Black & Decker 9099KC 7.2-Volt Cordless Drill with Keyless Chuck

I own four of these drills. I bought the first one in 2007 and it's batteries recently failed, as ALL NiCd batteries eventually will. Given the price of these drills and the abuse that my kids and four sets of sixth grade science students gave them, I feel that 5 years is more than a reasonable battery life.

Black and Decker DOES sell a replacement battery pack. Search for "Black and Decker 486988-01 BATTERY". The replacement is easy enough. Remove 8 screws, disconnect three spade connectors, remove and replace the battery, reconnect the wires, replaced the screws, voila! But the OEM pack is a bit pricey and creating your own pack is pretty easy.

The battery pack consists of 6 "4/5SC ni-cd" cells. We found those here on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Tenergy-1300mAh-Rechargeable-battery-OPTIONAL/dp/B00564V4Y6/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1354400048&sr=8-3&keywords=4%2F5+sc+Ni-Cd . Be sure you buy the type with "tabs" unless you've got a lot of experience with this kind of thing.

As I mention below, I first bought this drill for my then nearly 6-year-old. He's now 10, so dismantling the drill was his job which he handled with alacrity. After cutting apart the old battery it was easy to duplicate the wiring with new cells. We bound up the new pack with duct tape and installed it in the drill. The "Tenergy" cells mentioned above are better quality, and have higher capacity than the stock batteries, so we actually ended up with a better drill than we had to begin with. Over all a great "first serious tool repair project" for my kid.

If all of that seems daunting, you would be perfectly reasonable to say, "Heck, for 20 bucks, I'll just get another drill." But please don't throw your old one in the land fill. These drills are PACKED with great parts for student's Science Olympiad, MESA, robotics, or science fair projects. Give the dead drill to a local science teacher.

My original review from March of 2011 follows:

Having worked in the construction trades for many years, I have a variety of professional quality corded and cordless drills, but my six year old wanted a "real" drill of his own. I found one of these on sale for under 20 bucks a couple of years ago and figured that for the price, I wouldn't be too bothered if he ruined it. It was perfect for him to use for drilling holes in scrap lumber as he learned to use tools, clamp down his work, wear appropriate safety gear, and become comfortable in the workshop.

I was impressed enough that I bought two more for my students to use for technology and engineering projects in the middle school science classroom (popsicle stick bridges, mousetrap cars), and then I bought one more to keep handy at the bench where I do electronics and hobby projects.

Frankly, it is a far better drill than I had expected for the price. In repetitive use, it comfortably drilled 20 consecutive 1/4 holes in a slab of 4/4 oak. The slower speed on the two speed trigger works nicely for driving screws or drilling up to 1/8" holes through aluminum bar stock and brass. It will effectively work for slow speed grinding and sanding with "dremel" type attachments in a pinch, although obviously the Dremel tool is much better for this.

The drills in my classroom get continuous use for a few days and then get packed away until the next project. The ones at home will get intensive use over a weekend and then will go for several weeks without being used at all. Surprisingly, I generally find that the batteries retain plenty of power for a casual hole or three even when put up without getting a full charge first.

Tip: To keep the drill handy at my workbench, I cut the top and bottom ends out of a tomato paste can and screwed it to the apron on one end of the bench. The chuck drops perfectly into the can and leaves the drill ready to hand when needed and well out of the way otherwise.

Remember that if you allow your kids to use power tools, be sure they ALWAYS wear safety glasses and hearing protection.

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