DEWALT Cordless Gyroscopic Screwdriver, Rechargeable (DCF682N1)

Do you need one of these? Probably not. If you’re a gadget addict, it’s a must have! Powerful and functional, it locks to break a fastener loose and then quickly removes it. The 1/4” hex collar accepts multiple attachments. It really is quite functional as a low torque automatic driver. It takes a minute to get used to the sequence of holding the paddle switch and then rotating the barrel left or right. The more you turn, the faster it operates. It is really great if you have a lot of screws. Otherwise, it is for the gadget junkie who has everything. Well worth the money.
UPDATE: I have to comment on DeWalt’s Customer Service. After several months, I had a problem with an accessory and contacted the company. Other than proof of purchase, they required nothing to address my issue. The representative did not hesitate to find a solution that made me extremely happy! I have been a DeWalt guy for many years and this level of service will keep me coming back. Just to be clear, the problem was MY FAULT, not the product.

A true friend got this for me because turning screws on things like electrical fixtures was a real pain for my arthritic thumb. This is SO EASY to use and has enough power to drive 2″ wood screws into 2x4s without a pilot. LOVE IT!

This was a gift for my son. I’ve had on for about 6 years and working flawless!

I ordered one and the first one failed. The battery and tool stopped working. So Amazon being great with returns, I got an exchange and that one works excellent! Man it is torquey and fast I love it!

I was constantly looking for a cordless screwdriver to build and maintain PCs. And finally, found this! All those cheaper ones… nope, stay away from them! They all have some caveats and mostly, that’s torque/speed control! They either do not have torque/speed control nor holding chucks!

This one operates with gyro.. which is similar to those phone… some phone games controlled with tilting the phone, right? That’s how it works. Simply press the button and tilt your wrist. Simple as that and that’s not really a causation of asking almost 150 CAD. HOWEVER!! The gyro tilting itself is acceleration based! If you tilt it really slightly, this driver will turn as weak as those electronics drivers. Yes! I’ve tightened PC motherboard without problem! Be sure to get long (6″ at least) Philips #2 bits as well!

And yet, if you snap it like when those 20V drills clutches, it will run the full speed/torque! Those pesky PC chassis cooling fans? NO PROBLEM! It will screw through the plastic chassis fan frame like a hammer drill and may over tighten the screw, which never happened to me yet.

So, basically, this screwdriver can cover everything low torque. I believe no one is looking for this driver to drill 2″x4″ timbers, yet building an IKEA furniture or installing some towel hanger at the best. For those tasks, this driver may be an overkill in terms of price. But if you have to work on a lot of delicate and somewhat strong screwing job, this is the only driver that can do the both ends.

Moreover, being operated with gyro enables holding it with any angle/direction! So much easier to work with since all that you need to press is just ONE button! Sometimes, when screwing something in a tight space, it’s not comfortable to reach tighten/loose button separately. But just having a single button changes the scene entirely!!

At the moment, it is too early to say how battery life is. But the 1Ah battery was not drained while building 4 PCs! Since even a professional PC assembler can only work 3 PCs per day at max… battery life will not hamper the workload at all. And yes, PC parts do not need too much torque at all. Even better!

Now some cons.
1. Battery can just be integrated and charged via USB-C. Sure, it can be tricky to make > 7.6 V with a USB power, but there are tons of buck/boost converters out there. So, it’s technically not impossible. DeWalt 8V platform is kind of nonexistent other than this drill and it’s sisters and having a bulky charger and a specialized battery seems to be an afterthought.
2. Only one shape! In fact, DCF680 can be operated as a ‘gun’ mode. But kind of hard to find in Amazon.
3. Again, compared to DCF680, the lamp is only single spot. I would prefer ring shaped lamp like in those impact drills or DCF680 or DCF601.

But after all, forget about all those premium cordless drivers nor cheap ones unless you are in a real tight budget. If you can afford it, just buy this one! The gyro is a magic!

I like using this screw driver. It is fun to use. It is less fatigue to use and in particular if you have many screws to turn. I used it to build a PC case (the one that you need to practically build the entire PC) and this was a joy to use. I believe for those who are in any hobby that needs to build stuff (e.g., R/C helicopter or FPV drones), they might enjoy using this driver than other electric screw drivers. You do not need to move figures to press for turn or un-turn screws. You just need to twitch your wrist for the direction to turn screw in or out. However, it needs to get use to though but once you get a hang of it then the fun begins. You can also control how fast or slow turn is by the the amount of you twitch your wrist and again it is a habit that you need to get use to.

You can use it the same way as regular non electric driver as well by not pressing on the button or lock it. This is useful when the torque of the driver isn’t enough to turn or unturn screws or to get more precise at first.

I’ve found that most of general house hold tasks in side of house, this screw drivers nearly meets all situations so far. I used it to put up window blinds, putting together baby crib, replaces concealed cabinet hinges etc. and this is great or sufficient except one case that I ran into so far. I will mention about it in the drawback point in a little later.

Its construction is great – strong. Held well in my hand (not too big hand) still. I do not feel it is too heavy to give you tiresome to hold. The LED light at the front is handy. It purrs to let you know it is ready.

Battery charging is quick.

The reasons that a star is discounted are:

1. It would be nice to have more torque. I just ran into a case where it could not turn a screws that held a cabinet door to the frame. This is one cabinet that had this issue as for some reason, the original screws were tighten quite tight. I had to turn them by hand using this driver without pressing the activation/power button. It worked fine in manual mode.

2. There is a slider to lock the activation button from being activated or turned on the screw. It is just part of the activation button that extends further for you to slide in or out to lock or unlock the activation button. This is a good idea and convenient to find. It works great for what it is designed for. I just wish that it can be in a place or perhaps another button to stop activation while you hand hold (full grab) so that you can go into manual mode (no-electric) while turning tough screws without stopping to slide this button.

3. The charger works fine and it charge quickly. However, the status light has one color – red. It signals stage of charging and battery conditions via blinking pattern. That is fine but I would preferred when battery is fully charged, the light should be green. It is a common to use green for indicating fully charged batteries. Look around for other devices that have battery charging light – Amazon Kindle, Apple Mac etc. ), they use green light to indicate fully charged batteries. It would be nice if the charger to do the same.

Note:

This is a good driver to have around house. However, I would get the version of this driver that has torque limit and two position handle than this one especially if you work for small items or do not want to over tighten or stripping screw heads.