Yep.

You know, you're right about that. I'm probably doing some wishful thinking in the power department. I'm sure dewalt just won't make it if it can't be done right, yet.

You took the words right out of my mouth. And your idea brings to mind a whole new area I hadn't even thought about- I mean why adhere to the typical chainsaw model anyway? I started out cutting pulpwood back in the summers during my high school days (mid 70s... dang I'm gettin' old...) , similar to the one on top. (Bow-blade. Typical to pulpwood where you cut a lot of logs on the ground. You brace the blade on that bottom lip and pivot forward. The saws aren't mine, just a random pic from the net) The basic design for chainsaws have barely changed. (Power supply, clutch, bar, chain. ) Between B&D and DeWalt's intellectual resources, I can see them coming up with a serious machine. And I think power storage/supply is progressing so rapidly that combustion engines on this scale are already archaic. I'll probably sound like an old man now, but in my life, and I'm only 50, I've seen best technology progress from ten+ pound, chrome steel clamshelled, single speed, corded drills (which nobody even considered using as a screw driver... duhr... hello... it's called a rheostat...) to a five-pound, variable speed, three gear hammer-drill with it's own power supply which has enough torque to wrap you around it like a maypole. (Between, by the way, video conversations with my buddy 3000 miles away on my phone/gps/sound system/guitar tuner/video editor/camera/contractor's reference computer) Captain Kirk's communicator looks like a string and two cans compared to it. I can see batteries cut down to near-weightless (why does no one use aerogel in batteries yet?), brushless, recharged in five minutes by a fabric solar panel. Can't see a chainsaw being that much of a challenge. Heck, in ten years, we'll probably just point our laser tape measures at beams and trees, and it'll lop them off with 1/1000" tolerance. Or, lol, just say "House." into an iphone and one will pop up, made out of plastic water bottles and recycled tires. Anyway. I'd like a 20V chainsaw, please.

Yep. I hear ya, but still- no shortage of lube on a jobsite and wouldn't have someone take the time to use a camping saw on more than a few small limbs. I'm talking trees. Got plenty of hand saws, but what we need is an electric that runs off the increasingly ubiquitous 20v platform.

I've heard rumblings about a military-grade multi-tool in the design stages. I recently lost a Bear-Jaw I'd had for ten years, and was surprised how much I missed that thing. It wasn't something I would have bought for myself, it was a gift, but I can't tell you how many times I was able to flip the thing open and just 'solve it' without having to drag out a toolbox. I expect there are some patent-infringement concerns, but DeWalt has some smart folks in R&D. I'd love to see what they'd come up with. If anyone at Big D (Or Big B&D) is listening, I could have bought anything to replace the one I lost, and even bought a pretty pricey Leatherman, but returned it. It just didn't feel right in my hands. Found another Bear Jaw, much simpler but very, very useful, for far less money. For people who actually use their tools, simple is good. Put me down for one of those, too.

Hey, but you guys have Jenni Falconer, sooo.... Let's see- pliers... Jenni Falconer... pliers... Jenni Falconer... pliers... Jenni Falconer. You guys win. Oh- but they haven't released the Leatherman-like multitool yet. When they do, it may be close, actually.

Ok, so a few months back, I bought the DCD985 [behemoth] Hammer Drill/DCF885 Impact Driver combo. I use that drill for everything, man. I think you could weld a prop to a 1/2"rod, ratchet it down, switch to 3rd gear a have a proper backup outboard. It's a stud. But the 'impact driver' phenomenon escapes me. I hear about people driving a lot of screws with them and I definitely see the application for framing and decks, etc, but I work mostly with metal. All I found it was good for was augering out the centers of phillips screw heads, or stripping sheet-metal fasteners. I mean, the blamed thing tops out (EASILY) at 3,200 rpms. Just a blip of the trigger and you're screwing clean through the house next door. So the first thing I did was relegate it to only using a 3/8" or 1/2" socket adapter, for which it performed flawlessly. In fact, I was pretty blown away at how well it works as an impact wrench. This is my first experience with electric impact. I'll probably never use air again. But anyway, so the downside to adapters is that eventually, they snap off inside the hex-chuck. (the first company to improve that fairly obvious weakness in the hex-driver attachment method will change the industry standard.) They also add nearly an inch to the profile, thereby limiting accessibility. A few weeks ago, I was looking for a bit-holder on a replacement parts website and happened to click on DeWalt Impact Wrenches instead of Drivers, and bang, there it was. DCF883. It is EXACTLY the same as DCF885, except that it has a 3/8" Hog-ring socket wrench anvil, part number 608116-00SV, which can be swapped out to replace the hex-driver anvil, part number N114621, and the attached chuck. The new anvil will cost you about $25, but for me, it was an opportunity cost, because I wasn't going to use it as a hex-driver very much. Just use a pick to compress the ring around the chuck opening and it comes out. You can find videos on how to remove the chuck. You have to open the tool, but it's very straightforward. I'm pretty experienced, but I'd give it only about a 4 out of 10 in terms of difficulty, and only that high because most people tend to be a little impatient. Plan to take a half hour and take your time. If you do, you'll be done in 15 minutes. Cool thing is, now you have both tools.

