Thread: Do I need an Impact Driver?

Arry, I have 2x Bosch blue 10.8v and a Milwaukee 18v Impact Driver. The 2 little Bosch have built sheds, driven wood screws/concrete screws/coach bolts/sockets etc. You just had to be patient. The Milwaukee does these tasks in a hurry.

The only things that I dont like to use them for is Pocket Holes into man made sheeting and any fine material.

"Do I need an Impact Driver?"....... yes.

As I have said many times before a cordless drill is just that 'a drill'

Once you have used an impact driver you'll wonder why you hadn't bought one before.

I have two... a 12V Ryobi that I use in the workshop.

The reason for this is one of the batteries died and rather than repacking it I put a couple of wires on it to go to a 12V car battery.

The other one is a 18V DeWalt. It does the outside stuff, quiet easily. Powerful enought to snap screws, coach bolts if you go to hard at them.

So any of the Imapct Drivers would suit you but go for the 18V versions.

My impact 18V driver is my 'go to' machine for all screwing except fine screws which I always do by hand with the appropriate screwdriver.
I have 2 cordless 18V drills for all other drilling uses, the larger one also gets used for mixing concrete, mortar, plaster.
Also, I have an 18V SD impact drill for all masonry work.
Other than the above I have a 13mm 2 speed 240V drill mounted in a Bosch drill press which I have found to be as good as or better than a normal bench mounted drill press and very accurate with double the quill travel of a bench drill press.

Got an 18v Milwaukee before Xmas and it's awesome. Impact drivers are loud because of the hammer action though, not a night time tool.

"Do I need an Impact Driver?"....... yes, absolutely. Everyone does - they may not know it until they have one.

Originally Posted by Arry

Oh I nearly forgot and if I do get one, what power do you recommend, ie 10v or 18v etc?

18V is the go. The 10.8V will go into hammer mode much earlier and make noise for longer (meaning it's harder to tell when the screw is tight, and you can over/under tighten as a result). I have a Makita 18V and a De walt 10.8V. The Makita is a scorcher (Japanese made version, not Chinese as many of the Makitas are now).

Get yourself an ID and change to square head screws and your life will never be the same again.

Yes, you need one. I avoided it for years, thinking it wouldn't be worth it given I had a good cordless drill. How wrong I was.

When my Panasonic cordless packed it in, I got a 10.8 de Walt drill and impact driver combo. I love it and it is my go to set of tools for almost everything. When I built my new deck I bought a Milwaukee 18v combo which is great, but much heavier and more powerful. The de Walt 10.8 does almost everything I need, but I've yet to find a situation where the Milwaukee is not powerful enough.

Trav

Originally Posted by Trav

I got a 10.8 de Walt drill and impact driver combo.

These are a good little light duty unit eh Trav?Nice and light to use too. My Makita 18V reek of quality and "balls", but the drill is quite heavy (which is a good thing overall). The Makita ID is BTD144. I want to get another of the DW drills to use as a dedicated M6 nut mover and shaker.

The only thing I can complain of is the position of the LEDs - they throw excellent illumination on the subject.........as long as you don't have a bit in place......

One of these days they'll stop men designing these things and get some women on the job - at least for the finess parts of the design. Things should improve then. (our Fishel Paykel fridge is a classic example - the top was clearly designed by a woman, and the lower freezer screams "bloke", and a thickhead at that ). One has to wonder if these design engineers actually use the prototype to see what happens.

The only thing I'd like to see on IDs is a variable torque setting (like on drills, but actually showing the Nm of torque). Recently I had to change one of the cutters on a spiral head thicky and it said from memory 5 Nm, but I don't have a torque wrench. The solution was to find the setting on the Makita drill that just undid the screw, and then use the same setting to retighten it.

Brett, the 18v's are the heavy duty boys, but the 10.8v's get the job done. At about 1Kg, the little Bosch are even liked by my wife and so much easier to use in confined quarters.

The each have their place in my shed.

Thanks so much guys

From what you are all saying, 10v should do most of the things we would come across however 18v for things like decking etc?

Would a 10v put a large screw into hardwood etc?

If it were me Arry, I'd go 18V first because it will do everything you ask of it. Add a 10.8V later when you discover how much you've been missing.

Originally Posted by Arry

Would a 10v put a large screw into hardwood etc?

Nope, not even close, and not without a shightload of noise in the trying. You'll heat up the battery too much and put too much strain on the ID.

Originally Posted by Arry

Thanks so much guys

From what you are all saying, 10v should do most of the things we would come across however 18v for things like decking etc?

Would a 10v put a large screw into hardwood etc?

If you pre drilled, the 10.8 would be fine at driving screws into hardwood. But it kinda defeats the purpose. If you have a need for driving big screws into hardwood, go with FF's advice and get an 18v. The, once you realise how awesome they are, get the 10v.

Trav

Bugger - now you've all got me looking at buying the DeWalt 18V version. I already have one of their XR-Series drills, so could just buy the skin if it would take the same battery.

Quite apart from anything else, it would be great not having to constantly change between drills and screwdriver bits - even with a quick change doodad for hex shanks, its a pain on big jobs.

I have a complete deck to reclad this autumn, so might be able to hide a new tool somewhere in the "consumables" list

Originally Posted by FenceFurniture

These are a good little light duty unit eh Trav?Nice and light to use too. My Makita 18V reek of quality and "balls", but the drill is quite heavy (which is a good thing overall). The Makita ID is BTD144. I want to get another of the DW drills to use as a dedicated M6 nut mover and shaker.

The only thing I can complain of is the position of the LEDs - they throw excellent illumination on the subject.........as long as you don't have a bit in place......

One of these days they'll stop men designing these things and get some women on the job - at least for the finess parts of the design. Things should improve then. (our Fishel Paykel fridge is a classic example - the top was clearly designed by a woman, and the lower freezer screams "bloke", and a thickhead at that ). One has to wonder if these design engineers actually use the prototype to see what happens.

The only thing I'd like to see on IDs is a variable torque setting (like on drills, but actually showing the Nm of torque). Recently I had to change one of the cutters on a spiral head thicky and it said from memory 5 Nm, but I don't have a torque wrench. The solution was to find the setting on the Makita drill that just undid the screw, and then use the same setting to retighten it.

Man, I couldn't agree with this post more if i tried. The LED position really sucks on the dewalts, especially the drill, but apart from that they are great. I was hanging some outdoor awnings recently, way up the top of a ladder, and the de Walt driver was perfect driving screws, tightening nuts, etc. The thing I love about the ID is that it's small so it can fit into small openings etc.

Trav

Originally Posted by Arry

Thanks so much guys

From what you are all saying, 10v should do most of the things we would come across however 18v for things like decking etc?

Would a 10v put a large screw into hardwood etc?

If the HDW was fairly green and depending on the type of large screw (type17 thread) and length maybe but you would be lucky to get 2 screws out of a charge.
If the HDW is seasoned or kiln dried and depending on the species, also type of large screw as above, maybe but recommend a pilot hole and probably 2 screws max out of 1 charge. Even my go to 18V ID battles with some of the HDW's and screw size.

Its a case of 'what is the majority of what you will be using it for' will influence which one you get.



When it comes to power tools, always by the best quality that you can afford and you will rarely regret it.

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