Makita DA3010F reviews
Much less than expected
helpful for 10 of 12 people
This tool because of it's price and apparent utility seems perfect for the professional.
Everyone in the plumbing and electrical trades has long waited for a small, powerful right angle drill that does the job in tight places without breaking your wrist, arm or noggin.
What we are trying to do is bore holes in tight stud bays to accomodate, water piping or electrical conductors: usually using auger bits. Drainage/Waste/Venting often requires the use of a 2 7/8 hole saw.
There are several reasons why this tool may be far less than perfect to handle these jobs:
1. Right angle drills are most effective when using an auger style bit that pulls itself through the wood. Boring 3/4" holes with an auger tends to bog down this tool 2/3rds of the way through a pine stud. You have to reverse the drive direction to extricate the bit and then go at it again.
2. Once the screw on the auger has reached the other side - one must apply significant pressure to drill completely through. Often the effort to force the auger (the rest of the way) leads to the whole bit length travelling through the stud. If there was something that could be damaged in the next stud bay you would have to adequately protect it.
3. Hole saws and paddle/spade bits need to have force applied in line with the direction of boring. This is not the strong suite of the right angle drill when confined in tight places. Unless you can get your hand behind the head of the drill you will have a rough go.
4. The chuck and it's key are both problems. The key does not mesh in the chuck adequately or is it large enough to provide adequate tightening for large bits. Because of this - the chuck tends to lose it's grip on the bit and needs to be retightened often - too often.
5. The chuck key is attached to the cord in close proximity to the tool. It needs to be removed from it's holder to be used. If it were mounted in an appropriate manner - towards the end of the cord it could be used without separating it from the tool - saving it from being lost.
6. The chuck has a problem tightening on hex shank and large bits - the hexshanks are prone to wobbling. Even when you get it right - the chuck soon loosens up and you have to play around with it again.
7. That LED light that will last "forever" turns on when the you apply trigger pressure. Would it not make sense that the light should allow you to align the bit before you start drilling - not after?
8. No carrying case! I kid you not. Everyone who lugs their tools into the field knows the importance of the carrying case. It's all about work/time management. You want a "kit" that holds the tool and all of the accessories that tool needs. The best designed carrying case will allow you to effectively manage the kit.
8. When I first looked at this item 11/15/06 it was selling for $159.00. I purchased one on 2/1/07 for $178.00. Now 2 weeks later 2/17/07 it is listing for $202.10.
I can only hazard a guess as to why the price of this item has risen so sharply in just a few months:
Recently the dollar hit a 6 month low with respect to the yen.
Of course supply and demand. Based upon amazon reviews - I purchased one - as I am sure did many others,
Increased demand - increased price.
Unlike other reviewers - I found that this tool was not a good choice for driving screws in tight places. It just doesn't have the low speed torque to do the job.
I have had the opportunity to use a Milwaukee 0375-6 3.5 Amp 3/8-Inch Close Quarter Drill and have found it to be more versatile and a far better value $138.00. It assuredly does a better job with paddle/spade bits and holesaws.
Controlled driving of screws is best left to a cordless tool.
caslo
2/18/2007
Nice light to med. duty RA drill
3/8th right angle drills or compact drills if you will are misunderstood tools. They are often put to use on jobs the manufacturer never intended them for. I am just as guilty as the next guy of this. I often overtax a tool to test its limits.
This tool is a light to medium duty drill. It is not a hole hawg or Timberwolf. It will not be able to run augerbits and self feed bits like those drills! It is a 4 amp 3/8ths drill-Much like other 3/8ths drills, I found this drill to be right at home drilling holes that were under an inch in diameter using standard twist bits or paddle bits for boring larger holes.
Under extended heavy useage I found the drill got very hot. But I was pushing it pretty hard by making 3/4 inch holes to run romex through multiple studs.
The drill itself is a nice piece of engineering- The head of the drill is only 2&5/8 inches wide, allowing you to get into some tight spots. The chuck is a keyed design that requires use of a key to tighten the bit. the chuck grips tight when all 3 holes of the chuck body are tightened with the supplied key.( there is even a holder for the key on the cord)
There is an LED light that illuminates the work area when the bar trigger is depressed that is slick for when you are working in a dark area with little ambient lighting. The drill has variable speeds of 0-2400 that can be varied by setting a maximum speed control dial on the trigger, or just varying the amount of pressure on the trigger.
This drill is reversible, but I found that the reversing switch placement at the rear of the tool made it difficult to access during use. Putting the switch up by the front might have allowed the user to manipulate direction with a thumb.
If you are driving screws with this drill, I would recomend predrilling as I foud it difficult to get pressure behind the drill as easily as a standard pistol grip drill.
I would have liked to have seen this drill come with a case. At 200 dollars, that is a feature many look for in a tool purchase. There are no bits either, if you were wondering. You get a cardboard box and a side handle with this tool. The side handle screws into either end of the head of the drill.
