Drills Reviews

I got this tool after my last drill (a Craftsman 12Volt) was stolen out of my garage. I went back and forth between 14.4 volt and 18 volt drills, but went with the 984K bebause it has a higher peak torque than many other 18V drills. Also, I used the 18V drill, and it's a little heavy to hold over your head for a while. I've used this for drilling holes in metal and wood, and it has performed flawlessly. I'm very happy with this drill.

I purchased the DW984k-2 several months ago and am happy to report that it has performed like a champ. It is a great middle-weight cordless and the hammer function has come in quite handy on several occasions where my corded rotary hammer would have been too much. Perhaps the best feature on this drill is the keyless chuck. Nothing has slipped or skipped so far and I don't expect it will. I highly recommend this drill for anyone who needs a cordless for multiple applications.

I just bought this new drill. It is stronger than my old 18 volt Makita. I have been using it to set bolts in rock. DeWalt is rating the 14.4 at 1/4" diameter in masonry, but I am getting 1/2" holes 2" deep with no trouble. The third gear makes a huge difference when drilling into concrete or rock. Trust me, buy this drill and you won't look back.

Couple weeks ago I bought this product. At work I found that it's not power enaugh like other 12Volt products. Plus nobody tells you that this Makita was made in China.

I had a small cordless screw driver before this and I had just about decided never to have another battery operated piece of junk again. However I tried this tool because I saw some construction guys using one like it. I looked around and I spoke with the guys at Schosser Tools in Denver and in the end I purchased one. I'll never be without one again. It's definitely a tool worth having around. It's got the power for just about anything around the house. I even let the cable TV guy use it to drill some masonry holes because his batteries were dead. It's a good tool.

I am a huge Makita fan. I like what they produce. This little drill is no exception. I wouldn't have it as my only drill but as an extra it's great to have around. It has plenty of power for light duty drilling and fastening. That's what it's for. If you are left handed you won't like it because the forward / reverse switch is on the left side of the tool . Most are centered over the trigger these days. I also wish it came with higher capacity batteries . Other than that, this is a great little drill for small jobs.

I too bought these Dewalt bits, actually two different sets with different cases. The first case's hinges broke apart and the second sets case had the insert holding in the bits come unglued. The bits themselves are bits, nothing special about them. I have other dewalt products and this one, especially the case, is uncharacteristically of poor quality.

I bought this set, even though it was more expensive than the competition, primarily because of the very substantial-looking case: I figured that, once the bits suffered the inevitable fate of dulling, snapping or loss I could use the case for replacment bits. The bits were of excellent quality but the case turned out to be poorly designed; the hinge is a flimsy snap-together affair that fell apart right away. Now I have two halves of a case floating around in my tool bucket. So much for my plan! DeWalt, how could you?

As seems to be the case with some of the other reviewers here, my case's hinges are hanging on for dear life. But I have to say, the bits are what I paid the bucks for, and they're certainly performing up to snuff. no regrets here in paying up for these...

Just received my DW3178 blade from Amazon and see it is now made in China. Looked carefully on the Amazon site and couldn't find where it is made. For me there are too many other choices to buy a chinese blade, no matter how it cuts. Also wish Amazon more clearly showed country of origin.

Ok so I went from a steel blade that came with my skilsaw, to this, and can't praise the dewalt high enough. It cuts easily through 2x stock, and just as easily and clean through plywood. I doubt I'll go thru more then one blade a year, which for the price I paid its a small investment into a quality blade. And I would do it again.

This blade is a very nice blade. it cuts smoothly and I have never had it bind on me. But it is the same caliber as the porter cable riptide blades. I use this most frequently because its what my boss supplies to us for use in our saw. but it is inexpensive and a great value.

Tool Crib Catalog 505, page 77 shows this drill with blue tab battery and a price of $49.99. Both in error.

In addition to not being able to read, I believe he maybe blind. There are no "blue tabs" on the photo. There is nothing but black and green.

To the other reviewer, can't you read that it says "Includes two 1.2 Ah Batteries". Don't give the product a bad review b/c you can't read the specs.

I bought this drill as I build cabinets, some of them only 12 inches wide. This drill was a life saver a time or two and did a good job in that capacity!

The problem that arose, and the complaints I have, pertain to the ease in which you can inadvertanly turn this drill on(as the switch is a very accessible paddle) and when pushed hard, such as drilling 3/4 inch holes through 2x4's for wiring, the drill would not shut off, but kept running.

