DEWALT DCD960Kl 1/2-Inch 18-Volt Cordless XRP Lithium-Ion Drill/Driver Kit

A couple years ago we ordered two Milwaukee lithium drills to replace some old Dewalt NiCad units. Within a few months one of the drills was dead. It had overheated during use and started smoking. I decided to replace it with the Dewalt lithium and we'll never go back. These are durable drills that can stand up to heavy use in our tooling shop. The batteries have long use range and recharge quickly. Rugged and dependable - what more can you want out of a tool. The only negative I have is the chuck. The jaws don't grip as well as I'd like and we will spin drills occasionally if we don't tighten the chuck VERY tightly. The Milwaukee drill chucks were superior in that they had a nice wratcheting chuck that would tighten down very well without a lot of force required from the user. That's why I give it a 4 star instead of 5.

The Dewalt DCD960Kl 1/2 inch 18 Volt Cordless drill driver arrived on time as promised by Amazon. It was new with no blemishes or defects and was manufactured in 2012 and shipped to Amazon in August 2012. The batteries charge quickly and in under an hour. The torque ring and drill/driver ring are tight but operate smoothly. The transmission slide is stiff but also moves smoothly. The trigger is smooth and gives you good control over variable speeds. The keyless chuck ratchets easily and grips drill and driver bits firmly with no slippage. The drill is a bit heavy and beefy and doesn't take no for an answer when drilling or driving bolts and screws. As mentioned in another review, there is a small amount of play in the shaft but this is not noticeable during use. Happy camper with this product.

Like it's cousin, the DCD970 drill/driver/hammerdrill, this was an exciting tool to buy but frustrating to audition. It's the same drill unit but without the hammerdrill function. I bought it in hopes that the absence of the hammer function might deal with the spindle oscillation that I experienced with the 970 - no luck there. It's a beautifully made tool, feature packed and with the great Dewalt Lithium ion phosphate batteries. But there's way too much play in the spindle, just like the 970 which I reviewed earlier today. I will be sending this one back too and using an old DW988 drill body with my new Lith-ion XRP batteries from the impact driver kit that I bought earlier this year, which I love. As I said in the other review, a loose spindle means oscillation means WEAR. No heavy duty tool should have this much play up front and the older Dewalt XRP tools are fine in this regard. My questions to Dewalt central were dismissed.They have no problem with this new line of tools and say they have no complaints, so I guess I'm just fussy about the tools I use every day, all day long, for years. I would love it if this new great battery system was supported with heavy duty tools but the jury is still out for me.

Replaced the chuck already but I have 7 mechanics sharing.

This is an awesome cordless drill. I've had it for a year and it's still going strong. No problems with it's mechanical or battery performance. Shoot, whenever a friend needs something drilled, I always get a call and comments on how great it is and how they need one . . . YEA, WELL, GET YOUR OWN YOU VULTURES!

As expected it has good power and functions well. Only have it a month so cannot report on long term.

good

This is the best most powerful cordless drill I have ever owned. Same as their hammer drill without the hammer feature. It drills through 1/4 steel as if it were a powerful corded model.