74041 Tamiya Electric Handy Drill Build and Review

The lack of a regular weekly race has given me a bit more time to mess around with things that I wouldn't normally entertain. One thing is to sort out my pitbox, so I have the right tools for the job. 

One tool that I have used a lot is a twist drill bit that I use to prepare hub carriers (A common practice on the older type TRF suspension). Well it looks like I might have a Tamiya manufactured replacement in the shape of the Tamiya Electric Handy Drill.

As this is a Tamiya, you didn't expect to have a fully assembled drill did you? The box contains three sprues, and a bag containing the copper connectors, steel parts, grease and fixings. 

After a quick read of the simple instructions it was time to start. If anyone here has built a Mini 4WD this kit has a very similar feel. First up we build the battery terminal by just attaching the copper connectors by clicking them in place.

The motor is attached next. As you can see it is a 180 style motor again, common in the  Mini4WD cars. This does mean that you can actually swap the motor out for one of the more expensive hop-up motors on the market such as the 15487Torque-Tuned 2 Motor PRO.  I just kept the standard motor for now. 

Next up we add the lock and trigger mechanisms into the blue plastic case. Having never made anything like this, it proved quite interesting to look at the trigger system.

Time for the shaft, as you can see it is made from steel and feels very solid and heavy. The kit includes a 1150 bushing, there was no way that was going in so I swapped it out for a bearing.

Attaching the E-ring next. This is made easier with the Tamiya E-Ring tool, as it reduces the amount of times they fly away!😬 

The final shaft assembly is all greased up and ready go into the casing. 

The gears and motor are all installed into the case. Everything is starting to feel nice and solid.

The other half of the case is attached with four screws. I popped in two AA batteries before attaching the battery cover.

The drill comes with two chucks. One for drill bits between 1-2mm the other for 2-3mm. The kit includes a 2mm drill bit so you can use either of the two included. I went for the larger chuck because I usually use bits between 2-3mm.

If you want a selection of drill bits, well Tamiya sells a basic drill set (74049) that contains all of the common sizes you could need when working on your RC car.

The case not only has the Tamiya logo on it, but also has a space for the spare chuck for the Handy drill so you can keep all of the parts together. 

You mount the chuck into the shaft, slide in the desired drill bit and then tighten the collet.  Your drill is finished. You can lock the trigger at any time, and the little steel button at the top is for the shaft locker which you use when tightening and loosening the collet. 

Track test (Ahem!)

So after building this drill, does it actually work as intended? Well I thought I would try it out to seei if it was was effective or just a toy.

The most important thing was to ensure that it would be able to drill out grub screw holes etc when preparing parts. The drill had no problem cutting through the carbon re-enforced plastic. It took a lot less effort than my twist drill bit. I thought I would go a bit further and I drilled through a plastic arm. The chuck holds the drill bit nice and straight and the little drill had no problem drilling though the plastic arm in a matter of seconds.

Overall

This Tamiya Handy Drill is a fun piece of kit. It is small so easily fits into my pit bag.

It performs what I need it to, so will get used in those critical times at the track. Yes I know there are more sensible solutions out there, but is there one that you can hop-up? I suppose that's why I am a Tamiya guy :)