Mike asks

The 18 volt is capabl;e of 400lbs torque and the 14 volt is capable of 350
lbs torque. I don't know under which conditions the extra 50lbs of torque
will be useful. Any examples when the extra 50lbs torque comes in handy?

Driving lag bolts or large/long screws. Takes a bit of practice but if you're
careful you won't sheer off many screw heads. Also the extra torque comes in
handy in situations when you don't want to drill a pilot hole, e.g.
sheetrocking.

My technique is to get the screw seated then "bump" 'em in with short steady
bursts of power.

Oh yeah, the torque will also twist your arm off if you've got the clutch
setting too high.

Go with the 1/2" chuck if at all possible, it'll handle any kind of drill bit
or accessory, including hole saws and Forstner bits.

I may have overstated the case when referring to the working weight of the 18V.
Lord knows I'm no Hercules but I can handle it for a couple-three hours. It's
not like you're constantly holding the thing over your head. Get a hook or
holster for your nail belt, use it early and often, that'll save you a bit of
pain.

FWIW, over on rec.woodworking a while back some fella claimed to have made a
belt battery for the Dewally. Used gel pack cells, hung it off his nail belt
and connected it to the drill via a wire. 90% of the weight's in the battery.
Check over in the wreck if you're interested.

Marc

"MrAoD" wrote in message
...
Mike asks

Anybody familar with the Dewalt DW929K-2 cordless drill?
It's a lightweight (4.5 lbs) 3/8" 18 volt cordless drill.
I want to buy one but would like to hear from others
who know something about it.

I've got its bigger brother, the 18V 1/2". Can't remember the model no.
but
it's the one with the hammerdrill setting. Works like a charm after five
years
of medium duty.

Mine's the older version, they came out with the XRP version about
two-three
years ago. Supposedly they upgraded some of the internal plastic parts to
metal in the XRP models, plus 3 speed settings instead of two.

If the $$ difference between the 3/8" and the 1/2" is agreeable to you I'd
suggest moving up to the 1/2"-er. The hammerdrill function works
surprisingly
well in light duty, and the extra chuck capacity never hurts.

If you want to save bucks and the drill will only see light duty, consider
moving down a step to the 14.4V, the 18V is one heavy mother, especially
after
the first hour or so. From what I've heard there's little performance
difference between the 14.4 and the 18 when used for the basic functions
of
drilling/driving. And the batteries are cheaper too.

Battery life is good, I can go about 2 hrs of near-constant
drilling/driving.

I've also got the 6 1/2" Dewalt circ saw which is really handy for light
duty.
Cuts sheet goods like buttah, 2X lumber ditto. Runs the batteries down
much
quicker than the drill tho.

Marc