Customer Reviews
Average Customer Review
(118 customer reviews) 80 of 83 people found the following review helpful
460 lbs of Torque? ....You Bet!!!!,
September 3, 2009 Marvin Cohn "drdos43" (San Antonio, TX) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Hitachi DS18DSAL 18-Volt 1/2-Inch Drill/Driver (Tools & Home Improvement)
.
Update: 4/3/2013 I have been using this drill now for about 3 1/2 years (granted not every day) and on many demanding and lengthy projects such as refurbishing 2 old houses, two large decks, 1/4 mile of lattice fencing, etc., etc..... Still going strong and the batteries still hold a decent charge.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
My rating of five stars is actually a solid four stars in order to help make up for the undeserved two-star rating, which one reviewer gave.
I did a lot of research before buying this drill. It is well balanced, easy to control, and will drive just about any screw into anything and do it for a long, long time on each battery. It is a powerhouse with more torque (460 lbs.) for the buck than any other drill in its class. I have found that, for me, two 1.5 amp-hour batteries are better than one 3.0 amp-hour battery (which is available) in that the smaller battery is much...Read more
32 of 34 people found the following review helpful
Weight and Balance,
March 29, 2009 Cary Secrest (Bethesda, MD) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Hitachi DS18DSAL 18-Volt 1/2-Inch Drill/Driver (Tools & Home Improvement)
This tool is my first foray into the world of Hitachi. What attracted me most is the feel of the grip and the way the tool doesn't cant forward or backward very much when using it. It's well-balanced, and the motor housing is short which is helpful in tight spaces. The design is different from most other drills. The battery doesn't project into the handle, but instead, slides in like a sled. I do like the "press and drop" battery design of other tools, but this "press and slide" design is easy to get used to. The clutch settings do seem a bit lighter than other drills, but on the other hand, the lighter settings on the drill are very nice for doing delicate work like setting #6 pan head screws to 1/8-inch oak plywood without imbedding the pan into the plywood. I haven't tried driving #10 screws into oak without a pilot hole. Personally, I like to drill a pilot in hardwoods so I don't risk breaking the head off of the screw. A #10 of any length will go in hardwood just fine with...Read more
22 of 23 people found the following review helpful
very light drill,
January 25, 2010 QHAN - See all my reviews
This review is from: Hitachi DS18DSAL 18-Volt 1/2-Inch Drill/Driver (Tools & Home Improvement)
Had to buy a new drill in the middle of putting up 5 tiers, 4 sections, warehouse wood shelving. The Dewalt 14.4v, which I liked, went up in smokes after 5 yrs. Bought this Hitachi without any research, and was not disappoint. This drill is very compact and light, lighter than my 12v Dewalt. The battery came out of the box already charged, ready to go, which I appreciated cause I didn't have time to wait for initial charge-up. Each 1.5A lit-ion battery lasted about the same as a Ni-Cad, but much lighter and slimmer. Recharged takes 15-20 minutes. At 460in-lb, it easily drives 2 1/4 screws and sometimes 3in ones I was using, and 2 1/2 masonry screws pre-drilled. Was initially very skeptical of the belt hook but turned out to be a very convenient feature and didn't drop the drill through a lot of movement up and down the ladder. The led light gives a good added feature to work under low lighting conditions like under the shelves.
The extra flashlight is something I don't...Read more