Corded or Cordless Tools, Which is Best

[CassidyNZ]

Cordless for me but the tools don’t live on the boat unless I’m away from home on extended cruises and then only some.

Can’t say I’ve ever seen a corded drill that can be reversed to remove screws. They may exist - I’ve just never seen one. Cordless drills make great screwdrivers, very few smaller corded drills are variable speed for screwdriver application either.

Also a cordless angle grinder is by far the best/fastest way to cut the rig free if ever one gets dismasted.

I use mostly Makita 18v power tools with 5Ah batteries that have state-of-charge LEDs in the battery to avoid the disappointment of a flat battery. The standard charger running off the inverter charges a 5Ah battery from flat to full in about an hour.

[boatpoker]

Originally Posted by CassidyNZ

Can’t say I’ve ever seen a corded drill that can be reversed to remove screws. .

After buildlng three boats and 13 houses, I've never seen a corded drill that wasn't reversible.

[Mickeyrouse]

A friend gave me a DeWalt cordless drill in ‘97. Cruised with it for 4 years. Got soaked in a rain squall. Dried it out, sprayed the guts with WD-40. Re- Charged it with a small inverter. The drill hasn’t failed yet, but I’ve been thru a few batteries and chargers. Rain does not enhance the charger’s life. When batteries became more expensive than a new cordless drill, I retired it. But it still works.
I was very skeptical of cordless drills, until I got one. I still have a Craftsman I bought about ‘84,, but only use it for the larger chuck, which is rarely. The life of the newer lithium batteries is incredible. I have a set from the first drill’s replacement I bought six years ago, still going strong. And I use this drill a lot. Corded would never have worked while cruising.

[wingssail]

Originally Posted by CassidyNZ

...Can’t say I’ve ever seen a corded drill that can be reversed to remove screws. They may exist - I’ve just never seen one. Cordless drills make great screwdrivers, very few smaller corded drills are variable speed for screwdriver application either.

My oldest tool is a Skill 3/8 chuck corded drill. It is reversible and variable speed. It has lived in the bilges of several boats since the 1970's when I got it. Beat up and ugly but still works. Before there was such a thing as cordless I used it for screws, (in or out), still could, but now I have some 20v cordless Black and Decker tools which I also love, and I grab them first.

To me, it doesn't matter. I always have 120v AC power at the outlets on my boat and I can plug in a cord or a battery charger, and I do, without giving it a thought. They are still just tools, right, not temples to manhood. But I don't spend much money on tools. I have every electric tool I ever owned, since 1975, and they are all still usable.

[Icarus]

Originally Posted by Heathenly Twins

If one is on a budget what is best? I was first inclined to think cordless tools were preferable but damn, they are expensive!

Would it be better to just run corded tools off an inverter/charger?

Usually all one needs is a industrial cordless drill/screwdriver
Sanders, grinders and jig saws are better corded.
Just run them off a small generator.
Not sure what you deem to be expensive , cheap power tools don't last .
It really depends if you are rebuilding or just looking for occasional use.

[wingssail]

Originally Posted by Icarus

...Not sure what you deem to be expensive , cheap power tools don't last .
It really depends if you are rebuilding or just looking for occasional use.

Cheap power tools do last, especially if used occasionally, as in fixing things on a boat. I've never had the funds or was willing to spend them on top of the line power tools, but my cheap stuff has been fine.

My feeling is that "cheap power tools don't last" is a common justification for buying that beautiful expensive one you really covet rather than a utilitarian one which will simply do the job.

Originally Posted by Icarus

...Just run them off a small generator..

Using a small generator to power the tools means you have to carry that small generator, usually on deck. I prefer not to have anything on deck and the genset is a weight I don't need or want. Use a good inverter/charger to run your corded tools.

[BlackHeron]

How many decades ago did they stop making "drill motors" that didn't have a reverse? Even heavy-duty right-angle drills and hole-hawgs are reversible these days. Even most SDS hammer drills have a reverse. I think reverse was added to drills before variable-speed triggers came into the vogue.

If you have an old silver drill motor without reverse or variable speed you should probably think about donating it to a museum. I don't even think a pawn shop would even give you a dollar for one.

[CassidyNZ]

Originally Posted by boatpoker

After buildlng three boats and 13 houses, I've never seen a corded drill that wasn't reversible.

I’ve got three. I must have been lucky.

[Stu Jackson]

Originally Posted by tkeithlu

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
On the other hand, I have supplied tools to other cruisers who needed them, even in one case to a skipper who did not have on board a wrench with which to adjust his alternator belt.

There has to be a good story in that one!

[wingssail]

Originally Posted by Stu Jackson

There has to be a good story in that one!

The real test of your cruiser generosity is when a clueless and ill prepared fellow cruiser (and his clueless mates) what to "borrow" your two cherished and carefully guarded 8 inch long carriage bolts which you are keeping to someday fix, if needed, your rudder head, and the wrenches to install them, so they can repair theirs and commence their trip to Australia while you are heading to Hong Kong.

But I did it, of course never to see them again.

[wingssail]

Originally Posted by boatpoker

After buildlng three boats and 13 houses, I've never seen a corded drill that wasn't reversible.

My contractor brother, and his crews, who have built many houses, have never seen a corded tool.

[Old fella]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

I assume you are talking cruising on a boat. I always carried a corded drill and vacuum. Had a cordless item or two also. (Not vacuum) Virtually every cordless I had the batteries failed. Even Makita. They wanted too much for a battery. Now days though, there are a number of companies that sell replacement batteries much cheaper than the manufacturer. You have to roll the dice that your battery isn't some odd design.

But if you are out cruising in timbuktu, you probably aren't going to be buying aftermarket batteries.

I now buy cheap cordless drills, use them 2-3 years and buy a new one when the battery fails. My current Black and Decker cost me $30 new. The battery just failed after 2-3 years and I found a non B&D replacement battery on Amazon for $16.

Years ago I had the cheapest 12v cordless drill you could buy. One day, half way through a job, the battery went flat, I couldn’t be bothered waiting for it to charge, I chucked the battery out, grabbed an old lead, cut the plugs off and soldered one end to the battery connections in the handle, and a couple of alligator clips on the other end, threw the battery, and away I went. It was still going like a dream when I gave it away 10 years later.

[waterman46]

Originally Posted by CassidyNZ

Can’t say I’ve ever seen a corded drill that can be reversed to remove screws. They may exist - I’ve just never seen one. Cordless drills make great screwdrivers, very few smaller corded drills are variable speed for screwdriver application either.

What? Must be a strange NZ gov't regulation! In USA very corded drill I ever bought (bought about 5 over a 50 year span) has had the little lever just above the trigger, which reverses it and they were all variable speed. Would not buy any drill if it didn't have reverse and variable speed. Old Sears Craftsman stuff from the 70's, DeWalt around 2000 and 2020 Milwaukee 3/8" all corded, variable and reversible. I use the drill to remove and install those very long deck screws at the house, but there is less need of that at the boat.

I do agree that the cord is always a bit in the way, but it's a tradeoff for environmental cost of the battery and the added bulk and weight due to battery of the cordless tool.

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by wingssail

My contractor brother, and his crews, who have built many houses, have never seen a corded tool.

Makes perfect sense. The more frequently you use a tool and the more varied the situations it's used in, the more cordless makes sense.

[pilott]

I like the Black & Decker Matrix system of a power unit and interchangeable heads - drill, 1/4" driver, reciprocating saw, oscillating tool. I keep them all in a Harbor Freight waterproof briefcase.
They're not "professional grade" tools, but are appropriate for the work I do