I've never reviewed a product here before but I felt I really had to this time.
Long story made short- I am a cabinet maker and when I received my 18v DeWalt from Amazon (after waiting patiently for almost three weeks) it arrived with a wobble in the chuck. I don't mean I took a dial indicator to it to make sure it was perfect, I mean it was easily visible to the naked eye. If I had to drill a 1/16th hole in something this would not do an accurate job. So, I emailed Amazon and they kindly sent me a replacement drill which also arrived with a very wobbly chuck. Two in a row, I couldn't believe it. I called the DeWalt 800 number and they said to take the drill to my local service center. When I did they took one look at it and said "oh yeah, that's not right, we'll put a new spindle in for you,". Two more weeks (with no drill) later I sent my intern to pick up the drill. It came back with a new chuck and a slightly different wobble. I now regret buying something online that I would want to hold in my hand and examine first. Sure, this drill would work fine for shooting drywall screws in but I need something better. For $200 I want a drill that's nearly perfect. 200 bucks is alot of money.
So, what happened to DeWalt? Have they cut costs to meet higher demand? I bought a 14.4v cordless DeWalt right out of college and it worked great for years until it was stolen. In a pinch I bought a 14.4v Ryobi which worked well for a year but eventually the batteries stopped holding a good charge. When that happened I thought well, it's time to buy another DeWalt, but now I wish I hadn't. DEWALT DC759KA 18-Volt NiCad 1/2-Inch Cordless Drill/Driver Kit
I recently purchased this drill despite the warnings I have read here related to chuck run out. After charging the battery and firing the drill up for the first time, I was disappointed to find that the chuck was dooing the hula! There are 2 key characteristics for a power drill, the first is that it is powered, the second is that it rotates concentrically around its central axis. Unfortunately this drill did not meet these basic requirements. I sent it back in exchange for the XRP model. The XRP had worse run out than the first!! I used an XRP model for years in the maintenance shop and it was a tough and bullet proof accurate drill. The new drills are not anything close to the ones manufactured 5 years ago. I am not sure why Dewalt has sided in favor of poor quality. If they still cared about quality, drills like these would not have made it out of the factory. The run out that I experienced would have been caught on a very basic visual test.
Don't waste your time with a Dewalt drill unless you don't care about run out.
I wrote Dewalt's customer service department complaining about the problem. Apparently Dewalt has sent its customer service off shore as well as its manufacturing. The response letter for letter is below.
Hello, and thanks for using DEWALT's on-line support.
Sorry to hear of your problems with chuck run-out. Our specs call for no more then 15,000 one inch from end of chuck. If third unit has same problem contact me via this email. Have you tried to drill holes of drive screws with these units? If so what happen?
Thank you for allowing us the opportunity to serve you. If your question remains unresolved or if you require additional information please update this incident.
Sincerely,
John Smith
What a Joke!! Again, don't waste your time or money on a Dewlat Drill.
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!
I purchased this drill as part of a drill/saw combo at Home Depot for $199 so go there for a better deal. I bought this drill to compliment the 18V Dewalt pistol handle drill I already have. I know what your thinking, why do I need two drills? Have you every tried to drill/drive in between stud cavities with a pistol grip?? Pain in the bottom to do, so when I have that type of work to do I just grab this one, now onto my review.Plenty of power for anything you may want to do, drives screws like a champ, drills through 4x4 PT with 1 1/2" spade bit with no problems. A great drill at a great price. Since I own their more expensive model I will point out the differences. No hammer action, only 2 speed(don't need the third speed), 2 piece chuck versus the 1 piece, and the handle doesn't have those nice rubber inserts. Doesn't handle small bits that well due to the chuck design, and the trigger sticks a little when trying to slowly advance it.One piece of advice, before you even use the drill for the first time grab some athletic tape(Walmart sells black athletic tape so it doesn't look retarded) and wrap it a couple of time around the handle. That improves the grip 100%, trust me.Even though I did bash some things this is still a awesome drill. - 18v - Drill - Tools - Dewalt'
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