Dewalt 36V Drill Too Much Torque?

GregS

I love my DeWalt 36V DC900 drill. It has an amazing amount of power in it, but now I am thinking it might be a little too much, especially for the chuck.

Today while doing a newcon central vac rough-in I was drilling through some top plates when the drill stopped. I pulled out and I heard a loud snap. I went back in and it just spun with no drilling.

Then I noticed it.. A huge crack in the chuck!!!

What the hell is up with that?

It's about 6 months old. I figured maybe I was 'misusing' the drill. So I checked their website and sure enough they actually show pictures and tests of using this drill with a 2 9/16" self-feed bit drilling through wood. They also list the chuck as 'heavy duty'.

We'll see what they say tomorrow. In the mean time I ran out and bought a new Milwaukee angle drill. Sucks having a cord.

Anyone else snap a their chuck in a simular situation? Any problems getting it replaced under warranty?

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mdshunk

Wow! Since Jacobs makes amost everyone's chucks, I'd put money on a manufacturing defect. That same chuck, or a similar variant of that one, probably exists on drills with way more torque than yours.

GregS

It's also starting to separate around the trigger.. Now I just need to get the receipt back from the accountant and we'll see how the warranty goes.

GregS

Took it into the service centre today.

"Wow, in my 10 years of working here, I have never seen a chuck split like that!"


He showed it to another guy and he said he was aware of some batch bad of chucks that went down the line.

They replaced it while I waited. They also took in the recip saw from the same series that apparently has a recall.

Good all round.

Hobroom

That's a hell of a split in the chuck.

I have the 36V as well and have had no problems at all with the chuck. But I probably don't drill as many self feed holes as you. More often I'm using the other tools in the kit.

But I agree with the previous poster in that it's probably a manufacturing defect. That's shouldn't happen, especially since 2 9/16" is well within the capacity of the DC900

Cole

Thats great news to hear!

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Hobroom

Do you have the circular saw too? There was a recall on it as well, along with the DW378 framing saw. Apparently the blade guard could get stuck open(!)

GregS

I do. I'll take it in and have them check the date code when I pick up the recip.

I do love drilling the big holes sans cord.. Comes in handy for the cv, and also drilling feed holes for structured wiring panels.

Hobroom

The whole 36V set is the last set of tools you need to buy.

I love all the tools, the drill can turn huge bits without a sweat. but the circular saw is the biggest eye popper.

There were a couple attempts at 7 1/4" cordless saws before, but none with the power that the DeWalt has. It cuts like a corded sidewinder.

mdshunk

I'm saving this quote.

10 years from now, we'll all have 120V fuel cells clipped on our belt, running our regular tools.

JohnJ0906

NOW we all know what you've been working on out back in the barn!

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Hobroom

Everyone's a comedian.

Maybe by that time electricians will be robots running off a 120V fuel cell