Not quite as portable, but it's fine for working on the truck, and a 9.6 volt drill has more umph off 12V. The driver torque clutch feature is worth the hassle when I'm screwing together a box.

I've heard of people buying battery packs made for other models or brands to get their hands on the sub-C cells. Just beware of old stock, because if they haven't been kept charged the batteries may have deteriorated.
 
#17
Peter Daniel said:
Unless you can buy it really cheap, I wouldn't recommend older Makita drills. They simply can't compare in power and functionality to more recent designs. Last year I bought this small 14V drill, which is a more recent product, and it was not only very reasonably priced ($120) but it's also very well balanced, strong (it already fell from the roof of my garage), powerfull for its size, has clutch (that you really need) and comes with two good batteries 😉

An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
Click to expand...


Yes that's a fact! Unless you had the drill for free, an old drill like that is not worth the hassle and money...I would personally find it questioanble to spend money at all on an old drill like the one in question, but this is not my choice.

I have a super hefty Hitatchi (nope that's not how it's spelled). I may spend like 50 USD for the cells needed for making a new battery pack, but that is exclusively based on the fact that its a 400USD drill. I usually just ditch the sub 200USD drills when the batteries fail...they're just not worth the hassle.

Magura 🙂
 
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