Biggie

I'm no battery expert but the way I understand it the compact 1.5ah batteries are made up of 5 cells and the 5ah has 10 cells. The safety's in the battery will only let each cell discharge so fast so on high draw tools like a saw or grinder for example you will notice a difference in power because you can draw off the 10 cells at a slower discharge rate than the 5 cells. Many people don't notice a power difference on tools like an impact driver or drill but it kind of depends on how hard you're working the tool.

I think one of the top compact drills is the dcd791 which is pretty much the newest model of the drill you have. With the dcd791 you get 460uwo of torque vs 350uwo in your current drill and you upgrade to brushless. The dcd777 looks similar and is brushless but it only has 1600rpm vs 2000rpm in the dcd780 and 791. This is also why I don't really care for the compact milwaukee drills they only have 1800rpm and I prefer the higher rpms which maybe isn't a big deal for you.

I had a little project today where I needed to make a 14" long cut in a 12ga sheet of steel so I thought I would try out my new dewalt saw. I use metal circ saws daily for the last 10+ years and this cut was no different than any others I've done thousands of times. I'm right handed so I brace my material with my left hand and cut with my right. But this time was a little different as the saw was really throwing metal at my left bracing arm. It was uncomfortable but I finished the cut only to look at my arm speckled in blood. Now I probably should have had on long sleeves but like I said the cut was no different than any other and it's never happened before. First thing I would say is this is one reason to not have a blade left saw if you're right handed. But the bigger problem i see is there is a gap between the base and guard on the saw. This gap might not be a big deal on a wood saw but on a metal saw it really let's the shrapnel fly.

I hope to see a gen 2 m12 impact wrench. I know I've said it in other threads but maybe if I say it enough it'll come true haha. Hoping for shorter and in the neighborhood of 130ft/lbs, which I don't think is asking too much based on the gen 2 m12 impact driver. I've also noticed cpo has dropped recon prices of the gen 1 impact wrenches by about $10 in the last month and home depot has a free bare tool with the purchase of a m12 impact wrench kit. Makes me hopeful they're clearing inventory getting ready for a gen 2.

Yea I still would like to see a dewalt 60v or if makita came out with a 36v worm style metal saw I would consider taking on another battery platform.

The hammer drill you're looking at would be exactly the same as the drill/driver but would have an extra selectable mode for light masonry drilling. As far as your ice auger is concerned you wouldnt want to use a hammer mode because it would be hard on the gearing of the auger. So either model would work, you just don't need the extra function of the hammer drill for your auger application.

Could just be a coincidence but I see homedepot is offering a free tool with the m12 impact wrench kit. Makes a person hopeful they're possibly trying to clear out some stock to make room for a new gen 2 m12 impact wrench.

I was wrong it does have a hammer only mode. I've never used it and no websites give a good description of what functions it has so when I was looking the other night I didn't think it had it. Most of the side pictures show it with a depth rod that covers where the hammer is because I tried looking at pictures as well. I checked mine today and it does have it which to me probably makes it the best value of any cordless 1" rotary on the market.

Have you considered the dch133? I know it doesn't have the chipping mode which may be a deal breaker but for $100 cheaper than the dch273, it's very good at drilling holes in that 1/2 range. We have one and drill 3/8 to 5/8 holes with it all the time and I've done up to a 1"x10" deep hole with no problem. Side by side with my m18 2712 fuel 1" sds rotary hammer, the dewalt is slightly faster.

I'll be giving it a workout tomorrow

So it looks like acme has the kits available but the bare tool still isn't in. I need the tool this week so it's sweet that I can get it but sucks that I have to pay $130 for two 1.5ah batteries. Not only do I probably not need anymore batteries or chargers, a two pack of 1.5ah can be had for $70.

I don't have any experience with makita but I would assume it would have similar performance to the m18 fuel. One thing I don't get on these cordless models is the clear plastic blade housing. I assume it comes from wood guys where they want to look at the blade as its cutting but these really throw chips of metal so the more enclosed the better. The problem with the clear plastic though is they get clouded up after a couple uses and you can't see through it anyhow. I was taught on the milwaukee corded 8" which has a fully enclosed housing so you learn to cut using the sight marks on the shoe. This was another thing I noticed on the dewalt it has a sight line on on the shoe but it doesn't have the notch on the front edge of the shoe which is something I use all the time on the milwaukees. Sometime the sight windows on the shoes fill up with metal chips making it impossible to see a guide mark so you really need the notch on the front edge.

In the end I think they all placed where they should have but the whole video just seemed poor. I've always thought Jay from cop tools was fairly knowledgeable about tools and put out decent reviews. But I wasnt impressed by these three reviewers, it felt like they were more actors than tool guys/gals.

