[lendaddy]

For the last 10 years I guess I've had the same Dewalt 9.6V cordless that I modified to accept 12V batteries. It was a great setup, small and strong. The only downside was the 3/8 chuck.

Anyway, it died last weekend and I put her to rest. Given that I have the batteries etc.. I decided to go with another but this time get the 12V version with the 1/2" chuck. All was well, or so I thought.

When I fired her up to install some new cabinets I found that the torque clutch was jacked up. On low speed it didn't even function and on 2nd and 3rd speeds it was waaayyyy too tight. I mean the lowest setting (1 of 22) on 2nd speed would bury a screw deep into wood and strip the head before the clutch ever released and like I mentioned on two it doesn't even function.

So I brought it back for an exchange. I opened the second one and (you guessed it) same damn thing! What the hell is going on here? Do only the small 9.6V models have delicate clutches or something?