A crew of two just finished installing several roomsful of sheetrock for us, using the DeWalt HD CutOut Tool to cut holes for outlet boxes, switch boxes, and the like. The tool worked beautifully (of course this guy was a pro, does this every day, but the tool would be great in the hands of an amateur as well), zipping sround squares and rectangles in no time. Fun to wa tch, too -- it really Zipped around. This is a great price, as well. I'll buy one as soon as I can.

As an electrician i use this tool 5-7 times a week and cut everything- 1" thick sold oak cabinates,sheetrock,plywood of all types and thickness,ceramic tile and even use to modify plastic outlet boxes and cover plates- I've used and broke a couple rotozips in my job and this Dewalt has better power and a much better feel than the rotozip in my opinion.The noise level of this tool isn't any different than any other tool in this class and noise levels depend on meterial you are cutting. Granted i don't use the handle or circle cutter that much in my job but when you do need to cut a nice round hole the circle jig is a MUST have. The toolless bit change is also a great time saver since you do break bits fairly often with this type of tool.I highly recomend this tool and with amazons price being about $20 cheaper than Lowes or Home Depot i'm buy one right now so my boss can have his back :)

Have purchased many many items from Amazon and this is the first I have felt compelled to rate. I am doing so primarily because the negative reviews on this product are way off base. The tool is of usual high Dewalt quality and is clearly well constructed. Sure it makes dust, any tool cutting drywall makes ALOT of dust. I always wear earplugs when using power tools, but they really aren't necessary with this saw. I can't imagine why someone would find it "ear splittingly loud." The lower price mentioned at Home Depot was for the non-kit version, not including the case, or the circle cutting jig (it is near impossible to beat amazon prices in my experience). Finally, I found the saw extremely easy to control (the handle included is helpful) and have no problem cutting straight free handed. Don't hesitate to purchase this saw, you won't be disappointed.

Anyone like to own one, should get it from HOME DEPOT with better price.

As a handyman I have put this tool to the test.

This is Dewalt's answer to the original Roto-Zip and I think they did a great job. I appreciate the 'quick change' bit over Roto-Zips, which requires the built in tool, but it takes a little effort to hold the button in just right and twist the chuck. The carrying case is a big plus for those of us who take the tool from job site to job site. The handle helps when controlling the movement of this tool. At 30,000 rpm the tool wants to move when cutting through light things like sheetrock so the handle is a big help.

This tool can accomplish many tasks. Cutting holes in sheetrock is the most common use. (yes there will be dust but what would you expect with a 30,000 rpm machine!) I've also used this for cutting fiberglass to install plumbing fixtures, cutting a countertop in a tight spot when installing a sink, and so much more.

You might not need this tool everyday, or even every week, but when you do, you'll be pleased with the results! Enjoy!

This is a great set-up for cutting openings in just about anything. Just be sure to use the right bit for the job. The general purpose bit can heat up pretty fast if going through tougher woods and as a result, dull prematurely. If going through tougher woods, You may want to try a tougher bit.

The only reason I did not give it 5 stars is because of the not so quick and easy changing of attachments. It isn't too bad but I feel it could have been better. Once connected the attachments are great. Especially the circle cutter. A true dream for installing light fixtures or cutting openings for large pipes. I use my cut-out tool quite often.

I agree with the guy that's a little dissapointed in this tool. Although it has nice power, and will cut through wall board, etc. with ease (what doesn't), it is very messy. This thing will fill your house with sheetrock dust. I was cutting out a large hole in the ceiling (for wallboard repair), and the whole entire living room was completely filled with dust. I even had goggles on, and the vent on the tool directed the dust directly to my face and dust just managed to get in my eyes.
The noise I can deal with (wear ear plugs), but I'm hesistant to use it for wallboard repair from now on. NOTE: This is the only power cut-out tool I ever used, so I have no reference to compare it to any other of this kind...I'm no contractor or anything, but I do a lot of home repair/carpenter/landscape & metal fabrication work as a side job.

