Customer Reviews

DEWALT DW966K 14.4 Volt 3/8-Inch Right Angle Drill/Driver Kit

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Ok guys, if you are in the cabinet business or any other finishing business this tools is a must......other reviewers gave it a bum rating as far as battery life. well let me tell you this. it is not suppose to drill holes in studs.....buy a hole shooter if that is what you want. this is a fine tool for working in tight places, but it is not intended for framing work. i mean a few holes is fine........btu a hole hawg it is not......or intended......with the right applications you will love this tool

This is a wonderful tool for working in close quarters. It is part of DeWalt's cordless line so that it has the cheerful yellow color and a long life battery. All of my other DeWalt tools are 18 volt; I have no understanding of why this tool does not come in an 18 volt model. In addition, this tool lacks a variable clutch. It has a 2-speed transmission, but no clutch. This doesn't make a lot of sense. I think that the tool would be vastly improved if it came in 18v and with a clutch. Except for these weaknesses, it does what it is supposed to do.

I'm a contractor & install a lot of cabinets. A corded drill is a pain and doesn't give the control you need for countersinking screw holes and screwing cabinets together. After reading a lot of the reviews I disagree with the problem of battery life if you use the drill for its intended use. A RA drill is not for drilling 2 bys and a 14.4 v will never last for the day in that application. That's what I use my 18v for. But for drilling & screwing up to 2-1/2" screws in tight quarters this drill will last most of the day and works great. I do have to admit that not having an extra battery is a slight downer and Dewalt should consider supplying one in the kit. That would definitely warrant 5 stars.

I've been using this drill for about 9 months and for close quarters; it's great for that. I must agree with the other reviews about the battery life - it does seem to run down sooner than the Milwakee I also use regularly. It's aggrivated by the fact that DeWalt only ships one battery with the unit. If you need it for some close quarter drilling and don't need it to last all day, you'll be pleased with the purchase. Easy chuck opperation and is supprisingly well balanced and powerful. One real plus in my book is that it's the only drill my wife enjoys using, because, she says, the added leverage from the way it is held keeps it from twisting her wrist like the pistol grips will.

I bought mine on eBay, and it came with 2 batteries. The batteries are the smallest 14.4's I've seen from DeWalt. They aren't the XRP's or even the XR's. They don't pack the punch (or duty cycle) of the larger 14.4's in any of my cordless DeWalts. I wonder if those with the short lived batteries have the same downsized 14.4's.

As the description says, this is a niche tool. It's a nice tool for limited applications. It's great for drilling cabinet faces and the occasional stud. But, I agree with the others who say that this tool is not intended for drilling studs all day.

My main complaint with this tool is the chuck. a 1/2" chuck would make this a more useful tool. The larger XR, or XRP batteries would be a big improvement as well. On the occasions when you need to get into a tight spot it's great, but in all honesty, I don't use mine very much.

This drill works pretty well although it stalls out easily with an auger bit on regular 2x joists. In addition, the battery life leaves much to be desired. Today a full battery only managed 2 3/4" holes in 5 joists (that's 10 holes) before dieing.

If you're looking to make a lot of holes in 1 day, you're going to need something else.

An 18V model would really rock.

This cordless right angle drill is the best on the market and it's 14.4 battery is compatable with the rest of my Dewalt tools

I purchased this drill in order to do the wiring in my basement (drill studs 3/4" holes in studs and plates etc...). The handling of the drill is excellent, the trigger is super (compared to small button on others). The drill is sized well and fits in tight spaces with ease. My only complaint with this tool is the life of the battery. In heavy drilling, the battery lasts way less than that of my 18V tools. Since there is not an 18V RA drill, I had to get the 14.4 version - this being the only 14V tool I have, I seriously wished I had an extra battery. This kit would rate a 4.5 to 5 if an extra battery was included at a bundled (reduced battery price). However, I would doubt that any similiar tool on the market is better (I looked at most of them) but that this problem is characteristic of a battery powered RA drill. For comparison, I would rate a corded similiar drill as 3 stars simply since that in tight places you don't need to be hassling with a cord - major pain in the *you know what*.

It would also be nice to have a clutch on the drill for driving screws, but I can certainly see where this would be hard to do in a RA drill - so I wouldn't hold that against it. However, if it did, then this would be my 'goto' tool for driving screws.

The drill works perfectly has advertised except that it is just a little too big when working in small or tight areas especially with 2 1/2 to 3 inch screws. It is also just a little heavy.