Accessories

perfect for an apartment
The small size is perfect for hard-to-reach areas and the motor delivers enough torque to meet the demands of any task around my apartment, like hanging shelves and installing wall anchors. I almost purchased a bigger drill driver but as I won't be building a deck or a treehouse, this model is certain to meet my needs for a long time. I've used Makita products before and have always been satisfied with the design.

Good drill: take care of the batteries
I've had mine for a couple of years, and it has given excellent service. I'm an active do-it-yourselfer, so I put moderate use on the drill, but not the heavy use of a professional. I didn't think I needed the weight and expense of a half-inch drill, and that has proved to be the case. This drill has easily handled everything I have needed it for.

One hint: it comes with two batteries. Keep the one that is not installed on the drill in the refrigerator. I use nimh batteries a lot, and find that refrigerating them considerably extends their life. Maximizing battery life is important to good economy. Two batteries cost about as much as the drill, so once the batteries reach the end of their useful life, you might as well buy a new drill. (Makes the green in me see red, but that's the way it is.)

Furthermore, refrigerating the idle battery reduces self-discharge: the tendency of nimh batteries to gradually lose use their charge even when not in use. This means that it will be closer to full charge when you need to swap it in.

Makita Drill
As an owner of a small business, I am always looking for the best tools. Makita tools have never let me down over the past 10 years of business. This drill is no different. The balance and weight are proportional to reduce fatigue while drilling. Using the keyless chuck requires little hand torque to secure the bit, one of the best chucks I have ever used. These batteries provide the power for both drills that I use and a flashlight with power to spare. Recently, while building a deck using 3" deck and lag screws, I had to charge every 2-3 hours while rotating to another battery. I couldn't have asked for any better performance. GREAT TOOL!

Expensive Tool - Poor Quality
On delivery I checked the tool for run out at the chuck and found that it wobbled. I made the check based on another review. It could be due to a defective chuck or gear box output shaft run out. The tool is well featured and those features are easy to use. All that though is background noise if the tool can't perform the basic functions of drilling a round hole or driving a screw straight. Those functions cannot be performed with a chuck that wobbles for whatever reason.

"A drill for all hands?"
I purchased this drill kit well over two years ago and have used it frequently. In all basic functions, it has performed quite nicely and with no malfunctions. The batteries have exhibited a long run time and give the drill enough power to drill holes and drive screws without complaint. Recharging has been trouble free and after the passage of time, the batteries still appear "fresh" in usage.

My complaint? I wish Makita would have thought a bit more about the basic shape of the batteries. If an individual attempting to remove the battery has a fairly large hand and a good grip, removal is not going to be difficult. However, if your hands are smaller and you perhaps suffer from a bit of arthritis, you will in all probablity have trouble getting your thumb and fingers around the wide battery casing and then be able to apply enough inward pressure to depress the built in tabs and pull downward releasing the battery from the drill.

Other than this and a "one size fits all" case which is large enough to contain the drill, charger, extra battery with enough space left to include several atticles of clothing should you want to use it as an overnight piece of luggage, it is indeed a quaility tool. I would however, recommend to those who suffer from the limitations mentioned to consider this drill kit only it you can actually see and handle it first to make certain that you can perform the battery removal procedure without difficulty.