Customer Reviews

DEWALT DC983KA 14.4-Volt Ni-Cad 1/2-Inch Cordless Drill/Driver Kit

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I'm not sure why people are complaining about this drill in other reviews. As far as the bit not being centered perfectly, that did happen to me a couple of times, but each time readjusting the bit slightly made it perfect. At any rate, I've got no problems with this drill. As a matter of fact, my expectations when I brought it home were pretty low because I'm so used to corded drills. But it really can hold its own. Two things that were a little annoying at first -- the sometimes-touchy chuck that I just mentioned (but that's easily fixed), and the tendency for the speed selection switch to not always move fully into position. From time to time, I'll be on "3", for example, and try to slide the switch down to "2". But there will be a lot of resistance, and the switch won't slide fully into place. The fix: blip the trigger. Switch moves perfectly. Between those two things, I guess I could have made my review 4 1/2 stars instead of five. Since I don't have the option of a half-star and the problems are not big enough to warrant docking an entire star, 5 stars it is. My only real complaint is my own fault. I'm so happy with it, I want to start buying additional cordless DeWalt tools. Probably should have gotten the 18V so I can swap the batteries.

I have had my share of the makita 14.4 drills(older style like the 20th anninversary model)and I can tell you the newer style dewalts are fantastik. I am a Electrician and use this drill everyday from driving screws to .... 4" holesaws!! I know this is not recommended by dewalt but it will do it. I have had mine for 1 1/2 yrs And it is holding up great. I drill a lot of sills with a 1"x 18 auger bit. Switches hold up and the 3 speed gear box is the cats meow. I put a 1/8" bit in the chuck on high speed and use it to cut out around boxes in sheetrock like a router.The ratchet clutch has not let go yet or slip.The torque is all you want without the extra handle.
My only wish is to see nimh batteries. The xr packs absolutley hate cold weather and are cycled through the charger steadily

DeWalt drills now come with a 3 year warranty. My DC983K 14.4 has a 1/2" chuck and 450 pounds of torque. It's lighter and easier to handle than the 18 volt model and produces almost the same torque 450 lb vs 500 lb.

Battery Life is excellent....just finished a deck and went almost 5 hours driving 2-1/2" screws into planks before the battery needed to be charged. I really like my DC983K

I have had this drill for over 10 years and it is excellent, the first two batteries lasted me for 5 years. I love this drill it has outperformed anything else I have used, it survived working on industrial construction projects. It never lags unles the battery gets low and lasts for dozens and dozens of 1/2 inch holes in 3/4 plywood. Maybe the people that experinced battery problems might be sure they are reading the battery charging recommendations and following them.

First, I must admit I have had my drill for a good five or six years ago when the XRP's first came out and I can not attest to the current manufacturing processes. Mine was made in the USA. 701 East Joppa Road, Baltimore, Maryland to be precise. Its a quality tool and I picked mine up at a resonable price.

When I purchased mine, I too was worried about the gear box sound, so I contacted the manufactuer. Dewalt had an email help desk so I voiced my concern in an email. I never thought I would get a good solid answer but was suprised when I recieved two emails. The first was from Customer Service saying that they passed the question along to the engineering department. WHAT? Are you serious? And to my further disbelief I actually recieved a second email from that department.

They said that the noise is normal. The clunk you hear after letting go of the trigger is a spindle lock and is a normal opperating sound.

Cool. My tool works and clunks great. It makes sense. It saves the bearings, its safer, and after all it is an all metal transmission (NO PLASTIC GEARS) its gonna make some noise right? And if you do have problems changing the gear, I grab the chuck rock it back and forth and then slide it right in gear with no effort.

And now a testament to metal gears:
I am not easy on the drill. It should work hard so you don't have. Two months ago I did a project and needed to mix some thinset mortar. "Why not?" I said so I popped in a mixing blade and whipped up 4 10lb batches of mortar.

My battery life has been good also. I am just now starting to see a little drop in working time. 25% loss maybe. With the quick charger and a normal project(mortar mixing excluded) it doesn't skip a beat.

