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Today I’m abandoning a prototype design I’ve been working on this week between bouts of tending our gerund farm. I’d like to have a Viking funeral for this little end table, but I’m sure the fire inspector would scowl.
Despite the failed design, the experience hasn’t been a total loss. While Senior Editor Robert W. Lang wasn’t looking, I snitched his Bosch I-Driver, which I’ve been using all week. You see, I’m in the market for a new cordless drill. My 12-volt tools are more than five years old and feel like they weigh a ton compared to the newest generation of tools.
The I-Driver, what Bosch calls the PS10-2, is just about everything I want in a cordless tool. Where to start? The sucker is built like a tank. Everything is tightly constructed on this tool; many low-priced drills feel like they are going to fall apart on you (and we’ve had several flame out on us over the years as well).
Second: I love the pivoting head. The chuck pivots 90Ã?°, which allows you to get into places that no other drill will go. The low-profile chuck also aids in making this the sneakiest drill I’ve ever used. The chuck accepts Ã?¼” hex-shank tooling, which some will see as a downside, but I consider it a minor inconvenience for the low profile.
What else? The tool goes and goes. Yes, it’s only 10.8 volts, but it took me a long time to drain the battery , and these batteries are a couple years old and have lots of cycles on them. Other plusses: It has a fine clutch (not all right-angle dills do, which is stupid). Plus, the oversized trigger allows you to use two fingers, so your control of the speed is greatly enhanced.
I think I’ve found my next drill. Sure, it’s not going to easily spin 1/16″ twist bits, but that’s what I have my Millers Falls eggbeater drill for, right?
And now to see if we have any gasoline in the shop. I have a prototype to deal with.
– Christopher Schwarz
