WTG: Angled drills

[Dan Hintz]

Where To Get (new acronym)

For those that have them, where did you get your 45 degree angled, variable-speed electric drills? Usually used for sanding, they typically have a paddle instead of a trigger.

I've seen a few here and there, but so far nothing that's by a manufacturer known to me, and the prices are a lot higher than I expected.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Dan,

Some use the electric Sioux brand IIRC.....some use the HF knockoffs.

I use a Grex air driven.......

[Greg Just]

I have a Grex air model but don't use it much as my compressor isn't big enough to keep up with the air requirements of the Grex.


CORRECTION - my Harbor Freight electric model is NOT a 45 degree model, rather a 90 degree model that I paid about $20. I do use it a lot.

[Dan Hintz]

Never seen Sioux yet, I'll have to check them out. I couldn't find anything at HF, just right-angle, air, or battery-powered units. I'll stay away from air-driven for the time being so I don't have to leave my compressor on.

[Scott Hackler]

Dan, I bought and use an "el cheapo" electric right angle drill from HF. I think is was about $30. I have dropped it several times and the housing is now cracked but the darn thing works good and I really cant complain. When it dies, I will be buying another one just like it. I do try (when I remember) to blow out the air holes from time to time. There is a lot of dust that gets built up and that isn't too good on the motor.

[Tim Thiebaut]

Like others I bought mine at Harbor Frieght just a couple months ago, I believe it cost me about $29, for $9 more you get a complete no questions asked full replacement for 2 years, I bought that as well. I thought for 9 bucks that was a good deal, I have used it a lot since I have bought it and am very happy with it.

[Dan Hintz]

Finding the right search term is always the key... "right angle drill" isn't it, but "close quarter drill" gets a lot more hits.

[Mike Cruz]

Got mine from a guy in Baltimore that was selling a whole bunch of woodworking tools. You should have gone there. :D

[Dan Hintz]

Must have been the same place I picked up my saber saw :p

[Jon Nuckles]

Got mine from Vince, but I don't recall what it cost or what the brand is, and I am not at my shop to check.

[Mike Cruz]

Touche....

[Bob Bergstrom]

I'm sure Reed Gray will chime in later on this. He has gone through a few. I have two Milwaukee close quarter ones. Sioux used to make them for Milwaukee. One is the older model with the smaller head and paddle switch that is exposed. The newer one is bigger in the head and the switch is covered with a rubber boot. If your hands are small the older one is much easier to handle. Milwaukee doesn't sell the smaller one anymore, but the nock offs are a carbon copy of it. The cheap one may work perfectly or maybe not (Harbor Freight kind of quality). Because of the stress of using 3" sanding disks on drills, the bearings on all of these drills will be the first thing to go. I have learned how to pull them apart and replace the bearings myself. Even a normal drill will have a similar problem. It all comes down to money in the budget. I've seen reconditioned Milwaukees for $97 and I bought a new one for $112. Cheapos can go for $30.

[Tim Rinehart]

Dan,
Alot of local turners have gone the HF route and are quite happy...especially if you get on sale and then get extra year of protection at a discount as well. I went the Milwaukee route, wanting to be sure sanding was smooth, not too noisy, etc.
I read alot of feedback on the current model by Milwaukee, and that it's trigger is a bit more sensitive than the old style, which was a simple metal lever, vs the big plastic one now used.
I found the older model (0375-1) on fleabay and watched a couple auctions till I finally got one new in box for about $65, which was a good deal when identical others were going much higher. I like it alot, no complaints in a year of use.
(edit: I noticed a couple are currently on fleabay...one auction at start of $60 and other BIN at $140 )

[Joe Herrmann]

Klingspor has them for $59.00.

[Phil Harris]

Vince has them for 50 bucks.

Phil

20 minutes west of DD.

[Mark Levitski]

I have posted re: this elsewhere, but here it is again. I went through a few of the Sioux, old Milwaukee style, and import knock-offs. They all didn't last long at all. The newer Milwaukee is still here and going strong. Just open one up and see the difference, in the gear housing especially. My wife and I both use it, and we are not casual, hobby users. It gets A LOT of (ab)use. I highly recommend it.

