Porter-Cable 9977 Best Prices, Compare, Reviews
Thursday, January 21st, 2010 |
Product: Porter-Cable 9977 Amazon Price: Too low to display Availability: In Stock |
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I purchased this hammer drill after the death of my Black & Decker 18v Firestorm. Initially, I had considered similar products from Matika and DeWalt, wanting the additional capability of the hammer action, with the smaller bulk of the 14.4v battery. The Porter Cable GTF comes in fairly robust case, complete with a diagnostic charger, stabilizing handle, 2 batteries, driver bit and different size (S,M,L) adjustable hand grip inserts. I found the drill some what hefty, with it’s balance just forward of the hand grip; which is the only reason I did not give it 5 stars.
Power
Offering 420 in-lbs of torque (50 in-lbs more than the Matika and 20 in-lbs more than the Dewalt 14.4v hammer drills) it has plenty of power and will easily snap the head off a 4″ deck screw driven into a railway sleeper. The high/low settings will give you 450-1400rpm, and in hammer action 18500bpm. Battery life was excellent, allowing me to do several hours of deck work before swapping batteries. The charging unit can recharge your dead battery in approx. 1hr, it will also analyze the condition of your battery for optimal performance.
Handling
As mentioned before, I felt this was heavy drill. It does not balance as well as the Dewalt or Matika, which is probably why it feels heavier, though it certainly not unmanageable; much smaller than the enormous 18v Craftsman drill, that thing is a whopper. However, because of it’s forward weight, using the hammer action vertically is really easy. There is also the option of swapping out the hand grip inserts, which helped reduce fatuige on the hands and wrists. Ergonomically speaking, fine. The stabilizer handle screws into either the left or right side of the drill which is a tremendous help when using the hammer action. Either way you are still going to develop your biceps - just make sure you use both hands.
Controls
The forward/reverse button is directly above the trigger control, as per usual. The motor has the high/low switch located on top of the motor housing. It would have been nice to have an extra third gear, like the DeWalt - but not essential. The clutch collar has variable torque setting’s (22) with the drill and hammer action located next to each other. The battery is removed by way of a red button on the bottom flange of the grip. Depressing this button, the battery easily slides off. The battery is securely held in place buy this same locking button.
Chuck
All steel 1/2″ ratcheting chuck lock and spindle lock. The one thing I like over the Dewalt, is the fact the jaws will easily grip a small 1/16″ or 3/32″ drill bit. The DeWalts chuck jaws cannot clamp on small bits such as these, because of the gap where the jaws meet.
Quality/Overall
The drill is well built and solid feeling. Fit and finish are excellent, there are one or two tiny (hair width) gaps where the metal gear housing meets the plastic body, otherwise fine. It feels like it was built twice as strong as in needs to be. I did forget to mention it has two metal clips to store your driver bits. Costing…$…less than the DeWalt or Matika, it’s worth every penny. For home owners just wanting to drive screws and occasional home maintenance, there are much better less costly alternatives. However, if you are looking for a true, solid work horse for frequent heavy usage and occasional defense against bumps-in-the-night, I highly recommend it.
I am a full-time carpenter.
This is a professional quality drill/driver, with metal gears, heavy-duty trigger switch, ratcheting chuck with carbide teeth. It has heft and although some might complain about its weight, anything that generates over 400 in. lbs. of torque and doesn’t fall apart after 40 hrs. of hard use HAS to weigh something, right?
I read an April 2005 review on ‘premium’ vs. ‘homeowner’ grade cordless drills and was interested to see that in nearly every photo of a disemboweled premium drill, said premium drill was the Porter-Cable. It’s built to last.
Here’s what to watch out for:
1) If you charge the batteries, then don’t use them for a few days, your amp hours will be far lower than if you charge the batteries and use them the same day. I don’t get quite as much run time out of the batteries as I would like, but I am doing mean things to my drill, like running a 3/4″ x 16″ masonry bit in hammer/drill mode and leaning into the poor little drill, driving 1/2″ x 12″ lag screws into pressure-treated wood, drilling holes through 20 oz. copper and tin in -5˚ weather….and so on. When used for what I imagine is a more appropriate application, like driving sheetrock screws into sheetrock, the batteries last long enough for me to wonder when they’ll die so I can take five.
