Older Revision of Accessorize Your Power Tools
Accessorize Your Power ToolsAfter seeing all of the airsoft and paintball articles on this web site, I realize that it is possible to get tactical with power tools as well. Just what does that mean? Well, a cordless drill is shaped like a pistol. What about attaching a tactical flashlight to the drill like a pistol? How about adding a Picatinny weaver rail to the power so that a battery holder can be attached? This article explores these ideas with examples and DIY how-to instructions. Picatinny Weaver RailThe Picatinny weaver rail (see photo below) is a standard created by the military and gun manufacturers to allow an assortment of accessories to be attached to guns. Accessories like tactical flashlight, laser sight, and scope can be attached. We can take advantage of this standard rail system on our power tools as well. Tactical flashlight can light up your work environment. Laser sight can help align your power tool to your project. The scope is probably useless on your power tools, but an airsoft battery box can be very useful. 
Some guns come with Picatinny weaver rail built-in. But because many guns do not have built-in rails, it is easy to buy rails. Therefore, it will be easy to acquire rails for youe power tools as well. See the "Related Links" section below to get some from Amazon. The photo above shows a plastic Picatinny weaver rail that is medium length. There are shorter and longer ones to suit your power tools. Also, the rails are available in metal or plastic. Metal is stronger and more robust. Plastic is lighter and can be easily altered for your needs. Gluing a Rail to Your Power ToolMost rails are mounted with screws. But it is not always easy to take apart your power tools. So gluing becomes the next best option. My first attempt is with super glue. But it is too brittle and just the slightest force causes the rail to come off. It turns out that the Loctite Stik 'n Seal is perfect for this purpose. This glue is a waterproof glue, which is unnecessary for our purpose. Its ability to adhere to metal, plastic, and many other materials makes it a great glue to use. In this section I will go through some examples of gluing various rails onto various power tools. 
The cordless drill is the most common household power tool. This Skil 2236 cordless drill (see photo above) is over ten years old. The original 7.2v NiCd battery is long gone. But it has been so reliable compared to some of my newer cordless drills, I still use it toda. I have since started using RC car batteries with it. So it would be nice to be able to mount a airsoft PEQ battery holder to it. Like most pistols, the best places for rails are on top and on the bottom in front of the trigger. We are going to glue a top rail to it. The Skil 2236 has a clamshell design. I have taken it apart to solder a Tamiya connector into it. But if we were to gluue a top a rail to it, it would be impossible to take it apart later. The solutionis to glue only half of the rail to one of the clamshell. The photo below demonstrates glue on only one half of the rail. 
The top of the Skil 2236 ccordless drill is slightly curved on top. So a large c-clamp is necessary to keep the rail secure on the drill for the next 24 hours as the glue drys. The photo below shows the clamp keeping the plastic rail in place. 
After the glue drys, the Picatinny weaver rail is ready to accept accessories. The photo below shows the final result after the glue has dryed. 
Let's move onto our next project. It is a cordless saw. Like the cordless drill, the original battery is no lnger working. It ahs been modified to power from RC car batteries. But there is no real way to store the battery inside this power tool. So it sourly need an external battery holder attachment. The idea iss to glue a short, metal Picatinny weaaver rail to it like the photo shown below. 
Tactical FlashlightBattery Holder
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