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Angle Drill / Makita Drill (Merged)

Emiliano Achaval

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My Milwaukee angle drill has started to make some very strange noises, as well as shocking me and shooting some sparks on and off. Before they find me on the shop floor I have started looking around. I wonder if anybody has used this drill that I found on Amazon. It seems to me that I might be able to sand deeper on some bowls. Please, I'm only asking about this drill, do not tell me about the $5 drills from HF and or Ken Rizza, I know about them.
 

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Emiliano Achaval

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The right angle might present a problem when sanding the bottom of a bowl. I wouldn't toss the old drill yet. It might just need new brushes and a good cleaning.
You are right. The Milwaukee was not cheap. Where I bought it here downtown Maui they have a service center, they service everything they sell. This drill might reach deeper on some walls.
 
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From an ergonomic viewpoint, that drill will require a lot more use of your wrist than an angled drill and for a professional turner that is something that you don't need.
 
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What might work well with that drill is to use electrical tape wrapped around the handle to hold the trigger down so it stays on all the time. Then plug it into an on/off foot control. That would allow you to hold the sander farther back without having one hand all the way up near the head holding the trigger down. HF has the foot controls for about $10. I rigged a drill press using one of those for a specific mixing purpose.
 
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Well, the strange noises and sparks would indicate to me, bearings and brushes. It would run $80 or so for a rebuild. I did try some fancy sealed bearings and didn't seem to get much more life out of them. Found out there are sealed and shielded bearings. I think the main thing that causes the drills to fail is that we are using them for grinders, and they are drills. To get maximum life out of them, I do use 3 inch discs almost all the time, and I run the drill at half speed max. This extended the life span from 300+ bowls per bearing set to maybe double that. The funny thing about sanding is that slower speeds cut faster than high speeds. Best guess is that it is about traction. If you are spinning at high speeds, the abrasive grit doesn't get a chance to dig in and cut. Think of a dragster burning out their tires, lots of heat and smoke but they are going no where.

I have been pondering on how I can make a flex shaft system that would run off of a mini lathe. It would mount in that articulated arm I made for when I sand. With a 1 hp motor, it could easily handle 5 or 6 inch discs. The Foredom drill set up just doesn't have the power for doing that other than on occasion...

robo hippy
 

Dennis J Gooding

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I agree that the trigger position of this drill looks awkward. Regarding right hand versus angled drills: You can buy or easily make extensions to facilitate sanding of bowls and other deep objects. I have been using my right angle Makita for 20 years in all kinds of objects. BTW, it lives most of the time on the floor under or near the lathe. Once in a blue moon, I remember to blow it out with compressed air.
 
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The problem I see with the right angle drills is they all come with chucks so by the time you mount a sanding disk you are limited to fairly large bowls. I recently did a twist lock fixture using a right angle air die grinder with a 1/4" collet that I was able to cut the lock channels into a 3 1/2" ID. (The buckthorn lidded box was recently submitted to the Photo Gallery). The die grinder has a lockable trigger and the collet will swallow the shaft on the end of the sanding disk, but the big question is if it would have enough torque. Note if you google right angle die grinder it will bring up the pneumatic as well as the electric units with 1/4" hex collets instead of chucks.
 
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The right angle might present a problem when sanding the bottom of a bowl.

Bill, are you talking about a problem sanding the inside center of deep bowls, the problem being that the body of the drill hits the rim of the bowl? My experience is that there is very little difference between the right angle drills (such as the one in Emiliano's picture, and the popular HF one) vs the 55 degree ones (like Milwaukee, Neiko, and Ken Rizza's model) on this point.

I've always used a 90 degree drill (from HF). I bought a 55 degree drill (from Ken Rizza) hoping it would let me sand deeper bowls. But I found very little difference. The body of the 55 degree drill still hit the rim of deep bowls. The body of the 55 degree drill doesn't start angling back until several inches away from the chuck, and then very gradually.

I've continued to use my right angle drill for deep bowls, using extensions like Dennis recommended.
 

Bill Boehme

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Bill, are you talking about a problem sanding the inside center of deep bowls, the problem being that the body of the drill hits the rim of the bowl?

That is my thought. I am aware of extensions that can help mitigate the problem. However, I must confess that I mostly do hand sanding with the lathe running and final sanding off the lathe.

I have a fifteen year old Sioux angle drill that has seen so little use that it almost looks brand new.
 
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That is my thought. I am aware of extensions that can help mitigate the problem. However, I must confess that I mostly do hand sanding with the lathe running and final sanding off the lathe.