From my experience I have a good tough tool made in the God Blessed USofA. I hope you have the same positive experiece.

I purchased two (2) of these drills to replace existing craftsman drills. I have had only one problem with the forward/reverse switch, but that was corrected by Dewalt. I would definitely recommend this drill for anyone in the construction industry. It is lightweight and the batteries hold their charge for an extended period of time.

I've used and fixed many Dewalt drills, and can sefely say that this one is ok, but has it's problems.

The Planetary gearbox inside is know to fail, but is supposed to be getting better as it is upgraded.
The switch had it's share of problems as well.
The drill is very easy to take apart and fix.(Thankfully)

The machine has poor balance and the front part is heavy,
It takes little to tip it over.

But there always a new one like this one

Dewalt has built a new 14.4 2 gear machine(Based on the older 2 gear models which were very well liked)
The balance is much better, as is the allround feel and handling.

I wrote a review for this drill a long time ago but it is gone. After reading the most current reviews I am confused. I am an eletrician and as the other reviewer (an eletrician) use tools a lot on the job. What i am confused about is the newer drills. My drill is made in USA. I have noticed the speed change switch being tricky to move at times but no big deal.
I wish the othre battery drills I've gone though had only this type of problem. Because of this annoying problem and the torque clutch which is set way too high at the lowest setting I gave it 4 stars.
I just have not had the problem these later drill have had.
Are they really making these outside the USA. That could be the problem. You would not think that would make a difference but it does.
I have other tools that are now lower quality because they are no longer USA made. I think these companies let the quality go out the door when they go outside the country for manufaturing.
Then the price stays the same. Oh well.

And there I was in a Home Depot in Laplace, Louisiana and what did I see?
A Dewalt 14.4V xrp 1/2 cordless, drill/driver on the clearance rack for $149.99 plus 10% sales tax.
"Say it ain't so!" - I thought to myself. Why would this be a clearance item? Turns out Dewalt came out with the DC983KA - same drill - slightly different look.
I've owned a Dewalt 12v xrp for 4 plus years and it's still going strong. When the 12v unit came out the xrp batteries were not available. I ultimately purchased 2 replacement 12v xrp batteries and have been enormously satisfied.
So recently I have been doing a lot of pre-drilling and screwing and have thought about purchasing another 12v xrp drill/driver; they are still holding their price at $169.00
And then I saw the 14.4 on the clearance rack. Half inch chuck, xrp batteries and case for the same price. Oh yeah!
The 14.4 is a bit heavier than my venerable 12v - not the lead weight of the xrp 18v, but all the features are the same:
3 speed, ratcheting steel chuck and great tough if not precision construction.
Some where between 12v and 18v - the torque of the drill becomes unmanageable with one hand. (when tightening wood screws or when a spade bit stops dead in a hole.) That is what the clutch is designed to alleviate. I have never used a cordless drill in the screw/clutch mode. I achieve my desired results by careful modulation of the trigger. The 14.4 works just about perfectly without wrenching your wrist.
There is the same slight bit wobble present in the 12v xrp but it is more of an irritation than a liability.
All Dewalt cordless drills are not created equal.
My 12v xrp has more torque and longer battery life than a friend's 18v dewalt heavy duty cordless drill/driver (non xrp model.)
Complaints: I am ready to see a nickel metal hydride battery made available for cordless hand tools. Knowing that the battery would have a longer run time - yet a much longer charge time would not deter me because the batteries would not be subject to failure in 2 years. ( the Nickel Cadmium short coming.)
My advice buy a 14.4v xrp cordless drill/driver at your home depot clearance rack or take advantage of the Amazon frequent tool discounts to make the DEWALT DC983KA 14.4-Volt XRP 1/2" Drill/Driver Kit your next best friend.

caslo

Although I've only had the Drill/Driver for less than a month, it's performed very well.

I bought it because of the tool review in Wood Magazine and so far they haven't steered me wrong.