DEWALT 7.8 Amp 1/2 in. Variable Speed Reversing Dual-Range Hammer Drill

8 reviews for DEWALT 7.8 Amp 1/2 in. Variable Speed Reversing Dual-Range Hammer Drill

1. Rated 5 out of 5

   Junior Bauch (verified owner) – August 20, 2022

   I bought the hammer drill to do some work in my basement I had tried to drill the holes was that a waste of time. I had used a Dewalt hammer drill in Trinidad on a mission trip and it was a good tool so I told the wife I am going to get one I finished the job in just a short time because of the speed and ease of using this great tool thank you Dewalt and made is the USA

2. Rated 4 out of 5

   D’angelo Abernathy (verified owner) – August 1, 2022

   The DeWALT DW505 variable speed, dual range, reversing hammer drill works works quite well at making holes in a variety of materials. Here in Florida, we have a lot of cement block homes, which easily justifies owning a good hammer drill. What’s nice with this one, is that after “hammer drilling” holes up to half inch, you can switch off the hammer and drill just about any other material, with 7.8 Amp of power and up to 2700 RPM.

3. Rated 5 out of 5

   Godfrey Runolfsson (verified owner) – December 13, 2021

   I used this Hammer Drill for a month before writing this review to make sure the performance lasted. It did and does. This is a quality hammer drill. The feel in your hand tells you it is a well designed tool. The chuck holds the bit tightly, unlike cheaper models where the bit keeps coming loose during drilling. The power and hammer action make drilling into concrete, cement and concrete block easy. If you are drilling to put in Tapcons for instance, this makes it easy to drill the hole deep into the cement or concrete so the Tapcon can easily go all the way in. This hammer drill is powerful enough to drill into cement floors for anchor bolts or into CBS walls for installing hurricane shutters. Don’t be fooled by cheaper tools when you can get this professional grade for a very fair price. I highly recommend this hammer drill and will put my older, cheaper one in the next garage sale.

4. Rated 4 out of 5

   Oceane Graham (verified owner) – December 5, 2021

   I used this 1/2-inch hammer drill to drive a hole saw, cutting a dozen 2-inch diameter holes in 2-inch laminated wood joists with no signs of overheating of the electric tool itself. The hammer provision worked well in this application, kicking out sawdust to help keep the hole saw relatively cool when compared to a single try at not using the hammer setting for the same operation. In the past, I had not thought of using a hammer drill to cut holes in wood, finding that doing so is a great assist. One issue I had is that this tool is that it is relatively long at about 13.5 inches vs. another 1/2-inch, 8-ampere hammer drill I have that is only 11.5 inches long, clearance between the joists for my project being only 22 inches with the overall length of the drill with attached tool at 19.5 inches That allowed little clearance for working. As indicated in the instructions, such work must be done in the low gear setting. I also used the hammer feature to drill ten 4-inch deep, 3/16-inch diameter holes in concrete to accommodate Tapcon screws, it working well at the high gear speed setting.I loaded the motor in this tool very heavily in low gear to drive a drywall mixing tool for several a full 5-gallon pails of drywall mud. The drill showed no signs of overheating. In such high-torque applications, one must make sure to use the side handle and position it 90 degrees from the main handle to avoid wrist or arm injury. One thing that I do like a great deal about this product is that the side handle is mounted so that it is offset from the centerline of the tool, that affording a more comfortable hand position for steadying the tool in some high torque demand operations. My other hammer drill is arranged so that the side handle is not offset from the tool centerline. I found the gear speed selection a bit difficult at first, noting that slight hand turning of the chuck was needed to accomplish a gear setting change. After a few uses, the gear shifts became easier. The gear shifting is not as convenient as with competing brands I have used. I note the instructions clearly indicate that one is not to attempt gear shifts while the tool is in operation, as doing so may do gear damage. The gearbox is of plastic composite instead of metal, an apparent way to accomplish the light weight, this unit weighing in at a relatively light 4.8 pounds vs. about 6.5 pounds for my other hammer drill. I have another old DeWALT drill that makes use of the same type of plastic composition transmission housing, that causing no durability issues after 8 years of ownership with occasional use.This hammer drill carries a three-year warranty vs. the five-year warranty for my other, comparable hammer drill product. Based on my limited use so far, this is a good product at the price charged. On the other hand, because product weight is not an issue for me and since this product is a bit long and does not have the longest industry warranty, I prefer my other hammer drill product (red) that is currently sold by The Home Depot at the same price.

5. Rated 4 out of 5

   Ezequiel Koelpin (verified owner) – September 26, 2021

   I have used this drill for a number of project/Jobs over the years, it does exactly what I need it to do, the only down side it that the cord will need to be replaced over time, the material becomes brittle and cracks(at least on my drill), electrical tape helped out in a pinch but the cord needs replacing.