You can not sit this drill down on anything except a flat surface or it can accidently turn on.
Attempting to park it on top of a ladder for a moment can be dangerous.
You also can not tuck it under your arm for a second to reach for something else, as you can accidently turn it on.

I took this drill to the local Milwaukee repair center and complained about the drill continuing to run after I had released the switch. They kept it a week, called and said it tested fine! I took it back, did another drilling job, same problem! This is an accident waiting to happen.

I junked the drill. I could not in good concience sell it to someone whom might use it hard and inadvertantly drill through their leg, arm, or other body part!

Mine arrived looking like new, and works great. Nice to have a US made product that surpasses my expactions.

I resently went into business for myself installing cabinets.I have struggled for months with other drill / drivers to drill holes or drive screws in small or tight cabinets. THIS IS THE PERFECT TOOL FOR BOTH. Also great for removing cabinet door from there hinges. Buy one for yourself, or two. Give one to your helper for Christmas, or his/her birthday. My female partner loves it. She say's "Very easy to handle, but hold on, it has power."

I love Freud cutters and saw blades. They are usually ready to go out of the box. I have a set of Freud HSS Forstner bits, and they are very good. I recieved this set as a gift and even though I already have these size's I was pretty excited to get a set of carbide bits. I work with a lot of hardwoods and you have to be careful about the pressure you use with HSS bits, so you don't burn your workpiece or overheat your bit.
I chucked up the 3/8 bit to bore some holes for decorative plugs and noticed that the bit was not cutting a very clean hole, seemed like I had to apply too much pressure also. I pulled it out of the drill press and upon examining the cutting edge, I noticed it did not have that bright, shiney edge you normally associate with a sharp tool. I examined the rest of the bits and they looked the same. So I carried them down to the local saw shop where I get all my blades and cutters sharpened and ask them to take a look at the bits. Their opinion was that the bits were very dull, looked like the last two steps in sharpening them had been overlooked. So $30 and an hour later I was on my way home with sharp bits. Put the 3/8 back in the drill press and tried again. This time the results were what I had hoped for.The bit cut thru the Padauk very nicely and left a nice clean hole. I cut another 19 holes and each was excellent. Cutting the last hole was as easy as cutting the first. I have noticed no wobble in any of the bits and other than the sharpening problem have had no trouble with this set. I do think my HSS set does a little better job in soft wood and plywood, but it is a close call. Wish I could afford some larger ones in carbide...3"-31/2" would be nice for clock making.
These are the first Freud cutter's I have had that were'nt sharp out of the box, so I won't let it influence my love of Freud blades and cutters in the future. I rated it 4 stars because of the sharpening problem. Still recommend Freud blades and cutters.

First time working with the bits today and well satisfied, as usual, with the Freud products. Very sharp and smooth. Good buy. Rebuilding from Hurricane and getting to use many of the new tools and these bits are well within the five star range for my money. You may pay a little more for the name, but the quality is there.

I have been using the bits for several months. I have had very good results working with soft woods on my small drill press. The bits are very straight compared to the junky Irwin bits I got at Home Depot. The carbide bits are very sharp and cut a very true hole. The only problem I have with this set is that it is missing several handy sizes such as 7/8", 1-1/8" & 1-1/4". I tried to purchase the Freud 1-1/4" carbide bit on Amazon, but they appear to no longer stock them. Instead I went with the 1-1/4" Freud steel forstner bit. The steel bit seems to work just as well as the carbide bits. If I had to choose between the Freud carbide set and the Freud steel set, I would probably go with the steel, because it has 9 more bits. Buying forstner bits individually can get very expensive.

The switch on this drill is difficult to operate. Myself and two other guys had problems with it. The drill is either locked on or off. If the bit jambs you can not quickly stop the drill or for any matter it is difficult to stop. This is a problem and will probably burn up the motor when it is jambed and attempts to turn. I guess if Hitachi makes a better switch or even a simple trigger it would be a great drill. I am returning mine tomorrow.

I bought the Hitachi mainly based upon price because I don't intend to use this drill on a daily basis. There are some times that only a right-angle drill will do. It is well built and a solid performer but the slide swith is a real bummer! Mostly you will NOT want the drill to run continuously. I whittled away the small catch on the slide (good-bye warranty) and find a much better drilling experience. I now control when the drill runs. But for the switch I would have given it 5 stars.

