I have gone through 2 of these now and cannot believe that Dewalt rates these at 310 in. lbs of torque. They do not seem to be able to drive a shorty 3/4 inch auger, or even a larger size speedbor bit. To top it off, when the bit jams, the gears seem to strip quite quickly and easily. This tool doesn’t even make it to the jobsite- The first one’s gears were stripped right out of the box, the 2nd one was stripped just messing around in the workshop.
I did not think I was being exceedingly harsh on the tool. I ended up taking it back and exchanging it for the Dewalt 18v cordless reciprocating saw. I hope that is a heavier duty tool than the drill turned out to be.
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Try a Milwaukee Close Quarters drill (corded). Not quite a true right angle, but a nice compact unit that fits in tight quarters. Sioux makes it for Milwaukee and they sell their version in black. Either branded drill has plenty of power and is well made for the long haul.
I don't have much faith in the yellow brand. One of my nailers is yellow and I have a couple other of their drills. They just do not feel like quality items.
My personal preference in power tools rates Hilti number one and Milwaukee number two. I haven't any Bosch, but I may if and when I need to replace any of my present units.
Good luck!
I was looking to go cordless, so I am down to considering the Hitachi 12 volt. If I were to go corded, I would either go with the Hitachi or the Makita.
Almost all my work is within 50' of commercial power. I shun cordless because of the batteries always seemed to die about a minute from finishing a job. It is so easy to pay-out an extension cord and wind up it again. Plus, having all the power available all of the time spells "convenience" to me.
I haven't tried any of Hitachi's power tools, but I have been impressed with their other electronics. I had one of their transistor radios back in the early '60's and it was indestructible.
The close quarter drill is NOT, according to Milwaukee, intended for driving auger bits .... hit a nail, something inside snaps, and you're in a fight over the warranty. BTDT. As I mentioned on another thread, I've been very well impressed with using a cordless impact driver, with the Irwin "Superbor MAX" bits. I can drill a clean 1 3/8 hole through heavy timber with no problem, and no felt twist at the hand. Plus, the head/bit combo is short enough to easily fit between most studs.
Did you mean the Erwin speedbor or the slf-feed wood bit? I went to the website and those two looked like they might be what you were talking about. What bits do you use with a cordless impact? I'm looking at an 18V li-ion makita.
I apologize for messing up the name. Here's the bits I'm talking about:http://www.irwin.com/irwin/consumer/jhtml/detail.jhtml?prodId=IrwinProd160002 They are available at Lowes, both singly and in a set. While you're at Lowes ... they might still have a set of the Makita 18v Li0ion drill AND the impact driver for less than $200 ... a 'two for one,' as it were. If I were buying today, I'd probably "go Makita." The impact driver has a little light in the nose - a nice thing in attics - and Makita's batter releases work better than the Dewalt and Milwaukee patterns they resemble.
I happen to own DeWalt right now ... my impact is 9.6v and I'm quite happy with it ... but if DeWalt fumbles the change to Li-ion, all bets are off. I'm not sure what's happening, but my DeWalt tools don't seem to work as well as they once did. I've yet to come close to the "1000 cycles" claimed for the batteries, and I don't believe my use of the drills is so heavy that they are supposed to wear out after a year. But I wander ....
I haven't used auger bits in mine. Any real heavy-duty drilling gets the big 1/2" Milwaukee right-angle. I use the "penquin" for desktops and countertops. I pop 2 1/8" holes for computer cabling. Fortunately, I haven't hit a nail that caused any problem (yet). Thanks for the "heads up" on the possible problem - I'm going to be more careful.
Surprising to hear cause I am "excessively hard" on mine. I beat the bejesus out of it and its always there for me.
It crashed once but that was after ALOT of one inch holes for wiring multiple houses.
My biggest complaint is the gear switch locate right where I like to push and the exceedingly small direction switch.
I have the corded Makita 3/8" compact right angle drill DA3010F and I find that it is a pretty good little unit. Not particularly cheap but I bought mine recoditioned for under $100. I have had no problem driving 1" spade bits through studs with it.There is a list of right angle drills at http://www.mytoolstore.com/compare/cpdrill2.html
I don't know just how exhaustive it is, however.
Edited 1/20/2008 11:40 pm ET by CaseyR
I think so too..he musta been using it for a task it wasn't designed for..and I think heavy drilling with augers and big paddles is NOT what they had in mind in the R&D dept.
That being said, I had one stinking hole to drill for a downspout outlet in a box gutter..the only jacobs style chuck drill I had up on the scaffold was the RT.Angle ( I had been doing pilot holes and 3" deck screws into the framing)..so I chucked up the 4" hole saw and went at it..nice and easy..it did it, begrudgingly. That was 1by pine, with only a moderate hit on the support below it
The biggest problem I have with mine is not remembering to put it in nuetral or pop out the batt. when packing up my bag and lowering it off the scaffold. Start the drive home and the first redlight I come to, I have to go and get it turned off cus it is sitting in a riggers bag running REALLY slow, if the trigger is slightly against another tool.
They are great for kit cab installs and hard to reach drilling areas, but to wire through framing all day, I'd use a true corded RT angle drill with the reversable chuck for speed change.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
"Success is not spontaneous combustion, you have to set yourself on Fire"
They are great for kit cab installs and hard to reach drilling areas, but to wire through framing all day, I'd use a true corded RT angle drill with the reversable chuck for speed change.
Me too, but i'm just a poor simple white boy so I have to keep abusing my rt angle dw.