Panasonic EY6405FQKW reviews
The best buy you'll ever find in a cordless drill
I've been installing cabinets professionally for more than twenty years. My company has used these Panasonics exclusively for the past 15 years. Over the years I've borrowed and used practically every other cordless in existence. Here's the bottom line ... in my experience this Panasonic is the best performing and most reliable drill on the planet. These things feel good in your hand and have plenty of torque. Battery life on the newer models is exceptional. This 12v model will be more than powerful enough for 99% of all potential users ... and at $99 (Oct. 2007) this drill is an unbelievable bargain.
10/4/2007
Awesome Drill
I've only had Makita cordless drills before buying this Panasonic. I based my buy decision strictly off of Amazon users reviews. This drill is well balanced and conveniently stands upright on its battery. The bits are extremely easy and fast to change by holding the chuck firmly and running the drill. (Probably not the method recommended by Panasonic.) The chuck holds the bits tight (they don't slip). Battery life is very long plus it comes with a second batttery so you can always have one in the charger. Battery recharge time seems very short. Battery charger tells you the status so you know if your battery is charging, charged, or bad. This drill has just the right amount of torque for my taste. I have used it for hole saw cutting and with spade bits which can be dangerous with a drill with more torque (the hole saw or spade bit gets stuck when it breaks thru and rotation is transferred to the drill itself). And the price was right at $99.
9/14/2007
Forget it if you need a new charger
AVOID PANASONIC TOOLS. If the charger fails you will be forced to buy an entire new drill kit!
It's a good drill, but one year and 10 months into the drills life the charger went pop and Panasonic will only sell a charger/battery combo for $100 plus $20 shipping. That was the cost of the drill! Their customer support is based in the Philipines and while they were nice, they were useless in solving my problem. I want to buy just a charger, but they won't sell it. Just the $100 combo - it is a better value to buy a new drill kit. This is a rip off forcing customers to buy a new tool just because the charger failed.
I am charging my 12v batteries now with a 12v car charger and will NEVER buy another Panasonic product again, because their service and customer care is zero. It's a nice drill, but what good as a nice drill if they won't replace the failed and poorly built charger? Refusing to sell just a charger at a reasonable price is terrible way to treat the customer.
5/9/2009
Panasonic 12v Cordless Screwdriver
I bought this because of all the excellent reviews of it and am not disappointed. It is much much better than a 14.4v BD that I tried. Very powerful for its size.
2/9/2009
Good tool
I've had one of these for years - bought this one because my batteries died in my old one and it was cheaper to get another (with 2 batteries) than to just buy new batteries. I use it almost everyday and have no complaints - good chuck - no wobble.
2/6/2009
Panasonic 12-volt drill driver
If you do not think you need the latest and greatest gadget, this is the tool for you! I am a profesional cabinet installer, and I use two of these all day most every day. In 15 years I really have not worn one out. They will take about 6-8 falls from 15 feet and with duct tape it still works mostly. Only used up 6 batteries. Enough power for most things and very good balance. Very good buy.Panasonic EY6405FQKW 12-Volt Ni-Cad 3/8-Inch Cordless Drill/Driver Kit
1/23/2009
Love this drill.
This is my second Panasonic 12 volt. I still have my first which I used daily in my cabinet shop. It is now 13 years old and still works well. That is why I bought Panasonic again. It is light weight and perfect for shop use. The batteries stand up reasonably well. If you are looking for something for heavy duty work you may want to consider an 18 volt.
The thing keeping me from giving it 5 stars is Panasonic's service. The charger gave out within 3 months. No big deal, it was still under warranty. It took forever to find a repair center to service it under warranty. Two local shops were listed as Panasonic repair centers but would not warranty it because I didn't buy it from them. Finally, after the fourth call to Panasonic they had me send it to Virginia. I'm in North Carolina.
I love the drill and would stay with Panasonic, just not pleased with the service.
9/17/2009
Good Screwdriver
Have been using it for small jobs around the house and some medium jobs and clients and this screwdriver is great. Has enough power and holds charge. What more can you ask for?
1/15/2008
DRILL AWAY
GREAT PRODUCT. BEATS MY SONS RIDGID HANDS DOWN. BATTERY LASTS TWICE AS LONG AS ANY I'VE EVER HADPanasonic EY6405FQKW 12-Volt Ni-Cad 3/8-Inch Cordless Drill/Driver Kit
11/13/2007
Excellent Cordless Drill/Driver - Light and Powerful
This is my second 3/8 inch 12 Volt Ni-Cad Panasonic cordless drill. The first one is 10 years old and still working fine but the replacement battries cost more than the new drill with two new battries so I bought the new one. This is the best weight/size combination cordless drill/driver I have seen. It is very comfortable in the hand and has plenty of power for drilling and driving screws. This is a professional grade tool and I have used it on many major projects. I never leave to work on a project without this tool. I also have the 1/2 inch 15.6 Volt NiMH drill/driver but the increased size and weight makes the 3/8 inch 12 Volt my first choice. You can't go wrong with this product at the $99.00 price I paid at Amazon. It comes with a keyless chuck, an automatic charger and a rugged case. Great buy!
