I recently purchased a Rockwell 12 volt drill,
my first impression even before the purchase was the
thought that it seemed a little on the cheaply made side.
I paid a little too much for it, I was in need and got it from
a local Mom and Pop building supply, a better price could have been had by
driving 50 miles but I was in a hurry and travel isn't cheap.
After owning the drill for a month now, I feel that it has performed well,
battery life is good, it drilled 75 5/16 holes in sets of 25 without letting
up on the trigger through 2.5 inch material, before the need to change the
battery became obvious.
It also has good torque, I used it to drive 4 inch deck screws into the
batts on board and batten siding, each screw being fully engaged for about
2.5 inches. These screws are large, #10 I think.
I don't like the location of the forward/reverse button, but I have the same
objection to most of the drills I own, so maybe it's me.
The drill has two speeds that are a good compromise for drilling and driving
screws, the high speed is a little slow for drilling holes 1/8 and smaller.
One selling point that I was attracted to, was the batteries have a lifetime
warranty with the requirement that you send in the registration card.
Overall, I am pleased with the drill and would purchase another if the need
arose.
basilisk
"basilisk" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>I recently purchased a Rockwell 12 volt drill,
> my first impression even before the purchase was the
> thought that it seemed a little on the cheaply made side.
I thought the same about my Triton router and yet it still performs like
new.
>
> I paid a little too much for it, I was in need and got it from
> a local Mom and Pop building supply, a better price could have been had by
> driving 50 miles but I was in a hurry and travel isn't cheap.
If it makes you feel any better, the government allows you 50 plus cents per
mile driven for business. You can rest assured that factoring in the cost
of the vehicle, fuel, maintaince, and insurance, it coats you more.
So by buying local you over all saved at least $25 by not going on that 50
mile trip.
> After owning the drill for a month now, I feel that it has performed well,
> battery life is good, it drilled 75 5/16 holes in sets of 25 without
> letting
> up on the trigger through 2.5 inch material, before the need to change the
> battery became obvious.
>
> It also has good torque, I used it to drive 4 inch deck screws into the
> batts on board and batten siding, each screw being fully engaged for about
> 2.5 inches. These screws are large, #10 I think.
>
> I don't like the location of the forward/reverse button, but I have the
> same
> objection to most of the drills I own, so maybe it's me.
So where is that button, typically they are located where you can dirrection
with the hand holding the drill, with out letting go of the drill.
>
> The drill has two speeds that are a good compromise for drilling and
> driving
> screws, the high speed is a little slow for drilling holes 1/8 and
> smaller.
>
> One selling point that I was attracted to, was the batteries have a
> lifetime
> warranty with the requirement that you send in the registration card.
>
> Overall, I am pleased with the drill and would purchase another if the
> need
> arose.
What kind of battery does it use, charge time, quantity of batteries?
Leon wrote:
>
> "basilisk" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>>I recently purchased a Rockwell 12 volt drill,
>> my first impression even before the purchase was the
>> thought that it seemed a little on the cheaply made side.
>
> I thought the same about my Triton router and yet it still performs like
> new.
>
>>
>> I paid a little too much for it, I was in need and got it from
>> a local Mom and Pop building supply, a better price could have been had
>> by driving 50 miles but I was in a hurry and travel isn't cheap.
>
> If it makes you feel any better, the government allows you 50 plus cents
> per
> mile driven for business. You can rest assured that factoring in the cost
> of the vehicle, fuel, maintaince, and insurance, it coats you more.
> So by buying local you over all saved at least $25 by not going on that 50
> mile trip.
>
>
>> After owning the drill for a month now, I feel that it has performed
>> well, battery life is good, it drilled 75 5/16 holes in sets of 25
>> without letting
>> up on the trigger through 2.5 inch material, before the need to change
>> the battery became obvious.
>>
>> It also has good torque, I used it to drive 4 inch deck screws into the
>> batts on board and batten siding, each screw being fully engaged for
>> about 2.5 inches. These screws are large, #10 I think.
>>
>> I don't like the location of the forward/reverse button, but I have the
>> same
>> objection to most of the drills I own, so maybe it's me.
>
> So where is that button, typically they are located where you can
> dirrection with the hand holding the drill, with out letting go of the
> drill.
It is located above and slightly behind the trigger, it is easily accessible
but I frequently bump it by accident, one thing is that I am somewhat
ambidextrous and will swap hands with a tool a lot especially when on a
ladder.
