Drills Reviews

Having blown a few corded hammer drills over the last 15 years I finally decided to try a good cordless model to get rid of the irritating cord. Did some research and came upong this drill which seemed to pretty much offer anything you can possibly want in a cordless drill. I have not been dissapointed. I really don't know how I ever got along without this tool.

The balance of the tool is great. It feels really well in your hand. Its a little on the heavy side but pretty average and to be expected from a NiCD 18v drill. The tool balance really makes it feel comfortable anyway regardless of the weight. The keyless chuck saves so much time and grips bits as good as a keyed one. The three speed transmission is very versatile and has as far as I can tell the highest RPM speed (2000rpm)for a cordless drill which is very useful for masonry applications. The middle speed (1450rpm) is great for when high speed and higher torque are needed such as hardwood, holesaws, etc and finally the slowest (450rpm) for maximum torque and driving. Most cordless models only have slow and fast, and fast isn't that fast, pretty frustrating for masonry work. The battery life is very good. The 18v XRP battery should provide enough power to work reasonably continuously while the other is finished charging. I can many times go a full day of extended usage without having to bother recharging.

Finally, the reason I really bought this drill, the masonry performance. Remember this is a hammer drill, NOT a rotary hammer. A rotary hammer is far more powerful but is pretty useless for anything else as they are typically to large, heavy and too violenty powerfull for smaller work. This hammerdrill I have found can easily outperform even many corded hammer drills. Lately I've been using it to drill mainly into insanely hard 40 year old structural concrete columns in a building and driving tapcon screws in. I would normally use a rotary hammer for this but rotary hammers tend to oversize holes so tapcons don't grips as well (or at all). With a good bit the drill powers through pretty effortlessly into the reinforced columns. Softer stuff like brick and blocks, it plows through with no sweat.

I give this tool the full 5 stars. It's by far the most versatile and best performing tool in my box. If you need a cordless drill that can do everything and replace all others, this is the one.

I have owned Dewalt 18 volt drills since they were 2-speed models years ago and this drill meets and exceeds my expectations. Very powerful, and well balanced with great run-time. I own 3 of these drills and use them for driving lags to building doghouses. Dewalt's quality is very impressive and they have never let me down.

I wanted to buy this drill as a single product, but the stores all carried it in a package with other power tools. Amazon offered it as a single. It arrived the next day even with standard shipping. I am greatly pleased with both the product and its performance and with Amazon and the speedy deliver!

I own a lot of Makita tools and I am an ardent supporter, but I would not recommend this tool. I have been using the 9.6 volt drill for years. It's a tank. I decided to upgrade and bought this drill based on a test in Wood magazine. I had to return 2 of them due to excessive play in the shaft the chuck is attached to. I should have heeded that warning. My drill worked fine for about a year. Then I knocked it off a 4 foot step ladder. It fell about 2� feet into a pile of leaves and mulch. Honest! It broke. Something in the gear assembly gave out. I disassembled it. Couldn't find the broken part. There are a lot of plastic gears in there. Very disappointed.

Well I bought this drill ... at Lowes, they had 3 new sets they were closing out. I ALSO bought the 14.4v De Walt with the XRP Nicd batteries. For comfort and control when driving screws the Makita felt more refined...however the batteries run down to completely empty in about 20 minutes of drilling!!!! This is totally unacceptable. I had to recharge the Makita 3 times for the one time that I've charged the DeWalt...and the DeWalt is still going strong...its a shame because the price and feel of the Makita was really nice! Anyway, I'll be returning it to keep the... DeWalt 14.4...

I have been completely satisfied with this product. I have used it daily on the job, working in adverse conditions (rain, cold, heat, any combo of them) for over 6 years. Started with the standard batteries and bought a 2nd drill with the new ni mh batteries 18 months ago. All batteries still work great. Both chargers still work great. (even though the older charger won't charge the newer batteries). One drill was even dropped into a full hot tub without lasting problems. I find the 12v driver to be light enough for extended use and still powerfull enough to drive long screws. If you are only doing occaisional work, the 14.4v may suit you better. Thanks to a thief, I am going to be purchasing another cordless soon, and it will be a Makita 12v.

It works best in soft soil. I am most pleased with the price.

It's a good tool. Very effective in areas where there isn't much spacing between plants. Works good with loam and sandy soil. Works in clay but it takes substantially more effort.

I had a yard full with garden areas that had about Five years of weeds to clean out. With the Garden Claw, I was able to clean up those areas in no time. It made work that would have been impossiable to do, very simple. I couldn't have done it without the Garden Claw.

Works great, just what I wanted. Wished that changing from vertical to horizonal was provided by pushing a knob or moving a lever. Otherwise very good workmanship.

It's perfect for small jobs when a full size drill press wouldn't be needed. It's compact design is great if your work space is limited. My son and I use it for making his Pinewood Derby cars.

I received this item and Dremel sent me an adaptor free of charge to allow this item to work with the xpr.
Great item

I bought the DW980 as I did not want to spend too much money. I then realized that it was not powerful enough for what I wanted to do and returned it. The 'Heavy Duty' in the product name misled me I guess. I suggest that you try it out first. I bought a 18V set and I am happy now. Drawback: it is a lot heavier to lug around.

