Thread: Cordless Impact Wrench for driving screws?

Originally Posted by Spelunx

Hey there,

I have the opportunity to buy a decent quality second hand cordless 18V Impact Wrench on the cheap. I need something that will drive screws into 30mm Jarrah decking, and a lot of them. I was looking to buy a Makita 18V Impact Driver for the job, now I have seen this one.

Can an impact wrench be used to drive screws?

Its a bit like this one:

BTW251RFE-18V LXT Mobile Impact Wrench - Makita Australia

Cheers

I have one. Heaps of torque. Make sure you drill pilot holes though because you or more likely to rip the head off the screws with this driver.

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Originally Posted by Psych 101

I have one. Heaps of torque. Make sure you drill pilot holes though because you or more likely to rip the head off the screws with this driver.

Sent from my GT-I9305T using Tapatalk 4

So you can buy an adaptor to use standard phillips head driverbits?

Personally I think you would find it very over the top for driving screws. I have a Mak impact driver for running screws which I also use for mechanical assembly for fastenings to about 12mm, and it has more than enough grunt for most things I want to do. I also have the 450Ftlb 18V Mak impact wrench for heavy duty mech/eng work and it is a brute capable of snapping wheel studs etc, according to the manual that came with it, it can shear off a 3/4inch high tensile bolt if allowed to rattle away for around 30 secs. Much heavier than the impact driver and very much larger so harder to get into tight spots etc, needs the 3AH big battery, won't accept the lighter compact 1.8AH one and chews a battery up fairly quickly. Would not like to be driving screws all day with one, would be the equivalent of picking up and putting down a brick or sledge hammer, and I doubt that you could get it to position for the first row of screws beside a wall due to the size of the head casting.

However your money and your choice. Should be no issues getting an adaptor for a hex screw mount driver, it's called a 1/2inch drive 1/4 inch socket, probably best get a long series one and add a magnetor two in the socket to keep the bit in. Not much chance of getting a 1/2 in drive to 1/4 hex quick release chuck though. Whether you go for a driver or a wrench, do yourself a favour and get decent impact driver rated bits for it rather than generic hardware store bits.

Originally Posted by malb

Personally I think you would find it very over the top for driving screws. I have a Mak impact driver for running screws which I also use for mechanical assembly for fastenings to about 12mm, and it has more than enough grunt for most things I want to do. I also have the 450Ftlb 18V Mak impact wrench for heavy duty mech/eng work and it is a brute capable of snapping wheel studs etc, according to the manual that came with it, it can shear off a 3/4inch high tensile bolt if allowed to rattle away for around 30 secs. Much heavier than the impact driver and very much larger so harder to get into tight spots etc, needs the 3AH big battery, won't accept the lighter compact 1.8AH one and chews a battery up fairly quickly. Would not like to be driving screws all day with one, would be the equivalent of picking up and putting down a brick or sledge hammer, and I doubt that you could get it to position for the first row of screws beside a wall due to the size of the head casting.

However your money and your choice. Should be no issues getting an adaptor for a hex screw mount driver, it's called a 1/2inch drive 1/4 inch socket, probably best get a long series one and add a magnetor two in the socket to keep the bit in. Not much chance of getting a 1/2 in drive to 1/4 hex quick release chuck though. Whether you go for a driver or a wrench, do yourself a favour and get decent impact driver rated bits for it rather than generic hardware store bits.

Cheers for that!

I dont think the one I am looking at is anywhere near as powerful as that... according to the website, the newer version has 180Nm. The only difference between wrench and the impact driver seems to be the square socket head on it.... they are both the same size, and weight....

Cheers for the tip on the adaptor bit!

Spelunx

The Impact Wrench and the Impact Driver are two separate and dedicated tools and while they are are similar (even identical) weights I don't believe they will do the same job.

In the case of the Makita you have quoted, the wrench has 230Nm and the Impact Driver 145Nm. I also looked up the Panasonic range, which is my preferred brand and it is a similar story there too.

Quite apart from the torque it is the chuck that is the important aspect. Quick release and designed to accept specifically made bits for various types of screws. I don't know if you can buy an adaptor to fit a wrench.

