Vintage work crew photos

[VinnieL]

I bought a 19.2 volt set of Craftsman drill, impact , 2 Nicad Batteries and charger a few years ago. Of course the battery life was limited. So when the same thing was offered in 19.2 Li-Ion I bought it. One battery internal charging circuit went bad. I got on Flea Bay and ordered 2 batteries for like $64.00 from China. Got them and the darned things would not charge. They were completely dead. Wouldn't read anything at all on the voltmeter. I remember reading that if completely dead, smart Li-Ion chargers will not sharge, so I used a DC variable power supply with clip leads to charge the batteries up by tapping the connection to the battery and holding it 15-20 seconds. (This is the manner that LI-Ion batteries charge so not to overheat and explode) and brought the batteries up to about 12 volts. The charger then charged them fine. What ticks me off is that B&D/Stanley who bought out the Craftsman line is not doing any backwards support whatsoever, only selling their new line with a Craftsman name.

[PJs]

I bought a 19.2 volt set of Craftsman drill, impact , 2 Nicad Batteries and charger a few years ago. Of course the battery life was limited. So when the same thing was offered in 19.2 Li-Ion I bought it. One battery internal charging circuit went bad. I got on Flea Bay and ordered 2 batteries for like $64.00 from China. Got them and the darned things would not charge. They were completely dead. Wouldn't read anything at all on the voltmeter. I remember reading that if completely dead, smart Li-Ion chargers will not sharge, so I used a DC variable power supply with clip leads to charge the batteries up by tapping the connection to the battery and holding it 15-20 seconds. (This is the manner that LI-Ion batteries charge so not to overheat and explode) and brought the batteries up to about 12 volts. The charger then charged them fine. What ticks me off is that B&D/Stanley who bought out the Craftsman line is not doing any backwards support whatsoever, only selling their new line with a Craftsman name.

Good Tip on the surface charge for your C3 batteries, Nice save, Vinniel! I did the same thing with some old Ryobi batteries and it works fine...just be careful as you stated. I had great luck with my C3 stuff for 8-9 years now, except for the chuck on the 1/2 Drill was crap and only lasted a few years. Replaced with a Jacobs from Amazon, ($12 higher now than when I bought it but a great chuck). Have had issues with the small capacity Li-ion not lasting long but picked up the 4Ah a year or so ago and it is great. The big thing to me is the PRICES for the buggers...Outrageous from mfg cost perspective...another Printer Ink Tactic! You can get a new drill and battery on sale for what a 4Ah cost.

Been tempted to take one of the dead ones and replace the batteries in it with 16850's as I've seen some videos on YT on how to do it. My experience with Li-ion/LiPo's is fairly high from an electronics standpoint from products and projects I've developed, but found some are good, some are bad and would look for a reputable source/mfgr! Doesn't look difficult and as long as the thermal protector isn't shot should be fine...even those are available on Mouser or Digi-Key.

Agreed about the B&D/Stanley sell off but there will be back stock and replacements for a while from sears parts. I tried to pick up some batteries when Lowes shut down OSH but they were the first to go.

About the old 1/4 Aluminum Craftsman; it's nice to hear that others have the had the same experience and the nostalgia with them. The days of products lasting 50-60 years is long gone I'm afraid! I did some looking on EBay and found similar. I think my dads was either a 315.7901 or a 315.7080 but it's in storage in a box some where...but the chuck is still in my tool box on the broom handle, Hand Chuck!

PJ