Customer Reviews

Makita 6914DWBE 30th Anniversary 12 Volt Cordless Kit with Variable Speed, Reversible Impact Driver

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It is light, well balanced, and very very powerful. I have turned perhaps 50 different subcontractors onto this tool and everytime I bump into on of them, they mention even more people they have converted. Makita is doing a poor job at advertising this tool.

Another review refers to using the impact for drilling and he is right. In wood. When ever the impact driver sees resistance, it shifts into "impacting". This is fine in wood but in metal, the drill bit slows down grabbing too much material and the impact driver dutifully drives the bit, rachet by rachet, through the metal. This usually results in broken bits and the hex style drill bits get expensive. However, I keep a set of those drill bits for convenience and wood drilling. In an emergency, I actually used a hex drive mandrel (dewalt dw2591) and drove a 3" hole saw through oak in the back of a cabinet. It was slow and I almost went deaf, but the power of the impact driver is truly unbelievable.

I also agree [...] that the 9.6 volt and 12 volt impact driver are nearly identical so get the 12 volt. There is no savings on weight for the reduction in power. However, the new 24 volt stuff is very heavy and only for someone who needs to do something like remove tires, not drive drywall screws. The beauty of the 12 volt is the incredible power with so little weight. We use them all day long.

Another helpful hint. The grey/black batteries are Nickel-Metal Hydride. They can be charged more randomly with less risk of battery memory (which ultimately ruins a batteries' ability to take a full charge) and are more powerful. But, the charge has bad shelf life. In other words, if you plan on using your impact driver and then putting it away for two months, and then pulling it out again, your batteries will be low or dead. The original flourescent red batteries I think are Ni-cad. They have incredible shelf life but are prone to "charging memory" so always wait until they are low before charging them. My suggestion is to buy the more powerful battery set and purchase a spare red battery as a back up. I actually found one of those red batteries left on a job site for 6 or 7 months, and because we only charge red batteries when they are dead, we started to use it. It still had 50% of the original charge of usable power!

I hope who ever is reading this ends up giving this tool a try. I bumped into a makita rep a few years ago and I started hassling him about Makita's underadvertising of this great tool. He said the tool just isn't popular enough for a big advertising campaign. What! Carrage before the horse! When I told that to my friends in the construction business, we all went out and bought additional units (as spares) because we were worried that Makita might discontinue the impact drivers. If that doesn't tell you how great a tool this thing is, then nothing will. Best regards.

I bought this tool as a companion for my Makita 6223 12 volt driver drill. I like the size and weight of the 6223 but needed something to drive big screws. The 6914DWBE works great for screws but it also works very well as a drill. Today I drilled piolet holes, countersunk and drove 60- 3 ½" #10 screws in hard yellow pine, all with my 6914DWBE on one battery. All of a sudden I realized that I don't need my 6223. The 6914DWBE is smaller, 5 times stronger and higher RPM. You can buy almost all the drill bits you need in 1/4" hex drive so why carry around the extra drill? The only fault I have found with this driver is the lack of a clutch. It's easy to over drive screws if you don't have a good view of the head. I buried a couple of the big screws I used today. The 6914DWBE doesn't strain or slow down when the head seats. It just keeps on driving.

I run a cabinet & millwork installation co. and have used cordless drills for driving screws, but after using the impact driver I will never go back. The tool has a narrower width than a drill which is great for tight spaces, i.e. cabinets 15" and under.The tool has plenty of power and takes little pressure to drive a screw. If makita is willing to cut me a better price I will purchase 3 more for my crew (I doubt it). The only thing you might have to get used to is the noise, but I am already half deaf from using power tools for the last 20 years.

If you're like me, you can't imagine what the world was like before someone struck upon the idea of losing the cord and connecting a battery to a drill. As a former theater techie and a current home remodeler, I've driven and removed more screws than I would ever care to think about. I've often struggled with the question of the power/weight tradeoff that comes along with cordless drills once you move into the higher voltages. I've never been able to justify owning anything bigger than a 14.4V. If I need that much torque, I'd rather reach for a corded drill. This tool is THE answer to that question. It beats each and every cordless drill I've ever used for driving and removing screws. It has the weight of the first 9.6V Makita I bought many years ago and handles screws better than my corded Milwaukee, with almost no effort expended. A child could use this to drive screws all day with no problem. I wish I had this tool ten years ago. Not only would I have had the coolest tool on stage, but it would have made those sets go together and come apart like the screws weren't even there. As long as I have this driver, my cordless drills will never see another nut, bolt, or screw. They'll be just that: drills.

