DeWALT's Secret DCF961 Impact Opened Up & Maxed Out
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- Опубліковано 7 лют 2025
- It's out now! amzn.to/4111iii
Our lifetime of TOOL RANKINGS : torquetestchan...
Today we open up the mystery yellow tool DCF961 to find inside it looks A LOT like the yellow tools you might own at home. Hmm, curious.
*IT TURNS OUT THE DUAL GEAR DESIGN IS JUST A COMPOUND PLANETARY* the sun gear drives the larger diameter and the smaller ones mesh with the ring gear for further gear reduction. Which makes sense as the larger diameter gears are helical. Seems thin for a gear spinining 3lbs of weight, but never seen it before on an impact so we have no idea.
*Can you swap in a 3/4" anvil?* Unfortunately not. This one's anvil is very long from the nose cover thickness and gusseting. An existing 3/4" wouldn't even poke out.
We think the 1/2" anvil on this example (mixed with how clunky & jumpy this brand's impacts are) holds this tool back more than you might expect. It's like a fire truck stepping down to garden hose diameter. Both this and the curious VTEC like behavior of it makes it, believe it or not seeing these numbers, not well tuned for our tallying. Looking forward to seeing more on this as we see it pop up in places.
Maybe I'm being dense but do you have access to any extended anvil 3/4"-ers? Like that IR 1" lithium you had. IR make 3/4 extended air impacts as well but idk if they're common
@@cian.horgan The problem is you usually need to keep it in the family. The DCF900 anvil fits in that hammer shape, but other anvils shape wise wont.
@@TorqueTestChannel ah yes there's the density, makes sense. Nothing a quick trip to a hacksaw can't fix, who needs carefully engineered harmonics when you've got BEENZ
The one-inch anvil tools come with dual-handle designs. Would the torque figures change if you pressed this tight onto the bolt [test equipment] using both hands?
It's got Vtec bro!
Plot Twist: Dewalt themselves leaked this so that TTC would test it, tear it apart, give feedback and then they'll release the improved version later this year.
I hope so
Theoretically possible, but if that was the case, it would come out next year, not this year.
Manufacturing is slow, especially if you're as big as Dewalt or Milwaukee or Makita.
Theyre sloppy with prototypes. Everything from cabinet jacks to blades to tools. If you know a sales rep or tool development team member it's pretty ez to get.
@@andrewilliams9705fuck yeah
They should have sent it to Shop Tools Reviewed also if it was.
Glad to see DeWalt was tired of being in the middle of the pack with their impacts and just decided it's our time to shine.
Power wise, yes. However, they look like a pain to use. If I needed one of these everyday, I'd buy the Makita XGT 3/4 inch
@@luisprieto4589 oh definitely I have the 900 and it's a handful but it does get the job done faster so I don't mind too much. Would not recommend using all day on any high torque especially if you have to use on a ladder like I was. Really hope they offer it in 3/4 and maybe in the future a one inch 60volt version.
They are stepping up their game and I have recently jnvested in them buying batteries and 891 and new flexvolt 416 grinder, however, their brand is a big chaotic mess. Milwaukee is a better brand over all, higher quality and more consistent with everything, though every single motherf*r and their dogs sisters brothers cousins nephews wife's kids uncle literally have Milwaukee, and I'm sick of looking at, I thought I'd get the few DeWalt tools to suit my needs for my job which happen to be better than their Milwaukee counterpart. And go from there.
Thinking about vibrations, you can get gloves with accelerometers to monitor vibration exposure for H&S reasons. They would be a good way to quantify exactly how violent each tool is to hold
Or do it how project farm does it
one thing is shaking, and another is kickback like makita does. and also another is just the pure torque. i think sensing it by hand is the most precise, because it is like the user will feel and not how sensors feel
I just wanted to say that your channel is one of my favorites. If I'm looking to decompress and turn my brain off from all the stresses of daily life, it's great being able to tune into a pure review channel that isn't bogged down with countless gimmicks or thinly veiled sponsorships. No current events to stress over. No host trying to present some nonsense personality quirk attempting to differentiate themselves from the sea of other "quirky" hosts. No fluff, clickbait, or trying too hard with terrible jokes. Just a cool breakdown of how power tools perform with amazingly detailed explanation, no frills but also well done videography, and technical information coming from someone who obviously has a wealth of experience. I don't know why it provides such a great mental escape for me, and if you explained it to someone it would probably sound very boring, but it's not. I don't even use impacts very much. I guess it's like listening to wave or rain sounds.