[Dan Hintz]

Vince? Website, por favor...




I looked at Sioux, and my new search terms have opened up more choices... I haven't made a decision yet, but for the price I don't really intend to spend weeks researching it ;) As others have noted, the gearbox quality makes a difference in lasting power, so it comes down to three main decision makers:
1) Gearbox (must be quality)
2) Switch sensitivity (can't be too sensitive)
3) Angle of head (don't want a 90 degree)

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Vince is a supplier mainly of abrasives....sandpaper...Google Vince's Wooden Wonders.....IIRC.

[Scott Crumpton]

Amazon.com search for "Neiko drill" or "close quarters drill". Around $37. It's a clone of the early Sioux. Like all of these drills you'll need to regularly disassemble clean and lub. They really can't handle the sanding dust.

[Richard Jones]

I have one of the Sioux clones from Grand Rapids Industrial Products (GRIP). I've not had it open since I bought it, about 5 years ago. For what I paid for it, hard to beat.

Rich

[Reed Gray]

I have several of the Sioux/Milwaukee angle drills. Prefer the angle/close quarters drills to the right angle drills as they are easier to get down inside bowls. I tried one of the $30 drills once. It didn't last a month before the plastic case around the bearings was shot. With the more heavy duty drills, I can get 400 or so bowls before the bearings need to be replaced. I think that the bearings that come standard in them are 'shielded' and not sealed, so dust does work its way in to the bearings, and they go eventually. Running the drills at lower speeds does increase their life, which for me was 300 plus bowls to over 400. I think that I have worn out the cases on all but one of my drills. They tend to fail in the head, around where the bearings are held in place. That came on advice from Vince to run the drills at half speed (I prefer the slow speed drills), which allows the abrasives to cut better, and you get less skipping/bounce, and less heat. I keep a piece of 1/4 inch cork under the trigger to help me feel the speed, and to keep from going too fast. I do have a pneumatic drill, and it kept my compressor running non stop. Much cheaper to use the electric drills.

There are some who prefer high speed sanding with the lightest touch. It is okay for twice turned bowls that are more open. All of my bowls are warped, and that does not work well for them.

robo hippy

[Jon Nuckles]

Sorry for not being more specific on Vince. I've seen him mentioned here so many times that I thought a first name was enough, like Cher or Madonna! Here's a link to his website (http://www.vinceswoodnwonders.com/).

[allen thunem]

who is this vince you speak of?

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Vince Welch

[Steve Harder]

Amazon.com
Neiko 3/8-Inch, 55-Degree Close Quarters Right-Angle Drill - Pistol Grip


$37 including shipping.

[Jerry Mah]

How do you guys feel about the Makita right angle? I'm thinking of the Makita DA3010F...

[Bob Bergstrom]

How do you guys feel about the Makita right angle? I'm thinking of the Makita DA3010F...
Right angle drills make it harder to sand the inside of the bowl(many times a straight line drill works better). The motor sections of the drill ends up inside the bowl or bumps into the rim of the bowl. With a close quarter drill only the head of the drill enters the inside of the bowl, the motor section remains out of the way along with the cord.

[steven carter]

Got mine from Vince also. Does a good job.

[Reed Gray]

Funny, I posted to this, get e-mails telling me there have been responces, but can't find my post on here. So....

I have the angle drills, Sioux/Milwaukee angle drills. The angle drills are easier to get inside bowls and keep the pad fairly flat, while the 90 degree drills do not do this as well. I prefer the slow speed drills. After talking with Vince, I keep my drill speeds down to about half. I keep a piece of 1/4 inch cork under the trigger as a reminder, and often find myself not going all the way down. The abrasives really seem to cut more efficiently that way. Lathe speed is always slow as my bowls are warped, and at speeds above 25 rpm, you just can't keep abrasives on the wood. Fortunately, with my Robust, I had help from Brent English in changing the speed ranges so it goes to almost 0 rpm before shutting off. There is no problem with the motor over heating as there is almost no load on the motor.

