Sawdust on the Floor

Here is a trivia question for you.  Who is G. N. Lewis and what does he have to do with today’s woodworkers??  Did I stump you?  If you don’t recognize the name, he is an American physical chemist who did some of the earliest work on the Lithium Ion battery starting in 1912.  And for that, every woodworker owes Mr. Lewis a very big Thank You.   

A Lithium Ion battery has several advantages over the   Nickel Cadmium battery which until lately was the industry standard for most cordless tools. The main advantage the Lithium Ion battery has is its power to weight ratio.  Or to put it another way, a much smaller, lighter Lithium Ion battery can produce the same amount of power as a much larger, heavier NiCad battery.  What that means to today’s woodworkers is a smaller, more comfortable tool. 

Several companies have joined to movement toward to Lithium Ion battery, one that has really caught my eye is the LXT series from Makita.  One of the statements in their product literature really sums up the effect of the Lithium Ion battery.  Their statement “18 volts of power at a 12 volt weight” says it all. 

If you have ever spent the day working with one of the conventional NiCad battery tools then you can appreciate the idea of the same amount of power at a reduced weight. But the kind folks at Makita have gone one step better then just reducing the weight of the tool, the actual foot print of the tool is actually smaller.  The LXT series of tools feature  a smaller diameter grip, which makes it much more comfortable for many woodworkers including many older woodworkers or any woodworkers with smaller hands. 

One of the other benefits of the Makita LXT Lithium Ion  series of tools comes out when you have to remove the batteries for recharging.  My current collection of 18 volt NiCad cordless tools take considerable effort to remove and replace a battery compared to the Makita LXT series tools.  The Makita LXT Lithium Ion tools have a very easy to extract method to extract the battery for recharging.  There are  retractable leavers on both sides of the battery that are used to help remove the battery, no move trying to pinch a couple of widely spaced buttons on the sides of the battery as is common on most of the NiCad systems. 

So the summarize, thanks to Mr. Lewis’s efforts we now have a series of more powerful tools, that just happen to be lighter in weight, and more comfortable to use.  Again, thanks Mr. Lewis.

Related posts:

1. Woodworking Tools – Porter-Cable PCL180DK-2 18-Volt Cordless Lithium Drill/Driver Kit
2. Woodworking Tools – Nextec Hammer
3. The Forgotten Woodworker
4. Woodworking Tools – Sharpening Tools