I have had my share of the makita 14.4 drills(older style like the 20th anninversary model)and I can tell you the newer style dewalts are fantastik. I am a Electrician and use this drill everyday from driving screws to .... 4" holesaws!! I know this is not recommended by dewalt but it will do it. I have had mine for 1 1/2 yrs And it is holding up great. I drill a lot of sills with a 1"x 18 auger bit. Switches hold up and the 3 speed gear box is the cats meow. I put a 1/8" bit in the chuck on high speed and use it to cut out around boxes in sheetrock like a router.The ratchet clutch has not let go yet or slip.The torque is all you want without the extra handle.
br /My only wish is to see nimh batteries. The xr packs absolutley hate cold weather and are cycled through the charger steadily

DeWalt drills now come with a 3 year warranty. My DC983K 14.4 has a 1/2" chuck and 450 pounds of torque. It's lighter and easier to handle than the 18 volt model and produces almost the same torque 450 lb vs 500 lb.
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br /Battery Life is excellent....just finished a deck and went almost 5 hours driving 2-1/2" screws into planks before the battery needed to be charged. I really like my DC983K

I'm not sure why people are complaining about this drill in other reviews. As far as the bit not being centered perfectly, that did happen to me a couple of times, but each time readjusting the bit slightly made it perfect. At any rate, I've got no problems with this drill. As a matter of fact, my expectations when I brought it home were pretty low because I'm so used to corded drills. But it really can hold its own. Two things that were a little annoying at first -- the sometimes-touchy chuck that I just mentioned (but that's easily fixed), and the tendency for the speed selection switch to not always move fully into position. From time to time, I'll be on "3", for example, and try to slide the switch down to "2". But there will be a lot of resistance, and the switch won't slide fully into place. The fix: blip the trigger. Switch moves perfectly. Between those two things, I guess I could have made my review 4 1/2 stars instead of five. Since I don't have the option of a half-star and the problems are not big enough to warrant docking an entire star, 5 stars it is. My only real complaint is my own fault. I'm so happy with it, I want to start buying additional cordless DeWalt tools. Probably should have gotten the 18V so I can swap the batteries.

I have had this drill for over 10 years and it is excellent, the first two batteries lasted me for 5 years. I love this drill it has outperformed anything else I have used, it survived working on industrial construction projects. It never lags unles the battery gets low and lasts for dozens and dozens of 1/2 inch holes in 3/4 plywood. Maybe the people that experinced battery problems might be sure they are reading the battery charging recommendations and following them.

First, I must admit I have had my drill for a good five or six years ago when the XRP's first came out and I can not attest to the current manufacturing processes. Mine was made in the USA. 701 East Joppa Road, Baltimore, Maryland to be precise. Its a quality tool and I picked mine up at a resonable price.
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br /When I purchased mine, I too was worried about the gear box sound, so I contacted the manufactuer. Dewalt had an email help desk so I voiced my concern in an email. I never thought I would get a good solid answer but was suprised when I recieved two emails. The first was from Customer Service saying that they passed the question along to the engineering department. WHAT? Are you serious? And to my further disbelief I actually recieved a second email from that department.
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br /They said that the noise is normal. The clunk you hear after letting go of the trigger is a spindle lock and is a normal opperating sound.
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br /Cool. My tool works and clunks great. It makes sense. It saves the bearings, its safer, and after all it is an all metal transmission (NO PLASTIC GEARS) its gonna make some noise right? And if you do have problems changing the gear, I grab the chuck rock it back and forth and then slide it right in gear with no effort.
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br /And now a testament to metal gears:
br /I am not easy on the drill. It should work hard so you don't have. Two months ago I did a project and needed to mix some thinset mortar. "Why not?" I said so I popped in a mixing blade and whipped up 4 10lb batches of mortar.
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br /My battery life has been good also. I am just now starting to see a little drop in working time. 25% loss maybe. With the quick charger and a normal project(mortar mixing excluded) it doesn't skip a beat.
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br /From my experience I have a good tough tool made in the God Blessed USofA. I hope you have the same positive experiece.

I purchased two (2) of these drills to replace existing craftsman drills. I have had only one problem with the forward/reverse switch, but that was corrected by Dewalt. I would definitely recommend this drill for anyone in the construction industry. It is lightweight and the batteries hold their charge for an extended period of time.

