DEWALT DCD970KL 18-Volt 1/2-Inch XRP Lithium-Ion Hammerdrill

Comment: This is my second Dewalt drill...the first is probably over 10 years old. I am a farmer/rancher and bought this one for the new pole barn going up this spring. We recently put up over 400 feet of buck and rail fence over rocks along the borders. We used TimberLocs to fasten it all together and this thing worked perfectly and forcefully with the hammerdrill option...very quick. The barn will have more fasteners but with lumber that is no more challenging than what was in this fence.
This is a good unit and I can't imagine a better one.

Comment: We use many drills of various makes and are gradually switching over to 100% lithium drills and trying different drills before we change out all the trucks. Of all the 18v cordless drills the DeWalt DCD970 has quickly become everyone's favorite. For most jobs the Milwaukee 2611 works as well and has a few nice refinements but when the going gets tough we grab the DeWalt. The DCD970 delivers more power to the drill or hole cutter and this may be due to the battery and motor but it is also partly due to the 3-speed gearbox that provides a in-between 0-1250 setting that in a lot of situations works better than a very low or very high RPM gear setting.

The side handle can be placed in any position on the drill housing and makes the drill much easier to use when there is not a lot of room to work in. The chuck is self-tightening and it never slips even in very tough drilling like cutting 4" vents through brick or stucco or when using small 1/8" drill bits. Hammer action is good and will work for 5/16" or smaller holes. Do wish that the handle had a rod to use to limit drilling depth like the Bosch hammer drills.

Batteries charge fast and hold a charge well. They get very hot after charging and I like to let them sit and cool down for awhile before using them in a drill. In high demand use where there is a lot of torque needed the batteries hold up great - better than others we have used with Milwaukee and Makita and Hitachi drills.

With many drills over the years I have found it hard to use both hands to hold the drill and exert pressure without covering the vents for the drill motor. I have a very old B&D 3/8" corded drill that was a favorite as all the cooling vents were to the sides. The DeWalt is the only drill that does the same thing so the spot where you press has no vents to cover with your hand. Watch anyone on a jobsite and you will see them pressing down on the back and not thinking too much about the drill motor that is rapidly heating up. That Makita and Milwaukee design engineers overlook this problem completely just shows that there is a tendency to reject anything a competitor does and figure your guys and gals can do it better.

Wish more engineers would copy neat features in their competitors drills. DeWalt has easily the best drill chuck and the 3-speed gear box, Milwaukee has the best cases, chargers, and drill balance and power excelled only by DeWalt, Bosch the smoothest operating and have the least drill bit runout and the most comfortable handles, and Makita the best side handle attachment collar and tightening mechanism along with a drilling depth rod and the lightest drills. But for now there are compromises with any drill kit.

If the prime factor in selecting a drill is power and the ability to finish the job without the battery dying or the chuck loosening then the best choice is the DeWalt DCD970 in a hammer drill and the DeWalt DCD940 for a drill driver. This is the perfect drill for a contractor who want to be sure they can finish the job for their clients and not want to have to resort to a long extension cord and stud drill any more than is absolutely necessary. Amazing is how fast these 18 volt drills will drill a large hole in boards or Ipe decking or brick and stucco with modern TCT hole saws. Taking the time to select the best 18 volt cordless and then using it with
your old hole saws or self feed drill bits is going to lead to aggravation when the new drill is only marginally better than the old one. We have even been able to extend the life of our old NiCad drills with the new Blue Boar TCT high performance hole cutters.