2) The HIGH/LOW switch. Works great, but one day I somehow left it in between settings: i.e., in the middle, not on HIGH or LOW, and the drill made a horrendous racket and would not drive anything to save its life. Convinced the drill was completely shot, I began hunting for the case so I could take it back to Home Depot and give them puppy dog eyes. At some point I noticed that the switch was not engaged in either range, flicked it to LOW and all was right with my world again.
3) Despite the all-metal chuck with carbide jaws, things still fall out of it ocassionally. This and the less-than-an-18v battery time warrants fours stars instead of five. Yes, I really crank on the chuck when tightening a bit. For a 14.4 volt drill that I bought new at Home Depot for $100, I’d give it five stars with no caveats. (Home Depot was discontinuing the line and I got lucky).
A few +s you might not know about:
The drill has an automatic brake, so when you take your finger off the switch the chuck comes to a complete stop. The onboard bit storage is not a gimmick and gets constant use (I usually have a #3 Phillips and square drive bits onboard and a #2 Phillips in the chuck, covering 95% of all driving applications). The charger is a diagnostic, ’smart-charger,’ which means it knows to NOT charge when the battery is too cold, too hot, or just plain worn out (haven’t seen that yet). And, unlike cheaper drills, there is more heavy-weight copper in this tool than a jug of pennies.
Note: Treat yourself to a DeWalt, Ryobi, Sears–whatever– quick-release 1/4″ bit chuck. You chuck it in the drill and leave it in. Then, use the drill bits, Phillips drivers, etc. that have the notched speed shank and changing bits is lightning-fast–much faster than ratcheting the drill’s chuck. I have the DeWalt (because it’s bright yellow and I can find it if I drop it, not because it’s a DeWalt) and it’s been great.
That’s about it. This drill has enough torque to sprain your wrist, snap heads off stainless steel deck screws, drive 1.5″ spade bits through mahogany, and push big masonry bits into concrete (although using said bits in hammer mode really drained the power, and fast). It won’t replace my 1/2″ Milwaukee corded drill completely but the Porter Cable is what I reach for 90% of the time. If $ is no object, get the Milwaukee Lok-Tor 18v; it has received top reviews from several trade magazines and will drill more holes on a charge than the Porter-Cable, being 18 volts vs. 14.4. If its chuck is the same as on my corded Milwaukee it holds like a pit bull on a mailman.
UPDATE: I have used the drill a few times and I could not be happier. I like this drill so much that when it came time to by a reciprocating saw I went with a PC (See my other reviews). OK…I have not even used the drill yet but opening reaction is great. I ordered mine off of amazon.com because I couldn’t find a better price, only one hardware store in the Twin Cities area had the drill in stock and wanted $25 more than amazon.com. So saving $25 off of cost, do not have to drive 25 miles to store, do not have to pay tax and get free shipping, only down fall is the 10 day wait.
Case
Case seems sturdy with metal case latches, not cheap molded plastic. Storage for extra bits and manual slot is a definate plus. All batteries, side handle, charger and of course drill fit very well. Problem with the case is the extra “grip to fit” (GTF) plates do not fit in the bit storage compartment.
Ergonomics
My drill came with the large GTF insert, that was changed quickly. I have small hands so the small insert is very nice for myself. GTF is great because a friend of mine with pretty large hands found the large insert to be helpful so this drill is not a one size fits one its a many sizes fits many. Switching from forward to reverse is a snap, a bit clip on either side of the drill along with the side bar that secures tightly to either side too. Balance is a little forward moving but that is good for drilling and with the hammer drill option what do you really expect. The battery removal is not as easy for this drill compared to many other brands. The battery slides horizontally into position with a smaller release button. This is good for the fact if you do hit the release button the battery will not fall directly to the floor and you will have a chance to catch it as it slides back.
Construction
Seems sturdy, chuck is well constructed. Not made of cheap metal and plastic. Compared to other brands on the same caliber like bosch the PC seems like a tank, not weight but construction. Feels more solid.
Rep
Reputation of great PC tools for about 100 years. I almost purchased the Bosch 14.4 but my brother-in-law owns a 12v PC and loves it, swears by it so I went wih PC. Also, Bosch 14.4 doesn’t have Hammer drill option or sidebar, you would have to go up to the 18v tank and shell out more money.
Power
I have wrenched on a couple bolts to much and snapped the head clear off. I recently have been building a deck and my drill has performed great. I feel the battery holds up pretty well.