I impulse bought a 3.8V screwdriver from Aldi for £9.95 (IIRC).
The reason was that I'd seen the electrician using a small screwdriver for undoing and doing up sockets.
Big drill/drivers or impact drivers seem too powerful for this.
So anyone else got one of these Aldi jobbies?
If so, what do you use them for?
Cheers
Dave R
No, but I have a small Bosch one.
Screwdriving, and drilling with a set of hex shank drills. The big drills only come out for masonry or anything larger than about 6mm dia. these days.
MBQ
Ah but there is nothing quite like the tactile feedback of screwing down the screw and feeling the conductor deform nicely.
Brian
Those type of things were popular years ago. Unless you're doing a huge amo unt of screwing little screws, a regular 12-18v cordless does fine.
NT
Indeed, but I can't imagine anyone really using a power driver to tighten up electrical connections - I presume he's talking about screwing on faceplates?
David
No, but I have a small Bosch one.
Screwdriving, and drilling with a set of hex shank drills. The big drills only come out for masonry or anything larger than about 6mm dia. these days.
of screwing little screws, a regular 12-18v cordless does fine.
About 3 years ago I got the little one from Lidl - 3.6V, LiON - and it's very useful for small jobs in tight places. It can be used angled or straight and is very good for things like screws under pelmets.
Well, working for me so far.
Taking face plates on and off and also putting up a light fitting where the 18V cordless is just too damn big and unwieldy to juggle with the fitting and a screw as well.
£10 well spent :-)Cheers
Dave R
Are you doing thousands of these at once?
And how do you line up the screw slots with a power driver? ;-)
I had a few such things years ago, and found them to have too little batter y capacity, you can't replace the battery easily and they charge slowly. Ad d too little torque and too little speed, and its all a bit pointless. Grea t for appliance screws, but not really general diy.
NT
Obviously not recommended as your main screwdriver.
However I am finding it much easier to use when just popping screws in and out of fittings. Tiny compared to a normal drill/driver. Much quicker and easier than using a manual screwdriver. So this is the main benefit. Extremely small and lightweight.
Worth it to me just for fitting sockets - especially with longish screws in the faceplate.
So my cordless kit in descending size/weight is:
18V Site drill/driver with 3 batteries which is used for most general work. 18V Makita impact driver using one of the Site batteries for doing lots of screwing. 3.8V Workzone screwdriver for little fiddly bits where the big drivers are too cumbersome.The big drivers are fine for the majority of work but if I do a lot of manual screw driving my fingers eventually cramp up which can make life difficult.
I find the big drivers quite heavy and the distance from the handle to the tip is quite long so doing one handed delicate work is a lot easier with a light, short screw driver.
The impact driver can be a bit brutal, as well.
Cheers
Dave R
I have 18v and 14v and various other corded. For convenience, I most often reach for the baby one for screwing! It is handy to drill the hole for maso nry plugs with the 18v or corded if it is already set up, then use the baby for screwing - easily handles 2inch N0. 8. and as with all powered screwdr ivers, they work best with pozi or philips type screws but deals with slott ed better than the biggies which tend to spin out of the slots moree easily and score the workpiece as they are too powerful and fast. Some jobs I hav e done with the baby are; hang doors, fit door locks. fix fittings to mason ry walls, screw up plasterboard (brilliant for this job!!!), electrical wor k, ....and the list goes on. Battery life can frustrate you, but I have two of these babies !!! - and they don't take long to charge up!!! Worth the m oney??? YES many times over. The expensive ones are absolutely no better th an these - so don't waste your money on expensive, heavily advertised brand s - you're only paying for their advertising !!! ned
Ah yes,,,and just for the novice DIYers, it is always advisable to drill pi lot holes for screws. and just for the record - these baby screwdrivers wil l drive in a screw far tighter than you can by hand !!! Basically, it is do wn to judging when to use which tool for which job - e.g. I wouldn't recomm end using the 3.8v for screwing 3 inch N0.8 all day long, but occasionally is ok and they will do the job admirably (especially if pilot-holed ). Why use a club hammer for driving in panel pins (and vice versa) ? !!!
It is NOT always advisable to drill pilot holes. Example 1 - plasterboard screws.
I certainly wouldn't try to drive a club hammer with a panel pin. That would be silly.
ng for their advertising !!!
I have a similar LIDL one (nice pink box) but am a bit disappointed by it. Can't knock it for the price, but no speed control and the socket is a bit sloppy.
I virtually never drill pilot holes in anything. Use the right screw like Torx Fast or Screw Tite from TS or Turbo Gold from SF and its completely unnecessary.
Rod Speed probably thinks it's a good idea.
I have the Makita 10.8v drill driver and impact driver and I'd agree in that I now rarely use my 18v one.
However, can't agree about the brands. If you've never used the Makita you wouldn't appreciate the difference. The Li-Ion batteries are of course removable for charging and they come with a smart charger. Whole world of difference.
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