Anyway, this entire comment probably sounds like a backhanded compliment, but it's definitely not. I just wanted to say keep up the great work and I appreciate the work you guys do!
I suspect this sort of 'arms race' wouldn't be happening to this extent if folks like TTC weren't doing things like this.
Agree totally
That’s funny…. Wait.. You’re being serious?!? That’s a silly thing to think. It’s human nature to keep pushing the limits, since the beginning of time. Why would impact drivers be any different?
@@savage6394 Economics and the law of diminishing returns comes into play here. We are not talking about climbing a mountain just because it exists. It's the same concept as concept cars. The boundaries being pushed are not always meaningful economically.
Agree. Think just 5yrs ago. Dcf899 was tops (in yellow at least) down about ½ power to this lol. Wild stuff. Competition breeds innovation. DeWalt got lazy, M18 handed them their butts, and now Yellow is reawoken. We all win.
@@Dustin2112 spoken like somebody who doesn’t understand the more power motto. Just because it doesn’t make sense to you doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be made.
"oh great I can finally get a decent unbiased tool review to see who I'll go with"
*channel accidentally starts a nuclear arms race between tool manufactures*
It’s worth it tho
That's a compound planetary gearset. The sun gear on the motor engages the large diameter of the planets, while the smaller diameter engages the ring gear. It gives additional gear reduction.
kind of like a differential in a car?
Yeah, you're getting a gear reduction in the planetary as well, but the observation that there is less surface area to move that weight is spot on.
@@n54single I guess so think of it more like using first gear and the diff is the second reduction..
@@brettwalkom948 well first gear is a reduction gear but by no means a planetery gearset. but a diff i think is a based off a planetary gearset
@@n54single it's still a reduction.. I was just simplifying it.. diff is also a reduction hence double reduction
Great testing as usual.
Do I NEED it, no
Do I WANT it, yes.
😂
As soon as I seen it I was like I just got the 900 in December now this comes out tempting me.
@@a1racer441 TTC said it best "This is not a replacement for an impact wrench. It's the 'store in the bottom drawer, only take it out when things get apocalyptic' sort of tool." IMO that description fits this tool the most. I just bought a DCF-900 because they're on sale for $299.99 at lowes and I couldn't pass up that offer. Especially because the 961 is $370.
@@Asmith-1111 the 900 has been awesome though I have zero complaints it's a beast.
@@a1racer441 I haven't had the chance to use mine yet, but considering that my first big impact wrench is made by Kobalt, I'm excited to get the chance to use the DCF-900.
I think DeWalt has been watching and paying attention. 😊
I think the same...they get the products right it looks like they watch the channel👍
Just know that if you have an old 18v DW059, you can use Dewalts trade up program to get this beast for like $150.
Dang, just bought a DCF900 after I saw your review. Now I need to wait for the DCF961. Pretty excited.
I'm lucky, my shop buddy carries the "red brand". We use both pretty often. This has been a fun ride, none the less. Thanks for sharing this data!
In regards to your constant video releases, I think no matter what content you decide to go with it will be a good watch. With TTC its not about what youre doing, it's the delivery in which you do it. From your wrench videos, to your lights and cut off tools, you offer a ton of very useful hard facts about the products you use. This I feel is the draw to channels such as yours and Project Farm, a huge spread of realistic information that can be either useful or non useful, but due to this caters to a large variety of viewers. If you stick to your deliveries I feel youll continue to make excellent content that helps many people.
I watched this video when you first posted it and you always deliver awesome content of course. I just got a email from harbour freight about their new Bauer high torque impact with a 3amp battery. Just hoping you shed some light on the real torque specs! Always watching. Much appreciated!Thank you!
This reminds of the "stereo wars" in the 70's. Pioneer and Marantz going back and forth, producing MONSTER stereo receivers. Then Technics came out of nowhere, with a 330wpc monstrosity to settle everything! 🥴
Carver made some beasts too.