First of all, I want to clarify something in another review of this product. The type of switch on this product is for tight space! It is impossible to maintain a firm grip (control) on a power tool and operate a paddle switch at the same time. I have used tools in both construction and automotive all of my working life. For example: the old Snap on air ratchets had a index finger (trigger finger) switch. The other inexpensive tools have a paddle switch that all of us in the business call, knuckle busters! I own both types. With a paddle switch type, if the tool is under load or starts to get away from you, of course you can't just let go of the tool to shut it off! If you hang on, as we all do, your hand and tool can become sandwiched between other material such as 2X4's with nails or screws or sharp metal. I had it happen with a high torque air ratchet, where the tool was under load and pulled my hand into metal radiator, shroud and fan blade, tearing the flesh from my knuckles and the back of my hand. While screaming in pain, I had to contort my body and use my left hand to disconnect the air line from the tool to shut it off, after the damage was already done! This is probably not going to happen in construction but you get my point Why do most high speed grinders and cutters not have these paddle switch's???? Hitachi engineers were really on the ball with this tool design! Once again "one up on the competition"! The best in it's class! I bought this tool for the following reasons: the type of on off switch, speed control dial, reverse and forward, and of course Hitachi's excellent quality and ergonomics. I am delighted with all of my Hitachi tool's, great tool's!

I bought this rotary hammer for drilling in grout holes for rebar and anchor bolts and some other misc. holes in concrete. It is a very good tool for someone who has a lot of varied tasks but dosen't work the tool everyday. The clutch is a wrist saver, the bits are harder to find than SDS Max and the price is right. But the tool went down in a matter of hours, and given Hitachi's impossible to locate parts, I'm shopping for a SDS Max Hilti or Bosch. No tool is a good deal if it shuts your job down.

Like most Hitachi tools , this is very well engineered. It stands up to all kinds of abuse. Mine ran for years drilling all sizes of holes in old hard concrete. I also used it for chipping which is hard on roto hammers. They don't have a lot of power for breaking concrete as this is not their intended primary use. So when you do use them for breaking , they have to run a lot longer than a demolition hammer would. It has pretty good power for drilling though. I bought mine used and had it for five years before replacing it recently. I went to SDS max which is currently replacing spline drive in the large rotary hammer market. It is a tighter mechanism which transfers more of the hammering power to the bit , resulting in faster drilling performance. If you have a lot of spline bits , this would be a good tool to buy. If you are starting from scratch , I would recommend the SDS max hammers from Hilti , Bosch or milwaukee

I bought mine a few months ago, and I love it. I use it for breaking up granite boulders by drilling a line of holes and splitting the rock with stonemasons' 'feathers and pins'. The thing weighs quite a bit so it's not the best for small holes in masonry walls. It seems to work best when held vertically or close to it. ... I've not had any problems with it, and it does as good a job as my friend's Hilti which cost him more than twice as much. The spline-shaft bits aren't always easy to find. My local Home Depot has a few, but mail-ordering is usually necessary to find a specific size. I haven't tried to use it as a jack-hammer yet, so I cannot confirm or refute toolpig's evaluation of when it's used as such. In any case, I think I got good value on this tool.

need adrill with a little more guts but not any bigger.why cant you ship to canada.

if your considering this drill and have any doubts about it's performance,rest assured that this is a real drill and not a toy.I've been using one around the shop and house for two years now and have no complaints.As long as you dont expect too much from it this little 4.8 beauty performs like a champ.It is best suited for drilling small holes and driving short screws.It will drill up to 3/8" in even the hardest wood but,in my opinion thats not it's best feature.It charges kind of slow and the speed isn't variable it's all or nothing with this drill. But other than that this is a fine quality tool and I do recommend it. Now get out there and drill some holes.

As should be evident, this isn't the cordless drill for hanging drywall or framing a house--but for small jobs around the house it has all the right stuff. Plenty of torque for driving screws into wood and drilling medium sized holes; just don't expect it to keep going for hours. We have used ours for almost three years and it's still going strong. As long as you understand its limitations you're sure to be satisfied. Its light weight and compact size make it ideal for smaller hands and reaching into akward spaces. I love mine!! But don't pay more than $50--look beyond Amazon...