I need to purchase a general purpose Cordless Drill for school kids I am looking for something robust and durable but small enough so kids can feel confidant with it. Can anyone recommend a make and model?
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I need to purchase a general purpose Cordless Drill for school kids I am looking for something robust and durable but small enough so kids can feel confidant with it. Can anyone recommend a make and model?
Lots of brands to choose from depending on your budget but maybe consider the 12v range rather than 18v as they are a bit smaller and lighter
Makita and Milwaukee are the two favoured brands in this size
The school I worked at had Bosch blue 12v drills. They were holding up pretty well.
If you use the smaller batteries (1.5 or 2 ah) then that will keep the weight down a bit. Just need charging more often. It's also good if there are other battery tools to stick with that battery and charger range. For smaller people its even more important they use and understand the torque setting.
Regards
John
If you use the smaller batteries (1.5 or 2 ah) then that will keep the weight down a bit. Just need charging more often. It's also good if there are other battery tools to stick with that battery and charger range. For smaller people its even more important they use and understand the torque setting.
Regards
John
I'd agree that the 10.8v class of drills better suits little hands. There's actually no drills available in the 12v class any more, it's just marketing BS (or downright mendacity) to erroneously call them 12v. Lithium cells come in multiples of 3.6v only: 3.6, 7.2, 10.8, 14.4, 18, 36v etc.Quote:
Originally Posted by Beardy
But it really depends on the actual size of their hands really. When my littl'uns were tiny (6 & 8 YO) I got 'em some lovely little 4.8v NiCad Metabos that were German-made with the precision of Swiss Watches, and ergo grips ideally suited. But they were terminally gutless (merely 4.8v after all), & they soon grew out of 'em. I've long since replaced these with 10.8v & 18V Metabos respectively.
Primary aged kids will be well served by 10.8v (called 12v by less honest manufacturers) tools, but as those who really use them will attest, they're really actually a bit limited in key performance parameters such as speed & capacity. For high school aged kids I'd suggest opting for some better quality but lightweight 18v tools. They're simply a more robust, reliable and all round much more useful tool.
I still have 10.8v, "12v" & 18v Metabo kit myself. The former is extremely useful for smaller, delicate and light jobs, such as installing expensive & easily damaged electrical & plumbing fixtures. But rarely now, as it's just much, much better to actually learn how to use larger & more powerful tools with an element of finesse instead. That way, you have all the power, capacity and robustness you realistically might require, and the personal skillset to use said tool, with speed & power parameters electronically & manually tempered for the delicate jobs, too.
Kids are rough on tools. Having myself taught high school VET kids @ TAFE (Construction Cert II) & experienced still (in some cases) pimply-faced youngsters attempting undergraduate Architecture & Design @ Uni I can attest to the depredations that communal shop tools must endure. Repeated drops, kicks, almost invariable & repetitive stalling from using large bits in high gear, liberal doses of dust, swarf & even sand immersion & on occasion liquid inundation! More powerful 18v tools are simply much more capable of handling the rambunctious vicissitudes of youth. Smaller, less powerful tools are better for those small, delicate jobs, which can be easily & effortlessly performed by their larger counterparts, too. But not vice versa.
Modern, brushless 18v tools are much, much lighter, compact & more ergonomic now. A modern EC motored (brushless) cordless hammer drill will be much smaller, lighter & (obviously) more powerful & generally useful than say a 7.2, 9.6 or even 12v tool from 30 years ago. Not the biggest, most powerful, Professional grade tools of course. The biggest most powerful 18v pro drills are still as big, expensive (& much more powerful) than anything in the past. But the compact ranges of EC tools now available from the best manufacturers are delightfully small, compact & nearly as powerful, & are available at bargain basement prices.
I'm a Metabo drill fanboy, myself. Obviously. I've tried the rest, but won't even entertain any other lesser brand of drill any more. Just bought a couple of midrange (LT) German-made brushless hammer drill kits with pairs of 4.0 AH LiHD batts (the world's best) & charger, all with 3-year warranties, for a mere $250 ea. incl. postage for Christmas gifts to family. Although I've not actually used either of 'em myself (gifts, of course), I'm astonished at their small size, light weight & (presumable) utility in such a bargain-priced package. Actually I've since seen the same tools bundled with an air blower (& smaller 3.5AH LiHDs) for an incredible $199 in the recent Thanksgiving/Black Fri/Cyber Mon/acquisitive frenzy weekend!
Metabo's cordless range (& their Cordless Alliance partners) may very well have its breadth limitations (only about 140 or so tools can use those fabulous LiHD batteries), but in drills especially they simply stand head & shoulders above all others in my opinion.
Only the smallest (i.e. primary-aged) hands will require the tiny & more gutless 10.8v tools. For all others a compact 18v kit will both perform & last better I suggest.