I have a fifteen year old Sioux angle drill that has seen so little use that it almost looks brand new.

And when you're ready to let go of the Sioux just let me know ;)
 

Emiliano Achaval

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From an ergonomic viewpoint, that drill will require a lot more use of your wrist than an angled drill and for a professional turner that is something that you don't need.
Good point. I'm thinking this drill sould be an extra one for special jobs. Fix the Milwaukee as number one, and I also have the Metabo orbital. Thank you.
 

Emiliano Achaval

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Well, the strange noises and sparks would indicate to me, bearings and brushes. It would run $80 or so for a rebuild. I did try some fancy sealed bearings and didn't seem to get much more life out of them. Found out there are sealed and shielded bearings. I think the main thing that causes the drills to fail is that we are using them for grinders, and they are drills. To get maximum life out of them, I do use 3 inch discs almost all the time, and I run the drill at half speed max. This extended the life span from 300+ bowls per bearing set to maybe double that. The funny thing about sanding is that slower speeds cut faster than high speeds. Best guess is that it is about traction. If you are spinning at high speeds, the abrasive grit doesn't get a chance to dig in and cut. Think of a dragster burning out their tires, lots of heat and smoke but they are going no where.

I have been pondering on how I can make a flex shaft system that would run off of a mini lathe. It would mount in that articulated arm I made for when I sand. With a 1 hp motor, it could easily handle 5 or 6 inch discs. The Foredom drill set up just doesn't have the power for doing that other than on occasion...

robo hippy
I have seen forever a flex shaft system, only problem is it uses a grinder, so where do you mount it? And some weird velcro inflatable pads. I was always curious about it. I will take the Milwaukee down soon for repairs. I wish I could buy a super slow turning drill, angled metal gears, heavy-duty, Made in the USA.
 

Dennis J Gooding

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I have seen forever a flex shaft system, only problem is it uses a grinder, so where do you mount it? And some weird velcro inflatable pads. I was always curious about it. I will take the Milwaukee down soon for repairs. I wish I could buy a super slow turning drill, angled metal gears, heavy-duty, Made in the USA.

My Makita right-angle drill goes down to zero RPM under sensitive manual control and can be preset to speeds as low as a couple hundred RPM or so. Mine is about 20 years old and I see in the ads for the unit that the trigger assembly has changed and I don't know whether there is a speed preset capability.

IMG_2336.jpg
 

hockenbery

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My Makita right-angle drill goes down to zero RPM under sensitive manual control and can be preset to speeds as low as a couple hundred RPM or so. Mine is about 20 years old and I see in the ads for the unit that the trigger assembly has changed and I don't know whether there is a speed preset capability.

View attachment 33712


Have the same one same bought it last century. Great thing about the paddle switch is a finger under give an instant speed control stop. ( it has a screw to control,top speed but a finger gets in there so quick for reducing the speed and gets out of the way to go faster.
 
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There are 4 used and 1 refurbished Milwaukee angle drills for sale ranging from $69 to $147 on Ebay as of Thursday afternoon 5/27
 
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Emiliano, I have a similar one that I purchased from Sears a number of years back. I do like it and you can get a little deeper on the side walls however as someone mentioned using it on the bottom depends on the depth and width of bowl. Again I like it and it is a useful tool in the arsenal.
 

Emiliano Achaval

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My Makita right-angle drill goes down to zero RPM under sensitive manual control and can be preset to speeds as low as a couple hundred RPM or so. Mine is about 20 years old and I see in the ads for the unit that the trigger assembly has changed and I don't know whether there is a speed preset capability.

View attachment 33712
I really like this one, thanks for the reply.
 

Emiliano Achaval

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Emiliano, I have a similar one that I purchased from Sears a number of years back. I do like it and you can get a little deeper on the side walls however as someone mentioned using it on the bottom depends on the depth and width of bowl. Again I like it and it is a useful tool in the arsenal.
Thank you, great input, will help me with my decision. Aloha
 

Emiliano Achaval

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Emiliano, do you like the Metabo orbital? Its something I've been considering for quite some time as I'm not happy with the short lived import angle drills.
Love it! But... Works best starting at 150. Even better for 180, 220 and 320. Perfection...
 

