Monday, March 29, 2010

A power tool question

I have some 4 x 4's left over from when my fence was built, and I want to use them for making a raised garden bed. I was all excited yesterday to get the holes drilled so I could thread pieces of rebar through them and have an 8" high frame.

No such luck, with my two charged cordless drill batteries, and my 3/4" drill bit, Mr W and I were able to drill exactly 1 and 1/2 holes before the batteries gave out. The drill is old (10 years) and the drill bit is part of an inexpensive set of about 20 that I bought when I moved into the house.

My questions are: Do these batteries get weaker over time? Can I buy replacements at a Home Depot type store? Also, are all drill bits created equal? Could I spend some money and get a good one that will stay sharp? I imagine the answers to these questions are all "yes", but was wondering if anyone who reads this blog has experience here. Thanks!

3 comments:

  1. Yes, batteries can lose their ability to hold a charge. You can look online to see if Home Depot carries spare batteries, or look online to see where you can buy them from. Do you have a corded drill? That's been more useful for me since batteries do die. Not sure about the bit question. 3/4 is big - must be a spade bit?

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  2. Buying a better drill bit, such as a diamond cut one, would result in it staying sharper for a lot longer. You will also get a far better quality hole with less edge shearing

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  3. Thanks, all. I think I shall buy a corded drill and a new bit as well. Jordan, yes, it's a spade bit.

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Hi, sorry to make the humans do an extra step.