Milwuakee ups game with brushless motor

http://www.milwaukeetool.com/fuel/features/index.html

The short story is that Milwuakee is going to use a brushless motor in their new M18 drill.  Their site says it will come out in spring of 2012, so we have a little wait.  But here's to hoping this is a game changer.

Incredible Bandsaw Performance

This is one of the most incredible things I've ever seen anyone do with a tool.  I highly suggest you do NOT try this at home!

Winter projects for your itchy drills

The weather has turned cold forcing most of inside for the next few months. That means we'll get cabin fever and have to work inside instead of out. That means coming up with some ideas to either work on your house or to make something.

There are quite a few woodworking sites out there to give you some inspiration. You can read up here, here and here. You can find all sorts of information about types of wood, safety while working, and various projects you can start.

I also wanted to mention another site I found on cordless drills. It has information on how batteries have changed and drills have gotten better in general.

Cordless Drills are getting better

Have you ever stopped to think about how fast cordless drills have developed? Do you remember what cordless drills were like 20 years ago?

There's a page on cordless drills over at weebly that discusses this very thing.

Of course, almost all technological things have progressed quickly over the last several years. Computers are the most often cited example. And there are few things that have matched the pace of development with computers. They have gotten literally thousands of times better over the last 20 years. Cordless drills haven't progress anywhere near that rate. But that doesn't mean we can't appreciate the advances that we have seen, even if they've only gotten 5 or 10 times better over the last 20 years.

Voltages of Cordless Drills

Cordless drills come in various voltages. You can find an overview here at Wikipedia. The most common voltage is the 18v cordless drill. There are larger drills such as 24v, 28v, and 36v. There are also smaller drills such as 15.6v, 14.4v, 12v, 9v.

18v is generally the most common size because it is the largest voltage geared toward the most common uses of cordless drills, which is to drive screws and drill holes in wood and materials like it. In general an 18v cordless drill will have enough power to do this type of work all day.

The lesser voltage drills are also used for much the same type of work. But they have less power and will have less run time. But if you don't need to run your drill all day long, then a smaller drill may be the way to go. It will be lighter and will also cost less.

That brings us to the higher voltage drills. They are generally used for heavier duty tasks. Most commonly this involves drilling into rock, concrete, or brick. The larger batteries provide both more torque and more run time.

Your Search for the Best Cordless Drill

Cordless drills are interesting tools. If you think about the tools that most everyone owns several will come to mind: hammer, screwdriver, wrench, saw, and the cordless drill. The drill is certainly the most modern of the most ubiquitous tools. But there is also a lot of differentiation between cordless drills, which also makes them different among the common tools.

That makes the topic of the best cordless drill interesting. Some will use their cordless drill around their house much like they would use a hammer. Others will use one every day all day on the job. Price is a major factor as well. Some of the best drills will cost over $300. The cheapest can be found for less than $30. But most people won't need the absolute best drill or even one of the best cordless drills.

So the first question you have to ask yourself is how much drill you need and how much you're willing to pay for it. If you're like most people, then your primary concern will be longevity. Most any cordless drill today will have the power to do the common household tasks. So performance is not really an issue. The major concern is getting the most out of your investment which means the drill needs to hold up well over time.

If you're concerned about performance then there are many other issues to consider. The best cordless drills, meaning the ones that deliver the most power, take the most abuse, run the longest, etc. have more bases to cover. The things you need to consider are the battery, the clutch, the switches, and the motor. Most high quality drills come in kits that have two batteries. This mostly removes the factor of runtime. You don't need to squeeze another 10 minutes out of a battery if you can just switch to the spare.

This means that the motor, clutch, and switches are more in focus. Generally, the heavier a drill is the more durable it is. Unfortunately, a lighter drill is easier to use over long periods. But quality is more than just using heavier metals.

I've found that the best way to judge the durability of a drill is to read reviews online. It takes quite a while for the durability of a drill to shine through. You don't find out in the first week or even the first month of ownership. This makes testing drills yourself, or even reading a review of others who have tested drills mostly meaningless when it comes to durability. You need to hear from people who have used a drill for several months. The only people who are going to have done that are people that own them and use them everyday. This is why reviews are important.

So remember. First ask yourself what you're going to use the drill for and how much you're willing to pay. Then do your research.