Lastly the Impact Driver will have several speeds whereas the Wrench will be single speed and probably slow. (Just looked again at the Makita and it appears to be variable speed.)

It comes down to a purpose built tool. You can use a cordless drill to insert screws, but it is nowhere near as good as an impact driver. I think you may need to pre-drill your Jarrah decking if you are not to twist the screws off.

Regards
Paul

Having done a jarrah deck, you need to use a smart bit (drill & countersunk in one) much quicker, neater and less stuffed deck screws

Go with the impact driver in whatever brand / budget you prefer, the mechanics version is totally unsuitable, horses for courses for a reason

Cheers guys,

Sounds like it isnt the best plan..... I was hoping to save myself a couple of hundred by doing this, however there is no point spending the $$ and ending up with the wrong tool for the job!

I have a Panasonic Drill which has served me very well for 7 years, but I dont think it is up to the job of driving the many, many screws I am going to need for the deck. I have been looking at the Panasonic Impact Driver skins, maybe this is a better way to go.

Sounds like a great deck! If you already have a good Panasonic battery then that skin would be the ideal buy. I agree on the pre-drilling! You probably won't find 65mm screws with 30mm of clear shank and it's important that the screw isn't bound in the deck. Countersink deep enough so that you don't have to put too much force on the screw to get it bedded properly. There doesn't need to be much tension in the screw to hold the board firm and flat on the joist. Gentle does it so that temp and humidity changes don't break screws down the track. Cheers

Originally Posted by Spelunx

I have a Panasonic Drill which has served me very well for 7 years, but I dont think it is up to the job of driving the many, many screws I am going to need for the deck. I have been looking at the Panasonic Impact Driver skins, maybe this is a better way to go.

Spelunx

Until I got my impact driver, I hadn't realised how good screwing could be. That may have come out slightly differently to the way I intended .

However I still can't understand how I survived without one of these tools. As you are intending to use the tool on a deck and you are saving a huge amount of money on labour, I would suggest you treat yourself. It really will make the job so much easier. I would look into RW B's recommendation of the countersink drill too. Probably get several as you are bound to break one or two, particularly at the start of the day when you are feeling strong and at the end of the day when you are tired .

I think the Panasonic skin is a very good option as you already have the drill. Panasonic does tend to be at the expensive end of the spectrum. Also, how many batteries do you have? I would suggest two is the minimum and three would be really good. My own set, which is only 14.4V is strange in that the batteries seem to last for ever on the impact driver, but nowhere near as long on the drill. I can't explain that.

On the expense side I recently found out where Panasonic sat in the hierarchy. I thought my three batteries had expired as they would no longer accept a charge. I bought two new batteries at about $100 each. They wouldn't accept the charge either. You've guessed: It was the battery charger, but now I had five good batteries! All thoughts of upgrading to an 18V set went out the window and I looked into buying a Panasonic angle grinder. Just the skin was $225 (from memory) so I haven't gone there!

On Panasonic quality, I can't fault them. They used to be, to my mind, the brand that other were judged by, but I know that the major brands (Makita, Hitachi, Bosh, Metabo, Dewalt etc) have caught them up. The torque on the Panasonic impact driver is still up there with the best, although it looks as though Hitachi now claim the best.

Regards
Paul

Originally Posted by Bushmiller

Spelunx

Until I got my impact driver, I hadn't realised how good screwing could be. That may have come out slightly differently to the way I intended .

However I still can't understand how I survived without one of these tools. As you are intending to use the tool on a deck and you are saving a huge amount of money on labour, I would suggest you treat yourself. It really will make the job so much easier. I would look into RW B's recommendation of the countersink drill too. Probably get several as you are bound to break one or two, particularly at the start of the day when you are feeling strong and at the end of the day when you are tired .

I think the Panasonic skin is a very good option as you already have the drill. Panasonic does tend to be at the expensive end of the spectrum. Also, how many batteries do you have? I would suggest two is the minimum and three would be really good. My own set, which is only 14.4V is strange in that the batteries seem to last for ever on the impact driver, but nowhere near as long on the drill. I can't explain that.

