Customer Reviews

Irwin Tools 4935705 12-Inch Speedbor Lock N' Load Quick Change Bit Holder

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

 

 

This part is 1/4" locking hex on both ends, but this isn't mentioned on the product package or the Amazon listing.

The female end is unlocked by pulling the knurled black sleeve toward the male end. This means that the bit cannot be accidentally released while pulling out of a drilled hole.

I'm building a house for Habitat for Humanity. One of the men had this and it made screwing sheetrock to the ceiling EASY as it could reach from the floor instead of climbing ladders! Made the job MUCH faster! We ordered 3 of them and have been very happy and found MANY additional uses. Great addition to the tool box. Well made and very price competitive.

This extension has been apart of my tool bag for 5 years without any issues. Highly recommended and cheap! Mine has the magnet built in to assist in getting the bit to hold onto screws which is priceless when it comes to patience.

It broke within the first few hours of use. Total number of holes drilled before it broke was seven on 2x4 studs. It worked very nicely in the beginning until on the 7th, it wobbled very badly. When I lifted it up, it was barely holding the bit. Then I thought maybe the bit just broke lose. So I pushed the bit back in (thinking it might fix itself) and drilled further. Within few seconds of that the top all came lose. This thing is dangerous as it could potentially throw the bit flying and hurt someone. Like what the other reviewer mentioned and as pictured, the top does brake prematurely. Luckily I bought mine locally (HD) and will be able to return it without shipping costs.

Update...

After I returned it locally, I bought another one just to give it a chance and as I still have a need for this tool and couldn't find another brand that has as small (or smaller) head. I have used the replacement a few times now and much more than the first one I bought. It worked pretty nicely as it should. I was able to drill a lot more studs without problem whatsoever.

So overall, the tool's reliability is 50/50 to me. I can't give it more stars as it will probably break on me again while in the middle of a project.

To its credit though which I learned after I returned the first one and hunted for a different brand, this one has the best design in terms of head size. The small head will come handy when you need to drill small and very deep hole. The head will go into the hole with the bit as small as half inch. The other brands I found had much bigger head for the same bit size.

The quality of this tool is so poor, the little metal clips inside that hold the bit, stuck on me after 2 uses. If you want something to use with your zip gun like me, look somewhere else. It lasted 10 minutes in all before I had to beat my bit out with a chisel to free it.

After years of dealing with a bit extension that required a hex key to change the bit I was overjoyed when I found that this one had a much better design! I have used it on several jobs with no negative issues. I would recommend this to anyone.

This is great for any type of residential work! Makes life a lot easier when trying to get through soffets or deeper penetrations. I highly recommend!

I've had this item for about 5 years, and maybe used it all of a dozen times for light duty stuff. Today, I tried to use it for some medium duty work, and my $20 bit got stuck in the extension. I tried for about an hour to wriggle it out, but ended up having to cut the extension open to get my bit out. Next time I'll buy the old style extension with the hex screws...

Would not recommend for drilling holes marginally larger than the quick release barrel. Problem is that the release can become engaged and cause a bad connection with the bit you're driving, stripping both the shank of the bit and the teeth of the release. Otherwise it was okay, but I had to replace the extension with a non-quick release version that uses hex nuts for tightening.

I bought the 12" Irwin QC extension.

The first time I inserted a bit then pulled down the collar to release and POP it out, not only the bit popped out but the entire assembly (spring & magnet) that enable the extension to release the bit for one hand operation. What a piece of junk.

In consolation, It is still usable but you'll have to pull the bit while you hold down the collar. Not-so-quick-change extension is what it is.

I've posted a pic in customer images hopefully amazon will show it.

Update..
So I returned the extension that I bought yesterday. This time I also have a bit with me just to make sure ... checked...and screwdriver bit released without its guts along with it. So I got home tried on the drill and WHAT THE...? why is this thing wobbling like crazy??? (I am aware drill chucks have runout in them, so I took that into consideration). Got a ruler and found the middle of the shaft is slightly bent.

I've never had bad luck twice in two identical product.

Just FYI, even after this experience I still went and bought the 6" extension which by the way had no flaws. I like these IRWIN extensions because its shaft is very substantial.