cordless impact drills

[dalearmbruster]

anyone know anything about these. Had a guy tell me the other day that they are great w/ no torque on the hand and quick change out of bits. said cabinet makers love them since they are light wt. Also said the lithium battaries last a helluva lot longer.

[jim]

Yes they are great. Sheetmetal workers use them all day every day also. I used Makitas for over 15 years. We used them to drive in screws with no predrilling and to install nuts and bolts and run in lag bolts. They will brake off a 3/8" bolt they are so strong. I am now retired but I have two of them that I have had for 9 years and they are going strong. I use them every day still. Mine are 9.6V nicads but I understand the new ones are even better.

[woodmannie]

I got 2. They work to drill holes too. I grab it before anything else to run screws, bolts, etc. Well worth the money

Tom

[mapleman]

i have an 18V ryobi. it is absolute night and day compared to a regular cordless drill. a buddy of mine, a real contractor, had one and i was helping him a few years ago and pulled out this little drill. looked funny. and then it rattled away. but he sunk a 3" screw into treated wood 3' over his read without any strain. I was sold!

I have since converted my father, father-in-law, and brother-in-law...

i want to get a 12V little guy for the shop. the 18V is AWESOME but sometimes has too much power.

However, I have found that if you need to control torque - like driving pocket hole screws, i still use my regular drill with the torque setting. the impact is incredible b/c it just goes and goes. but it does have too much power for some small projects.

i asked the wife for one of those cute little 12V hand-size drivers for xmas.

anyway - get one! you will NOT be disappointed. and do not buy am "impact drill" --- i saw someone buy one thinking it was both a regular drill and an impact driver - no. FYI...

EDIT: one other thing -- i just have the NiCad batteries. the batteries last so much longer than if you drive screws with a drill. i can only imagine how good a lithium driver would be

john

[Beamer]

I have a little 12v panasonic. I wasn't convinced at first because I figured a furniture maker prolly wouldn't need one for the longest time. Turns out, I love mine. I recommend TRYING them and be sure you can get one you can feather. I've used a few that were ON ON when you flutter that trigger and that's hard to control.

[woodmannie]

Yep, Mapleman said it. An impact drill is for drillin into crete and masonry. They hit straight on with the bit like a chiesel on a hammer. An impact driver hits the bit sideways which taps the bit in the direction of rotation, like the air powered ones at the tire shop.
And Beamer is right, get variable speed trigger. I run pocket screws with my Makita and it works great. If ya need to get just a lil bit more bite, you can get it with the impact better than a drill.

Tom

[dicklaxt]

I have a Craftsman 19.2Volt,reversible with 22 different torque sttings,2 batterries and a charger.

I will never go back to a conventional cordy,,,,,,,

The only thing I don't like about it if the torque setting is to high and you are driving Phillips Head screws and not really leaning into it and the going gets tight it will strip the phillis head or even break the screw if you are leaning into it.

I guess one must develope a feel for his tool. ;D

I just noticed you asked about an impact drill,,,,,nope don't have one of them .

dick

[jim]

Be sure not to confuse a Hammer drill with an impact driver/drill. Hammer drill is for concrete.

[woodmannie]

Dick,
An impact will help with the stripping. It uses tapping to drive the screw in. I used to drive tap-cons into masonry with a drill, twisted a lot off. With the impact, I'm drivin them in and sinkin them into the 2x's

Tom

[fredbelknap]

I may see if Santa will bring me one of those, I been a good boy. ;D