Black & Decker PP360 Rota-Driver
By Sean O'Hara
Black & Decker’s PP360 driver looks like a hopped-up Smartdriver with an additional feature or two added on. But that’s not really a bad thing — small though it was, the Smartdriver at least got the job done.
In addition to a 4.8V Li-ion onboard battery, the PP360 features a four-position rotating drive — that’s a rotating head that allows you to better position the head of the fastener so you can squeeze in tight places. We’re guessing that, like the Smartdriver, for normal household applications this’ll send around 25 fasteners home before it needs to recharge.
Pricing runs right around $30 which, coupled with its timing, suggests that the folks at Black & Decker are trying to wrangle it square in the middle of stocking-stuffer territory. You could do a lot worse for a “gift” tool, but better can be had as well.
PP360 Rota-Driver [Black & Decker]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]
October 28th, 2008 at 11:08 am
Another drive for the small compact driver shoot out you all should have…..
Time to take all small compact drivers for a test run against each other in a head to head raggamarock.
October 28th, 2008 at 11:44 am
I brought one from Walmark for $17 bucks.
October 29th, 2008 at 7:29 am
I remember when I saw the first B&D cordless driver. It was on a job and I said to myself “that is the cheesiest, homeowner looking thing. . .” after using it to take a fan cover apart that seemed like it had at least two dozen screws in it, I had to admit it was not totally useless. after using the thing almost every day for a week or two I bought my own. these things are definitely handy, not so much for driving screws into wood, but for assembly/disassembly. where there small size and low speed are a plus
October 29th, 2008 at 8:27 pm
I picked one of these up in Wal-Mart once. Just picked it up, didn’t buy it. It made me think of a story about this old guy I knew. He got sent a sample of dog food and a while later they called him up to ask how his dogs liked it. He said, “My dog took one bite of that stuff and turned around and licked his behind twice to get the taste out of his mouth.” That’s what this little thing reminds me of, and I don’t really have anything against cheap tools.
October 30th, 2008 at 9:41 pm
I use to loosen my RC car screws. Works great, it come with built in light and you can twist the front to get into narrow places very handy.
January 23rd, 2009 at 5:09 pm
It never ceases to amaze me how many “experts” there are that don’t have a clue. Put aside the above negative comments and take a close look at this diminutive tool. Anyone, who has had to drills holes or drive screws in very tight areas, will do an immediate back-flip. Questions of durability aside, there is no other drill/driver on the market that comes anywhere close to providing drilling and driving in areas with such tight clearances. For crying out loud, the centerline of the bit holder is only 5/16” from the top of the tool head! With its small size, 360 degree rotating tool head, and 180 degree rotating spindle, this is a very remarkable tool for tight areas.
I just used my PP360 to install 8 L brackets into the recessed top and bottom of a cabinet I’m reinforcing. I only had 3/8” clearance between the screw hole centers and the cabinet top & bottom. None of my other many drills and angle adapters were capable of properly drilling the holes and driving the screws. Other than having to recharge, in the middle of the job, the PP360 performed extremely well.
Drawbacks? Sure. Small size means small battery, which means lower torque, lower speed, and shorter duty cycle between battery charges. Speaking of the battery, it’s a NiCad, not Li-ion. So, the battery will likely go before the tool does. Quality? Let’s just say it won’t be a family heirloom. But, at $30, it doesn’t have to be. If that’s a concern, buy a second for backup. Personally, I wish B&D would also offer this tool with a cord and put the Rota-Driver system on some of their larger drills. Works for me.
July 26th, 2009 at 6:26 pm
This tool is great. I agree with the battery issue and would love for this tool to be made with either a cord or a larger version to have more power and a longer charge. It did the job. Had a very small clearance where my other three drills could not drill a straight hole. The rota- driver was exactly what I needed.
Just a note: I live in a very HOT climate and learned my lesson on leaving power tool batteries in the garage. The heat will destroy batteries.