Comment: I must have purchased and worn out a half dozen Dewalt drills over the past decade. Some where great units, others where very cheap quality. They were all 18V. So this time I took the time to research the Dewalt line up and not just grab whatever Home Depot was peddling. I also decided to stick with 18V since I had so many other tools of that series. This has got to be the perfect drill. The drill chuck is all metal, holds super tight and is of a machine tool quality. The transmission is 3 speed and the whole unit just has a very rugged feel. The power is awesome. While not scientific, this thing must have at least 50% more torque and power then my previous drills. I can drive 3.5" deck screws into dry wood using high speed and cut a 4" hole saw into wood using medium speed. I even mixed a 5 gal pale of drywall mud with a beater using the low speed. This thing is almost on par with my 1/2" dewalt corded drill. The other nice thing is that the lithium ion battery seams to hold its power right up to the last second. Then the battery just shuts itself off. This scared me the first time. I was really torquing the drill and I thought I had blown something. But that is just how the battery operates.
The only negative is that the drill is heavier then I have been used to. Of course this is offset by the lighter battery but you might be disappointed if you are looking for a feather weight. It also seams to be a little bit longer then some of my other drills of this style by about 3/4 inch. Getting in between studs seams to be a little tighter then I'm used too. But this drill also includes a hammer feature and it is way shorter then my previous hammer drills.
Over all I'm very happy with this drill and was very impressed with its performance.

Comment: This is an excellent drill. DeWalt was slow to release a lithium-ion battery powered cordless drill but the XPR is the best of the best. What sets it apart from those from other manufacturers is the 3-speed gearing. Cordless drills have limited power and work much better for high-torque demanding hole cutters or work materials when the they can be geared down. Having a 3rd low range gear is very useful and this drill will more readily power through situations where a Milwaukee, Makita, would bog down and my Hitachi would overheat and just suddenly stop.

This drill also demonstrates why the torque specifications of the drill manufacturers need to be taken with a grain of salt. This XRP drill will out drill the Milwaukee M18 cordless that in theory has 20-25% more power. Having the right gear reduction settings is really critical to getting all the available power out of the drill.

I like the side handle that grips the drill and can be rotated 360 degrees. I use it not to support the drill but to control it when it starts to bind - as when using one of the miserable little Lenox One Tooth (not recommmended) hole cutters or drilling into steel with a large bit. I wish that DeWalt had included the option of adding a depth rod to the side handle as this can be helpful when boring into masonry and needing a fixed depth for an expansion bolt.

The clutch action works well though it does not feel as smooth as the Milwaukee to which I am more accustomed. The clutch also is more difficult to tighten and tends to lock up requiring pliers to loosen it.

Battery life is excellent so long as you stay away from bi-metal hole saws which are incredibly inefficient and can suck a battery dry after a single hole. Recharging is very fast, 15 minutes or less. I do wish that manufacturers would use more charger LED indicator light designs. With Milwaukee there is a red LED that lights up while the battery is charging. When the charging is complete a green LED lights. Pretty easy to figure out and no manual needed. With DeWalt there is a blinking red light that then becomes solid. Better than Hitachi where a green light means the battery is too hot to charge. With my four different chargers there are 4 different LED light schemes to provide me with the charging status. It does not have to be so complicated.

The carry case, though not nearly as nice as those from Milwaukee, is a sturdy one with metal latches and an oversize handle. There are no convenient places for drill bits and other small items which would be useful.

The one problem I have with the drill is its chuck which is difficult to tighten and even harder to loosen back up after drilling. It often takes pliers to loosen the chuck and remove the drill bit. This may get better over time after the drill has had more use but for now it is a bit of a pain.

As lithium-ion drills go this is the best one I have used and I have 18v models from Makita, Hitachi, and Milwaukee, that I use as well.
But for the chuck it would be hands down the best drill on the market in terms of raw performance. It does not have the same balance as the Milwaukee or lighter weight of the Makita and the Hitachi drills but the 3-speed gear reduction is not something I would want to do without.

I have switched over to using high performance TCT hole cutters and adjustable tungsten carbide hole cutters and the 3 speed ranges of the DeWalt XRP is a perfect companion drill for much faster hole cutting, and cutting much larger holes in wood than I would have though possible with a hand drill much less a cordless one, and getting the maximum number of holes drilled or screws set per battery charge. For light to medium duty use I prefer the Milwaukee M18 which is a more refined tool in terms of its metal chuck and clutch designs. For heavy duty drilling the DeWalt XRP drill with its 3-speed ranges and much faster recharge time is the best tool I have come across and it will definitely stay on the truck.

Comment: I purchased this drill primarily for the Li batteries. It was a better value to buy the tool plus batteries than just the batteries. I have used the drill for light duty work at the house. It has preformed well. I would recommend the drill to others.