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A solidly built, powerful drill

I’ve owned this drill for at least ten years. Despite having a number of cordless drills, it’s still my first choice whenever an outlet is available and I need to drill a lot of holes.

Pros:
- Very powerful. The gearing that causes the slow maximum speed (850rpm) also results in greater torque.
- The side handle can be rotated to any angle, but still holds securely.
- Solidly built with a metal gear case.
- The keyless chuck holds tightly…as long as you push in the spindle lock button while tightening it.

Cons:
- You have to be careful when adjusting the side handle position. It uses a metal strap that loops around the nose of the drill to hold it in place. Twisting the side handle tightens the strap and locks the handle in position. Unfortunately, the chuck is the same diameter as the nose piece and, when loose, the strap can slide forward and be tightened down on both the case and the chuck. I only did this once and the drill still had enough torque to spin the chuck (I don’t think I tightened the handle down very tightly) but it started to get quite warn before I noticed the problem. (DeWalt should have left a small raised ring at the front of the nose piece to prevent the strap from slipping forward.)
- The maximum is only 850rpm. This is below the recommended speed for most small bits.

Conclusion:
If you need to drill only small holes, grab a different drill. If you also need to drill 1/2″ and up, even occasionally, this drill would be hard to beat.

Update (2/6/2012): This item is currently on sale here for the lowest price I’ve seen.

The featured review for this product, DEWALT DW236K Heavy-Duty 7.8-Amp 1/2-Inch Drill with Keyless Chuck Tools & Hardware, was written by W. B. Halper.

The average rating for this item is 2.5 out of 5 stars, according to 2 reviews.