@@Comm0ut Yeah I've got one of his Sunfire amps. Think ours is 200 wpc but I know he made some 400 wpc as well.
@@Comm0ut Those were commercial amps pretending to be consumer products.
So that means the random Amazon impacts are like SounDesign and Coby?
Can't wait to see more on this oddity of a tool. I have found that with my other Yellow impacts that when putting a good amount of pressure on the back of the tool it will remove stuck bolts that were unable to be removed in any duration of time while not putting pressure on the tool. I would love to see how much of a actual applied TQ difference there is when the tools is able to be wrangled in a little more.
For an accelerometer, go with Kistler Instruments. Piezoelectric (so you need a charge amp) but they offer brilliant pre-sales support (I used to be a UK sales engineer with them) Not cheap, but you will be analysing everything once you get one!!
You guys are unreal! Nice to see they did make some refinements to their guns, and the regular, smaller, lighter 5ah only loses 5%.Thanks!
Love the simplicity of the hammer/weight to increase power.
Hey dewalt corporate: don’t hunt down the person that leaked this product. Give him a promotion and a raise. This right here is building anticipation for this product to release. I’d expect them to fly off the shelves and be hard to keep in stock.
So how do you know this wasn't dewalt doing this themselves? Free advertising except the cost of some mail.
Wife: Why do you have twelve 1/2" drive impacts?
Me: I dont know.
Fixed answer: Cause there isn't any good 3/4". That may change this year.
I have 5 for now lets see what comes out next lol
Also me: (quietly to myself) that you know of...
Great analysis and testing. That said, I wouldn't use a 1/2" impact at these power levels as it's going to beat up and destroy my sockets. Definitely hope this is 3/4" when it comes out. If that's the case I'll hope it lands at closer to 1100 ft lbs in final form. As a retired auto tech though it's rare I need anything beyond a standard high torque 1/2" on a vehicle.
As a side note: that was pretty amazing you had two different impacts land exactly at 1000 ft lbs. I mean the odds for that to occur have to be pretty wild.
I really hope they make this in 3/4 drive. I was about to replace my dcf899 with the 900 but this would be even better at work. I have the 891 and I love it. More than enough for the lighter duty stuff.
This! I can't imagine your 1/2 sockets last very long on this new tool.
Please make a video on the Swench, it's a manual impact wrench from power hawk technologies, it should be really interesting to see how it goes!
dewalts definitely been upping their game the last couple years. I hope they come out with a new series to compete with the Milwaukee's m12 series
The dewalt 12v impact wrenches are stronger then the m12
@@FusionBoost2.0 was about to say they already did lol.
@@SouthJerseyBaitReviews he missed that video🤣
@@FusionBoost2.0 I meant with how compact the batteries are
@@doorlessmoon2886 the slide packs have not really affected anything... And the compact style batteries in the Milwaukees are useless really, you need to run the bigger packs which negates it being compact
I would LOVE to see it come out as 3/4 with a handle option, like the 999 sorta
I've been watching for a while and it is amazing how far we've come in cordless impacts in a year
I’m a dewalt guy all the way and I really hope to see more on this Ludacris impact wrench
For the accelerometer stuff, measuring that in a real, meaningful way is going to be a really big pain or expensive. It has to be attached very rigidly, otherwise you won't really be detecting the true acceleration of the battery. For a small accelermeter, like what's in a phone, it wouldn't be too hard, but that kind of accelerometer (capacitive MEMS) isn't going to give good data since they generally top out at around 400Hz. Obviously for what an accelerometer in a phone is used for this isn't a big deal, but this use case is very different.
This is fits into what industrial accelerometers are used for, but are also way larger since instead of using some microscopic MEMS magic, they generally use piezoelectric crystals instead. This gives them a way higher max frequency (10kHz+), but reading most off-the-shelf industrial accelerometers is a pain without the proper equipment. Most of them are also large enough that I think the extra mass of the accelerometer along with the mounting for it would probably end up changing the vibrations noticeably, especially on smaller batteries.
