My little red tool. (Power Devil Cordless Drill)

Member Name: Astro

Product:	Power Devil Cordless Drill
Date:	16/08/01 (1548 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good price., Time saver., Brave.

Disadvantages: Instructions could be better., Now I want a bigger one.

How can any drill that cost £12.99 be any good? That was my first thought too.
Strolling through Great Mills/ Focus DIY, I spotted a drill/ driver for the silly price of £12.99, "probably good for making holes in chocolate and cheese!" I said trying to cover up a genuine interest.

Fact is I'd thought about getting a cordless screwdriver for ages and never got round to it. I sidled over to the large pile of boxes trying to be aloof, picked one up and started to read.
Power Devil PDX72, cordless drill-driver, reverse action, 7.2volt motor, 450rpm, 6 torque settings, 5-hour charge time. Well 450rpm is faster than any cordless screwdriver I'd seen so at least it should be able to screw screws in and out. The price was close to that of a cordless screwdriver anyway so I went mad and bought one.

I had a screwdriver with interchangeable bits but the handle broke leaving the bits quite useless. With the now broken screwdriver came an adapter to attach the bits to a socket wrench. This adapter could be fitted into the new drills chuck and the bits could now be used again. This was a good thing as the only bit supplied with the PDX72 is a double ender, Phillips one end, and flat at the other.

I charged the battery with the supplied charger, as the rather sparse instructions had demanded. Five hours, and certainly no more than seven or they will send the boys round. Five hours is a long time to wait when you want to get screwing so I used the time to gather some Cadbury`s Dairy Milk and some Cheddar as test subjects.

When charged, the battery did make the drill turn at what appeared to be 450rpm, so I fitted a small drill bit and had a bash at the washing line post (wood). Keeping the pressure low and allowing the drill to do the work at its own pace removed any residual smirk on my face. The drill bit sank in to the chuck with little problem.

Next test bricks. Ok, all those in the Fair Treatment for Little
Drills movement will be calling for my blood at this point, but in the interests of scientific research I had to do it. A one eighth inch masonry bit was fitted and I wished the little drill well in its quest. The bit did go into the brick a couple of millimetres but however much it bravely tried it would go no deeper. Compassion forced me to spare the drill from damage; my respect for the tool was growing.

Cat food tin. With a little effort this too was vanquished.

The real job of this drill is driving screws into wood and it does so very well indeed. Self-assembly furniture is a real pain, but this little red drill is a real time saver.
I had to drill a hole in a plaster cornice to pass a telephone cable through. Standing on stepladders with a drill cable around your ankles could be very unsafe. Cordless drills are a good thing.


The PDX72 performs far better than I expected it would. I had no right to think that at £12.99 it would do what it can. Wood, light gauge metal, but no dense brick or the like if you have any compassion.

Drill bits must be sharp for any drill to perform properly, more so with a modest drill like this one

The instructions do give a lot of information about safety, battery care etc. But little about torque settings which is a shame.

My little red tool has helped me a great deal for small jobs that my mains drill cable can't stretch to. We have become firm friends based on mutual respect.

Go on. Get a little red friend and have some fun!

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