Emiliano Achaval

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Update! I went to where I purchase my Milwaukee drill. They charge $50 an hour for repairs. One of the guys recognized me from Instagram, he follows me. We started talking and he told me where to buy the parts myself: ereplacements.com When I was searching myself online that's where I ended up. But, I wanted to buy real Milwaukee parts. He told me Milwaukee has contracted with them. I ordered all the bearing and the brushes, under $50 with shipping. Just in case I ordered a Ken Rizza angle drill. You can't always have enough drills, right? I opened up the Milwaukee and cleaned it up. Was really dirty, put it back together with high hopes, and promptly got shocked again, LOL
 
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Update! I went to where I purchase my Milwaukee drill. They charge $50 an hour for repairs. One of the guys recognized me from Instagram, he follows me. We started talking and he told me where to buy the parts myself: ereplacements.com When I was searching myself online that's where I ended up. But, I wanted to buy real Milwaukee parts. He told me Milwaukee has contracted with them. I ordered all the bearing and the brushes, under $50 with shipping. Just in case I ordered a Ken Rizza angle drill. You can't always have enough drills, right? I opened up the Milwaukee and cleaned it up. Was really dirty, put it back together with high hopes, and promptly got shocked again, LOL

Maybe not a satisfying solution to the problem, but a pair of rubber gloves would cut down on the shocks.
 
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Is it a double insulated (2 prong) drill? If so there is an internal short. Have you tried to add a ground wire to the cord? Try it and measure the current as it may be a large leak.

If it's a three wire plug make sure that the cord and wall plug are working properly and connected to a true ground and not the neutral (white) wire.

Stu
 

Dennis J Gooding

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Emiliano, electrical shock at 110 volts or more is serious business and could dramatically shorten your career. A little bit of a short in a tool is a rare thing. I would bet on it being a solid short and you are being saved by the insulation of your clothing. As a test, unplug the drill, put it on the lathe bed, plug it back in and see if you get sparks or a tripped breaker.
 

Emiliano Achaval

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I'm still waiting for the parts to fix my Milwaukee drill, ordered them from Ereplacements.com. I ordered a cheap Chinese Ken Rizza angle drill but they are out of stock. I had the perfect excuse to go to Home Depot and buy me the drill that I really wanted, the Makita. This is a super solid, well-built drill. I dare say, looks even better than the 2 Sioux angle drills that I had for many years. I do miss my Sioux drills. I envy @odie that has a secret stash of them, I keep looking at Ebay, but no luck for me, Odie beats me to them every time. I think the Makita has the best and most simple way of regulating speed, super genius, for once something was designed right.
 

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Randy Anderson

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When I wore out my previous clunky AC angle drill I ordered this one with extra batteries. Been very happy with it. Wish the motor was brushless but dust not a problem so far. Small, very powerful and light enough that it's manageable for long term use.

Bosch GSR12V-140FCB22 Cordless
 
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I'm still waiting for the parts to fix my Milwaukee drill, ordered them from Ereplacements.com. I ordered a cheap Chinese Ken Rizza angle drill but they are out of stock. I had the perfect excuse to go to Home Depot and buy me the drill that I really wanted, the Makita. This is a super solid, well-built drill. I dare say, looks even better than the 2 Sioux angle drills that I had for many years. I do miss my Sioux drills. I envy @odie that has a secret stash of them, I keep looking at Ebay, but no luck for me, Odie beats me to them every time. I think the Makita has the best and most simple way of regulating speed, super genius, for once something was designed right.

I've got one of these Makitas with a keyless chuck that I've been using for almost 17 years and it shows no sign of giving up!
They're not cheap but I think they're worth every penny!
 

Emiliano Achaval

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I tried a couple of right-angle drills and just don't see the advantage over my very lightweight 12v dewalt using a 6" extension.
The amount of turning I do a cordless drill lasted days, took it back to the store, and got store credit. Plus the batteries could not keep up with my pace, they would not recharge fast enough. Maybe someday a battery will last hours not minutes and charge back up in 10 minutes...
 

Emiliano Achaval

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When I wore out my previous clunky AC angle drill I ordered this one with extra batteries. Been very happy with it. Wish the motor was brushless but dust not a problem so far. Small, very powerful and light enough that it's manageable for long term use.

Bosch GSR12V-140FCB22 Cordless
For the hobbyist weekend turner might be a good option. When you turn every day and finish pieces all day, they do not work, don't last.
 
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If anyone's interested, it's not hard (does require some simple machining) to add a side handle to the angle drills that a lot of people have. I just replaced the thin plastic guard with one made from a piece of 1 1/4" galvanized pipe. I turned the base of it down to replicate the small flange on the base of the plastic guard, then tapped a hole for the handle to screw into. The steel guard is tight enough to stay in place, but not too tight to rotate to either side.
AngleDrillSideHandle small.jpg
 
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