On the expense side I recently found out where Panasonic sat in the hierarchy. I thought my three batteries had expired as they would no longer accept a charge. I bought two new batteries at about $100 each. They wouldn't accept the charge either. You've guessed: It was the battery charger, but now I had five good batteries! All thoughts of upgrading to an 18V set went out the window and I looked into buying a Panasonic angle grinder. Just the skin was $225 (from memory) so I haven't gone there!

On Panasonic quality, I can't fault them. They used to be, to my mind, the brand that other were judged by, but I know that the major brands (Makita, Hitachi, Bosh, Metabo, Dewalt etc) have caught them up. The torque on the Panasonic impact driver is still up there with the best, although it looks as though Hitachi now claim the best.

Regards
Paul

Cheers Paul....

I went and looked at a couple today, and I am leaning towards the Panasonic bare driver. They had them in for $275. For around $220 I could get a Makita or similar, with two batteries and a charger, so I need to get my head around the differences in the tool. My gut instinct tells me I am going to get a better tool in the Panasonic, but the salesman in the shop today couldnt tell me why the pana is better than the cheaper Dewalt he showed me..... he just said "its in the internals".... The Panasonic, with battery retails for $429, vs the Dewalt at $240 with two batteries, and he couldnt tell me which one was better and why.... so I walked away....

Originally Posted by Spelunx

Cheers Paul....

I went and looked at a couple today, and I am leaning towards the Panasonic bare driver. They had them in for $275. For around $220 I could get a Makita or similar, with two batteries and a charger, so I need to get my head around the differences in the tool. My gut instinct tells me I am going to get a better tool in the Panasonic, but the salesman in the shop today couldnt tell me why the pana is better than the cheaper Dewalt he showed me..... he just said "its in the internals".... The Panasonic, with battery retails for $429, vs the Dewalt at $240 with two batteries, and he couldnt tell me which one was better and why.... so I walked away....

One's a Rolls, the other a Merc, they both do the same job but one is much more refined than the other and smoother
If you already have a particular brand and the batteries will inter change, then go with that brand, other than that the Panosonic will outlast anything else but if your limited by a budget, its your call

It will probably be in the driveshaft and gears. The pana will be metal and the makita probably plastic. Just a guess.

I recently laid a deck with recycled spotted gum - it is as hard as hades and really took some drilling. I splashed out and bought a Milwaukee impact driver and drill. I drove around 4000 screws with the impact driver and it didn't miss a beat. I couldn't imagine doing it with a drill/driver.

I saved some money by getting a kit with 1.5ah batteries, rather than 3ah. Working by myself I could have one battery in the charger and one in use, so I was never without charge. I used a hidden screw system (camo from bunnings) so I only had to pre drill at the end of the boards. For everything else I loaded up the self-tapping screws and drove them in. Worked a treat.

Trav

An impact driver for a deck will drive you nuts. The noise and vibration are just not worth it for a job that can be done quite well with a conventional cordless drill. I have both and no way would I use the impact driver, in fact I hardly use it due to the noise and vibration. The only reason I bought it was it being smaller can get inside cabinets and it has a light so I can see what is going on. Horrible little thing it is but useful if needed. I put three thousand screws into a deck and fence using a Panasonic drill along with a Makita and they both survived the experience.

Originally Posted by Trav

It will probably be in the driveshaft and gears. The pana will be metal and the makita probably plastic. Just a guess.

I recently laid a deck with recycled spotted gum - it is as hard as hades and really took some drilling. I splashed out and bought a Milwaukee impact driver and drill. I drove around 4000 screws with the impact driver and it didn't miss a beat. I couldn't imagine doing it with a drill/driver.

I saved some money by getting a kit with 1.5ah batteries, rather than 3ah. Working by myself I could have one battery in the charger and one in use, so I was never without charge. I used a hidden screw system (camo from bunnings) so I only had to pre drill at the end of the boards. For everything else I loaded up the self-tapping screws and drove them in. Worked a treat.

Trav

The Milwaukee does look good....

I am definately leaning more towards the Panasonic skin now, as I have two 3.3 ah 14.4 v batteries with the drill.... thinking now that I will buy the driver and part of the "deck budget" and then look to getting a third battery for a christmas present....