We've actually been looking for small accelerometers we could mount in different parts of paper machines to monitor bearings for my job, and the smallest we've come across that doesn't require a bunch of extra analog electronics to deal with the signal and has all 3 axes is the TE Connectivity 830M1 series. They're about 0.6" x 0.6" x 0.17" and just output a voltage proportion to the g-force for each axis. You might be able to superglue it upside down onto the battery and then solder wires on to the pads on the bottom to run them into an oscilloscope for testing. Let me know if you want help with that stuff, part of my job is designing industrial electronics.
Sounds like a great place for a Chinese flex PCB. Dead bugging a leadless package is delicate work and quite fragile.
I love the quote that “we don’t reply to any emails from them” inferring that they may have sent an email to take your vid’s down on this unreleased tool that you guys blatantly ignored
Love seeing you roast the Honda boys🤣
"Brooooo the VTEC just kicked innnnn"😂
I would bet your channel has been brought up in a few board meetings!😂 love to be a fly on the wall for that!
The one-inch anvil tools come with dual-handle designs. Would the torque figures change if you pressed this tight onto the bolt [test equipment] using both hands?
this channel is starting to impact (pun intended) the field and i love it.
ADXLs 345 would work fine, probably wouldn't be too difficult to setup with an Arduino (I've only run them off pis). But they're fairly precise accelerometers and definitely small enough to bolt onto most batteries.
If you're going to measure acceleration on the battery you'll need to also build a linear accelerator to slam the batteries to a stop so you can establish how many G's it takes to damage the packs or the batteries in them. So an air cannon with a sled down a pipe. I can't wait.
We need to see the makita 3/4 xgt (well all the xgt's) with the higher ah batteries. I've tried the 5ah & 8ah. The 8ah makes a massive difference, use it mostly on m20 bolts for changing Shredder blade's and if the 2.5ah doesn't move it the 8ah does, even though the bolt is destroyed in the process
If you are looking a cheap starter accelerometers plenty of people have hacked wii remotes to give output values. While it wouldn't look pretty it could give you an indication if this is an area worth testing and what sort of results to expect. This could also inform what grade of meter you need. I have just purchased a DCF880n and would love to see it on the dyno if you get a chance.
I use these types of tools daily and I am impressed by them but you guys do a great job making them so much more interesting
Thanks for saying "vibration DAMPING." You win the internet/language points today!
its pretty clear Dewalt is willing to trade operator comfort for shear torque numbers, which ONLY makes sense for prosumer type users, You run one of these all day and you will require Makita smoothness. An integrating accelerometer mounted on the handle would allow you to score the amount of discomfort they design in and maybe dissuade them from this tradeoff.
Great video as always! Would love to see this beast with a 3/4 anvil swap.
Just spitballin here could be cool if you had 1-2 batteries with leads coming off the terminals to display voltage during the run for each brand. Extremely cool and informative keep up the great work!
I’m excited for the direction you all are potentially pushing tool makers
To think it all started with an old school half inch and a home made dyno !
Dewalt just dropped the Nuke and told them “kill’em all and let God sort them out”. Me thinks Dewalt got tired of the Milwaukee Myth.
Very cool. Vibrations would make it too much to use often, but it does look like a great tool to have at the back of your drawer for those days where nothing else works.
My DCF900 already barely fits in my toolbox. Guess I’ll have to get a new box when this does come out.😂
This is the way
The 900 it's a beast already😱
I'm still using a 899 day in and day out when this is available to purchase I'll upgrade I just hope it has the longevity of my 899
Power stack is the ticket !!! They have tested batteries and it beats all of them.
Since the anvil is swappable with the DCF900, curious if the DCF897's 3/4" anvil would drop in
Would be awesome to see you test a Indy or nascar 350psi impact.
it would be interesting to see the results of the heavy housing and the higher speed gears. please try it
I heard the collective cheer across the world when that sucker hit 1000!!!
Thanks for this video, really informative. Now I can scoop up a DCF900 for a reasonable price, they are down to £158 in the UK.
Just a note: no 6Ah or 8Ah XR batteries available in the UK only the 6Ah 9Ah 12Ah FlexVolt batteries (and the 15Amp beast).
Hey! Know you guys get a million suggestions but I think modifying an impact wrench to alternate directions between each impact would be up your alley, I've heard the tip of moving a seized bolt back and forth with a ratchet to help break it loose and I was wondering if it would translate well to impact use
At what point do the 1/2” sockets become the weak point with 1000 ft lbs?
