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It is light weight, and the battery life is great. It is light and manageable, and having used 18V DeWalt and 19.2V Porter-Cable drills, I much prefer this smaller drill. I have not had the quality problems many of the other reviewers mention. My wife got this drill over a year ago, and it's great. I have also used the 9.6V series from Makita, which are also great for continuous light duty work.This drill is pretty tough - I have dropped it a few times onto concrete, and it still works great.
Both of us have used it on countless projects. I have not had a problem with torque limitations with this, but I am also using it only for drilling wood and driving wood and dry-wall screws. This is not the tool for frequently driving lag screws or large diameter forstner bits and hole saws. This is an awesome tool for what I have been using it for, which is drilling 1/2" and smaller holes in wood and driving wood screws.My wife loves this drill, too.
It falls over every time. It's been a staple in my home wood shop since then and has never let me down. This is a replacement to one I bought nearly 12 years ago. The torque is adequate for driving any screw type in wood but is too light for drilling into concrete without a lot of effort.One negative. You just have to remember to place it on it's side. You can't place the drill upright.
After a year or so one became noticeably weaker and held a charge shorter then the other. So in the market for a new one. Two new batteries cost just 10$ less then a new drill. Have owned this drill a while and worked fine for some time, no real problems, except for the batteries. Now neither will hold much of a charge. Maybe a Lith Ion one. The drill seems well built and functions well but the batteries leave something to be desired.
Specifically:* The battery chargers are junk. I'm a former carpenter and an obsessive compulsive home improver. In the same period, two batteries have also died. Not sure why it happens, but I don't think it's me- I treat my tools well.* The power leaves something to be desired.
Now that Porter Cable / Delta has been bought by Black and Decker (like DeWalt was years ago) hopefully the quality of the tools will improve. Some items, such as a circular saw and biscuit joiner are awesome. Next drill I'll get an 18V Li-Ion battery model* On the good side, I like the feel of the drill and the adjustable clutch is easy to adjust on the fly. I've owned two of these drills for three years. In general I've had a good opinion of Porter Cable tools, but I feel the quality of these drills leaves a lot to be desired and I would not buy them again. I had a total of three chargers between my tools, two charging units have died. I've had variable results with Porter Cable.
These drills are OK, but I think there are better models out there. I've used these drills for everything imaginable. Not too impressive- I expected better.* The chuck sometimes will not grip against whatever mechanism is in there, and will instead just "click and spin", requiring some finesse to get the chuck working properly. I used to think the Porter Cable label ensured a high quality tool, but it pays to carefully compare I now know. Maybe this is just due to the 12V capacity, I don't know.
I have to agree with the other comments, that I too am dissapointed in this drill. I expected much more from PC equipment, and am truly very dissapointed. After reading the other reviews I thought I'd put my 2 cents in. I have used my fathers cordless many times with no problems which is why I wanted one of my one, so you can see my frustration is not unwarranted. I am not a contractor, but do all my home improvement and many other projects myself, so this drill has been used, but not abused. I went out and purchased a Rigid 18v from the Home Depot, and am much more satisfied. One day the drill started smoking from the side vents while I was drilling through pine 2 X 4's.
My wife gave me this drill/light combo for Christmas some time ago, and since have used it extensively. The chuck has slipped an uncountable number of times, and makes your hands hamburger tring to get it tight enough to grip any bit that is not a hex shaft. Caveat emptor. I thought the motor had burnt out, but it appears to have been the battery.
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