This is a surprisingly fast and powerful drill for 12v. I had a Makita 12v cordless for over 5 years that only died because it was dropped.

I was going to switch to a higher voltage but when I tried this one out I thought the size and weight was just right.

The clutch issue that others are mentioning is not a problem. Gears 1, 2, and 3 are low speed/high torque through high speed/low torque. The 24 position clutch limits the motor torque, not the resultant output.

I think this works well, but it is not what you may be used to. The clutch does seem to break-in a little after a few uses.

This is a high quality drill. It is not like one of your B&D, Skil, or Harbor Freight models. This is an example of you get what you pay for.

Drill/drivers are one of those tools that I use a lot. I think that quality is important, and I can't see buying one of those low grade units. This has more torque and speed than your typical low grade.

Five stars definately.

I bought this drill for projects around the house, and it has risen to every challenge. Lots of torque for driving screws into oak. Plenty of speed when used as a grinding wheel. The battery lasts very long.

I haven't had any of the listed problems with the clutch either.

I think it's a great value that will last

I bought this tool from another company as a dog nail grinder. However, there are other Dremels better suited for this purpose. Also the product specs on Amazon are not always correct--double check first on the Dremel web site. This tool is currently spec'ed for 10K and 20K rpm. For puppy dogs slower is better as the friction is less and the nail does not get hot as quickly. Best tool would be something around 5K rpm. I think that's the slowest they sell. Some reviewers complained about the 8000-01 Lithium-Ion Cordless so maybe the 7800-02 9.6V Cordless MultiPro� is a good bet, though I have seen good reviews on the 750-02 MINIMITE� Cordless Tool however it's slow speed is 6500. BTW, specs for the 761-01 Pet Nail Grooming Kit are not online at Dremel so I can't confirm if the Amazon specs are correct, you need the owner's manual to do that. Thanks! and Good Luck!!

Good: high speed+abrasive wheel cuts through ANYTHING, light durable feel when using, vast array of bits makes this a jack of all trades from cutting to polishing.

Bad: battery pack does not last very long, On/Off Switch is not definite (safety concern?), needed to buy 2nd battery pack while working a a bathroom project

This is NOT a drill. I see other reveiwers complain about this. If you want torque buy a light-dimming 12Amp Milwaukee Power Drill. The Dremel is an abrasive tool. If used intelligently it will do ALMOST anything you ask it to.

I'm not what you would call a handy sort of fellow; a few years ago, my greatest handyman-type success was the successful changing of a light bulb. Five years ago, I had never even heard of Dremel; now, I wonder how and why anyone goes through life without a handy-dandy Dremel tool. A few years ago, I got it in my head that I wanted to build my own working versions of Tom Servo, Crow T. Robot, and Gypsy of Mystery Science Theater 3000 fame. Such a project involves some tool-oriented activity, so for the first time in my life I found myself looking at tools. Since I know nothing about tools, I went about my business trying to look like I knew what I was looking for. I think every man responds to the siren call of the hardware department at some point in his life, but not until I found myself looking at a selection of Dremel products did I feel a strange lump of excitement in the pit of my stomach; tool anxiety had suddenly turned into tool excitement, and I gleefully returned home with this Dremel Multipro Cordless kit - feeling quite manly, I might add.

Exactly what does this thing do, you ask? Dude, what doesn't it do? It slices, it dices - no, wait, that's not right. This Dremel tool carves, it grinds, it polishes, it sands, it cuts, it brushes, it drills, it does darn near everything. It comes with 50 accessories in the form of abrasive wheels, drill bits, wire brushes, polishers, engraving cutters, router bits, and cutting wheels. I, being born with a passive tool-user gene, can't really tell what each accessory piece does just by looking at it, but I'm sure most halfway intelligent people can. I have fun just trying to figure it all out. What I needed at the time I bought my Dremel kit was a little sander tool, and even I could recognize the accessories made for that purpose. I soon had my proto-Tom Servo head free of jagged edges and was ready to delve further into my little project; this was just the first of many little Dremel success stories in my suddenly tool-enabled household.

The tool itself is a portable two-speed unit that comes with its own battery and charger. Whenever you get through using it, just plug it back up to let it recharge, and it's ready to go the next time you need it. It is light-weight and allows for different grips, helping to ensure you can pretty much reach whatever little space you need to get to with it. This model has two speeds - 7500 and 15000 rpm. That's pretty darn fast, and that high speed combined with the unit's low torque makes life pretty simple for you - the tool does all the work for you, making this the perfect tool for weaklings such as myself. Now, if you're into some heavy-duty work, the Dremel tool may not meet all of your needs, but for many odd jobs around the house and all manner of hobby activities, a portable Dremel tool is the way to go.

