worx 20 volt drill

[sunnybob]

I was very enthusiastic when I bought this worx 20 volt drill, but now that I've had a chance to try out this drill and all its options, I think I need to make everybody aware that its not as good as I thought it would be. :roll:

The chuck keeps opening up by itself, which is very annoying when the bit falls out as you lift off for a second.

The clutch / hammer adjuster wont turn from one end to other easily or quickly. I thought it had broken when I tried to turn it to hammer. After several attempts I had to turn it back to a very low friction number, then wind it up slowly to get to hammer.

And the most aggravating thing I have ever experienced on a drill... when it finally goes into hammer mode, it only runs for 4 seconds and then stops. Release the trigger and start again, and it runs for 4 seconds and stops. (hammer) (hammer) (hammer) (hammer) (hammer) (hammer) (hammer) (hammer)
I only had to drill a 2" deep hole in some stamped concrete, so thought the battery drill would be fine. After a dozen false stops, I went and got the extension lead and the big ryobi mains powered to drill just one hole.

In effect, this is a good screwdriver and small hole drill for people with smallish hands. My xxl size little finger actually covers the led built into the base of the grip.

Overall, quite disappointing, but not so bad that I would bin it.

 

[powertools]

You do seem to have a lot of problems with the tools you buy.

 

[sunnybob]

yup. I cant afford to buy tools that are NOT made in china by the lowest tender.
I had hopes for this as I have a worx triangular sander that has been a very good tool, but I think I was lucky and bought it just before the quality control rot set in.

The 4 second hammer seems to be not a fault, but something built in, whatever it is, it makes the hammer function totally useless.

 

[memzey]

I do sympathise bob. Buying tools and stuff for a hobby on a budget is a bit of a mine field. Added to that is lack of a meaningful secondhand market in Cyprus so you are stuck with whatever new tat is on the ship from China. Alternatively you might consider which tools you need/use the most and save a few extra pennies for those. I consider a cordless as one of my most important tools as I use it a lot - not just for hobby woodworking but all over the house as well. When I had to replace the god awful power pro b&q jobbie I had a few years ago I went for a Li-Ion Makita. Not cheap but up there with the best tool purchases I’ve made. I think I’ve had it for about 7 years now and it hasn’t missed a beat. If it died I’d give it a funeral with full honours and promptly get another - just as soon as I’d saved enough pennies!

 

[sunnybob]

I made a whole thread when my 11 year old makita died, but buying makita on island is way above my pension pot and I needed a replacement a lot quicker than my next visitor was due.
I found this worx, and as I said, i already had a worx that has done sterling service, so thought it was going to work (worx).

As a small drill / driver, its fine, the 20 volt battery has some real oommph.
But the faults with the chuck and this mystery 4 second burst on hammer setting has completely smashed the worx reputation for me.
I'm still trying to find out if its a fault or a "battery saving" issue.

 

[lurker]

I have had a drill from lidl for about 5 years and it has been fine.
I also bought a small circular saw that works off the same batteries, so I have two batteries and two great tools.
Neither have missed a beat.

Note: although the above is perfectly true I only posted it cos I know you hate lidl tools with a vengeance ! :twisted: :twisted: :wink:

 

[sunnybob]

Hate is a strong word.
I only use it to describe silverline tools, because they tried to seriously damage me. (hammer) (hammer)
Lidl tools just dont last (at least the tools they sell at my local).
Clamps, soldering irons, drill sharpeners, After the third batch of rubbish I just stopped buying from them.
You should see the returns laying about all over the place. It always looks like a village hall jumble sale just before closing.

Very strangely, we have a miniature ebay type internet selling site on island called bazaraki, and there are dozens of "Parkside" tools for sale, still in their boxes, many at a dearer price than in the shops.
Every sunday market stall selling odds and sods has multiple Parkside tools laying on the table.
The signs are there for folk to see. :roll: :roll:

 

[sunnybob]

After further testing, with both batteries fully charged;
The 4 second stop on hammer is a low power thing. With a battery fully charged the hammer action works constantly. but thats stupid, its like a duracell battery, works till it stops. I would much rather the drill slow slow down and give some warning that the battery needs changing.

