· Solves the tight-space problems most drills can’t
· Quick-swap heads adapt to awkward angles fast
· Earns its keep on installs and finish work
Built for Tight, Awkward Work
My brother went the DIY route on a new kitchen installation recently. That can be a huge undertaking given all the factors involved, and I applaud his determination and tenacity. It wasn’t long before his calls for advice felt more like pleas for help. The contractor side of me is always honored to be asked, except when he wants to borrow my tools, which I suspected was coming. Then he hit me with the following text:
“How do I drill a 7 ¼-inch hole in the ceiling of a cabinet that’s only 15 inches tall?”
OK. Someone needs to ventilate a microwave oven. That can be a tough one. Before I could get into explaining the trickier aspects of that job, I remembered the DeWalt Multi-Head Drill/Driver I had recently dropped into my kit. An hour later, I was standing in his kitchen, job completed.
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How the Multi-Head System Works
Drilling or cutting holes in things is generally simple. But there are certain times—like this one—where it can be challenging to the point that the end result looks more like butchery than carpentry. We’re all guilty of these crimes at times.
DeWalt’s latest drill/driver is like an “all in one” multitool for the cordless platform in that it can accomplish a lot of different tasks in one convenient package. Straight out of the box, the drill has the same feel as DeWalt’s standard drill or impact driver, except the drive head is broken down and exposed to the gearing mechanism. Accompanying the body of the drill is a solid plastic rack with 4 drive heads nested in a row.
These drive heads are the soul of the tool. At first glance, it looks like you’ve got four of them to work with, but in fact there are only three functional drivers, the fourth head being an offset or “right angle” attachment which accommodates any one of the three. With this right-angle attachment, you get the functionality of four separate tools—a drill, an impact driver, an offset drill (I’ll explain that in a bit), and a right-angle drill—in one convenient package.
And best of all, the user can lock in the right-angle attachment at multiple positions relative to the drill body itself. This puts the trigger control in a postion that best suits the user. Where my brother’s project was concerned, the ability to manipulate the tool to fit the space was remarkable.
Where It Earns Its Keep
For starters, a 7 ¼-inch hole saw bit is really large and unwieldy, especially when it’s moving at roughly 1600 RPMs, the top end for this DeWalt driver. And to be sure, a standard right-angle drill could certainly accomplish the task, but I’d have to hold it parallel with the ceiling—an odd use angle only complicated by the fact that I’d be perched on a work platform. This drill made easy work of it.
First, I dropped my laser level on a tripod and toggled the plumb line on the center of the cabinet doors. Opening the doors, the laser gave me the perfect center for my pilot hole once cross-referenced by width. Using the right-angle attachment in tandem with the drill head, I was able to easily drill a pilot hole, switch to the hole saw bit, and knock out a perfect hole for the duct work I knew my brother was about to ask me to install.
The usual trouble with drilling a hole in a situation like this is the height of the confined space relative to the amount of room the typical drill equipped with a hole saw bit needs to do its job. The DeWalt Multi-Head eliminated those issues as I was able to orient the body of the tool horizontally to the hole bit itself and still operate it comfortably and safely. I was impressed with the functionality from the first use.
The multi-head package also includes an impact driver attachment—useful in driving screws in tight or awkward spaces—and an offset driver. The offset driver is unique because it allows the user to drill holes or drive screws in areas where the body of the drill itself would normally get in the way, as in a tight cabinet frame for fastening a hinge or perhaps where a section of flooring meets base molding.
Final Verdict
The DeWalt Multi-Head Drill/Driver isn’t powerful enough to replace your primary drill or impact driver, but that’s not really the point of it. Where it shines is in its access to tight, awkward spaces where those standard tools can be clumsy or downright unusable. For cabinet installs, hardware work, punch-list jobs, and everyday situational problem solving, it delivers a level of versatility that can legitimately cut down on how many tools you need to carry. Just don’t loan it out to family. You might not get it back.