I must say that the documentation that comes with the kit is quite impressive and does actually describe each accessory and its proper uses. Of course, my being a man, I don't think it's legal for me to read a manual, so I just get by on instinct and luck. The kit also comes with a colorful little book telling you all sorts of jobs you can do with your new Dremel tool - if you have a significant other, you might want to keep this kind of information away from her/him. Even if you do get stuck doing odd jobs your better half would never have conceived of without the insight of the Dremel documentation, at least you can be comforted by the fact that you will have a lot of fun playing with your new essential Dremel tool.

i had been waiting over 6 months for this drill press, my order in etc...never once did anyone from fisch website ever answer an email...customer service to me was totally non-existent.

then amazon finally cancelled the order saying the machine was not going to ever come.

when will i learn to only buy things that have good service and a company responsible enough to deal with customers.

I've had this DP for almost 2 years and have used it very lightly. The DP itself is ok, especially at the price. The chuck is junk though. It's very tempremental and sometimes won't open fully or lock down tightly on the drill bit.

I would not have bought this DP when I did if I had known how irritating it would be to work with.

After reading reviews on Amazon I purchased this drill press and found it to be a nice smooth running machine. Nothing was broken in shipment as several other reviewers had stated. Very easy put-together instructions, only took me about 15 minutes. Like everyone else I was trying to stay away from all the plastic, the switch box and also the top cover that swings open to get to the belt is also plastic on this machine, which I can live with. All the adjustments on the table works nicely and the depth stop adjuster with it fine thread adjustment and scale is better than others I'v used. The chuck also works smoothly and seems to tighten up on the bits well. The only reason for 4 stars instead of 5 is the spindle travel is 2-3/8 instead of the 3-1/4 travel on a lot of other benchtop models. All in all I'm happy with my purchase and it will make a good addition to my shop.

TRIED TO ORDER BUT WOUND UP AS A NO LONGER AVAAILABLE SO I CAN NOT FAIRLY REVIEW ITEM AS I DID NOT GET ONE, BUT DID GET A BETTER ONE AND LOVE IT , SAME BRAND.

I have many cordless drills, but this is my favorite! Yeh it a 9.6v and does not have the power of the newer 18-24v class but it fits everywhere. I'm a woodworker and it is the perfect screw driver. Speed is exelent, matched with a magnetic bit and you will be surprised! I bought this drill because it was [less costly]!! I'm now looking for another great buy on one. I do own the 12v hitachi but I still many times prefer the 9.6v. So take this advice and buy one. If you don't like it you can always sell it to me!!!

I am an electrical contractor and also a general contractor.This drill/driver has been nothing but the best.It's estimated torque is definitely under-rated,I have snapped the heads off numerous drywall screws in the drill torque setting.I have used every major name cordless in my profession,and this is the best,it's lighter than the rest,which makes it easy to drill or drive overhead for a long time without tiring,the life of the drill battery between charges is much longer than the rest,it's comfortable,light weight and well balanced.I currently own 4 of them,and my employees will grab one of these,before any of the other drills that I have.I had one employee drop one of these Hitachi drills from the top of a three story building,only damage done to it was that it cracked the left side of the case,but he continued to use it for the rest of the day.Any of my other drills would have been in the scrap pile after an impact like that.I have since replaced the drill case,and it still keeps going and going.I did have a problem with the clutch slipping out of the drill position on only one of the drills,but that was after over three years of heavy,hard usage.I can't begin to tell you how many times my other cordless drills from the major manufacturers have broken down and been in a repair shop.
For the money,this is the best doggone drill out there.I only wish,that in years to come,hopefully many years,when these drills that I currently own finally go to their final resting place,that this drill will still be available for purchase.But,thats just a dream,like everything else that works great,it is removed from the market and replaced with a new deluxe model,which works half as good as the original,and costs twice as much.
The major manufacturers have beefed up the drills with larger than needed,much heavier batteries.Try drilling overhead or driving screws overhead for an entire day with one of the new 24 volt beasts,your arms turn to rubber,and before you even start you better have biceps and forearms as big around as your waist size.

NEEDS LED-LUXEON UPGRADE
SEEMS WELL MADE-I UPGRADED THE BULB
HELPS A LITTLE-

Great flashlight, extreamly durable, the lumination is wonderful. Overall great flashlight.

These are great lights. I have had at least 5 Maglights in my life and each one has been there reliabily even after being dropped and on in the rain and in the mud...I am pretty rough on them. I even had one in the bedroom I found them so very useful. I am sure you will find them usefull too, no matter what size you get! Other than that, take care and good luck shopping.

i have had this drill for about a year. i have used drills now for over 50 years, so am familiar with the good and bad. the drill i got really lacks power; lacks the power to insert 4" deckscrews in redwood, 2" screws in hardwood is a no-can-do, forget drilling steel and applying pressure, the drill stalls out...the clutch regardless of the highest setting lets the drill stall. i have owned far cheaper drills which had enough torque to twist your wrist, no danger with this one. ..i bght it due to the 50 buck sale price...but would have been better off with another brand...about all i can saw good is it looks nice and is portable...even at 35bucks it would be iffy as a 'light-use' tool.

The delivery, packaging and billing went very well. Unfortunately the keyless chuck was locked in the wide open position so that I couldn't close it to use a drill bit or screw driver.

A nice drill for light work. However the batteries made in China, as those cheap drills, died within few months after intensive usage.