Who has a cordless impact driver?

[Lotos]

*pokes his head out*
This is going to be a "Con" post... Not a "Pro" post... Sorry :S

Now, for the majority of my time within a theatre, I play an electrician.
What this means, is that Impact Drivers live at the Carpentry Shop (seperate building) and anything likely to be found backstage are cheaper Black & Decker "Do what you need, at a decent price point" drills...

Thus, my major complaint isn't with Impact Drivers, it's with people that use them to put something together that must later be disassembled by someone else (say, an electrician opening up a light box)... Only the screws were put in in a location that is unreachable with a standard (large body) drill...

Yes the instances are rare... But if you're ever in the shop building something, and you find yourself unable to fit a drill in there, and start to reach for your impact driver... Think twice... Please?

 

[gafftapegreenia]

*pokes his head out*
This is going to be a "Con" post... Not a "Pro" post... Sorry :S

Now, for the majority of my time within a theatre, I play an electrician.
What this means, is that Impact Drivers live at the Carpentry Shop (seperate building) and anything likely to be found backstage are cheaper Black & Decker "Do what you need, at a decent price point" drills...

Thus, my major complaint isn't with Impact Drivers, it's with people that use them to put something together that must later be disassembled by someone else (say, an electrician opening up a light box)... Only the screws were put in in a location that is unreachable with a standard (large body) drill...

Yes the instances are rare... But if you're ever in the shop building something, and you find yourself unable to fit a drill in there, and start to reach for your impact driver... Think twice... Please?

Sounds like you need a right angle drill/driver.

 

[BillESC]

Used a Milwaukee 18v impact drill the other day on an installation. Had to drill a 3/8" hole through 38" of masonary in a church built back in the 1700's. Made short work of a tough job.

 

[Esoteric]

Bought one of my electricians the Ryobi lithium impact (back with it was the only set on the market) as a gift. Best on the market even today. Got my wife the Milwaukee set. It is good no doubt, but not in the same zip code as the Ryobi.

 

[Sony]

Used a Milwaukee 18v impact drill the other day on an installation. Had to drill a 3/8" hole through 38" of masonary in a church built back in the 1700's. Made short work of a tough job.

You did that with an Impact Driver? Are you sure you didn't mean a cordless Hammer Drill? I didn't think that impact drivers could be used with masonry bits, nor did I think they were effective. It's two different types of hammer actions.

 

[BillESC]

It was a hammer drill.

 

[shiben]

*pokes his head out*
This is going to be a "Con" post... Not a "Pro" post... Sorry :S

Now, for the majority of my time within a theatre, I play an electrician.
What this means, is that Impact Drivers live at the Carpentry Shop (seperate building) and anything likely to be found backstage are cheaper Black & Decker "Do what you need, at a decent price point" drills...

Thus, my major complaint isn't with Impact Drivers, it's with people that use them to put something together that must later be disassembled by someone else (say, an electrician opening up a light box)... Only the screws were put in in a location that is unreachable with a standard (large body) drill...

Yes the instances are rare... But if you're ever in the shop building something, and you find yourself unable to fit a drill in there, and start to reach for your impact driver... Think twice... Please?

Agreed. Dont care if you feel the need to sink something gigantic if it makes you feel good about yourself, but for the love of all that is holy, make sure you can reach it without a thumb-operated driver. Also I hate the noise in theaters without much drape... And it makes it hard to hear just about anything else. And I dont think they work as well for assembling lighting gear as regular drivers.

 

[mstaylor]

Agreed. Dont care if you feel the need to sink something gigantic if it makes you feel good about yourself, but for the love of all that is holy, make sure you can reach it without a thumb-operated driver. Also I hate the noise in theaters without much drape... And it makes it hard to hear just about anything else. And I dont think they work as well for assembling lighting gear as regular drivers.

When I think impact drivers I think scene shop. If I was assembling lighting I would use a regular drill or even a smaller straight driver like electricians use for trimming houses.

 

[shiben]

When I think impact drivers I think scene shop. If I was assembling lighting I would use a regular drill or even a smaller straight driver like electricians use for trimming houses.

Exactly. It just becomes a problem when thats all a place owns because one is so much "better" than the other. Ill take a small little martha stewart drill any day for assembling lighting gear, but some places I have been insist that you dont need those and instead the impact driver is all you need.

 

[Blacksheep0317]

I have been using the DeWalt tools forever, and swear by them. I use an 18V impact almost esclusivly for any driving, bolting type work. I just prefer the size and balance of it. Plenty of power, plenty of battery life, and everyone every where has a dewalt battery and charger somewhere which makes it nice to do battery swaps. The 24 volt is nice to when im in the race shop working on cars, but the 18 is awesome for daily use and theater work.

 

[echnaret]

I have a Makita 10/8v drill/impact driver kit, and I love it (I still need to buy a couple spare batteries, though; they don't last quite as long as I'd like). I definitely prefer the impact driver over the drill for long screws, though I always wear earplugs when using it. I will say I met a ME who only used drills because he disliked the noise so much.

On a slightly unrelated note, I recently found a Bosch Li-ion 10.8v drill that appeared to have been thrown out of a 2nd story window (there was a bunch of other stuff in the courtyard that didn't survive the fall as well). After I bought a charger online and charged the battery up, the drill seemed to work pretty well. The case is cracked, and the drill bit doesn't seem to turn quite as fast as it should, but besides that, it works great.

 

[firewater88]

I now run 2 14v DeWalts with quick change tips and also an 18v with a 1/2" socket head on it. All work like a dream. I always grab these before the regular drill.