The chuck still comes loose though, I think its the powered stop. When you take your finger off the trigger it crashes to an instant halt and I suspect the inertial weight of the chuck just over rides the friction system.

Its still difficult to get from numbered clutch to hammer. Again today I struggled and had to blip the trigger before it would shift gears (no syncromesh).

So 1 fault explained (I dont like it, but at least I know why and can work around it), and 2 faults that will always be present.
No, I wouldnt buy another one.

 

[Setch]

The sudden stop is just the nature of the beast with Lithium Ion batteries, they all do it. It's actually much better than slooooo-wwwwwlllly becoming useless, provided you have batteries charged and ready to swap over.

The chuck issue is familiar, but may slowly sort itself - my new Dewalt dropped a few bits in the first few weeks, but it hasn't happened for a good while now. Either the chuck has stiffened up a bit, or my technique has improved. That said, my old Ryobi always had a rubbish chuck...

The third thing may be a blessing - the aforementioned Ryobi was forever switching itself into Hammer mode at inopportune moments, and that gets old very quickly!

 

[Phil Pascoe]

... After a dozen false stops ...
a lithium battery wouldn't start again so many times, though, would it? :?

My DeWalt spun bits out as well. I wonder if we just get used to dropping the power off a little more slowly? (I dropped the throttle off suddenly on my Yamaha XV1900 going downhill at 130mph and nearly got thrown over the screen :shock: I didn't do it twice. :lol: )

 

[MikeJhn]

Lithium batteries are designed to reach a cliff and cut off, if you keep using them after this cliff has been reached you can damage the internals, best to re-charge sooner rather than later as unlike NiMh batteries they don't have a memory.

 

[sunnybob]

But how do I know when to recharge if they dont slow down first? I might use the drill a lot one day, then not touch it for a couple of weeks. I cant wait for a battery to recharge before I use it every time.

I'm too old for all this new fangled learning malarky.

 

[MikeJhn]

Just put it on charge after every use, as I said they don't have a memory so the chemistry will not be compromised by doing that.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I use one battery of two between two tools and change it when flat.

 

[sunnybob]

I've always been told that to leave a battery on charge permanently drastically shortens the life of the battery.
I have proved this with a car battery, is this small one any different?

 

[MikeJhn]

That was true of NiCad and Nimh but totally different for LiOn, if you use the correct charger, they have what is called a delta peak (full charge, its a small drop of voltage) that communicates to the charger to tell it trickle charge from that point.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

The problem used to be cell life - my first Bosch in 1994 came with the instruction to discharge the batteries completely before recharging completely five or six times because of cell memory - this apparently minimalised the effect. Li ion batteries don't suffer from it, so they can be left on charge. From what I've read if a li ion battery is totally flattened it will never take a charge again, which is why they are chipped to cut out (suddenly) before they go flat. You shouldn't attempt to use them further at that point.
I must admit my nicads, metal hydrides and li ions always lived on their chargers and I never noticed any problem.

 

[sunnybob]

Its really annoying when you buy something and have to rearrange your life to accommodate it.
I always turn off every electrical switch before i shut my workshop up for the night. Theres no way I'm going to leave a charger on permanently.
But I cant see myself remembering to turn that one socket on every day.

Thanks for the explanation.

 

[Trainee neophyte]

In theory, I insist on not buying quality tools, or doing without. In practice, I have a shedload of Lidl Parkside crap - apparently I just can't help myself. My old, knackered Lidl jigsaw has just been replaced by a new Lidl Parkside jigsaw, which I used in anger for the first time yesterday. It cut beautifully, and has a laser AND a light - how cool is that?

I still stand by the idea of only buying real tools for important jobs, even when they are twice the price. I've just put another £500 in the basket on the Axminster site - haven't got the £500, but a man can dream....

 

[sunnybob]

But ALL of my jobs are important jobs (hammer) (hammer) :roll:

I cant abide a tool that doesnt do EXACTLY what its supposed to. Had enough of buying cheap because I couldnt afford dear for the first 60 years of my life.
Of course, nature being what it is, sometimes a very cheap tool works well, sometimes an expensive tool fails, but hey.
Now, if I cant afford the correct tool I dont do the work. Life is good 8) 8) 8)

You have an unrelated PM 8)