Black & Decker KR504CRESK 240V 500W Variable Speed Corded Hammer Drill

My example was purchased from Amazon for £29.99 inc.VAT and p&p

PACKAGE
The drill comes in a plastic case and includes a detachable plastic side handle and manual. There is no depth stop with this model and the side handle has not been machined to accept one. The manual is a brief four page booklet which covers four model variants. The body is a plastic moulding and the chuck is steel, alloy and plastic. The tightening collar is alloy. It is slightly different from the one depicted on the box.

SPEED
Speed control is by means of squeezing the trigger. There is no separate dial to set it. On no-load, the lowest speed is about 500rpm and the highest is about 2900rpm. Torque at the lowest speed is minimal - can easily be stalled with the hand. Slower speeds can be obtained under load by adjusting the power to maintain torque. The trigger has a `lock-on' button but it only works at full speed.

CHUCK
Chuck run out at the jaws was measured at 0.2mm and sideplay at 0.3mm. OK for hand drilling but it's not a precision tool by any means. The stated method of chuck removal is to clamp an Allen key in it and whack it with a hammer. I would recommend finding a slim (<7mm) 16mm AF spanner to fit the flats on the chuck body.

WEIGHT
The drill without side handle weighs 1465g, which compares well with my old 350w D720 at 1789g. It is easy to use with one hand - the main reason I bought it. Weight of the case is 1025g and side handle is 160g. The chord and plug is 242g and manual 11g, making a total of 2903g

ACCESSORIES
The drill has a standard 43mm neck for mounting the side handle and fitting of accessories. The neck on my drill was not circular and was 43,75mm at the point where the body halves join. It had to be filed down to fit in my drill stand. Not a major problem though; just bear it in mind if you intend to use accessories with it.

CASE
The case is all plastic with a rather flimsy compartment on the outside; presumably for drill bits. At least the main hinge is a proper interleaved type rather than the pathetic weak back plastic that you get on some cases. The drill fits in the case fairly easily but, as usual with power tools, it's a bit of a faff getting the lead packed in so that the case will close. One of the catches on mine broke off but I didn't think it was worth the hassle of sending it back just for that. I now use a small tool bag (£6.99 from Screwfix) which makes it much easier to get the drill in and out of and also has room for other stuff like gloves, goggles, drill bits etc.

In use, the drill feels comfortable and easy to control, even with work gloves on. The reverse switch seems to have a good positive action. The spindle lock is a bit tricky to use with gloves and can be awkward with the side handle attached. At full speed, there is quite a blast of air from the motor fan.

Considering the price, I think the drill is a good buy. Reliability remains to be seen but B&D seems to have a good reputation in that regard. If it lasts as well as my D720, I'll have no complaints!

This is good value for a small drill and works well. The only problem I found was in using the variable speed on slow. If it is used on slow speed for more than a minute it heats up and can be difficult to handle without gloves. It remains to be seen how long the motor lasts. Mine came with the depth guage missing from the box.
As of 20.11.2012 the motor has ceased working. A good tip is to put reciepts etc in with the instruction booklet so when it conks out (unlike me) you know where the receipt is to send it back. This drill was not up to regular use of slow speed for accurate and delicate work.- It is the shortest life of a drill I have ever had.

Great value hammer drill, bought to replace a previous black & decker that wore out after many years use.
does the job just fine. recommended for the weekend diy'er