Makita DFS452 Cordless Screwdriver Review
- By John Ridley
- 5 Oct 2015
BEST SUITED FOR..
My discussions with various tradespeople who use these types of drivers (drywallers, metal roofers and cladders) showed a split between those who thought that cordless was the only way to go and others who thought that corded drivers had the power and ease of use to ensure a perfect result every time. Generally speaking, those who worked on drywalling or smaller cladding jobs were cordless oriented, but those who worked on bigger industrial projects preferred corded, their reasons being that most corded drivers were slightly more compact and lighter than cordless.
I guess that time will tell, because at least one major power tool manufacturer has declared that the cordless worksite is the future. Makita also says it is aiming to match the power of the equivalent mains tool with this one. Of course, the new brushless motor and 5Ah Li Ion battery packs are a huge step in the right direction, but in the meantime, we have a choice, so maybe we have the best of both worlds?
Drywall and cladding drivers are not the same as drill drivers because although they can both drive screws, drywall drivers won’t be used for drilling holes. Because you need some push behind the axis of the fixing, the drill grip is designed to guide the thumb and forefinger to sit in a groove at the back of the casing and the trigger is operated by the last two fingers of the hand. This way maximum pressure can be put onto driving the fixing – and starting self-tapping screws into sheet, steel can sometimes take a bit of effort.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
So, on first picking up the DFS452Z, it feels very familiar for this type of driver – the hand simply slips into the correct ergonomic grip with thumb and forefinger on each side of the casing. The generous black rubber grippy over mould really helps because it has subtle ribbing and “pippy” patches. Many of my tradespeople confirmed this view.
USABILITY AND ERGONOMICS
To be honest, there was no need for Makita to redesign the ergonomics because the formula for these drivers has already been well established. Corded driver users would still recognize the place for the scaffolding hook on the top of the casing, the reversible belt hook, the rotatable collar on the front that is used to set the screwdriving depth and the adjustable alloy driver point and magnetic driver that holds the screws ready for driving.
The trigger is large and speed sensitive; it really isn’t very difficult to get the hang of slow speeds to start and speeding up to drive the screws home despite using the last two fingers of the hand on it. A small lever switch on top of the trigger is operated by the third finger and is used to select forward, reverse and lock modes.
BUILD QUALITY
As would be expected from Makita, the build quality is very good, and it is also comforting to see a cast alloy front to the gear and motor housing. Torque depth of the drive control is displayed via a black plastic collar on the main spindle head – clockwise for more torque and the opposite for less. The driver needs to be adjusted so that it sticks out about 3mm to engage the head of the fixing – again easy to do by simply pulling off the torque collar and turning the alloy driver head to suit.
IN THE BOX.. OR NOT
The most popular version of this driver seems to be the “naked” version: that is body only – no battery packs, no charger and no case. Makita users will, I am sure, have the new compatible ones already. Although if you want these extras, you can easily get them, and I particularly favour stackable boxes as they help me keep my tools organized.
JAM PACKED WITH FEATURES
Now that we are becoming very aware of the dangers of deep discharge of battery packs, this Makita has a multi-purpose mini- display on the base under the trigger. A battery motif tells you how much charge is left and when to charge the battery pack. The battery is also automatically protected against deep discharge – it will simply cut power to the motor if the battery level falls too low.
There is also a clever little button to push to select automatic push drive mode. Simply push the button down and hold it briefly and a little red light will tell you that push drive mode is selected. With the trigger lock button pushed in and this mode selected, the driver will only drive when the user puts pressure onto the fixing, and will stop once the fixing is driven home. This is a brilliant way of saving battery power because the tool only uses the minimum of “on” time in this mode.
By following a similar sequence the LED work light, (aimed at the driving head) can be turned off or on – again saving power or increasing utility in darker work corners. It turns off automatically after 10 seconds or so when the trigger is released.
I liked the fact that everything on this tool is designed to be done quickly and easily – changing modes, switching on lights etc. The only tool that might be needed is a pair of pliers to pull the driver from the strongly magnetic driver holder.
The diagnostic charger takes about 40 minutes to give a full charge and after driving fifty or so 35mm screws into plasterboard and timber, the battery still seemed to have a lot to give. Used in more demanding applications like steel cladding, I am sure it would use more power – but then that’s why you have more than one battery pack!
TO SUM UP
The tradespeople who had a chance to try out the Makita liked the layout and ergonomics and the ease of use – even those who did not regularly use such a driver were quickly ably to get used to the grip and using the third and fourth fingers on the trigger. The driver seemed to have enough power controllability via the speed sensitive trigger for them to get a good result pretty well all of the time. Most thought that the driver would be good enough to drive the specified 6mm self-tapper into metal. But a few still thought that corded power might still prevail for a while yet.
Since I mostly use such drivers for stud and plasterboard work I was perfectly happy with this Makita screwdriver. It is well built, comfortable to use for long periods and easy to adjust and handle. Some users might still prefer a collated screwdriver for even quicker fixing, but for fixing individual screws this is as quick as any other.
My guess is that more power will be on the way soon to help more demanding users – and then we may see the competition between corded and cordless hot up even more.