Hi TTC, I recently have acquired some of the dewalt 12V line of impact wrenches and ratchets. The DCF903b is the 3/8 impact I’m working with. I have yet to see a video that has your level of comparisons with this tool against its closest competitors and 20v version as well as the variability of the 12V battery options. Was really hoping to see it in action on your channel before I go buying different batteries or investing any more in the 12v line. Thanks in advance! *Edit: if you’d like to borrow it for testing I’m more than happy to share!*
Love to see that I’ve got a few of those 9ah flexvolt snow I need this impact !!!
As you guys start testing battery movement are we gonna get to see how a batt strap plays into it all in high speed? Would love to see it.
It's finally out!!! I've seen a few in stores yesterday!!!!
The shame we had as Dewalt guys a couple of years ago with their previous generation is no longer!
what generation? just getting in to dewalt,, is the specific stuff to avoid?
@@charlieward7606 All of the recently released stuff is great. Also, the 3-mode switch on the new Impact Wrenches is so awesome, you'll never want to use anything else. Check this site's reviews of anything you consider buying to make sure you don't get duped into buying any impact wrenches from their previous generation.
@@SvdSinner thanks man, yeah im a mechanic, the dewalt impact is one of the reasons i went dewalt ahaha makes some weird noise but looks good for crank pulleys and i aint got snapon money xD
Regarding the planetary - there are two stages in the newer versions gearbox - motor drives the three big gears in the planetary carrier (first gear reduction) and then the second stage is comprised of the smaller gears going around the ring gear, which causes the planetary carrier to rotate.
I choose to believe that dewalt and milwaukee were golfing one day, talking about market shares. Somone from milwaukee made an offhand comment about how someone has to be second at the same time as teeing ahead of a dewalt engineer whose name was before his on the paper. The engineer laughed it off. It was late in the day and everyone else called it early and went home but not the engineer. He went to the workshop.
Thanks for sharing guys, hopefully yellow dull that shake and bake down somehow. It doesn't seem to bode well for tool longevity.
Yes, I’m glad this come out when it did as there are a few heavy hitters releasing HT’s within a few months of each other and like dewalt, metabo hpt is also trying to make it as hard as possible to distinguish the new from old model 🤷🏻🤦🏻♂️ unfortunately tho the mhpt didn’t bring the beans quite to the extent dewalt did 😢 with their high torque models I I was quite excited to see the mhpt as I figured it’d be similar to the xgt 3/4 but no dice there on to the show
I'd like to see the vibrations tested. Wondering if that is why my large battery cases crack so much or if the plastic sucks and I can just never drop them. I use a digi-key m1528-1011-ND ounted in my car connected to my efi ecu.
Thanks as always for the tests and ratings.
a fun thing to do would be to test tools with a power supply instead of a battery just to see what the theoretical max torque of a given tool is.
These batteries are actually much more capable than most power supplies. You’d need an insanely large power supply to match.
Power supplies are also not usually great at sudden changes in load.
A custom battery pack with 4x the cells would probably be best.
they tried that before. it's worse . batteries can provide more power quickly. yes a large power supply made of batteries with big cable might work.
Am I the only one that let out a loud “YEAH” when the dyno hit 1,000 for the DeWalt? 😂
Nope. I did it too.
I have a DCF900 that the battery is floppy on already. It connects firmly, but I guess the rubber isolators are already worn out.
Is their a Dewalt to Craftsman battery adapter? Their so similar
Oil mechanic here im seeing if you can do a review on pneumatic 3/4 impacts my pawn shop husky is dying... should i go IR, or snap on? Matco currently has theirs for 940 on sale??? Review or opinion? Thank you bro im getting a dcf900 soon
I think the power output of these will see an uptick of upset mechanics with buketfuls of snapped or cross threaded bolts.
I would be interested in seeing this with the cheater sockets you reviewed a while ago. Just max out them beans!!!
This was published as I finished the other video and missed it. Was waiting for it.
This needs to come out so you guys can do whatever crazy thing to one in order to double the input speed and start shearing anvils like toothpicks (coming from a member of the red camp)
Can't wait to torque to spec oil drain plugs in the shop
Honda would be proud
VTEC!!