The DW660SK is well built tool with more then ample power to do the job. Just make sure you use the right bit. It's also nice to see that someone has finaly given consideration to the size of the users hands. The handles fit comfortably and allow the user to get a firm grip. The adjusting knobs are also ample size and easy to grip making adjustments a snap. The "tooless" bit change feature is a real bonus! I can't tell you how often I've lost little special wrenches for tools or have had to stop and hunt in the tool boxes for it.
This tool requires practice to cut straight lines. The large handle really helps, but this is just one of those tools that requuire a lot of use befor one gets the "Knack". After all, it is a 30,000 rpm mini router! It wont replace your jig saw, but it does handle many small jobs nicely.
The two minor things I dislike are: 1)The size of the case. It wont fit in my side mounted truck tool boxes so I have to put it behind the seat. There is a lot of wasted space and it could have been made much smaller. 2) It would be nice if they included the front mounting bracket and lock srew with the circle cutter instead of making you take apart the one for the depth guide and using it.

....This is a fantastic tool,Im a contractor and use the tool constantly when installing wallboard.It makes electrical box and ceiling fixture cutouts a breezzzz!!! You can never cut those as clean and crisp as you can with this tool.It cuts time in half.

The tool is well built and made to last.A tool like this can "wonder" when cutting drywall so practice makes perfect.

Dust? Hey, thats part of the game when cutting wallboard!

Bottom line, A profesional will certainly apreciate this tool.

I purchased the DeWalt DW660 to make some cutouts in 3/4" plywood for recessed lights. When it arrived I was impressed with the workmanship--from the case to the accessories. I installed a 1/8" general purpose bit, which was fairly easy, and tried a practice cut in a piece of 1/2" birch plywood. It plunged into the wood nicely and after that it "went downhill." I had to push on it so hard to make the cut that I was afraid I was going to break the bit. After turning off the cutter I noticed that the bit had turned blue. Needless to say, I am very disappointed in this machine. I own a lot of DeWalt tools and have been happy with all of them until this one. I rate it 2 stars because of the apparent quality of workmanship and subsequently the poor performance ot it.

I bought the Dewalt Dw660sk cut out tool for a home improvement project that involved cutting a rectangular "hole"in a cement board ceiling to run a ventilation duct, and cutting openings in a kitchen cabinet so that the duct would run through the cabinet, through the ceiling and out through the roof. After removing the packaging material on this product,the first thing I noticed was the huge black plastic case this tool came in. The build quality of the case was very good. It is solid, has steel clasps, and a fair amount of room inside for the tool, handle, circle cutter attachment and various bits. The build quality of the tool itself was excellent. Its body is constructed of sturdy yellow plastic, the seams line up, the fit and finish were perfect. Even the stickers and decals were put on straight.
That might sound like a small detail to bring up, but I feel it demonstrates the care that went into assembling this tool. Some tool manufactures, like Porter Cable, seem to haphazardly "slap" on their decals and stickers and it makes you wonder how carefully the tool was assembled. This tool also has a certain heft to it, no doubt because of the big 5.0 amp motor, the biggest currently offered for this type of tool. There was virtually no vibration when turning on the tool and the motor seemed to run very smoothly at 30,000 rpm. These are the positive features of this tool.
Now for the bad. The motor is ear splittingly loud. I took a test cut into a soft pine board to see how the tool would react, and immediatley stopped and put on a pair of ear muffs. When holding the tool like a router, vertically, and cutting into a horizontal board, the ventilation slots on this tool, which are located about an inch from the spindle, blow saw dust right in your face. Wearing goggles or a face shield is mandatory! Regular glasses are not enough- you will get something in your eye! What a bad place to put the ventilation slots. Dewalt probably did this because they thought it would blow debris off the workpiece. Instead debris spews everywhere. The slots should be placed on the top of the tool to minimize saw dust or cement board dust from flying everywhere. Speaking of cement board or sheet rock, I would never use this tool inside a finished home. You will fill the room with dust. I started to cut my ceiling with this tool and switched to a sheet rock hand saw because of the dust. For an electrician or contractor cutting electric box openings or trimming sheet rock in an unfinished house this tool might be ok if you can stand the dust and noise. How does it cut? It cut the cement board fairly quickly with the bit I bought for cutting cement board. I used the supplied general purpose bit that came with the kit to cut my cabinet openings and it cut extremely slowly through the 1/2 inch pine of the cabinet. I switched to a jig saw and that worked much faster. Loading a bit in this tool is also awkward. You have push down a button on the the spindle lock and on another button simultaneously on the plastic sleeve above the spindle and then twist the plastic sleeve to tighten the collet. It's almost impossible to tighten the bit tight enough by hand to keep it from spinning in the collet. It's easier to just press down on the spindle lock and use a wrench to tighten the metal nut below the plastic sleeve to tighten a bit. Dewalt should have included a wrench to do this. As far as bit life is concerned, a 1/4" bit should be the minimum diameter you use for cutting anything. The 1/8" supplied bits are so flimsy and flex so much that I broke one of them in 1/2" soft pine. And I didn't apply hard pressure to the work piece.
Am I keeping this tool? No. I think it was poorly designed and is not very effective for wood. It works fairly well on cement board if you buy the right bit, but you could use a hand saw and create much less dust and make your cuts just as quickly. Dewalt assembled a nicely finished tool, but the design and limited functionality of this cut out tool do not add anything special to the tool industry. Jig saws, sheet rock hand saws, and hole saws can do what this tool is supposed to do more effectively and with less mess. That is why I gave this tool two stars.

