DEWALT Hammer Drill, 1/2-Inch, 7.8-Amp (DW511)

Quality drill as most Dewalt products are. Does the job for smaller DIY jobs. With larger masonary bits, need to be patient as drill overheats quickly. Would not recommend for heavier usage such as drywall or tile set mortar.

I bought this drill because my old Skill would not be up to the task of enlarging my 3" dryer vent to a 4" vent in a brick fascia. I had high hopes for this $80 dewalt, but was concerned that it might not be much better than my old Skill. I used a Milwaukee 4-1/4" carbide tipped hole saw. It took several hours with many breaks in between mostly due to operator fatigue. I did take 1 break for the drill as it was going to give me a 3rd degree burn if I kept going. Lots of low rpm high torque action really takes its toll on a drill. End result was a nice clean 4-1/4" hole through 2" of brick and 2" of old growth pine and a fully functional drill. No way in hell my old Skill would have been able to do that. On to the next project! Recessed lights in plaster ceilings. Looks like it was a good investment! ***UPDATE*** Recessed lights were a success. I drilled 21 holes with a 5-1/2" carbide holesaw in 3/4" thick plaster over drywall ceiling. Lots of plaster dust got into the drill, but it kept going strong. Give it a few rev's when your done to clear out the dust from the motor.

Makes work quick and easy

We have two drills already, one a woefully under powered battery operated Ryobi and an old Craftsman that only drills in one direction. Needless to say we needed another drill, but I didn't want to skimp on power for household projects this time. We used this drill outside to drill 1/5 diameter holes in an old, but sturdy stump about 4 feet in diameter in the back yard. The Craftsman drill didn't even make a dent in the surface, but this one made short work on drilling about 50 holes in about 5 minutes. I think a battery powered drill would have done the job, but for me, the extra weight is important (husband would have no problem). The drill did smell like it was burning oil at first, but I think that might have just been a matter of getting the motor going for a while to warm it up. It also stayed hot for about 15 minutes after we were finished drilling, but I haven't noticed any problems with it starting back up since. The only think I'm unsure of is how to attach the chuck key to the included holder. I didn't see anything specific in the directions on a quick glance, but this seems like it should be a lot easier to figure out. I consider myself pretty handy around power tools, so something so simple irks me a bit. Other than that I am happy.

Great Drill and exactly as advertised. Also, Fast Shipping!

Replaced my 20 year old prior model. Works great. If using large or long bits use the handle or plan on a wrist injury!

Good drill for the money

Just a junk! The 2nd DeWalt unit stopped working in 2 month - looks like it was burned but no smell, no spark and in just drilling of some thin China's-quality plasticine~steel (very soft kind of steel's quality - un-imaginable but here in US we deal with it every day - steel which couldn't cut some strong plastics or hard wood)! By Cobalt 3/8" drill bit in the DeWalt hummer drill unit! Again - the second DeWalt unit broken! I Am Very disappointed! I had to finish that drilling work by a 3/8" center punch with very heavy hummer, some remake of an "ancient" manual brace drill (!) and a lot of work by different thin files - just for 3 holes 10 mm diameter in thin steel - several hours! Can you imagine a manual brace drill did the job that the DeWalt DW511 7.8 Amp 1/2" WSR Hummer Drill failed and burned?! I witnessed that event in my own hands! Update not on DW511 HummerDrill but on the previous DeWalt DW235G Heavy-Duty 7.8 Amp 1/2-Inch Drill - I repaired DeWalt DW235G Drill's cord and this-one Drill works again. - At least something works! - But DeWalt DW511 HummerDrill still does not work yet.

It has a lot of strength and goes through concrete fast

Great product and price

Excellent quality drill. Heavy duty. Nice to have a hammer drill function for the odd time you need one

This is the tool if you actually wanna drill through anything. After buying 3 drills that only disappointed me, this was the one for drilling concrete. Pros: Actually drill. Cons: Drill and drill-holder only, doesn't come with any drill bits, case or bag. Price.

Powerful and light. Excellent drill!