...doesn't exist. But it should. Sorry. I know; "Cruel trick, dude... cruel." But it's actually a product which I think would have pretty big sales impact. (Which is how you have to say things when you're talking to corporate.) The engineering would be nil; Pappy B&D already has one, it's even 20V, just make it pro-grade. I think it could be sold like crazy for just over a hundred bucks. (Not to even bring in the Christmas potential.)... (which I just did...) Can't tell you how many times a project gets put on hold because of some tree- clearing issue, while someone digs a chainsaw out of the truck with an empty tank, has to shop for gas AND oil, all the while surrounded by DeWalt tools with rechargeable batteries. Also not a fan of seeing circular saws improvised to cut off tree limbs... Most of us don't need a chainsaw every day, but by Gosh when you need one, you NEED one. However, I do think they'd sell extremely well in winter for sectioning firewood. Anyway, that's my own personal request. Put me down for one. Or (now don't throw anything at me...) a DeWalt to Black and Decker battery adapter... ;D

Good confirmation, thank you. I considered the bits as the possible culprit as well, but that's not it. Guess I just need to decide if it's worth the time and hassle to head back to the store, or live with it. Thanks, bingobelle. (Gotta hear the explanation for that name, dude... ;-) --JP

Yeah, as best I can tell, it's a Rohm. I can't shoot any video, but I can describe some specific things. The outer part of the chuck is dead-stable. (Well, nothing is perfectly true, but there is no naked-eye-detectable movement.) The jaws appear stable when closed empty and spun either slowly or in third gear, wide open, same with the hood. It's mostly when I'm suing smaller bits, mostly for pilot holes and i work mostly in steel, so wobble is an issue because of wandering off marks where I can't always use a punch. I can feel it with larger bits, but it doesn't effect the work.

First, I just got this beast, and I'm so blown away by it's performance that even with the wobble I wouldn't give the thing up for anything. My wife finally made me go out and buy it because making a cheaper drill work by sheer brute force is taking a little bit of a toll on my now fifty year old body. Not that I'm out of shape, but in particular, the hands only have so many serviceable hours on them, you know? The first thing I used it on right out of the box on first charge was an aluminum ramp with 1/8" mild steel railing brackets, with two approx. 1/4" short sections of A36 channel steel for a height adjustment system. Drilled twenty 3/8" holes in the 1/8" flat stock, six 1/2" holes in the 1/4" channel, and finally eight 1/2" holes in 4mm thickness steel pipe for clevises in the legs. (Permanent height is known and fixed. I can always drill more later if I want to use the ramp elsewhere.) I was shocked at the speed and sheer aggro "GRAAAWWRR" this thing packs. You'd better use a vise for holding stuff, and not your hands or vise grips. This thing will wrap you around it like a dadgone maypole. The twenty additional 3/8" holes in 1/2" thick aluminum almost aren't worth mentioning. It was almost like drilling through pine. And I can't believe I just wrote that. My old Black and Decker 18v (I know... but listen, my wife and son bought me that drill for Father's day a long time ago, and they were so doggoned proud of it there was no way in Hell I wasn't gonna use it. And besides, it made me think of them every time I picked it up. Hanging on the wall of my shop, now.) would have spun on every hole, even in the aluminum. Ok, so it's awesome. It's really awesome. And the impact driver from the package deal is a whole 'nother post entirely. But that wobble bugs me. From what I'm gathering, it's likely attributable to the impact function and hey, it's not a precision drill press. But coming from that old, probably $45, B&D that ran straight as an arrow to something costing hundreds more that doesn't, again, bugs me. What I would like to know from those who truly know is if it's truly normal functionality for this piece of equipment. I understand trade-offs. I just need to hear it, before taking it back and spending time on something I don't need to, plus causing DeWalt to eat a replacement cost that's unnecessary.