Dewalt DCD796 20V MAX XR Cordless Lithium-Ion Compact Hammer Drill (Bare Tool) - Amazon.com

I’ve had about 5 Dewalt drills, plus several other Dewalt tools. Good and inexpensive.I bought this drill because I thought the metal chuck would hold better than the plastic chuck on my other one. Only the outside part is plastic, to be clear.) Nope. I have to use my good 3 sided drill bits or it’ll grab and slip.Many of you know what I mean.Good tools. I’m not gentle. Like a ship auger kind of use on these guys, and they take it, but I hate having to file a scarred up drill bit.

This hammer drill is powerful and consistent as should be expected from DeWalt products. But I’m writing this review more due to my discovery of an accessory than the quality of the drill itself.DeWalt/Black & Decker support claim that this particular hammer drill model cannot be used with a side handle. This is, fortunately, not true. I found a side handle by DeWalt on Amazon that fits this model just fine. It does take a little “elbow grease” to get it on but not any serious strain. Once mounted, it worked perfectly. My experiment was a success!The model number for the one that works is N443408. You must unscrew the side handle’s bolt fully before you attempt to mount it on the silver ring that sits just in front of the slip clutch.The side handle could be left on the machine when not in use to avoid the (minimal) strain associated with its removal and installation. Just loosening the handle and press down on it until it is parallel to the trigger grip and stow it away as normal.They really should update the specs of this drill to reflect the fact that they indeed have a side-handle (sold separately) for this machine.

I bought this drill to replace my other hammer drill. My other drill was the heavy duty (DCD995) model with the 3 speed transmission. This drill is a tad smaller but not enough where it will help you get into tighter spaces. I figured only having a 2 speed tranny wouldn't be an issue being I never used the middle speed anyway. I have noticed this drill doesn't have as much power as the 995. I have to go to the low speed when drilling 1" holes a little more often or at least stop pull the bit out (to clear the shavings) to be able to continue drilling than I did with the 995. Time will tell if this drill will hold up as long as my 995 did. Being this one is half the price I hope to get at least half the time and I will figure it's a wash. I am not sure if I will use the new light feature where you can set the light to stay on for 20 minutes. The light on this one is a lot brighter than the 995 and I suppose having the option with the light might be nice but I have the 20v flashlight for this reason.