Hammers Reviews

I recently purchased this 6.8 keyless chuck Hitachi hammer drill locally against the advice of the store owner. The item was so new that he had not had the time to field test the drill which he likes to do before selling to contractors. I had used other Hitachi drills similar to this model and found them to be very ergonomic and well balanced. I've used a Milwaukee 1/2 magnum for the last fifteen years and although it is a tough and dependable drill it has no where near the comfort and smoothness of the Hitachi. The most incredible feature to this hammer drill is the German-made keyless chuck. It is unlike any keyless chuck I have ever seen. It clamps a 1/2 drill bit with the slightest of finger-tip pressure (not hand pressure) and then has a locking ring that easily slides into the lock position. To release the drill bit, you simply slide the lock ring back to the unlock posistion ( a very slight movement) and then with the greatest of finger-tip ease, open the chuck maybe a 1/4 inch turn and the bit pops right out. This chuck works like nothing I've ever seen before. This is PRESICION! EASE! BALANCE! This tool is a winner!

I am not into breaking concrete slabs and bought one of these hammers for easier digging fence post holes in rocky southern Missouri soil and it works fantastic. I have a small 2500w generator so I can operate it any place on my 30 acres. I fabricated my own extra long hammer bit by using a chop saw and welding an extension into my hammer bit shafts. I have never owned/used any other demo hammer so am in no position to compare it to any other make or model. With my fabricated bits I can dig a 24" deep post hole and the tip of the tool is still well above ground level. This unit will dig a hole where my rear-mounted PTO tractor auger wont go once it hits fair sized limestone.

The stapler works very well. It is run off a senco minicompressor. The gun needs 75 psi + to shoot the 1 1/2" staples, below that PSI staples fail to sink properly. There is a wide variety of staples available in 1/4" crown including stainless steel staples. The gun has adjustable depth setting for staple, a useful feature. Works great, incredible fastening power, high quality, nice case.

I have used the Bostitch and many other staplers but this is the best. It is light powerful and reliable. Buy it, you will love it too.

Hitachi continues to dominate the pneumatic tool market with this professional grade stapler. It appears to be a close cousin of their 7/16 Construction stapler and functions every bit as flawlessly- powerful, quiet, balanced, light and comfortable in the hand. I am pleased that Hitachi did not choose to give it that "Flash Gordon"- green black styling they have used of late, which I find obnoxious. It is, quite simply the finest 1" stapler on the market, equally at home with both hard and soft woods, and unjammable.

Bought this to use in place of my air impact, which lacks the muscle I need to do some suspension work. Though I haven't done that work yet, a friend, who is a mechanic, borrowed it for some side work he was doing. He was so impressed with the torque and weight (lighter than others he's used) that he is now planning to purchase one.

This is one I would recommend for the home shop. Great price and works great also. No problems whatsoever.

I have had this kit for a few weeks now, the hammer drill is great, the buildings here are all concrete, i use about 50 tapcon scews on a set of cabinets, its one less cord to drag around. The saw turns less rpm than a corded saw, you get a lot less sawdust blowing in your face, i like not having to stock a different size blade.

This is a very well balenced drill, it has a good solid feel and allows nice control. The nickle metel hydried bat. are also a perfect match. I would recommend this drill to anyone needing
a high performence cordless drill.Better feel than Dewalt. My last Makita cordless lasted 20 years and I think this one will also.

This is the first personal drill that I have purchased. I did a lot of research online and scruitinized the different brands and finally settled on this one. I went to home depot to get a good feel and look up close on some of what they offered. Thats when i spotted this baby. I have personally used my father's dewalt 14.4V xrp series drill/driver and got a chance to drill and drive screws with the milwaukee v28 drill. I have read reviews on all the major cordless power hitters including hitachi, panasonic, hilti, milwaukee, bosch, makita, and dewalt.
I was even thinking of buying the 18V makita 8444 mxt nimh power drill because it's spec torque was also 560 inch pounds. This drill looks great and i hope it won't let me down. I have registered it and expect NOT to have to use the 3 year warranty it comes with. It's made in japan so I'm hopeful the quality and durability is just as good as on a honda or toyota. It has arm twisting power in low gear and if you try to hold the chuck still while depressing the trigger you'll burn your skin trying to do so. I did like a dumbass trying to see if i could stop the drill's torque. i hope this helps whomever is looking into buying this drill.
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This is merely a first impression and as I use more of this tool, I will update my comments. I am not a pro contractor, but only a weekend handyman warrior type who appreciates good tools. I opted to buy Makita instead of the Milwaukee V28 entirely because of Makita's lighter weight. To me ergonomics means almost as much as tool power. Also I've never had any complaints or durability issues with any of my Makita tools and so felt comfortable buying Makita again.

There is until June 28, 2006, a free tool offer. Buying a drill gets you a free impact driver. Alternatively buying an impact driver gets you a free drill. I made a conscious decision to buy the drill instead of the impact driver precisely because the case for the drill can also accommodate Makita's lithium impact driver side by side with the drill. The same is not true with the smaller impact driver case. At the time I ordered mine, they cost roughtly same, $329 for the drill and $319 for the impact driver. I think the price differential has since increased with the impact driver now only at $279. With the free tool offer until 6/28/06, and the $75 off promo offer from Amazon at the time, I paid only around $254 for both tools, not bad.

