Black & Decker 9078 3.6-Volt Ni-Cad Cordless Screwdriver

Pros:
Even at its bargain price, this screwdriver comes with a torque clutch and a folding body style. The thick black and orage plastic casing make the screwdriver very tough. Scoffs and scratches are usually not noticeable. The speed is great, sometimes too great, such as when driving a screw into a plastic drywall anchor, where too fast may soften or melt the plastic.

To my surprise, this screwdriver is fairly powerful. I don't know how much more powerful an electric screwdriver needs to be. I've driven 2" long screws into studs with this thing and it has never stalled. In fact, sometimes the screwdriver's power make it difficult to hold without folding it at an angle to get more leverage.

Cons:
The one serious complaint I have is with the torque clutch. With a setting that goes from 0-20 I would have expected a lot of adjustability. But even at its lowest torque setting, the clutch on my screwdriver has rarely slipped. I don't know if this is a problem with my particular unit, but it's very annoying to have to hand-tighten screws in fear of stripping them.

And from the "have the cake and eat it too" department, I wish that the screwdriver is smaller and lighter. It is not huge but it is larger and heavier than I expected.

Buy overall, this is a great screw driver. If the torque clutch had a more effective range of adjustment I would have given it 5 stars.


Good, but not powerful enough   December 13, 2004
Robert J. Fogt (Seattle, Washington, USA)
16 out of 18 found this review helpful

Good for light tasks, but not powerful enough.

Like Black and Deckers other 3.6 volt driver, this one does not have removable batteries, so you cant exchange with your other 3.6 volt tools.

Try the PD600 6 volt model. Its just slightly more expensive, and can be used as both a pilot drill and a driver.


good design, limited power   March 31, 2003
11 out of 11 found this review helpful

This is a really good design for a cordless screwdriver, but it runs out of battery power very quickly. Don't plan on it for big jobs. Since the battery is contained in the screwdriver, all you can do is plug the whole unit into the charger. I had one of the older models from black and decker and although you couldn't fit it into tight places, you could swap out batteries and keep on working.


Great screwdriver for daily use   January 15, 2004
Michael D. Russell (Rochester Hills, Michigan USA)
9 out of 9 found this review helpful

I have just bought my third B&D 3.6 volt screwdriver because I want to have a large shop and wanted to have one available in several areas. This is a very good screwdriver. Not too large but great for getting into smaller places or just to carry around. The power is much better than the 2.6 volt ones. It will handle most every day wood working for the weekend worker. If you want to do heavy duty work move up to the big brother of the 3.6 volt. I like the design, looks and overall quality.