Best Electric Screwdriver under 40?

[ste]

Hi there,

Just moved into my first house, and am looking to build up my toolkit...

Can anyone recommend a good electric screwdriver for under about 40? I'll be using it for general odd-jobs, and I suppose it will come in handy for when I board out the loft etc.

I'm looking at the Black & Decker KC9036KR for 32.78:

But there's also a Bosch PSR 3.6v for 32.95:

Any views on which of the above is best, or any others that I've missed?

Thanks for any advice, it's appreciated.

Ste

[John Rumm]

For the same sort of money I would have thought that something like:

prove far more versatile. It will also have much more "grunt" on bigger screws.

If you are prepared to spend a bit more then you could get into the low end of the professional tools which will trounce the performance you will get from a DIY range cordless screwdriver.

[ste©]

| > I'm looking at the Black & Decker KC9036KR for ?32.78: | >

| >

| > But there's also a Bosch PSR 3.6v for ?32.95: | >

| >

| > Any views on which of the above is best, or any others that I've missed? | | For the same sort of money I would have thought that something like: | |

|| Would prove far more versatile. It will also have much more "grunt" on | bigger screws. | | If you are prepared to spend a bit more then you could get into the low | end of the professional tools which will trounce the performance you | will get from a DIY range cordless screwdriver. | | | -- | Cheers, | | John.

Thanks for that John. I do take your point about having more grunt with the drill/driver, but at this time, it was just the screwdriver that I was looking for.

Are there any screwdrivers that you recommend? Or are they all pretty similar so it's just brand preference? Still looking at the two above from my first post - I do like the Black and Decker, but the Bosch seems to have a better battery and slighly more torque. Would I notice the different in reality?

Thanks,

Ste

[ste©]

Thanks for that Dave. I am looking for just a scewdriver at the moment, and as a newby, it will probably be easier for me to use, judging from you post.

Can you recommend a model? Or pick the best one from the two in my first post?

Thanks,

Ste

[Ian Stirling]

I like my Focus 9.6V drill (a tenner) for general purpose electric screwdriving. Plenty of torque, reasonable battery life. Combined with a variable speed mains drill, and a 1.99 screwdriver, does what I want. The mains drill comes out for BIG jobs (400*4" screws into oak), the little one does jobs like putting in ten or twenty screws into chipboard, and the battery drill does everything in between, in addition to random drilling.

[John Rumm]

Fair enough... as Dave said, the drivers will be less bulky on the smaller jobs... (I tend to use a drill for screws 1" and over, and manual screwdrivers for smaller screws and machine screws etc - hence why I don't personally find the need for the electric screwdriver class of tool)

The thing that will separate the quality of any of the drivers is as usual the quality of the cells used in its rechargable battery, and the quality of the charger. The cheaper units will tend to have poorer batteries and a charger that will overcharge them, thus making a bad situation worse!

The torque you will notice on bigger screws - there will come a point where one will drive the screw home and the other will not.

Some people find the small hold in the palm type drivers nice to use. This is a posh example:-

there are cheaper versions available (B&Q do a thing called a "gopher") to a similar design but without the torque control etc).

A simpler version:

for the bagin basement at under a tenner:

[Ian Stirling]

However, a lower powered tool can be made to go a lot further with a dab of vaseline/soap/... on the screw before use.

[RichardS]

tbh I'd be looking at the bosch IXO - slightly less torque than the others, but it's only ~£20. I'd put the remaining tenner towards a cordless drill/driver (if you end up doing a lot more jobs round the house, you will end up with one of these, trust me.... ). Has spindle lock but no torque control (though neither do the others).

-- Richard Sampson

email me at richard at olifant d-ot co do-t uk

[ste©]

I'm that much of a newby that using a normal screw driver on a busy DIY weekend gave me blisters!! :-)

| > Can you recommend a model? Or pick the best one from the two in my | > first post? | | I don't think either of those have torque control, the first doesn't | and it's not mentioned on the second... This really is a very useful | feature. | | Looks like I'll have to go to the cottage and find the model number of | the B&D that I have, mind you it's rather old so may not be made | anymore... B&D 9019.

