Tricks of the tools

Using a drill to power your winch

lectric winches are really useful. I have one on the boat but I have five other manual winches, which are great but take a lot of effort to wind them – especially with. I started to look around and came across an old handheld electric drill made by Milwaukee. But it was big and extremely heavy. All my power tools are powered by an 18V Makita battery, and I have a charger that serves them all. I called Makita and told them I wanted to use a drill to turn my winch. They were surprised, but I listed my power requirements, and they suggested a new brushless motor drill they’d developed which might work.