Accessories

Makita 6832m auto feed screwdriver
Conceptually, and for the most part...works well. I do find that the angle must be perfectly perpendicular or the unit tends to kick the screws free of the belt and drops them on the floor. This unit would benefit from some sort of collar that holds the screws more securely as they are being driven.

Old model, NOT WORTH THE MONEY!
This is Makita's old model, and you will most likely get a reconditioned item. The first one I got worked for 2 days then quit. The other problem is that it can only use a phillips head bit. I've talked to Makita twice now, and they don't manufacture or sell any other bits such as a square drive, etc. AND you can't return it if you're not happy with it. The only return they will do is if the unit does not work. Amazon dropped the ball on this one. The description was misleading and the item is an old obsolete model.

A real time-saver
First of all I'd like to say that I bought this unit from CPO Makita about two months ago and once I received it, I found that it was refurbished. I didn't see it say that in the description anywhere and it's important to take note. Having said that, I have used it on a number of drywall and sub flooring jobs and have not had an ounce of problem from it.

There are a few tricks to get down in order to have the tool function as it should. I have found that it is much less likely to jam when the metal nose piece is as close to 90 degrees to the work surface as possible. This also insures that the head will be set to the correct depth. I also strongly agree with another reviewer saying that if you accidentally dump the nose piece against the work surface by accident, then that screw will be skipped when you drive the next time. There is no way to back up the screw strip either, although you can pull it through and re-feed it.

One important point is that you can use Senco screws made to work with their Duraspin tool. That's a nice feature for a couple of reasons; any big box store will carry a good selection of them and they are also cheaper then buying the Makita screws online. A box of Makita 1 1/4 screws are around $27 or so but the Senco's are around $15 (plus they are available the morning of the job!!)

All in all this was a good purchase and a real time saver that I would buy again. I would have given it five stars but they should advertise it as a refurb.

Update: Despite the fact that the Senco screws are advertised to fit this screw gun, they do not work well at all. I used the Senco brand for the first time yesterday and had no end of problems getting the strips to feed properly. With the Senco screws, I could not screw more then two or three screws without a jam. In the end, I used some Makita screws that were longer then needed but they feed smoothly.

Can't Believe It!
I also own a Stanley-Bostitch Quik-Drive which is 2 or 3 times larger but will handle up to a 3-inch screw. That one has a coil-type magazine which was nice, except that the fasteners it used were discontinued several years ago. (Plastic strip coil collation rather than this current head-type collation) The Makita 6832 uses a clever sprocket hole arrangement like a movie camera that places the screw in position under the bit. It cycled flawlessly in my tests and combined with its compactness, was a breeze to set-up and use. I also like that it has variable speed, as my Quik Drive didn't. The Makita bit appears to be a standard 1/4" hex, long bit, whereas the Quik Drive uses an odd 7/32" hex bit only available from Stanley-Bostitch. An extension is available for the 6832 but I like the tool just as it is. This was an older model which requires a few hex wrenches for adjustments, but is well worth the extra effort to get such a great value.

Makita 6832
I've used the gun for decks and some subfloor work as well as drywall/kal-board. Works very well as long as you are aware of a couple quirks. One is not to put any pressure whatsoever on the nose until you're ready to drive the screw, or it skips and there's no backing up the belt of screws easily. For the most part, once you know the adjustments and initial setups for the different length screws, it is a real time saver. For small drywall repairs tho, you're still going to just use a drywall gun or other screwgun rather than break out this one. But for the bigger jobs, this is great. Be sure to write into your job the cost of screws, it gets a bit pricey for a large deck. I find my partner, who's from the old school, grabbing the gun and enjoying the speed and consistency of the screw set.