Fire Storm? Fire Drizzle, perhaps
Written: Nov 06 '00 (Updated Nov 18 '03)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: inexpensive, good grip, convenient
Cons: not enough power except for the simplest of jobs
The Bottom Line: If you need to drill through soft woods and have SMALL projects, this drill will suffice. If you need to do anything remotely heavy-duty, look elsewhere.
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| martytdx's Full Review: Black & Decker 9.6v Firestorm High Performance Cor... |
I bought this drill/screwdriver the other day because I needed a drill for a small project (a CD rack), and wanted a cordless to do the job. We have several corded drills in the house, but unfortunately they are older models and don't have a reverse mode (well, at least not a working one). I talked to the gentleman at Home Depot, who said that this would handle all but the toughest jobs.
Well, he was partly right. I was building the rack out of oak, and while that is technically a 'hard wood', it isn't that difficult to work with (I am used to working with pine, but needed the stronger oak for this - and I have worked with oak before). I got all of the pieces cut and sanded (my new Black and Decker sander worked great - but that's another review), and was ready to assemble.
Therein lay the problem. I had charged the battery for about 4 hours, and when I started to use it, the drill was weak and very unresponsive. Okay, I need to charge it longer...
I let it charge all night and the following next day, and then tried it again. There was a marked improvement in the power, and I thought 'Hey, now we're good to go'. Not so fast, smart guy. The drilling function was adequate for the most part but had some problems. Many times it would simply not go through the oak and I had to pull it out and try again. Part of the problem was that the chuck would NOT hold onto the bit, no matter how hard I tightened it. I was using Black and Decker bits, too, so that shouldn't have happened. Several times it took a bit of work to get the bit out of the wood because it came completely out of the chuck.
The screwdriver portion performed even less spectacularly. FYI - there are 24 levels of torque and although I was working between setting 16 & 24, I couldn't get it to screw the screws into the wood fully, even at full torque (up to 700 rpm). I was able to screw a couple of them in further using a simple screwdriver when the drill would stop. That is not a good sign, in my opinion. Granted, I went for a lower powered drill because I was told that it would handle what I was doing (I know, I know - I come off as the experienced carpenter, however, I am but a novice and don't know better).
The drill itself is not bad for what it is. If you are doing simple drilling and screwdriving, and want the convenience of a semi-powerful cordless, I would recommend it. The grip is comfortable and the drill is easy to use, although it is a bit big for some projects in close corners. The battery life is pretty good - it made it through 2 hours of on-again, off-again use without losing any power that I could notice. And the charger does a good job of getting it ready. One bit of advice - if you are getting a cordless, make sure to get two batteries so that you don't lose precious time waiting for a recharge.
Overall, I will be taking this one back and upping to either a 12 or 14-volt model to use when I build the oak bookshelves. But if you need a simple, inexpensive cordless drill, check this one out - but also make sure that you are explicit about what you are going to use it for to make sure that you won't need something with a little more Fire.
[r e l a t e d BLACK & DECKER TOOL r e v i e w s]
Black & Decker Planer - She was flat as a board – just like I wanted ‘er
Sandstorm Sander - The Sandstorm Aptly Names … Unfortunately
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
martytdx
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Member: Marty
Location: New Jersey
Reviews written: 482
Trusted by: 179 members
About Me:
Doing what I can to try new places, restaurants, books and beers.
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