6. Rated 5 out of 5

   Wilbert Stroman (verified owner) – July 12, 2021

   At the time I’m writing this the product description has an error. This version DW505 does NOT come with a case. The DW505K comes with the case. Home Depot has both available. I think a K at the end of a DeWalt model number means kit and has the case.The first drill I ever bought myself, maybe 20 years ago was a DeWalt. I still have it and use it around the house. This DeWalt DW505 hammer drill reminds me a lot of it but in a bigger, beefier version.Very few controls. A forward-reverse switch, a variable speed trigger and trigger lock, a hammer/drill switch and a high and low speed control. The 1/2″ chuck is all metal and keyed. All the controls are big enough and easy enough to use even with heavy gloves on. The high-low gear sometimes requires turning the chuck to get it into the right gear. The manual mentions that but once you know you need to do that it’s not hard to get the drill in the right gear.The handle is easy to put on the drill and adjust. It has detents to keep it from spinning around as well as a rod that’s used as a depth gauge. Loosen the handle by turning it counter clockwise before putting it on the drill makes it easier to get the rod in the hole in the handle. I mounted the handle upside down compared how to the manual shows it because the depth rod would bind up against the casing when retracted the other way.DeWalt has a few different corded hammer drills in it’s line-up. If you’re trying to decide between them I’d consider this to be the most powerful hammer drill you can use in an occupied building without worrying about tripping circuit breakers, especially in older buildings. The DW505 sits between the also 7.8 amp DW511 and the 10 amp DWD520. With this DW505 the recommended maximum hole diameters are 1/2″ for metal, 1-1/2″ for wood and 1/2″ for masonry. The DW511 is similar except only 1″ for wood and oddly 5/8″ for masonry. For not too much more the DWD520 has the same maximum capacities as this DW505 but can do up to a 3/4″ hole in masonry. If you want to save a little money and don’t need to drill 1-1/2″ holes in wood the DW511 is worth considering but you’ll lose the high-low speed switch but you’ll have a smaller drill. For a small bit more the DWD520 is a better all around hammer drill with a more durable jam pot casing if you don’t have a problem using a 10 amp drill. If a 10 amp drill stresses the circuits you plan to use this on and you need (or just want) more power than the DW511 can offer this is your drill. It does have a lot of power and handles well. I drilled some 1/2″ test holes in concrete and they drilled faster than my regular drills did. I also drilled some 1-1/2″ holes in scrap framing lumber with a spade bit and those also worked out better. The drill has more power than the last time I tried to drill holes like that so that there wasn’t any binding and if there was any binding having the extra handle would help keep the drill under control instead of twisting on me.If you need greater hole capacity than that, the next step up is a big jump in price but you can drill much bigger holes.One last note… The chuck key also comes with a rubber strap to hold the key. The instructions didn’t describe how to use the strap. I don’t remember ever having to do something like this before and it took me some time to figure out what to do with it. I folded the two split ends over on each other to get them to pass through the slit on the other end of the strap to make a loop that goes over the power cord. Then I placed the long rod of the key through one of the small holes in the split flaps, then the other end of the key into the other hole on the other flap. It will take some effort and stretching of the band to get this done. Put the loop over the cord and pulled it tight over the cord. I’ve uploaded a picture of it together in case anyone else was as confused as me.

7. Rated 5 out of 5

   Lamont Friesen (verified owner) – March 23, 2021

   Large enough for most jobs, but not too heavy or bulky. Great Dewalt quality, at a great price.

8. Rated 3 out of 5

   Charley Feeney (verified owner) – February 19, 2021

   I got the DeWALT 1/2″ Heavy-Duty Dual Speed Range Hammerdrill in the midst of a major bathroom renovation, and this review is after about a month of using it to drill holes, mostly indoors in wood, through which to run plumbing and wiring. I’m sad I didn’t get it earlier to use when I was mounting new shutters onto my mutant-robust bricks my house was built with, but more on that in a minute. My initial review of the drill is actually 3 stars, for mainly one reason. When testing the various functions of the drill out of the box, I found the physical switch (or shift knob, according to the instructions) to move from high-speed and low-speed settings was finicky (see photo). Instead of being straightforward and only allowing the user to switch from 1 (low speed) to 2 (high speed), there is some play in it that allows it to move out of the typical positions, thereby not allowing you to switch into the other mode. After talking with DeWALT’s customer service rep, it sounds like it’s just a fluke in the drill I received. Eventually with enough playing with it you can get it to switch between modes, but it just shouldn’t take the time and hassle to do so. I understand the high speed mode is only for using small diameter masonry bits, but if I were doing a job and using pilot holes, switching between large and small diameter bits, I would not be pleased and might even downgrade it to 2 stars. The second reason I give a 3 star review is simply because I’ve only had the drill a month. I bought this to replace a Hilti that was made in West Germany, so I’m measuring its durability against that… only time will tell…Now onto its operation. In the past month, I’ve used it to drill holes between 1/4″ and 2 1/2″ in wood, and it works flawlessly. Trigger control is very responsive, and the keyed-chuck is easier to use than others (speaking of which, I included a photo in my review of how to properly attach the key to the drill wire… I’m ashamed to say it wasn’t entirely intuitive). I took to my home’s exterior brick, which I know from experience is ungodly hard and thereby difficult to drill though with hammer drills I’ve used in the past. For a thorough review I decided to test this baby out with a 5/16″ bit (high speed) and 9/16″ bit (low speed), and it made a perfect hole in short order. All-in-all, I can’t give a ringing endorsement of the product, but it is demonstrably functional. DeWALT customer service was friendly and helpful, suggesting the possibility of a short in the drill I received and telling me it is within the warranty period where they will fix it for free at a local factory service center. Will update my review once it is returned to me. Absent this particular defect, this is a 4 or 5 star product.