DeWalt DW272 reviews
Dewalt is good but
helpful for 6 of 11 people
Dewalt is good but why does Amazon have to bait us and mislead by its claim of a higher retail price of 189.00. It sells everywhere at no more than 99.00
2/4/2006
Great gun!
Several years ago I retired my corded Makita drywall gun which I had used for years and bought the DeWalt DW272. This gun is fast and reliable! The 'dial-up' depth setting is simplicity itself and never faulters. The gun is light; powerful; well balanced; and rugged. For the average homeowner's drywall needs, this gun is all that he/she needs.
I recently purchased the DeWalt DC520 18v drywall gun (which can be very pricey), because I hate dragging around a cord. But for the overhead work I still grab the DW272! This is a fabulous screw gun for the money! If you are in the market for a corded drywall gun, get it, you won't be sorry.
12/16/2005
drywall screwdriver (corded)
This appears to be a v. good driver, except the manual is very poorly written and the illustration insufficiently informative. In addition, the plastic sleeve that adjusts the depth of the screw was so tightly screwed on that I has to mount the driver in my vise and use a wrench to unscrew it. Once this was accomplished the driver works as expected. The manual would not even be required, except the overly foreceful assembly as indicated above made me doubt if I understand the function of the parts.
12/13/2007
Great drywall gun
I'm not a big fan of Dewalt, but even the worst companies do at least some things right. Dewalt did this one right.
It's built well, works well, and it's priced right. What more do you need?
Setting the depth is foolproof, and the depth stays consistent.
I use it more often for cement backerboard with durock screws than I do drywall. But for either job, I'm totally happy with its performance.
If you're a homeowner/occassional user, the price puts this in the realm of serious consideration. If you've got three or four sheets of drywall to put up, you don't need it.
If you think you'll do more than one project in your lifetime though, spend the 90 bucks. It's SO MUCH faster than the cordless drill approach. And you won't over/under drive your screws (assuming you set the depth correctly to begin with, of course).
One word of warning to the casual user - Remember that this is a professional level tool. The instructions assume you're a pro. You won't just pick this thing up and start using it like a pro.
Expect to have to practice a little with it first, until you get the technique down. You typically run this thing all out at top speed without letting up on the trigger between screws. Most people have trouble until they figure that out.
It's not a regular drill where you have to slowly bring the screw up to speed. With drywall guns, the bit doesn't turn till you push the screw to the wall, when it catches it drives the screw at top speed, then stops turning once it hits the right depth. It all happens in the blink of an eye.
You can't be overly careful with the thing, you have to put a screw on and jam it in with one quick decisive motion. Being timid with it only gets crooked screws driven half way.
I'd recommend using the shortest screws you can get by with until you get profficient with it.
So there's a bit of an art to it (and this applies to all drywall guns, not just this one). But nothing you shouldn't be able to pick up very quickly.
There are other good ones out there, but nothing I'd recommend over this one.
And if you're thinking cordless - don't do it. Cordless tools have their place, but this isn't one of them. As mentioned above, you want to keep this thing pegged as you're popping screws in. Having a power cord attached to you is a very small price to pay for never having to worry about a constantly diminishing battery charge.
(oh and only 4 stars because the instructions really are kind of useless, and I think they should include a case with some extra bits - they have to box the thing anyways, how much more would a blow molded case cost them instead? 50 cents?... The tool itself gets 5 stars)
6/3/2009
High Quality Drywall Gun
I am a remodeler. I am not committed to any brand of tools, Some brands do better on one tool, and some do better on another. Overall Milwaukee is the brand I use the most, but a drywall screwgun I went with DeWalt. I have no complaints with this gun. It is fast, powerful, light, and has easy depth adjustment. I have been using it for the last year+ and havent had any problems with it.
If you have drywall to do, and you dont have a drywall gun you are wasting time. It is worth the money.
1/12/2007
GREAT GUN,BUT.....
As stated elsewhere, if you don't need 130 lbs of torque, and most of us dont, this is a great gun. Two things worth mentioning though:
1) Throw away the manual immediately, it is less than worthless. It will only serve to confuse you and upset you to the point of frustration. Why most manuals are so poorly written I will never know. I guess they figure at the point where you're reading the manual, they've already got your money! Bench Dog is a shining example of the opposite BTW. Their manuals are clear, concise, thorough, I can't say enough about them.
2) DO NOT use bits with a cut by the bottom of the bit. These are the longer bits, maybe 2 inches long, sometimes 2 sided? they will stick in the gun, you will have to take it apart and send away to Dewalt for a new bit holder.
Use only 1 inch long flat sided bits, they are held magnetically, you don't need the extra grab that the other bits give.
Still a five star rating for the tool itself, just these caveats.
11/5/2007
you need this if your doing lots of rock
no question hands down the way to go...I had this on my wish list for a while and got it last x-mas...before that we used a Vermont American flush bit on regular or cordless drills and thought that was just fine...but let me tell you the upgrade was worth it...I should have bought it sooner rather than waiting for it to be givin as a gift. Its just is so much faster ...easy to dial in to your settings and light weight...
9/5/2008
Drywall Yes ---Deck NO!
I picked this drill up at Home Depot where the display and box said "Drywall and Deck" Drill. Now I was buying the drill to do some framing 2x4 to 2x4's with 2 1/2 screws. I found that the drill bit would bounce around and spin in the screws at the slightest provcation. I ended up pre-drilling each hole. Even still slow or fast it would bounce out and begin the stripping. Oddly about every 4 screws zip in one would go. I finished the job. My 14.4 Dewalt cordless drove them in flawlessly. I even tried the same bit in this one and no luck. I think the problem was the degree of speed was difficult to control and the drill over rev'ed. Larger treaded drywall screws were no problem. This is not a deck screw drill.
7/20/2009
Worked great!
Purchased as a re-conditioned product. Worked well on my 20X40 basement drywall project. If I had a redo, I would have purchased an automatic screw feed. Took forever to place each screw!
12/6/2008
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