Put Down that Black & Decker Drill or Somebody's Gonna Get Hurt

Back when we had our most recent basement flooding event during Seattle's 2nd largest downpour ever, my Trusty Black & Decker Drill drowned. Oh, I wiped it off and kept on using it, rust and all, but it was clearly Seriously Wounded. I've used and abused that drill for probably 8 years now, and it's survived everything except being submerged.

It now appears that one of the thingies (technical term) which holds the drill bit won't retract and is loose to a degree where it appears ready to fall off at any time. Thingy ready to break + high rpms = eye loss potential. Serious safety problem. So it's time for the drill's retirement program, and I need a new one. Fast. Progress may stop until drilling is possible.



We've decided that it's time to Upgrade to cordless. This is Martin's idea as he believes that the cost or convenience of said power tool will prevent me from leaving it on the floor, making it unlikely that any future tools will need to learn to swim.

I have a handy subscription to Consumer Reports, so I can check out the ratings on lots of cordless drills which have been pre-reviewed for me. There are two categories, 'general use' and 'tougher job', probably the equivalent of 'consumer' and 'professional'. I suffer from the delusion that despite my intense DIY proclivities, I am still a 'consumer'. Martin suggests it's time to be 'professional', if for no other reason than that parts may be more widely available when it's time for a replacement battery.

Consumer reports has a conventient chart outlining brand/model, price, volts, and rating speed, power, run time, charge time, handling, and noise. It also lists weight and recharge time. This is quite handy since I'm shopping on price and weight. The 'general use' category ranges from 2.8 to 5.7 pounds. The 'tougher job'caterogy ranges from 4.9 to 7.2 pounds. Perhaps this explains why professional contractors burn more calories per hour than DIYers. It's the weight of their tools.

Now it's not that I'm a wuss (at least not ALL the time), but am I really going to be able to wield a 7.2 pound DeWalt for a significant time period? I think not.

I finally settled in on a fairly well rated Makita 6347DWDE. At 5.4 pounds, it's one of the lighter 'tougher job' drills in my sub $200 price range. Of course, I don't pay $200, as this is a great Ebay opportunity.

And now that I have no drill and am awaiting the shipment of my new one, it seems that EVERY project I need to work on requires a drill.

Maybe it's time for a vacation.