Could you test the Fein ASbe 648, it is powered here in Germany at 230 volts. A good old machine. I like it a lot and it busted a lot of bolts in my life. Just for the Fein tool history. It says it can do 400 nm. But I know it can do more. Or my do more 😂 so a small old school power tool test
Did you high speed video the Makita 3/4” to compare the battery vibrations? Looking forward to your accelerometer testing!
Look into piezoelectric pickups to see the vibration waveforms.
I Hope they do release it in 3/4, I'd like to have one for those rare very tight bolt instances, I'd rather step down to 1/2 than step up to 3/4, since when stepping down the lost torque wouldn't be so bad.
i just got the dealt mid range gun. 600 ft lbs . it's really powerful. 190 bucks so not too bad.
If the dogs are the same size, is there a 3/4" anvil you can swap in to test?
This is a good question and i'm surprised we didn't address it. Unfortunately not. The nose cover size and thickness from gusseting makes the anvil itself super long on this, a 3/4" anvil from another DeWALT wont even poke out past the nose cover.
@@TorqueTestChannel Lets hope a machinist is watching and makes you a 3/4 long nose anvil.
@@fluke196c It has to be forged usually from a high nickel chromium alloy, these just get absolutely brutalized
Watching this video in particular, do those bolts on the either side of the machine ever come out from the vibrations?
They are installed in a loose setting (just to stop plate from falling off when main bolt is changed out. And Loctited at that setting with nylon lock nuts. So they pretty much stay there
@@TorqueTestChannel thank god, because this DeWalt and the Makita were giving me "that's shit gonna fall off" vibes.
Could you test an aeg 3/4 high torque.
it's been my experience with a powerstack on my MAC TOOLS 1/2 INCH impact that the powerstack sags in output after 1 bar of battery use
Seesii makes a right angle impact might wanna check it out
I run my 2864 with 6.0s all day at the Mack/Volvo Dealership I'm at. Compared to the air IR 1"s we have in each bay ; I can still remove all 10 tires faster than any other tech with the air..I love my M18 3/4 more than any other tool in my SO 54" box. I DO however have "more favorites" lol but not in that rollbox
12:39 best part ever
Dewalt : vtec just kicking yoo!
V- TEC kiks in : yoooooooo
Bolts: 😭😭😭
I love this channel.
Dude, your narrations are hilarious. 😂
You say you accept no sponsors, but I remember a video where you said you were going to be working with Astro Tool maybe? It was some company like that.
With the massive amount of torque some of these things are making do you have any idea how much torque the anvils can handle? Might be an interesting test if you have the equipment to find the breaking point of 1/2", 3/4", etc. anvils. Maybe find out if any of the manufacturers are using different materials.
Really curious about how sumake brand impact guns tally into this seeing as how they make everything under the sun for styles and ratings
Impressive is this DeWalt DCF961 1000 ft lbs more juice than the Makita, i will still stay with Makita for the reason you pointed out it is put together little better and Makita is balanced better, i made this comparison with all the brands i tested, Makita came out ahead for me overall, I have Carpal Tunnel in both hands and the balance /comfort from Makita got my purchase and never a warranty claim with any one of them i own yet, I just wish they made a cordless ratchet as descent as a Milwaukee unit/units, in the meantime it'll have to be air powered for now, Hats off to DeWalt for bringing out the DCF961 BUBBA Impact of cordless wrenches, wait'll i tell my nephew about this ,he'll go place on order on Monday morning 😂
I wonder what this tool would do if it could take advantage of those 60 volt contacts 😈
We did expect a DCF961 to be flexvolt, curious why it's not. Probably easier to re-use the electronics from the latest XR model
@@TorqueTestChannel I'd keep an eye out for one of the larger anvil sizes to be Flexvolt because this gun feels like it's the start of a new generation for DeWilt. If I had to guess they're probably going to go the 1" anvil route with the same hammer and they'll prefer that FlexVolt battery since more voltage means more motor speed, and more motor speed means, possibly literal, wrist breaking torque with that three pound hammer
omg this is beastly im going to try to get work to buy this for me!