This doesn't seem to be a real commonly used tool on this forum but as a steel fab/erector we use them daily. We've had many milwaukee 8" metal circ saws over the years and they really are beastly saws. We had tried a 18v dewalt metal saw in the early 2000s and although they cut they were a bit ahead of battery technology and weren't very practical. So last year when milwaukee came out with a fuel versions I thought I would give it another try. Although I was hesitant about how long the batteries would last, I was pleasantly surprised at just how capable it is. I was so impressed I decided our dewalt work truck should have one too but I couldn't find any detailed reviews on the dcs373. I finally got one the other day so I haven't been able to give it a good runtime test but it does seem to have power comparable to the m18 fuel. The thing I was most suprised about was the difference in size and weight between the two. From most pictures online the two look to be very similar in size but dewalt is a lot wider. The dewalt is around 4lbs heavier and I think a lot of that comes from the "metal?" housing where the fuel is all plastic. I plan on writing more as I use these more. I just know there wasn't a lot of info when I was looking at these cordless circ saws so hopefully this helps someone else out.

Still hopeful dewalt will release a 60v metal circular saw but picked this one up cheap on ebay for now. I was suprised at just how much bigger and heavier it is than my fuel.

Yep if you're going to stick with 20v the compact Brushless is the way to go. I personally have gone to milwaukee and they are noticeably smoother but I really do miss the 4 blade positions.

So I picked one of these up yesterday and the first thing I noticed when I picked it up was something about the grip seemed big. Now I've used a number of dewalt 20v over the years and I've always thought they were a pretty comfortable grip. So today at work I started comparing it to some of my other tools. Compared to a dcf887 and m18 mid torque from the front of the trigger to the back of the grip is a 1/4" longer on the dcf894. It's not like the trigger is a 1/4" forward but more like the back of the grip doesn't taper in as much. The grips on the dcf894 and the dcf899 high torque are the same dimensions, but for some reason on the high torque I don't notice the grip as much. I assume its just because the high torque tool is so big anyhow that its always going to be a little uncomfortable. This is just my first impression of the tool I haven't had a chance to really use it but from a grip comfort stand point I think dewalt missed the mark a little.

The farm and fleet store that's a block away from my house had the dcf894 for $169. I just couldn't say no. I also got a new leatherman to go with my crunch.

I believe it physically fits but the one thing I wonder about is the dcf887 was out before the dcf890(3/8 brushless impact) was released and for some reason dewalt decided not to put the 3/8 anvil on the dcf887 and instead did it on the dcf886. Now was this just a way for dewalt to use up remaining parts from the dcf886 I have no idea. If you go over to dewalts sister company mac they have a brushless impact driver model mcf886 (identical to dcf886) and a 3 speed 3/8 brushless impact wrench model mcf891. At first glance I thought the 3 speed impact wrench was just a dcf887 with a 3/8 anvil but when you look at the specs the mcf891 has a max rpm of 2800 while the dcf887 has a max rpm of 3250. It just makes me wonder if dewalt actually found a reason to not put the 3/8 anvil on a dcf887 or if they just chose not to.

I have a job which requires a lot of rivets on a remote site so I was looking at options just last week. I found the threads on here about them and quickly came to realize that there weren't many economical options. Now I just hope they come out early April or the job might come and go and I'll still need to buy a bigger portable air compressor and a second pneumatic rivet run.

I believe 130 is a metal plate that goes in the battery slot where the little locking clip on the battery presses up into the tool. 131 is a spring that goes behind the black battery terminal it helps keep the battery electrical connection tight. There should be a little spot on the back of the terminal for the spring to sit in. 132 I don't really know but it looks like a cap for the end of the spring that's not in the battery terminal.

I think he's just saying that even though mathematically 60v at 3ah or 18v at 9ah are the same 162wh he thinks he gets more work done with the 60v/54v. Which could be a big debate in itself and has been on many forums. But like was said before I don't think he's trying to argue that 60v is better than 54v or 20v is better than 18v. Most people that care enough about tools to be on a tool forum have the 20v max and 18v nominal thing figured out.

I'm not a boot guy and I'm sure it works but how hard could it be for dewalt to make a boot that had the vent holes in the right place.

The description says it but this is a rebar tying tool not a rebar cutter. Which depending on the price looks pretty sweet.

I was just going to say that a corded reconditioned sds rotary hammer might be a good option, I picked one up a couple years ago and it looked and ran like new. Its been a few years since I've used a dcd950 to drill into concrete but something doesn't seem right for a 3/16" or 1/8" bit to take 10 minutes to drill that deep. Those size bits really shouldn't be that hard even for a hammer drill, must be some old hard concrete.