Ask the Expert
IF YOU HAVE A PRODUCT RELATED QUESTION, PLEASE USE OUR CONTACT US FORM FOR AN IMMEDIATE RESPONSE. THIS SECTION IS RESERVED FOR GENERAL WOODWORKING RELATED QUESTIONS.
Michael Van Pelt is the founder of American Sycamore Woodworker’s Retreat. He has a reputation as the tool guru. Mike has been in woodworking for over thirty years. His knowledge of tools comes from his many years of intertwining experience in the woodworking industry. Mike’s experiences include being active as an Industrial Arts Teacher, professional instructor of power machinery and tool techniques, tool sales, management and owner of woodworking tool retail store, Delta Machinery representative and technical advisory.
If you have a question for Michael, choose the Submit Question button to the right by November 30th. We will send you a reply with Mike's response in mid-December and then post it to this page for other members to view. You never know...someone else may have the same question
IF YOU HAVE A PRODUCT RELATED QUESTION, PLEASE USE OUR CONTACT US FORM FOR AN IMMEDIATE RESPONSE. THIS SECTION IS RESERVED FOR GENERAL WOODWORKING RELATED QUESTIONS.
Listed below are questions and answers that have already been submitted.
Questions
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9/9/2009
Impact Driver
Answer provided by Mike Heavey
| Q. |
I purchased your 3 tool 18 volt, lithium powered tool combo kit today. I certainly know the drill/driver applications and power. I've never owned an impact driver before. Could you please specify its' various uses and when it is appropriate to use it in place of the drill/driver. |
| A. |
Impact drivers use both bit rotation and concussive blows to hyper-drive screws through the toughest woods. The result of this two-punch combination is unparalleled. One of the uses for this is when building a deck where mass amounts of screws are used, it drives the screws in with the greatest so ease, so your arm almost never gets tired because it requires almost no effort on the part of the user. |
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6/24/2009
Charging Cordless Batteries
Answer provided by Mike Van Pelt
| Q. |
My problem is battery life. I may use a cordless tool frequently for a day or two and then not again for two months. The down time varies widely. I tend to leave one battery on the charger and wonder if that is damaging it. If I do not leave the battery on the charger, I have to wait an hour or more before I can start next time. Does it matter what kind of battery I use? Should I be rigorously careful to unplug the battery? |
| A. |
Just got
off the phone with my friend Ben at the Dewalt service center in Indianapolis
and Ben reports: Most of today’s batteries have a 800 to 1000 charge lives:
meaning that a battery will take about 1000 charges before it dies. Ben said it
was best to leave the battery in the charger and KEEP THE CHARGER PLUGGED IN.
Ben told me about a customer that had his charger plugged into a circuit that
every time he shut his lights out it shut off the charger making the charger
start over and claim another “Charge Life” reducing the life of the battery.
There is a lot of misinformation out there on battery life. Read and follow
your owner’s manual. Good luck. |
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2/18/2008
Cordless Drill
Answer provided by Scott Phillips
| Q. |
I'm in need of a
new cordless drill. I'm considering
either a standard drill or one of the impact drivers. I use it mostly for jobs around the house or
woodworking. I'm not too keen on a heavy
18v model. Is a 12v enough or should I
go for a 14v. I really like the impact
drivers with the Li batteries. Nice and
light. Any thoughts?
|
| A. |
I
like the 14.4 for most jobs. The impact drivers are great too. I find the 14.4
is what I go to for 90% of my jobs. Still the impact drivers have much better
torque for big fastener jobs. You might just have to get both. Or put them on a
wish list! |