>
>>
>> The drill has two speeds that are a good compromise for drilling and
>> driving
>> screws, the high speed is a little slow for drilling holes 1/8 and
>> smaller.
>>
>> One selling point that I was attracted to, was the batteries have a
>> lifetime
>> warranty with the requirement that you send in the registration card.
>>
>> Overall, I am pleased with the drill and would purchase another if the
>> need
>> arose.
>
>
> What kind of battery does it use, charge time, quantity of batteries?
The drill comes with two 12v ni-cad batteries, charging time is about 25
mins for a warm battery and a little longer for a cold battery,
I have not been able to run a battery down before the other was ready for
use.
basilisk
On Mar 13, 8:43 pm, basilisk <[email protected]> wrote:
> I recently purchased a Rockwell 12 volt drill,
> my first impression even before the purchase was the
> thought that it seemed a little on the cheaply made side.
I have handled a couple of them now, and the rounded edges and
placement of the soft grippy inserts make it feel different than my
other tools. It is almost too comfortable. Then add in the strange
color combination of their plastic tool cases with the black trim, and
it looks like a casual homeowner tool.
I can see your thoughts on the reverse button as it seems a bit too
far back. Probably after a couple of months of use though, you could
get used to it.
BUT - I could get used to anything if it performed well on site that
didn't break the bank when I bought it.
> One selling point that I was attracted to, was the batteries have a lifetime
> warranty with the requirement that you send in the registration card.
That seems to be getting more important as the price of batteries keep
marching up. I was told by the Miwaukee tool rep that there >>could<<
be (he wouldn't commit) some upward pressure on the price of nicad
replacement batteries in an effort to get folks to replace their tools
altogether and buy a new Li powered tool. At $80 - $90 bucks for a
new battery, you do have to think about it.
Even battery rebuilds ain't cheap anymore.
> Overall, I am pleased with the drill and would purchase another if the need
> arose.
I can't find anyone except the local lumberyard manager that has
Rockwell tools, and he swears by them. He also told me that they
haven't had but one tool come back in the 9 months they have had them
on the shelf.
Pretty good really. They carry an entire isle of drills, saws, hammer
drills, recip saws, the Sonic crafter, etc. I didn't even know
Rockwell was making that many different tools.
Thanks for the review.
Robert
Looks like a nice drill, but...
My favorite cordless drill was my very first cordless drill, which was a
B&D Versa drill. This drill had/has about everything I want in a
cordless. It is light weight and doesn't have that giant bulge at the
bottom like most other cordless drills. It feels perfectly balanced in
your hand. It has a regular Jacobs chuck, a variable speed trigger and
a clutch with forward and reverse. About the only thing wrong was the
batteries suck big time, by todays standards... B&D should make the
exact same drill, but instead of the two screwed up, worthless
batteries, they should put the largest, state of the art Lithium-ion
battery that they could squeeze into the handle. Instead, far as I
know, they quit making, the best designed drill around.
Oh, the reverse switch is right by the trigger and easy to find and use.
--
Jack
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http://jbstein.com
basilisk wrote:
> I recently purchased a Rockwell 12 volt drill,
> my first impression even before the purchase was the
> thought that it seemed a little on the cheaply made side.
>
> I paid a little too much for it, I was in need and got it from
> a local Mom and Pop building supply, a better price could have been had by
> driving 50 miles but I was in a hurry and travel isn't cheap.
>
> After owning the drill for a month now, I feel that it has performed well,
> battery life is good, it drilled 75 5/16 holes in sets of 25 without letting
> up on the trigger through 2.5 inch material, before the need to change the
> battery became obvious.
>
> It also has good torque, I used it to drive 4 inch deck screws into the
> batts on board and batten siding, each screw being fully engaged for about
> 2.5 inches. These screws are large, #10 I think.
>
> I don't like the location of the forward/reverse button, but I have the same
> objection to most of the drills I own, so maybe it's me.
>
> The drill has two speeds that are a good compromise for drilling and driving
> screws, the high speed is a little slow for drilling holes 1/8 and smaller.
>
> One selling point that I was attracted to, was the batteries have a lifetime
> warranty with the requirement that you send in the registration card.
>
> Overall, I am pleased with the drill and would purchase another if the need
> arose.
>
> basilisk