Now onward to the tool itself. This Makita 18 lithium hammerdrill/drill/driver is definitely lighter than the Bosch 18V hammerdrill/drill/driver I have been using the past two years. Whether the Makita can survive a 2-story drop on concrete as can the Bosch is another matter. It has three speed ranges. The slowest speed range (0-300 rpm) is useful on large spade bits, metal drilling, or hole saws, etc where extra control and extra torque are needed. I tested my Bosch side by side against the Makita using a 3" hole saw on redwood. The Bosch's low range is 0-600 rpm. In the 0-600 rpm range both the Bosch and the Makita were about equal in performance. At 300 rpm, the Makita did not show any advantage compared to drilling at 600 rpm with this particular test. As for torque, the Makita has 560 ft-lbs; the Bosch has 475 ft-lbs. The supposed extra power of the Makita did not manifest itself during this 3" hole saw test. Perhaps other more demanding tests, such as drilling large holes in metal, might bring out the advantage.

One way I judge a drill driver is how gentle it is in driving delicate screws. Unfortunately, in screw driving mode, this drill has so much torque even at the lowest setting that it will easily strip delicate screws long before the clutch kicks in. I have a feeling this problem is common among the powerful 18v drills.

The auxilliary handle on the Makita works really well, but the metal band mars the finish on the drill body. It kind of hurts to see the drill scratched up the very first day by the aux. handle. It does grip tightly and stays put, unlike the lousy one on the Bosch.

I like the Bosch chuck better because the carbide teeth on the Bosch's jaws have a better bite and less chance of slipping than the steel teeth on Makita's Jacobs chuck. The Makita Jacobs chuck also has a tendency to self-loosen its grip on a bit during heavy drilling, something that doesn't happen on the Bosch.

The slider switch that lets me instantly switch between drill or driver or hammerdrill mode on the Makita is a plus, but in my opinion is not a big deal. I guess I've gotten too used to turning the clutch/mode setting ring on these cordless drills by now.

The Makita has a built-in LED light. Makita placed the fixed-angle light just above the trigger switch as a one-size-fits-all approach to accommodate all lengths of bits. The drawback is the placement entirely favors long bits at the expense of short and medium length bits because short bits will be hit by a large dark shadow cast by the big chuck. For driving screws and drilling with a short bit, the exact point where you want light is the exact point where the large dark shadow falls! The ideal LED light should be placed lower near where the battery is and have an adjustable angle to accommodate different length bits.

One thing no lithium-ion power tool maker would like the potential customer to know is that rechargeable lithium-ion batteries permanently lose capacity over time as a function of storage temperature and the state-of-charge. For example at room temperature(25 degrees C), a fully charged (100%) Li-on battery permanantely loses 20% of its rechargeable capacity in just one year. At higher temperatures, the loss is even greater. Please don't misinterpret the above as to mean that you have to leave your tool and battery unused for a whole year for it to suffer from capacity loss. The capacity loss occurs at different rates at the different temperatures and states-of-charge but it's all cumulative, and the deteriotion occurs even when the tool is constantly being used, as well as during short-term storage, and not just during long-term storage. If you have a spare Li-on battery that you don't constantly use, the best way to store it is at a 40% charge. At 40% charge at 25 deg. Celsius, it loses only 4% capacity after one year. At 40% at 40 deg Celsius, it loses 15%. Heat is detrimental, even at a mere 40-degree Celsius. Yes, I said a "mere" 40-degrees, which is "merely" 104 degrees Fahrenheit. Most pros WILL have frequent, perhaps daily, occasions to leave their tools in the trunk or cabin of their truck, where it will easily exceed 104 deg. Fahrenheit in a hurry. Makita is giving these lithium batteries only a 1-year warranty for very good reasons. (Note: The above comments about capacity loss apply only to rechargeable lithium-ion batteries with a manganese oxide cathode. This applies to Milwaukee's V28 line, and I have every reason to think it applies to Makita's current Li-on and Bosch's upcoming Li-on batteries as well. I am not sure whether it applies to DeWalt's new lithium batteries which use an aluminum anode coated with nano-particles). The above comments on rechargeable Li-on batteries I learned from reading technical postings and articles on the WEB.

Overall the biggest advantage of the Makita lithium over the Bosch NiCD is really just the lighter weight, and also perhaps the 25% longer battery life (i.e. 3 Ah vs. 2.4 Ah) and a much flatter discharge curve than those of NiCD and NiMH. The Makita is lighter, noticeably lighter when you first pick up the tool, but in actual use when comparing it to the Bosch, the Bosch's greater weight seemed to disappear over time. The Makita feels better in the hand. If you are already happy with your other 18V NiCD or NiMH drill, switching to lithium likely won't give you much better satisfaction. This tool and the lithium technology is a slight improvement over the 18v NiCD or NIMH versions, but it's not a quantum leap in improvement overall, in my humble opinion.

The best feature of this driver is cordless. No cord or hose to get tangled / caught on the garage lift or workbench. It can be used away from the garage on the breakdown lane of a highway or at the salvage yard. The 144 foot / pounds plus torque is enough to work on most cars and trucks up to one ton. The battery has enough power to change a lot of tires on eight lug one ton trucks.