In my decision to buy a compact 3/8 drill, I considered:
1) Dewalt 18 volt DW960- Bought it and found when pushed too hard it grenades the gears.
2) Bosch 1132 Compact drill- very similar to the makita, but no side handle and a slight bit less compact.
3) Hitachi D10yb- Again, similar to the Makita, actually has a bit more power(4.6 amps vs. 4 amps) Has a side handle, but other peoples reviews complained of the slide type switch. The speed is controlled by a dial, not the trigger.( in hindsight I might have bought this drill instead of the makita) 5 year warranty.
4) Milwaukee- Bad rep for weak geartrains.
5) Dewalt DW160- No reverse! Cannot back out a stuck bit!
All in all I am happy with the purchase. The heating up is something I will have to watch out for and I will update if it leads to tool failure
10/4/2008
Makita DA3010F R/A Drill
I just used my Makita for the first time for disassembling a number of basement storage shelves to move to a new house. Some of the shelves were in dark unlighted lockers and the Makita LED light made a difficult job easy. You simply press start, which switches on the light, identify the screw head, and bingo, out comes the screw! The Makita is light, easy to handle and the controls are intuitive and simple to adjust. I am pleased with this powered version because my several cordless drills are constantly running out of power and I won't have to worry about that with this Makita.
9/2/2008
Right Angle Drill
Another fine Makita product........Start to finish, Great Price, Great Delivery & Great Product! What else could anyone ask for now-a-days ?
I would not be afraid to recommend this drill to anyone, performs as described by Makita.
8/31/2009
well designed and constructed drill
I had purchased the Dewalt equivalent but did not like the way the switch worked. I thought it would be awkward when in use. The Makita will fit into a narrower space than the Dewalt. The LED light is very useful and the switch lever works well. This drill has tons of power even at low rpm. One caution. These right angle drills are harder to use when installing screws. The small head means it is easier to get "off center" with the screw versus using a standard drill. The result is that you can strip the screw pretty easily. You must use more caution, proceed slowly and make sure you don't have a worn bit to get the best results. Once you master its use, it will go places no regular drill can touch!!
2/26/2008
Really Great Drill--But--
This is a really nice right angle drill. However I purchased it because I needed to drive some screws in a tight quarters location and could not find anythihg else that might work. Like I said, this is a nice unit, but is definitly not any good for driving screws. I did not need a right angle drill for anything else, and returned it to Amazon. All service from Amazon has been Great.
8/16/2009
Birthday Gift-Excellent drill
My husband did a lot of research and found this drill to have the best of everything he wanted. He requested it for a birthday gift and absolutly loves it.
7/28/2009
mixed feelings
Put in a sharp auger bit and drill holes in the joists, and everything is nice and easy. The key chuck is a little awkward though. Accidentaly touch the large paddle switch while changing the bit, and then start looking for the nearest hospital. I have worked as a builder for decades, and have used just about every power tool on the market. This is the first time I have ever been harmed by one. This is a flawed design, the tool should have a safety switch. Beware.
6/6/2009
Frequent Loose Bits
This drill worked well when the bit would stay tight which was about 50% of the time. I kept having to stop, tighten the bit (it seems like the chuck was the wrong size or the unit was defective). I was using it primarily to drill 3/4" - 1" holes in stud for wiring. I liked the size, LED light and variable speed features, but stoppping OFTEN was extremely frustrating and I ended up returning this drill. I may reorder a new one with the hope that this was an isolated incident and not indicative of an overall quality issue.
1/28/2008
Most compact chuck of any right angle drill
I needed to drill some holes to screw in a railing on some stairs. The only problem was that the stair riser next to the post only gave about 4 inches of clearence. No way my Milwaukee hole hawg would fit so I needed a more compact right angle drill. All the other drills I found from Dewalt, Hitachi, Milwaukee, etc had a 3.5 inch or larger chuck length. This would not be small enough once the drill bit was inserted. So for my application, the Makita was the only choice.
How does it work? So far, flawlessly. It has plenty of power, but you do have to be a bit careful when picking it up so that you don't squeeze the trigger paddle. But I honestly don't see how this could ever be improved. The variable speed trigger is nice and the LED worklight is great. Like the built in level on my Dewalt drill, I think all drills should have these features. The Makita also has a screw on side handle for high torque applications. A keyless chuck would be nice, but from what I've read, this would increase the chuck length. A drill like this needs to be as compact as possible because you never know when you'll need to get it in a very tight space.
9/7/2007
Great tool
One of its great uses is with a rotating sanding disc. The battery powered versions run out of steam too often
6/8/2007
great problem solver
Great value, lots of torque, fits into amazingly small spaces, excellent speed control. Just be careful to unplug the cord before attempting to tighten or loosen the chuck. The paddle style trigger is easy to press accidentally if you're not paying attention.
5/20/2007
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