[Shop-talk] Rebuild a hand drill?

[David Hillman]

On Mon, 12 Nov 2007, Mark Sansouci wrote:
> It would please me to have that drill rebuilt, but I expect its getting
> difficult to find such a service today.  I am not aware of anyone in the
> Rochester NY area.   Can anyone recommend someone you would trust with a
> memory?

    Related question follows... I have a DeWalt 18v cordless drill, much 
more recent than what Mark has, probably about 5 years old.  It died on me 
Sunday, and I ran out and replaced it with another because I was in the 
middle of a project, and needed new batteries anyway.

    But when I say "died", I mean that loosely, so I think it might be 
fixable.  The trigger is stuck "in", and when I flip the direction switch 
one way, it runs wildly ( and makes sparks ).  In t'other, it does 
nothing.

    If it's not too much trouble, I'd like to fix the old one and keep it 
as a beater/loaner drill.  I'm thinking that since the trigger appears 
mechanically jammed, something must have broken inside... either a return 
spring, or something nearby.  How likely am I to be able to buy 
replacement parts for a reasonable cost?  A whole new drill ( sans 
batteries ) on eBay is only ~$70, so buying parts quickly stops making 
sense.

    Thanks.

--
  David Hillman