Drill driver vs Impact driver question...

[Jim German]

My little 12V bosch impact is fantastic. It can drive the longest screw without stripping it (albiet a bit slowly), and its incredibly lightweight. It's a great tool for driving screws over your head.

I would like to punch whoever decided not to put a little spare bit holder on it though.

[Steve Rowe]

My experience with the drill/drivers doing construction work is that for some operations, they are not up to the task. Driving screws through Hardibacker board (both 1/2" and 1/4"), my 18v Dewalt drill/driver would not drive the screw head flush.

Based on recommendation from a friend who does remodeling for a living, I purchased a Makita impact driver and this baby will drive a screw all the way through the board if you are not paying attention. You should use an impact bit instead of the nonsense they hawk in the borgs and most hardware stores. I use the Apex impact driver bits.

The impact driver is my first choice for driving screws whether it be construction or woodworking. It is light and compact compared to the drill/driver.

I experimented with it just to see what it would do. I drove everything from #6 to #12, 1-1/2" long screws without pilot holes into the hardest stuff I had in my shop (hickory and makore) and it never skipped a beat, driving everything flush without splitting (I was not near an edge). The only downsides to an impact driver are the noise and if you don't watch what you are doing, the head of the screw will go right through your workpiece.
Steve

[brian c miller]

+1

I have never used on until I borrowed a friends to do some work under the house (crawl space) and I'll never go back. The biggest advantage is that you don't PUSH into the screw to drive long screws and they typically devolp much more torque.

The down side is that you'll tear up your cheap bit drivers, I'd say go a head and get some "impact grade" bits to go with it.

[Buck Williams]

Also excellent for backing out a screw that was over-torqued at the factory. I have a Delta air cleaner, and there was no way I could loosen the screws so that I could clean the filter, until I tried the impact driver. Sweet.

[Alan Tolchinsky]

Yep, I love my little Bosch impact driver but it is NOISY! Do your ears a favor and protect them while using an impact driver.

[Rich Tesoroni]

Think the impact driver makes it possible to stay with a smaller drill/driver combo. I got the Makika set with light (and I love the light) on black friday two years ago. Don't really see a need for anything more than it's 14.4v

Also have the corded Milwaukee 6740-20 driver (the bigger one for deck screws) for bigger projects.

Rich

[Bobby Thistle]

There is no comparison between a drill driver and an impactor. I don't know how I ever got by before I got my Bosch 18V. It is a thing of beauty. I also use it quite a bit to tighten up nuts and bolts... and I mean TIGHTEN.

By all means... go the way of the impact driver.

--Bobby

[Andrew W. Thomas]

I used my buddy's impact driver to drive quite a few 2" - 2 1/2" screws hanging kitchen cabinets and was amazed. It was more than up to the challenge. Don't remember what brand or v's but he said it was one of HD's specials so he picked it up on a whim.

[Karl Card]

Karl can you explain this? Are these slotted head screws, phillips head or square drive stripped heads that can be removed with an impact. I have always had a heck of a time removing stripped heads having had to resort to drilling the screw out. What is the right way to remove these stubborn screws.

VIjay

Sorry alot of times i tend to type faster than I can think. When I used phillips head screws on projects or on someone elses project where the phillips head is stripped but not completely an impact driver can most of the time be a big help in getting those screws removed. I myself since I have been using square head screws with a square drive bit I have not had a problem with stripped screws... Hope this helps..

[Terry Hatfield]

Still chasing the impact driver with the lithium batteries in kit form. Shows on PC's website but can find any retailer that has it. Interesting. I've emailed PC. Waiting on the response. Grizzly has it but it is Nicd not lithium.

Thanks for all the responses!

t

[Don Jarvie]

Highly recommend the Makita Drill - Impact Kit (white model) which goes for around $250. I can't say enough about how great an impact driver is.

[Peter Stahl]

Highly recommend the Makita Drill - Impact Kit (white model) which goes for around $250. I can't say enough about how great an impact driver is.

Ditto, great set!

[Von Bickley]

Terry,
I was at my local Lowe's this morning and they have the Hitachi combo kit with the cordless drill and the impact driver - 12 volt lithium, for $169.00.

[eric buggeln]

The Festool drill/drivers for small, intimate use and the Makita 18v Li-Ion Impact for the big stuff is an unbeatable combo if you do some woodworking and some construction. The clutch on the Festools is really awesome.

[Terry Hatfield]

Terry,
I was at my local Lowe's this morning and they have the Hitachi combo kit with the cordless drill and the impact driver - 12 volt lithium, for $169.00.

Thanks Von. Trying to stick to PC because of the afore mentioned battery issue but.....

Got email back from PC today stating that Lowe's had an exclusive on the impact kit with the lithium batteries. Loews.com shows no such and my local store says they don't have it and can't get it either. Emailed PC back with the news. Gonna just give up and buy the 3 tool lithium kit with the impact, drill and flashlight and have way to many drills and flashlights I guess.

t