Thanks for checking Dave. I couldn't find it on the Black and Decker website, so you're probably right in that they don't make it anymore.

| -- | Cheers

Thanks,

Ste

[ste©]

Yes, the manual screwdriver gave me blisters! I've got woman's hands... :-)

| > Are there any screwdrivers that you recommend? Or are they all pretty | > similar so it's just brand preference? Still looking at the two above from | | The thing that will separate the quality of any of the drivers is as | usual the quality of the cells used in its rechargable battery, and the | quality of the charger. The cheaper units will tend to have poorer | batteries and a charger that will overcharge them, thus making a bad | situation worse! | | > my first post - I do like the Black and Decker, but the Bosch seems to have | > a better battery and slighly more torque. Would I notice the different in | > reality? | | The torque you will notice on bigger screws - there will come a point | where one will drive the screw home and the other will not.

Someone said that this is when the locking facility is useful as it can then be turned manually.

| Some people find the small hold in the palm type drivers nice to use. | This is a posh example:- | |

a posh price to go with it I'm afraid. Thanks for posting the link.

| But there are cheaper versions available (B&Q do a thing called a | "gopher") to a similar design but without the torque control etc). | | A simpler version: | |

|| and for the bagin basement at under a tenner: | | | or | for the links John.

| -- | Cheers, | | John.

Thanks,

Ste

[ste©]

| > Just moved into my first house, and am looking to build up my toolkit... | >

| > Can anyone recommend a good electric screwdriver for under about £40? | I'll | > be using it for general odd-jobs, and I suppose it will come in handy for | > when I board out the loft etc. | >

| > I'm looking at the Black & Decker KC9036KR for £32.78: | >

| >

| > But there's also a Bosch PSR 3.6v for £32.95: | >

| >

| > Any views on which of the above is best, or any others that I've missed? | >

| > Thanks for any advice, it's appreciated. | >

| > Ste | >

| >

| | tbh I'd be looking at the bosch IXO - slightly less torque than the others, | but it's only ~£20. I'd put the remaining tenner towards a cordless | drill/driver (if you end up doing a lot more jobs round the house, you will | end up with one of these, trust me.... ). Has spindle lock but no torque | control (though neither do the others). | | | -- | Richard Sampson

Thanks for the advice Richard. It'll be decision time soon, so I'll have to ask for her permission to buy my first powertool! :-)

Thanks,

Ste

[Andy Hall]

At one point B&Q had a small range of small curvy purple plastic low powered rechargeable tools that they claimed were targetted for use by ladies.

For some reason they weren't on the shelves for very long and they don't seem to have them any more.....

.andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

[ste©]

| >Yes, the manual screwdriver gave me blisters! I've got woman's hands... :-) | >

| | At one point B&Q had a small range of small curvy purple plastic low | powered rechargeable tools that they claimed were targetted for use | by ladies. | | For some reason they weren't on the shelves for very long and they | don't seem to have them any more.....

I wouldn't go so far as getting women's tools, but I'll live with an electric scewdriver...

| .andy

Ste

[John Rumm]

There is a whole thread in there someplace ;-)

An electric screwdriver is better than a woman because:-

1) You screwdriver won't mind if you tell you mate he can screw with it 2) A screwdriver won't object if you have lots of other screwdrivers 3) You like it what your screwdriver has a lot of torque (talk) 4) The screwdriver will never ask you to mow the lawn

... and so on

[ste©]

Thanks for them John! :-) I'll be telling them all to my girlfriend later!! ;-)

Ste

[ste©]

Hi guys, after all the good advice I got, I ended up ignoring the lot and buying that best one that Homebase had for sale! I know I should have been patient and ordered something, but I was in there looking for something else, and just thought 'oh f*ck it, I'll get that one.' Anyway, I got the Black & Decker KC9036 KA, for £23.99. I was really wanting the Bosch one, but they only had the 2.4v ones in stock.

Thanks for the help.

Ste