One significant issue with the 115 volt AC feed from my on-board welder is that because of the nature of the AC generated, you can't use any power tools which have a variable speed trigger. If you do so, the trigger burns out almost immediately - with lots of cool smoke. The reason is that the unit creates voltage which alternates at 7,000 hertz - compared to 60 hertz from regular US AC lines. This is also the reason the welder works to well.
I was reminded of this during my recent trailer repair coming back from Moab. I didn't mention it, but the trigger on the drill we used burned out almost immediately when we tried to use it. After which, it would go wide open as soon as you plugged it in. We got it to work by my holding the drill, and my brother plugging and unplugging the thing to drill the holes on those shackles.
I like to carry corded tools on the rig and not have to worry about batteries, so I went looking for a new drill. But I could not find a decent single speed corded 1/2" drill (why would you need one of those?). So, picked up a Dewalt 1/2" variable speed corded drill, and figured I would rewire it for single speed. Here it is:
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So I tore it apart and carefully opened up the trigger mechanism - these things really are not made to be serviced, so that took some doing. Turns out that the way it operates worked to my advantage. There is a chip in there that engages first and creates the reduced current flow for the variable speed control. This is the part which gets fried when you plug it into the Power Welder. But then when the trigger is fully engaged, it makes a pure mechanical connection between the inbound AC line and the motor.
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So after the challenge of getting the switch apart, the mod turned out to be easy. All I had to do was cut all the connections to the chipset, reassemble to trigger, and put it all back together.
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And just like that, I had a single speed 1/2" corded drill - without any smoke...
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