I've purchased this tool at a wood show and it replaced all other cordless tools that were not designed for use as screw drivers. It is the tool that I most brag and rave about, I use it every day in my work. Surprisingly, no body knows about this wonderfull tool (central NJ) on the other hand, in my last visit to Israel I saw the tool every place and even in the smallest work shop. Apparently something is wrong with Makita's advertisment. It is a wonderful tool but I wish that the battery will last longer. Sincerely- David Almogi.

I install cabinets commercially for a living. We are not talking about a handful at a time, but rather, our jobs include hundreds of cabinets on each new job. Our entire crew use these exclusively and they get a workout day in and out. From 3-4 inch wood screws to self drilling metal screws this unit takes all we throw at it and comes back for more. My current gun has been in uses for about 2 years now and works just as well as new. My boss' gun has been in use for about 5 and he is just now replacing the bearings (bear in mind that this gun has seen 5 years of CONSTANT use; far more than the average man would use it in 10 years). None of use have any complaints. They are expensive, but if you drive screws for anything the return on investment will amaze you! I can't say enough good about this!

Lightweight, small, tons of power, great batteries. Bought this tool 6 months ago, and drove thousands of screws and have yet to strip a head of a single screw! Been on jobs with other guys with regular guns cordless and electric that striped the head with the screw half way in and were reaching for the vise-grips, this gun could back the screw out! Very loud but worth the noise. You still need a second drill for regular drilling but I have always carried two drills, one for drilling pilot holes and the other for driving screws, time is money. Fits into small spaces, great for hanging cabinets. Great tool for installing hinges on doors and bucks with those soft brass screws that seem to always strip. Drives tapcons no problem, before I always had to break out the elecric screwgun. Don't be afraid of only the 12 volts you have plenty of power and those 18 and 24 volt guns weigh alot more. Just buy it, worth every penny.

This has to be the best tool that I have ever purchased. My business is installing garage doors and openers. Started with a Black and Decker elec. impact wrench. Moved on to a B&D Tek gun and now use this Makita impacting screwdriver. I can install two doors and two openers with two batteries and never touch another tool except my 12V Makita cordless drill. Buy both and you will have 4 batteries. Leave the 100' extension cords on the truck and enjoy the freedom. Drive 3" lag screws into yellow pine. Work overhead all day and not be tired from dragging around a tool with a cord. Seriously - the first door I put in with this tool was the easiest install I've ever had. Also - don't listen to people who are critical of the 1/4" quick release chuck - these are not designed to be electric drills! They are impacting screwdrivers and are far superior to elec. drills in the areas they are supposed to work in. No torque reaction, for example. Also - Try to toenail framing lumber with 3" drywall screws and a cordless drill. Now try it with this tool and see how effortless it is. I do this all the time when installing doors and adding mounting pads for torsion springs, operator brackets, etc. Run, don't walk to your tool store and buy one of these. Forget the price - the first few jobs you use it on will make you glad you spent the money. Also - don't be cheap, go ahead and buy a few magnetic nutsetters and other bits - they will make your life a lot easier.

My Dewalt 18-volt drill-driver has always been my most-often used tool, until now, that is. This 12-volt Makita makes it a boat anchor! The Makita is noticably lighter in weight, tiny, and power-packed. No clutch, single speed only, it's only buttons are forward and reverse, it needs no other features. I drove over a hundred 1 5/8" hex-head cement board screws in 70% of the time it would normally require. I toenailed several 3 1/2 and 4 inch # 8 and #10 wood screws into 2x4 wall studs without predrilling pilot holes. Much less forearm fatigue, no constant fiddling with the clutch or overdriven screws. No more chewed bits. I love this thing....buy one now!

After reading an article in Fine Homebuilding I ordered 2 of these drills. (We have had 5 DEwalt 18 volt drills for several years now) I used these little (and light) drills all day putting together forms --My guys and myself were completely blown away by the performance --all we could say is where have we been --they have been on the market all this time and we were sold on big is the only way to drill screws --Makita I hope you don't stop making them---- PLEASE!!! WE are sold --We have been in home construction for over 30 years and from now on the little drill has our loyalty.