This new driver/drill from Makita is a great piece of work. I bought this unit just days ago, so this review is just an initial impression.
The BDF452HW is super light, easy to handle and has good power. The batteries are physically small, but still pack 18 volts. The L/I batteries have a very flat run-time curve...they stay full power until right at the end of the charge. They recharge in 15 minutes (for real). Makita seems to have capitalized on the advantages of new battery technology and combined it with a well built, smooth, advanced tool.
If you need brute power or a hammer drill, this is not the drill for you. If you want a medium to medium heavy duty drill, this lightweight beauty is close to perfect. I'll update this after several months of use. Right now, I couldn't be more satisfied.
*Update (04/13/07) After using this drill for several months, I still think it is the best drill/driver in this price/usage range. The batteries are excellent and the available power continues to satisfy me. This drill is lightweight, reliable, feels like quality and has the umph to drill even 2" Rock Maple and drive 2" lag screws into the same Rock Maple with no sweat. After living with it, I'd buy it again! Makita BDF452HW 18-Volt Compact Lithium-Ion Cordless 1/2-Inch Driver-Drill Kit
I've owned a 12v Dewalt drill for 10 years and although it still works great running on it's second set of battery's, I was looking for something with a bit more power,12v tools seem to run out of juice on larger heavier jobs so I was looking for an 18v drill.
Did some research and came up with the the Makita BDF452HW and ordered it from Amazon. First impressions great ! What a beautiful well balanced tool, fits in the hand very well, extremely light, ratcheting chuck, LED light, lots of torque for those heavy jobs, and the cherry on top is the quick charge Lithium ion batteries. I was very impressed with the whole package so I took it for a spin. By chance the first task that came to hand required some finesse, a 1/16" hole in a small computer connector, not the typical work for this heavy duty beast but you have to use your new toy.
When I drilled the hole, the drill bit shook and the drill itself seemed to have some vibration so I did so careful testing. After testing various bits and setups I determined that the chuck was off center and was causing any drill bits to wobble, not greatly, but enough you could feel it and enough to physically bend a small bit. I had noticed a previous review mentioned chuck wobble but after assessing the large number of positive reviews I dismissed it a just bad luck, it happens.
***** Five stars to Amazon's customer support, I returned the drill for an exact replacement, no charge and three days later I had another Makita in my hands ready to test. Sadly the second drill also suffered from the same fate, off center chuck causing the bits to wobble. I must be too critical so I compare drill holes with the Makita and my 10 year old Dewalt. I noticed two striking differences, the Dewalt was completely without any vibration, no doubt here, it was perfect. The second thing I noticed was the trigger speed control, the Dewalt was very smooth and seemed to be infinetly adjustable allowing me to very accurately control the speed, were the Makita had distinctive speed steps, not quit the control but definitely adequate. Oh yeh and the Dewalt weighted a ton compared to the Makita.
In conclusion, and honestly with great regret I sent the second Makita back for a refund ( ***** Stars to Amazon again !) and ordered the Dewalt DC720KA. It works great and has all of the features of the Makita with two exceptions, weight (its a heavy weight @ 4.8lbs but still very compact) and battery technology, still using NiCad battery's, rather than Lithium Ion.
The Makita is a great product if you can get lucky enough to get one that is put together well, sadly I had two in a row bad. Since the chuck is a little off center, this indicates poor manufacturing tolerances. This may have been a bad batch from a failed CNC machine, or it may be indicative of a more general problem, poor manufacturing practices that ultimately translate into poor quality and usually along with that a poor repair history, and a short product life. Only time will tell if this is a freak batch or indicative of a bigger issue.
I bought this drill in about January or February. The drill itself is great, but something is flakey with either the included 1.5AH batteries or my charger as extended stays in the charger have killed both my batteries (both with and without the charger plugged in!). Makita does not sell 1.5AH batteries, only 3.0AH replacements which are nearly $100 and twice the size of the 1.5AH units.
I'd give this unit 5 stars if the batteries performed as they should have. I'm working with Makita on a battery and charger replacement as this is clearly a problem with this (my?) unit.
I got this drill after I checked it out in a local hardware store. It felt so good in my little hand. My husband's old (ancient) Porter Cable 12 volt is wearing out and we're building a house. Instead of trying to find batteries for his old Porter Cable, I decided to get the Makita for Christmas. ( I know..I'm not your typical woman, I'd rather have electronics and power tools) This way I can help my husband when we're putting up drywall instead of standing around.
On to the drill. I absolutely love it. It's lightweight, powerful and it's stubby in length. Many times my husband has a tough time getting into small areas. The LED light is great too, after ten seconds of non use, the light slowly goes away. My husband is impressed with the power. I am a petite woman and it fits my hand nicely. The only problem my husband finds is that he has a tendency to hit the forward/reverse button instead of the trigger. I don't have this problem, he must hold it different than I do. I think he's just not used to the difference from his Porter Cable. We're both quite pleased so far. I don't like bulky tools.
Update: After nearly two years of heavy use my husband has stolen my drill from me. He loves it. Last weekend, he drilled through a steel beam in the basement. He's hard on stuff, but the lil Makita drill has held up superbly. The batteries charge quickly as claimed too. I'd definitely buy this drill again.
Update: It's been nearly 3 years now and one of the batteries finally died. :(. I've been reading about other people having problems with the batteries not lasting long. I guess 3-4 years is the typical lifespan. I ordered a new battery. Drill still working fine. I dropped it off a ladder this past weekend, as I cringed, the drill was fine. I do wish the batteries didn't cost so much. When I charge them, I try to take them off the charger as soon as they're done charging. We completely drain them too since we use the drill so much. This might help extend the battery life.'
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