11/2/2007
Good drill
So far I like this drill a lot. Good torque and it feels comfortable in my small hands.
2/22/2008
Panasonic EY6405FQKW
.Panasonic EY6405FQKW 12-Volt Ni-Cad 3/8-Inch Cordless Drill/Driver Kit
I purchased this item as an addition to the Panasonic drill/driver that I have been using for over 10 years. Through use I have found that the weight, power and ergonomics of the Panasonic line is suited to my use: not too heavy, powerful enough to do most woodworking tasks and comforatable to hold. The fact that the charger was backward comaptible to the rechargable batteries of my old unit was an important feature as my old charger had failed. Now have 2 usable drills and 6 batteries to work with.
2/23/2008
Great drill, stop looking here.
I was looking for a replacement drill and stumbled across this little jewel. What an awesome drill! It feels very solid when you pick it up and hasn't strained with any task i have thrown at it. I has some sort of ratchet for the bit holder, my old drill came loose a few times and i don't think i will have that problem anymore. The package comes with a rather large case, battery charger and TWO batteries. I have only had this drill for a couple weeks, but i love it. If you are looking at a $40 or $50 drill, do yourself a favor and pony up the extra cash for this drill, you will not be disappointed.
3/31/2008
For under a hundred, this is nice.
This drill is quite nice, and has a lot of power for drill this size, the charger has nice informative LEDs, the drill is a little smaller than you expect for its power. It is definitely different from other drills, but I have read many reviews that exaggerate it's talents. It will stop while drilling at slower speeds, but not as early as cheaper drills, and it is smaller than most drills, but not much smaller than other 12v drills. All in all, I am very satisfied, it is a huge step up from my old Black and Decker. The chuck is very solid, with a type of ratcheting action. The motor seems very strong, though it makes funny noises. The batteries seem to hold a good charge, so hopefully that will last a while. There is storage for a screwdriver bit inside the battery compartment, which is weird, but it doesn't come with a bit.
3/31/2008
Exactly as what other reviews said!
I never heard of Panasonic drill until I shopped at Amazon. Dewalt was the only brand I knew and thought it was going to be the drill if I ever decided to purchase one. However After reading and speking to few friends, I realized that Panasonic is actually a real nice brand when it comes to Drills. Well...I'm glad I made this purcase. Especially at $99 shipped was a no brainer. Below are couple of the things I have done with thid drill.
My first project was to build a work bench 2' x 6' using studs(like 80feet worth) and several plywoods. The wood screws I used were 8,10,12 and varied in length up to 3 inchs. All in all I used over 150 screw to build my bench and I only had to charge this drill 3 times. yes 3 times might just seem so-so. However I had to predrill 150 some odd holes before installing the screws so you get the idea on how much I used it. Here is the kicker, the charge time felt like it only tool 30 mintues altough it might have been close to an hour. So yes, this thing charges real fast and never left me hanging or waiting for a charge.
I did some minor work around the house such as re-installing a cabinet door my 14 month broke. It was more than powerful enough. I honestly feel that if I can build a heavy duty work bench with this drill, most house work should be a breeze.
I have been shopping at Amazon for many years and bought many nice item. However I never reviewed a product before. With this drill, I had to write a review. Get one!!!
3/28/2008
BIG NAME KILLER!!!!!!
I've owned many cordless drills over the years...This is top dog quailty!!!You get what u pay for when it come's to cordless drills!100.00 dollars is the best deal on cordless drill you will find!Oh also for the people who said there's no bit holder...if thay would have read the owners manual they would have read too pull out the battery and the nicely hidden bit holder is right there where the manual say's it is!!!I find myself grabbing the panasonic 12 volt before all my other drill\driver's. WOW I'm very impressed and you will be too!!!!!
5/12/2008
Good product
This is a nice drill. I replaced a Skil Top-Gun that I had used for 16 years. I like the small size, it is easy to get into small spaces. The Ni-cad batteries work just fine. Has plenty of power to drive screws.
4/21/2008
Suprisingly....very good
I purchased this drill based good reviews and it's an excellent drill. I bought it to replace my 15 year old Black and Decker drill, coming with 2 batteries in the package is a big plus. I never have to stop for charging (one is used and the other is fully charged). The drill has lots of power for my need.
The Panasonic brand for a drill was new to me. I always think of DeWalt, Makita, Craftsman, Stanley, etc. when it comes to tools.
Again, excellent drill. Highly recommended.
7/21/2009
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