DeWalt DCD996N-XE

Unreliable – Drill came as replacement for stolen older reliable non brushless model. It lasted 6 uses before it stopped working. Made in China this drill model is proving problematic (note many web postings) and parts are very expensive. One to avoid.

Very solid, powerful and high quality drill – I bought this drill as part of a five piece kit in June 2020, when I finally decided on DeWalt as the tool brand I would buy into, after some research and asking various friends. In hindsight I think I made the right decision, and I wish I’d taken the plunge into the DeWalt cordless tools sooner! I persisted with a mediocre corded Bosch drill for… Read more

far too long!

I’ve used this drill extensively since I bought it and it’s been fantastic. I’ve mainly used it working with hardwood, but I’ve done the odd bit of metalwork and masonry work here and there. The chuck can easily be tightened and loosened by hand, which is an upgrade on my Bosch drill, which required holding the chuck and running the drill at low speed to tighten or loosen it. The LED light works well for illuminating the area you’re drilling. The handle feels comfortable to hold and seems to fit my large hands well, in contrast to my old Bosch drill which caused my hand to ache after a while. The hammer drill setting seems to work fine on masonry, though I’ve only used it a handful of times. I’m guessing you’d want to upgrade to a proper masonary drill for more extensive masonry work.

The drill is probably over-powered for most of what I’ve used it for. This brings me to the only downside I can think of, which is that it’s rather heavy. This makes it a bit tricky doing delicate jobs with small drill bits. I guess that’s the trade-off for the power and capability of the drill, and I could probably do with a smaller drill for the delicate jobs. It’s also quite long, so I use a right-angled attachment with hex-shank drill bits for tight spaces, or several holders joined together to be able to drill a reasonably vertical hole close to a corner.

I’d recommend using a smaller 18V battery with it, like the 4 Ah or 5 Ah, rather than the larger 18V/54V Flexvolt batteries, in order to save on weight. My kit only came with the larger 6 Ah batteries, and it made the drill a little unwieldy to use. The 4 or 5 Ah batteries are more than sufficient - they last so long that I basically forget about charging them. They would last me a week of heavy use, or weeks of light use.

I’m glad I bought a DeWalt kit, and this drill seems to be a powerful, reliable, high-quality and valuable drill.