Besides sanding more efficiently, I have found the slow drill speeds have another benefit. The drills last longer before the bearings wear out. The bearings that come with them are 'sheilded' and not sealed, which will make a bit of a difference if you replace them. With the factory bearings, I would get 300 plus bowls before the bearings were shot. With the slower speeds, and some fancy bearings, that goes to over 400 bowls (all sizes from 3 to 18 inches). I did try one of the $30 drills. It didn't last a month before the plastic casing in the neck wore out, probably not even 50 bowls. I have replaced the casings on my Sioux/Milwaukee drills at least once in the 10 or so years that I have had them. Brushes need to be replaces on occasion as well.

I have one pneumatic drill as well. The thing with it is that it keeps the compressor running non stop (60 gallon model). Much cheaper to run the angle drills.

robo hippy

[Dan Hintz]

Reed,

Post #21 :)

[Reed Gray]

Aha!!!!!!!!!!!!! It is that %#@!* 'more replies below current depth' thing which seems to show up at random, and wasn't on my computer screen at the time. Never understood that, and think it should be gotten rid of.

robo hippy

[Mark Levitski]

Aha!!!!!!!!!!!!! It is that %#@!* 'more replies below current depth' thing which seems to show up at random, and wasn't on my computer screen at the time. Never understood that, and think it should be gotten rid of.

robo hippy

Agreed. If the post shows up on the Turner's Forum as the last post, yet doesn't show up when you click on that link! Annoying.

If you are a casual user of a sanding drill, then the aforementioned and various manufacturers and suppliers would be just fine. And yes, cleaning it out w/ compressed air helps as does not beating it up with high speeds and rough use. IMO you roll the dice if you buy a cheapo. They sometimes can last a long time, but there is too much inconsistency in the manufacturing process. Feel lucky? Buy the best and cry only once about spending the money. The carcasses of my bad choices are still on the shelf to remind me.

[David E Keller]

Aha!!!!!!!!!!!!! It is that %#@!* 'more replies below current depth' thing which seems to show up at random, and wasn't on my computer screen at the time. Never understood that, and think it should be gotten rid of.

robo hippy

Reed, if I'm not mistaken, you can adjust the way the forum is displayed by going to 'settings' at the top right of the screen... I used to get that message, and I changed the settings which seems to have eliminated the problem. IIRC, Steve S. explained how to fix it.

[Darryl Hansen]

You can get a close quarter drill on ebay for about $29.00 The Souix and Milwaukee are the same drill but different colors. Both made by the same company. Get the cheepos and blow them out periodically. They are pretty much throwaways and you can buy a bunch of them for the same as one Milwaukee/Souix. The rear bearing on all alre not enclosed in grease so blowing out is a necissity if you do use for sanding. The rear bearings are about $8.00 and can be replaced if you know how. the cheepies run a bit hotter but are just as good as long as they last. The HF models are pretty much the same.

[Russell Neyman]

Harbor Freight. One store in Baltimore, and another in Laurel, as well as an online website. The have a close quarters battery-operated drill on sale right now for about $35 as well as a corded one for less than $40. Personally, I like the 110v one because I tend to use it for long lengths of time and there's obviously a power source right by the lathe -- http://www.harborfreight.com/catalogsearch/result?q=Drill
(http://www.harborfreight.com/catalogsearch/result?q=Drill)

[Kelvin Burton]

I bought mine on Amazon for $36, made by Neiko - 3/8-Inch, 55-Degree Close Quarters Right-Angle Drill - Pistol Grip.

I have been very happy with it.

[Jeff Nicol]

I have a 20 year old Milwaukee/ Sioux that I used while still a commercial heating and cooling guy. I have replaced the cord once and tightend up the gears once and it still keeps on going. But since I have 3 lathes in 2 rooms I bought the HF on sale with the 20% of for darn cheap, took it apart and cleaned up the gears a little and some extra grease and it is a champ that has hit the floor about 40 times so far! It has paid for itself many times over so well worth the money.

Jeff