I wrote a review for this drill a long time ago but it is gone. After reading the most current reviews I am confused. I am an eletrician and as the other reviewer (an eletrician) use tools a lot on the job. What i am confused about is the newer drills. My drill is made in USA. I have noticed the speed change switch being tricky to move at times but no big deal.
br / I wish the othre battery drills I've gone though had only this type of problem. Because of this annoying problem and the torque clutch which is set way too high at the lowest setting I gave it 4 stars.
br / I just have not had the problem these later drill have had.
br /Are they really making these outside the USA. That could be the problem. You would not think that would make a difference but it does.
br /I have other tools that are now lower quality because they are no longer USA made. I think these companies let the quality go out the door when they go outside the country for manufaturing.
br /Then the price stays the same. Oh well.
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br /And there I was in a Home Depot in Laplace, Louisiana and what did I see?
br /A Dewalt 14.4V xrp 1/2 cordless, drill/driver on the clearance rack for $149.99 plus 10% sales tax.
br /"Say it ain't so!" - I thought to myself. Why would this be a clearance item? Turns out Dewalt came out with the DC983KA - same drill - slightly different look.
br /I've owned a Dewalt 12v xrp for 4 plus years and it's still going strong. When the 12v unit came out the xrp batteries were not available. I ultimately purchased 2 replacement 12v xrp batteries and have been enormously satisfied.
br /So recently I have been doing a lot of pre-drilling and screwing and have thought about purchasing another 12v xrp drill/driver; they are still holding their price at $169.00
br /And then I saw the 14.4 on the clearance rack. Half inch chuck, xrp batteries and case for the same price. Oh yeah!
br /The 14.4 is a bit heavier than my venerable 12v - not the lead weight of the xrp 18v, but all the features are the same:
br /3 speed, ratcheting steel chuck and great tough if not precision construction.
br /Some where between 12v and 18v - the torque of the drill becomes unmanageable with one hand. (when tightening wood screws or when a spade bit stops dead in a hole.) That is what the clutch is designed to alleviate. I have never used a cordless drill in the screw/clutch mode. I achieve my desired results by careful modulation of the trigger. The 14.4 works just about perfectly without wrenching your wrist.
br /There is the same slight bit wobble present in the 12v xrp but it is more of an irritation than a liability.
br /All Dewalt cordless drills are not created equal.
br /My 12v xrp has more torque and longer battery life than a friend's 18v dewalt heavy duty cordless drill/driver (non xrp model.)
br /Complaints: I am ready to see a nickel metal hydride battery made available for cordless hand tools. Knowing that the battery would have a longer run time - yet a much longer charge time would not deter me because the batteries would not be subject to failure in 2 years. ( the Nickel Cadmium short coming.)
br /My advice buy a 14.4v xrp cordless drill/driver at your home depot clearance rack or take advantage of the Amazon frequent tool discounts to make the DEWALT DC983KA 14.4-Volt XRP 1/2" Drill/Driver Kit your next best friend.
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br /caslo

Although I've only had the Drill/Driver for less than a month, it's performed very well.
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br /I bought it because of the tool review in Wood Magazine and so far they haven't steered me wrong.

Researched options before buying, and decided on this one because it had an all metal chuck, plenty of torque, and 3 speeds. So far it seem to be doing all that I expected. It has plenty of torque, it's taken a bit to learn to control it.

I purchased the DeWalt DC983 after using both their 12 volt and 18 volt models. This thing really packs a punch, 450 in/lbs of torque and up to 1800 rpm in 3rd gear. It is a little heavy, but well balanced. The only problem I have had so far is with the speed selector switch. Sometimes it sticks when I try to shift from 3rd to 2nd or 1st, but only occasionally. The chuck on this drill is one of the better chucks I have used and the bit storage on the handle is large enough for larger bits and socket drivers. As with most DeWalt products I use, I would highly recommend this model of drill/driver.

reasonable purchase price-
br /lighter than 18v - which is nice with an already heavy tool belt
br /plenty of torque for most jobs-
br /Satisfied remodeling contractor

I've used and fixed many Dewalt drills, and can sefely say that this one is ok, but has it's problems.
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br /The Planetary gearbox inside is know to fail, but is supposed to be getting better as it is upgraded.
br / The switch had it's share of problems as well.
br / The drill is very easy to take apart and fix.(Thankfully)
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br /The machine has poor balance and the front part is heavy,
br /It takes little to tip it over.
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br /But there always a new one like this one
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br /Dewalt has built a new 14.4 2 gear machine(Based on the older 2 gear models which were very well liked)
br /The balance is much better, as is the allround feel and handling.

I've been using this dril for over a year now, mostly for driving screws, but I drill quite a few holes with it also. Mine came with two batteries and a charger. I won't go back to a single battery unit again! The torque is impressive. I sometimes forget to put change from drilling speed to driving speed and don't even know the difference (the battery runs down faster). The charge time for the batteries is a lot faster than my previous drills. I almost did not buy this because of the price. I would buy the drill again.

The battery life is so low on this that I am constantly changing the batteries out. I really only get about maybe 30 screws drilled before the power starts to die. I miss my old Ryobi which I left out in the rain! Also, the case doesn't stand up on end, so when I set the case down with the drill in it it tips over. I completely agree with the other reviewer who commented on horrible battery life and a stubborn clutch.
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br /I don't know what all the nonsense is about buying ony American made. You learn in Economics 101 that outsourcing is good for everyone--increased competitiveness creates greater efficiency, well made products at a cheaper price, increased trade among all nations, and raises up poor people in developing countries to a higher level of opportunity and wealth creation, which a healthy reciprocity of trade. You outsource your heating, water, groceries, employment, power, etc. don't you? And why do you do that? Because it is efficient and cheap.