I bought the Dewalt Dw660sk cut out tool for a home improvement project that involved cutting a rectangular "hole"in a cement board ceiling to run a ventilation duct, and cutting openings in a kitchen cabinet so that the duct would run through the cabinet, through the ceiling and out through the roof. After removing the packaging material on this product,the first thing I noticed was the huge black plastic case this tool came in. The build quality of the case was very good. It is solid, has steel clasps, and a fair amount of room inside for the tool, handle, circle cutter attachment and various bits. The build quality of the tool itself was excellent. Its body is constructed of sturdy yellow plastic, the seams line up, the fit and finish were perfect. Even the stickers and decals were put on straight.
That might sound like a small detail to bring up, but I feel it demonstrates the care that went into assembling this tool. Some tool manufactures, like Porter Cable, seem to haphazardly "slap" on their decals and stickers and it makes you wonder how carefully the tool was assembled. This tool also has a certain heft to it, no doubt because of the big 5.0 amp motor, the biggest currently offered for this type of tool. There was virtually no vibration when turning on the tool and the motor seemed to run very smoothly at 30,000 rpm. These are the positive features of this tool.
Now for the bad. The motor is ear splittingly loud. I took a test cut into a soft pine board to see how the tool would react, and immediatley stopped and put on a pair of ear muffs. When holding the tool like a router, vertically, and cutting into a horizontal board, the ventilation slots on this tool, which are located about an inch from the spindle, blow saw dust right in your face. Wearing goggles or a face shield is mandatory! Regular glasses are not enough- you will get something in your eye! What a bad place to put the ventilation slots. Dewalt probably did this because they thought it would blow debris off the workpiece. Instead debris spews everywhere. The slots should be placed on the top of the tool to minimize saw dust or cement board dust from flying everywhere. Speaking of cement board or sheet rock, I would never use this tool inside a finished home. You will fill the room with dust. I started to cut my ceiling with this tool and switched to a sheet rock hand saw because of the dust. For an electrician or contractor cutting electric box openings or trimming sheet rock in an unfinished house this tool might be ok if you can stand the dust and noise. How does it cut? It cut the cement board fairly quickly with the bit I bought for cutting cement board. I used the supplied general purpose bit that came with the kit to cut my cabinet openings and it cut extremely slowly through the 1/2 inch pine of the cabinet. I switched to a jig saw and that worked much faster. Loading a bit in this tool is also awkward. You have push down a button on the the spindle lock and on another button simultaneously on the plastic sleeve above the spindle and then twist the plastic sleeve to tighten the collet. It's almost impossible to tighten the bit tight enough by hand to keep it from spinning in the collet. It's easier to just press down on the spindle lock and use a wrench to tighten the metal nut below the plastic sleeve to tighten a bit. Dewalt should have included a wrench to do this. As far as bit life is concerned, a 1/4" bit should be the minimum diameter you use for cutting anything. The 1/8" supplied bits are so flimsy and flex so much that I broke one of them in 1/2" soft pine. And I didn't apply hard pressure to the work piece.
Am I keeping this tool? No. I think it was poorly designed and is not very effective for wood. It works fairly well on cement board if you buy the right bit, but you could use a hand saw and create much less dust and make your cuts just as quickly. Dewalt assembled a nicely finished tool, but the design and limited functionality of this cut out tool do not add anything special to the tool industry. Jig saws, sheet rock hand saws, and hole saws can do what this tool is supposed to do more effectively and with less mess. That is why I gave this tool two stars.

Smooth, powerful, well balanced cutout tool far exceeds the quality of other similar tools. Rugged construction as are all Dewalt power tools. Cuts 3/4" plywood with ease. Can't wait to try it on cement backer board with a carbide bit(not included). Get the kit with the circle cutter...great for plumbing rough-in.