You should try chucking in a spade bit and see how fast you can blow holes in a 2x4 with an impact.

 

[Esoteric]

When I think impact drivers I think scene shop. If I was assembling lighting I would use a regular drill or even a smaller straight driver like electricians use for trimming houses.

I only use my Bosch (not Ryobi, duh) impact. I don't even use a regular screwdriver for anything anymore.

 

[shiben]

I now run 2 14v DeWalts with quick change tips and also an 18v with a 1/2" socket head on it. All work like a dream. I always grab these before the regular drill.

You should try chucking in a spade bit and see how fast you can blow holes in a 2x4 with an impact.

Holy Crap true that.

 

[krice]

I adore my bosch impact driver. Agreed that driving in a 3" screw has never been easier. I wear earplugs constantly with mine since it is so loud (actually enforces a good habit so I guess I can't complain). You also can't beat the weight and size, I used to have a lot of wrist pain after long days and I don't have any problems when using my Bosch. It also makes quick work of repetitive build jobs.

I have two negatives though- we almost exclusively used the Bosch Impactor when I worked at a community theatre and volunteers who are not familiar with the torque of an impact driver can and will drive right through some materials (or bury screws so far you're not sure how they drove them that far in the first place)- it's a wonderful tool, but not for everyone.

And I really wish it could hold a twist bit and/or spade bit that doesn't have a hex shank... my bosch obviously doesn't have a ratcheting chuck, I would never put it down if it did.

 

[gafftapegreenia]

Resurrecting this thread since the topic has come back up.

I have personally owned the following drills/kits. DeWalt 12v Nicad, DeWalt 18vNicad, Makita 18vLi-Ion impact driver/drill kit, Milwaukee M12 Impact Driver/drill kit, Milwaukee M12 FUEL Impact driver. And of course, I've used other offerings from Ryobi, Black and Decker, Porter Cable, Milwaukee, Makita, DeWalt and on and on and on.

There is no use denying the affectiveness of impact drivers. Less shoulder pain is enough reason alone to justify the purchase of one.

As of May 2013, my go to cordless tools are the Milwaukee M12 series. I first bought into this series about a year and a half ago. I now have the hammer drill, original impact driver, oscillating multi tool (those things deserve their own thread, for serious), right angle driver, and as of two weeks ago, the FUEL brushless impact driver.

While I've always been a DeWalt fan, and continue to buy their saws, when I was looking into compact 12 volt li-ion tools, DeWalt was lagging behind. They are catching up, and while I like their ring of three LED's, I'm not a fan of the bulk of the slide battery pack. The Milwaukee M12's are the most portable drills I've ever owned. I can put a drill, and impact, their batteries and a charger in backpack and it still weighs less than one old 18v Nicad DeWalt.

Brushless motors are the 'it' thing right now in the tool game, and its a noticeable improvement. The Milwaukee M12 FUEL Impact Driver I purchased two weeks ago is JUST AS POWERFUL as the 18v Makita that started this thread back in 2011. The current crop of impact drivers has also been designed with torque limited features, either user adjustable or automatic, so you could drive more delicate screws with them.

If I ever again have to sink a 3" screw with a regular drill/driver, it will be too soon.

 

[josh88]

I've got the 20v lithium dewalt driver and drill they are fantastic and have incredible power and battery life. I actually love the battery base because I can sit it down and it will still be upright, I never thought that as a feature would be something I care about but it does save time in the long run.

My shop has the rigid 18v impact and drill set that Home Depot sells it was only around $150 I think and definitely the best deal I've seen on a set like that. That being said the batteries (despite being lithium) are almost double the thickness of my dewalt battery and they are almost as heavy as our 18v nicad dewalts. Seriously they are heavy as sin. But otherwise have served us well for a year now.


Via tapatalk

 

[firewater88]

Last year my Dewalt batteries started to really show their age. I priced out new batteries and rebuilt (some already were). The cost was too big to get new batteries so back to the market I go... Narrowed it down to Milwaukee and Ridgid. I liked the lifetime warranty (even on batteries) for the Ridgid. When I approached administration about this, they wanted me to lean toward the Ridgid for the warranty. I purchased several sets of the Ridgid combos, including the large combo kit. Now totally switched over, I do love the tools. I like the balance of the impacts, plenty of power and god battery life. I have 2 of the larger battery packs and the rest are the smaller ones, never really complain about the weight. A lot of hoops to get the lifetime warranty, but I think worth it in the end. I wish they were the brushless motors, but the price was right.

I passed down the Dewalt tools to our maintenance department... they were happy for the spares/additions...

 

[B_Cut]

I just bought a new Rigid combo kit from Home Depot. $200 bucks got me a new 18V cordless drill and a 18V cordless impact gun, charger, carrying case for both guns, and a radio(bonus). I love them so far. Great torque, good battery life and a lifetime battery replacement when registered. They are nice and light and I can get into a lot of places I couldn't before with the old Bosch drill we had. I liked our old Bosch drill too, but these are way better. I'm sure a new Bosch would be comparable, but for the price, I like these.

 

[firewater88]

I just bought a new Rigid combo kit from Home Depot. $200 bucks got me a new 18V cordless drill and a 18V cordless impact gun, charger, carrying case for both guns, and a radio(bonus). I love them so far. Great torque, good battery life and a lifetime battery replacement when registered. They are nice and light and I can get into a lot of places I couldn't before with the old Bosch drill we had. I liked our old Bosch drill too, but these are way better. I'm sure a new Bosch would be comparable, but for the price, I like these.

Make sure you follow through with all the hoops they require for the lifetime warranty. I had to send one in for repair recently and it was all covered under warranty.