I don't know what some of these other people are talking about. They should get their facts straight. (1) This drill is not made in the good old USA--try Mexico. (2) Black Decker owns DeWalt. DeWalt is their commercial name. Why DeWalt does not mention the drill is made by Black Decker on their packaging is because most people in the trade (carpenter, builder, etc.) would not buy a Black Decker due to it being for the home-use market. I found this out after reading the invoice for warranty repairs and confirmed this with an ex-district manager of one of the big building supply chains. I wish I would have known this before my purchase.
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br /The batteries don't hold a charge for long, but if you're only going to drill a couple of holes you'll be OK. DeWalt, or should I say Black Decker, did warranty one battery for me on the most recent repair of the drill. The gear shifter is hard to get into 2nd gear and at times just hard to shift period. The clutch works good when it does work. Other times it just locks up at to the point that you'll have to take it in for repairs just to have it work a couple of months before it locks up again. This has happened to me three times in just over 1 year. I don't use this drill on a daily basis, but when I do I expect it to work like all my other quality tools.
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br /If you're looking for a trouble-free drill, stay away from this one. On the plus side, this is a well-balanced drill, it has great torque and feels compact for its intended use. The ½" keyless chuck works great and holds a drill bit tight.
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br /I'm sure some of you out there are thinking, "Well, what do you expect out of a cordless drill?" I can tell you that I started with a Craftsman industrial cordless drill about 16 years ago and have purchased 4 batteries for it and was looking at 2 more a year ago and thought it would be silly to spend $70.00 on a 15-year old drill. I think I made the wrong decision.
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I have owned many DeWalt products over the years. Until now I had a 12V DeWalt drill/driver for about 10 years, but that was getting a little long in the tooth. The new 14.4v is better in just about every way. There is *plenty* of torque and having 3 speeds is better than the 2-speeds on my older drill. The battery lasts all day for me in normal use (sometimes more than one day). And the new chuck is great also - positive closure and no slippage at all. It doesn't come loose after a while either like the chuck on my old one did sometimes. The drill is also well-balanced and feels good in your hands. Overall- I have no problem recommending this drill/driver - its a great tool.

I bought this drill, used it for a few days, and I ended up returning it. My overall reaction is that the drill is a workhorse, but it has some serious design flaws.
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br /First, the good: The XRP system is fantastic. Plenty of rugged power. Case, battery, and Dewalt interchangeability is what you'd expect from the brand. Good weight for the power delivered. Overall, decent first impressions.
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br /Now, the bad. Granted, these are minor things, but we're talking flaws on a $200 "professional" drill. The clutch doesn't work in 1st gear. It's an inherent design flaw of the model confirmed by Dewalt. Combine that with the fact that speed selector switch locks up, and in my mind, you've got a badly designed drill.
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br /If you can deal with these two issues, then by all means, it's a great drill, and you'll be happy. But, those two things drove me nuts. Because of the two aforementioned faults, I returned mine, and the search continues.

I have to say, for a construction guy, this drill is rather handy. I do electrical work, and for the occasional bit of hole saw work I need to do or mess of pilot holes or step drill work I need, this drill handles it well for being so lightweight.

What a great drill. Torque when you need it, speed when you need it. The XRP lines made a great product even greater. It gives you the power or speed of the heavier drill driver (ie 14.4v has speed and torque of the non XRP 18v but not the weight).

The variable clutch stopped working after less than 2 hours of light work. DeWalt "repaired" it under warranty. The "repaired" clutch stopped working again almost immediately, so back it went to DeWalt. They returned the unit to me in exactly the same condition that I shipped it to them, BROKEN. I called the Black Decker people to complain and they said that if their technician said there was nothing wrong, then there was nothing wrong. Needless to say, I now own a very expensive DeWalt Drill/Driver that will only DRILL and not DRIVE. I will never purchase another DeWalt or Black Decker tool because of the way that they rudely and improperly handled my Customer Service issue. I purchased a DeWalt looking for a quality tool and found poor quality and even poorer Customer Service.

I have a DeWalt corded drill and a plate jointer--I like them both. One battery on this cordless failed after only one month. The gears also sound like they are about to fail- a lot of clunking when the trigger is released. I also have a 15.6 V Panasonic--it beats the DeWalt in every way. I wanted to buy American. The DeWalt is made in Mexico. I'm sorry I bought it.

I compared this to a Milwaukee 0516-22 (which I own now) and when I placed a bit in the chuck, you can clearly see how it does not spin on axis. This is a problem for both accurate drilling for pilot holes or even as a screw gun as the bit won't sit in the screw head firmly. Sounds like a quality control issue. Milwaukee all the way.