This is an excellent drill but be careful of plastic paddle trigger.I managed to break it on month after purchase.

My buddy and I refer to this drill as the killer drill after he almost lost a finger from using it. What had happened was that he was changing bits, the key was still in the chuck, and he grabbed what he thought was the neck of the drill to get better leverage for loosening the chuck key; when in reality he grabbed the paddle switch and depressed it to the full on position. The chuck key whipped around and cut his finger open.pThe problem with this drill is the paddle switch is unprotected, and twitchy. There is almost no control over the variable speed motor with it. The direction control switch is a cheesy push-pull design on the back of the unit which is awkward, and there is no neutral switch to make bit changing safer.pShould my friend have unplugged the drill before changing bits? Yes, but the reality of the job site is that doesn't happen often when time and money are one in the same.pIt's too bad a competitor doesn't offer an alternative to this drill. The ability to get in relatively tight areas is good, but the drill has problems.

Purchased this product instead of Magnum 3300 because I only had a few hundred holes to drill for running wire and figured that afterward it would be more applicable to a variety of home rennovation uses. High torque application made mincemeat of the helical gears. If you plan to run a lot of wire or pipe, buy the right tool for the job-not, as I did, this product. I will try to find a rebuild kit for the gearing--and buy the big guy as well. I have also used the little drill to work under sinks and etc and have been pleased. I just think that there should be a warning on the outside of the box "NO LARGE DIAMETER BITS OR AUGER BITS."

This drill is a great alternative to the more expensive and beefier 1/2" right angle drill from Milwaukee. The angle of the drill head to the body is not perpendicular as you can see in the picture and that makes for great comfort in using the tool plus it is very light. I had to reroute some electical wire and this is the tool to cut new holes into the wall studs. I only gave it 4 stars due to the chuck being somewhat difficult to spin by hand due to a small surface with which to grip and the fact that it didn't turn very easily.

I am just a general hobbyist so I actually have no real need for this drill, I just bought it to have it. I was using it to drill small (1/4 to 1" holes) in plywood with Forstner bits. I drilled about 100 holes over a 2 week period and the drill FAILED. It appears to be a switch problem, but am waiting for report. I had to take drill to authorized fix it place, and am waiting for a call back to trek over there and pick it up. IF I was an electrcian who needed a tool like this I would be highly pissed off. After all the reason to pay Milwaukee's price is to get a quality tool not something that cant even drill 100 small holes.

I used this drill for doing the low voltage wiring for my house ... it worked great for two weekends and is now shot. I was probably using bits that were too big for the drill (5/8" and 1" auger bits), but it would bind up and (eventually) I think the gears wore out. Now it just sounds like it's ratcheting and it won't drill into anything with a bit bigger than 1/8" or so. pWhile it worked it was great... handy around the corners and worked like a champ. As long as you don't need something that is truly heavy duty (ignore what it says on the box), this is the drill for you.

My wife purchased a close-quarter drill as a Christmas present in 2001. One year and 3 months later, it no longer works. Apparently it can't handle 3/4 and 1 inch bits. I called Milwaukee to get service, and they tell me that I abused their heavy duty drill. I personally would not recommend this drill to any contractor that needs a tool that will last.

I owned this little drill for 9 years before it finally crapped out. I used it for the occasional close quarter work and it is perfect for that purpose.
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br /I don't know of another drill like it. This is a powerful little drill that will drill holes and drive screws in a tighter space than any other drill. It is not suited for truly heavy duty work. Mine gave up when asked to hog out big holes for running wire.
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br /I agree that the paddle switch is precariously placed near the chuck and I have also accidentally activated the switch when changing bits. I find the paddle switch gives a lot of control, however, because of the long travel and needs to be in that location in order to keep the size of this close-quarter drill to the minumum. Having your hand near the bit is very comfortable and aids in control as well.
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br /The Miluwakee Hole-hawg is as famous as their Sawz-all and should be up to continuous duty drilling. I will replace this drill with one just like it but will get a Hole-hawg for drilling lots of big holes in structural framing.

Switched from Porter Cable to Milwaukee recently and I am glas I did. This drill performed better than expected. I used this in floor joists with three quarted spade bits for wire and boy, did it do the job. It was very fast and was comfortable to boot. Great Job, Milwaukee, keep up the good work.

If you intend to do any serious drilling (e.g. home-building) just buy one of Milwaukee's professional 90 degree drills. There is no way the plastic helical gears on this one have the strength to drive the work that one would want a 1/2" chuck for. I also did not find that the size of this allowed much more access then a regular 90. I know I asked alot of this drill but that's why I bought one with a 1/2" chuck and for the price, I never expected that it would break so quickly.