Rewire a hand drill

[John Schreiber]

I've got a workhorse Craftsman 3/8 corded drill which has served me well for almost 30 years. The cord is damaged near the handle and I planned to cut off a foot and re-attach it to the posts inside the drill.

It doesn't have posts. It has a switch box which you can stick a wire into, but I can not pull it out or otherwise remove it. How can I replace the wires on this hand tool.

By the way, the gearbox inside of this 30 year old drill is a thing of beauty. Finely crafted gears and no metal shavings or other debris in the case. Clean and strong as it has ever been.

[Chris Barnett]

If you have perhaps already replaced the plug, you could remove it again and add shrink wrap to the damaged area thus maintaining the original integrity of the drill.

[Bruce Brurud]

Does it look like the connections are the push-in spring clip type? If that is the case there usually is a small hole or slot next to the wire so you can insert a pick or small screwdriver to release the spring clip. It is also possible they used solder connections in which case the switch needs to come apart. If the switch is screwed together, you're in luck. If it's glued, you may have to search the internet for a replacement switch.

[Lee Schierer]

Most likely the ends of the wires are tinned and pushed into the spring loaded contacts on the switch. They should release the wires either through a small hole or slot next to the place where the wire is inserted.

Buy a new power cord from the local hardware store by buying a heavy duty extension cord and cutting off the receptacle end. You can get a long cord for a good price.

[Justin Leiwig]

I just did something similar using an extension cord on an old skil saw. I just cut the wires off a little bit and soldered and shrink wrapped the new wires to the old wires. It all still fit up inside the handle of the saw. I imagine that a cordless drill would have even more room in the handle than the skil saw.