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Product Reviews
Four Years' Tough, January 23, 2004
Reviewer: Richard Hayhoe "Rick"
I have two of these drills. Have used one or the other of
them daily for three years this month. About time for a
review. They are tough. I do not understand the comments
about weak chucks or, in other places, about battery
problems. My drills, their batteries and chargers have
performed, as I say, on a daily basis for three years
under all kinds of conditions and some very hard use
without so much as a glitch. They have tremendous torque
and staying power under continuous use. If you are going
to shoot large screws or drive a big bit rapidly into very
hard or though wood, brace the drill-driver's grip,
battery end against your knee or thigh before you squeeze
the trigger. You will have fewer wrist problems if you
do--it has that kind of torque. Regarding one complaint, I
would not use this driver with tiny drill bits; it just is
not intended for that. It defies logic to do so. What it
will do is take the heaviest work and drive large bits and
sink big screws all day and just keep on going. An
example: In the intense, 100 degree plus heat of one
summer, two carpenter friends and I laid a 1700 sq foot
subfloor of 2X6 T&G over 16" OC joists with two 3-1/2 inch
screws to the joist, working as fast as we could all day
for what seems now like several days. The wood was very
tough, dense struc select Doug fir. When my two friends'
drivers, one a Makita and one a Hitachi, got hot as
pistols or their batteries needed recharging, whichever of
the DeWalts I happened to be using could keep right on
going. I would lend the other DeWalt to either guy while
his driver recovered. I smoked those batteries, but by
following the right charging procedures never had a
failure. They both still take deep cycle charges and hold
them well, after three years of hard use. One took a
fourteen foot fall off a roof while mounted to another
DeWalt tool, the battery taking the full impact on tamped
crushed rock, and it still works as well as the others.
Just read the instructions and you will not have trouble
with the batteries. Quick charge when you have to, but
balance that with long charges from a low state over the
weekends. Never use the batteries while they are still
warm or hot out of the charger, do not run them out
completely--just nearly so, and do not repeatedly shallow
charge them. Nicads will not last long with that kind of
treatment. They take a "set" and will not charge deeply
afterward. As for weak chucks, well, one incident does not
make them all that way. When my drywall zipgun stripped
its chuck, I picked up one of my DeWalt 18V drill-drivers
and kept on going--for over 300 sheets of 1/2 and 5/8 inch
drywall. The clutch and speed mechanisms work well enough
that I had good control and could hang drywall almost as
fast as with the zipgun. One caution regarding the
clutches on these brutes: they require breaking in; don't
be upset if they are hard to use at first. You can see
from this what DeWalt 18V drill-drivers have done and can
do, and still I have not had the slightest problem, though
they look pretty beat up now. I do not think a single work
day has passed in which I have not used one of the two.
Now I have a whole lot of DeWalt HD 18V tools, because
these two drill-drivers performed so well I was not afraid
to buy into a lot of tools in the same line. I have had no
trouble with any of them. You never lose them, either;
that DeWalt yellow shouts at you from across the room,
across the lot or from under a pile of tools and offcuts.
When these go, I will buy more.
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Great drill/driver, May 11, 2004
Reviewer: Sammy G. Duncan
I have had this drill for about six months and am very
happy with it. I am a homeowner so I can't speak as to how
this drill would function during all day use. For projects
around my house it has plenty of power although, like
every other cordless tool I have used, it needs a little
more time drilling/driving through hard wood. If I want to
drill through something thick and tough, I used a beefier
corded drill. So far, I have not noticed any of the
battery life problems discussed by other reviewers.
I picked up a set of the Dewalt hex shank bits and have
not noticed any slippage. The only time I have had a
complaint with the drill was while using a hole saw to
install locksets in two doors. Of the four holes, the bit
slipped out of the chuck two times. Once I reinserted the
hole saw it went right on through the door. I don't know
if I didn't get the chuck tight enough or if the chuck
just prefers the hex shank bits.
All in all a great drill. I can't imagine ever installing
curtain rods, assembling bookcases, etc. with a corded
drill and/or screwdriver again!
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ALL BARK AND NO bite..., March 9, 2006
Reviewer: M. van Pelt "DRUG PRO" (NEW JERSEY) - See all my
reviews
Drill endurance is terrible. 5 year old Panasonic 15.6
volt and 3 year old Ryobi 18 volt beat it up everyday.
Protocol is 3 battery swaps in an 8 hour work day. It's
only 6 months old. Bottom line, A RYOBI OUT-PERFORMS IT!
My co-worker calls it a yellow Ryobi and laughs at me
everytime it dies in action.
I will continue to use it because it cost 199 dollars and
I cannot afford to try my luck with something else right
now. Service center was dissapointing as there is no
recourse for a sub par product. You live, you learn.
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Made My Husband a Happy Man!, March 6, 2006
Reviewer: Houston96
I got this for my husband's birthday and he was thrilled.
The first time he used it, he was helping our neighbor
drill out some stumps and he said the torque was so strong
it nearly ripped off his arm. (Slight exaggeration there,
I hope.) Anyway. He loves it and highly recommends it.
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great tool - money well spent, February 5, 2006
Reviewer: Ben Strand "Ben"
I have had all varietys of cordless drills some more
expensive and some cheaper. This is the best one I have
purchased yet. Charges quick so as not to leave you with
downtime. Use it Daily and love it.
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