Makita BHP452 reviews
Makita BHP452
I bought my Makita BHP452 at the Tacoma Home Show, from Master Wholesale, of Seattle, a couple weeks ago. It has not been abused and has not been given a hard workout. It was doing the same work my DeWalt and Panasonic drills have been doing for a few years now. However, after only two or three charges and less than a couple weeks off the shelf, the drill is dead. Looking at it, you would think it just came off the shelf. Nonetheless, though the motor runs like all get out, regardless of what position you put the various controls in, nothing happens at the end of the chuck. As a point of reference, I was running a deck screw into a 2x4 using the hammer mode, as a test, at the time the drill died.
I bought a kit because, though it's an otherwise wonderful tool, my [very expensive] Panasonic drill and driver have a poorly situated reversing switch. Even for smaller hands, the direction control is too easily switched. Too, I wanted portable saws and a light. The first thing I noted about the Makita was its chuck was a toy, compared to my DeWalt (a metal Jacobs chuck), or even the Panasonic, regarding the ability of the chuck to grip bits. It, frequently, lets loose of them, either allowing them to spin or dropping them.
To add insult to injury, I have to drive the dead drill two hours (round trip) between Olympia and Seattle, then wait for another drill to be shipped to me. Alternatively, I have to go to the hassle of and pay for shipping. Thats a lot of waiting (for a replacement) and trouble for a relatively new drill with only a few charges on it. I paid for a working kit, but that isn't happening any time soon. I don't know if this speaks poorly of Master Wholesale or Makita, but I am unimpressed, either way. Until I know which of the two entities (both pointing to the other) is responsible, I'll stay with DeWalt or Panasonic.
3/1/2008
Best drill I've had yet. and I've had every brand.
I've worked construction for more than 10 years and I have had the 3 major brands: Milwaukee, DeWalt and Makita. And I can say that the Makita has come out on top for innovation, ruggedness and usability.
Milwaukee has reliable stuff but the Cordless drills are way too big, heavy and clumsy. I had them early on and found the tools very clumsy and too heavy which If you have to use a tool all day long, which I do you start getting worn out. Even their impact is heavy. Like I said the stuff never breaks but makes your arm gets sore after using it for a while. The V18 is the best thing they have but they haven't updated all of their tools to the modern standards of today. When I was looking the only thing that was out was the V28 which was extremely heavy and expensive.
Dewalt has gone downhill I've seen more people change from Dewalt than from any other brand. My Dewalt drill's gears kept stripping out. so I go rid of my kit and that's hard to do since I had so many Dewalt tools. another thing is they don't have Lithium technology. They did but pulled it because of problems which I can see being very possible.
I bought the Makita LXT kit when it first came out and realized quickly that this brand is what I was looking for. It was a combination of lightweight, innovative and tough. I haven't had trouble with any of my Makita products except for my Charger which was screwing up my Batteries (which I took to the Makita service center and they replaced the charger and batteries with no problem. I Bought this BHP452 Drill 6 months ago from an online auction since you can't normally buy it by itself just with a kit. I use it every day and have had no problem with it yet and I treat it very rough. I use it for drilling out big holes with my step drill (which normally takes a toll on drills) I use the hammer drill all of the time and use it to drive all size of fasteners. Another great thing about this drill is you can get into small areas and there is a light for dark areas which in construction you don't have good lighting. This thing is a work horse. The Drill shows no sign of wearing down. This is the best drill I've had and like I said I've had them all.
3/2/2008
Makita BHP452
I bought my Makita BHP452 at the Tacoma Home Show, from Master Wholesale, of Seattle, a couple weeks ago. It has not been abused and has not been given a hard workout. It was doing the same work my DeWalt and Panasoic drills have been doing for a few years now. However, after only two or three charges and less than a couple weeks off the shelf, the drill is dead. Looking at it, you would think it just came off the shelf. Nonetheless, though the motor runs like all get out, regardless of what position you put the various controls in, nothing happens at the end of the chuck. As a point of reference, I was running a deck screw into a 2x4 using the hammer mode, as a test, at the time the drill died.
I bought a kit because, though it's an otherwise wonderful tool, my [very expensive] Panasonic drill and driver have a poorly situated reversing switch. Even for smaller hands, the direction control is too easily switched. Too, I wanted portable saws and a light. The first thing I noted about the Makita was its chuck was a toy, compared to my DeWalt (a metal Jacobs chuck), or even the Panasonic, regarding the ability of the chuck to grip bits. It, frequently, lets loose of them, either allowing them to spin or dropping them.
To add insult to injury, I have to drive the dead drill two hours (round trip) between Olympia and Seattle, then wait for another drill to be shipped to me. Alternatively, I have to go to the hassle of and pay for shipping. Thats a lot of waiting (for a replacement) and trouble for a relatively new drill with only a few charges on it. I paid for a working kit, but that isn't happening any time soon. I don't know if this speaks poorly of Master Wholesale or Makita, but I am unimpressed, either way. Until I know which of the two entities (both pointing to the other) is responsible, I'll stay with DeWalt or Panasonic.
3/1/2008
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