Drivel - do you really have a PhD in anything, or is the title an affectation?
The problem is with the small stuff, when an impact driver is quite capable of damaging fine joinery in a moment
And snap a small screw.
Rather than being quite so confrontational, you could try finding out why people hold the opinions they do.
You might learn something.
I know all about all.
It is not meant for fine joinery, and also the impact only comes in when they is resistance. You will find that in fine joinery the drill will acts as a torqueless drill driver.
Most here who give comment have no to little direct experience of these tools.
I am doing the teaching here.
The Makita 12 V impact drill is in the next state of development vis a vis screwdrivers as the early bttery drivers were to the Stanley spiral Ratchet and the SDS drill is to the impact hammer.
I was using the 12V last week and was very impressed. However it did not have the Li-ion battery and went down a number of times in a day. My Macallister 18v ordinary drill driver would stay awake on two batteries for more than a day and an half. However the Makita would have done the same job in a few hours.
I'd buy a stand alone impact as these offers are designed in my not so humble to get rid of the older drills for as much as they can screw out of us for something we'll not be using very often.
The Makita 12V drill is tiny and apart from its use as a drill for the holes and countersinks that you might need with the impact drive, is not likely to be much use.
Go for a large impact driver with good battery life if you are in a professional category. You can pick up ordinary drills to go with that anywhere. Most of us will already have at least one anyway.
Why would anyone be using a power driver for a small screw?!
The guide rail is a brilliant tool. But you can make one for any saw. Just get a thin sheet the width of the saw's foot to the blade plus the width of a box of ally tube to sit on it and use as a runner.
The really neat thing with the Festool design is the thin foam rubber srtip under the guide that holds it in place without the need for clamps or screws. Again a bit of foam and some evostick would do that job.
Just slap the guide down on the marks for the piece you want cut and place the saw on the fence and away you go. Cutting large sheets in half is no problem. Just put a scrap of waste under the board to raise it above the others in a stack and you are away.
Well put, Try telling them here that.
I would go along with that. Expect a deluge of cheapish Impact Drivers in the 12 months as old stocks deplete and Impact driver production ramps up.
The Ryobi is around £130 with two 18V top quality batteries and charger - these can be used for other "bare" ONE+ range tools as well making it cost effective when you build up the tool base. What I like about Impact Drivers is the light shining on the screw and bit when you pull the trigger - and the amazing performance.
Because you're putting in hundreds. I fixed the hardwood beading (predrilled) on 60ish sealed glazing units with 3.5*20mm stainless steel screws - over 1000 of them, with a driver set on next to lowest settings - making it very easy to set them to exactly the same depth.
It's interesting if you are going to buy a lot of stuff because the shipping rates move more into weight rather than being heavily loaded by transaction costs or dimensions. Usually that works out less expensive.
Taking the case in point, you would have $350 plus probably $50 in shipping (equals £200). Add duty (2%) and import VAT and you are at about £240 vs £300. Can be interesting.
A better solution, if you are thinking to buy several items, is to take a cheap flight to the east coast for a weekend (treating it as a break). Then you will have no shipping cost (in effect) and £145 of duty free allowance. However, if you are putting such items in boxes or luggage, there is now a 20kg weight limit per item before you get gouged for excess baggage charges at special rates. That would blow out any saving.
I did also look at prices from German tool suppliers, but there does not appear to be a worthwhile saving there.
Predominantly yes.
If I were going to do a large outside project like a deck or substantial wooden building, I think an impact driver would be interesting. I can cover large coach bolt and screw work with a pneumatic impact driver and then 18v and 14.4v drill drivers for the rest.
It's not a suitable solution for small and careful work such as screws into hardwood or small screws into softish materials like MDF.
That simply isn't true.
That's the best one yet.
You'll be suggesting that dentists should use them for root canal work next.
One only has to pick up and use an impact driver once or twice to realise the range of suitability.
People who can do. People who can't, teach.
Or for you is it Teachers?
One, no. A hundred gets interesting.
Quite right. If you are putting a screw into hardwood without pre drilling it will rip the head off the screw before you realise it is over half way in and if you are using a big enough screw you will be eating up all your driver bits.
That is why they are being sold with a drill to save you the trouble of switching. Which trouble is minimal since they use the more modern click-fit bit holder. That device is the next stage of development up from the keyless chuck as the keyless chuck was to the older types.
It is amazingly powerful. But it is also a gentle winder inner if you have no or little torque to overcome.
For this sort of thing I find a smaller Yankee screwdriver is perfect. Cost? 99p :))
cheers, Pete.
My guess is that the matter is one or more of a couple of things.
1) The others claim a certain power but it would be very hard to test the actually brake (=mechanical) power output - certainly at home. 2) Some might be claiming electrical power in rather than brake power output. 3) A more powerful motor does not necessarily make for a better tool and the design, stiffness etc. are probably really significant.
Not as much fun though :-)
Not as much 'Look at me and my manhood' snobbery on a newsgroup either...
Tiny it may be (which I think is a big advantage) but it punches well above its weight. Its at least as powerful as a cheapo 14:4v if not more so.
My much admired Wickes/Kress 14:4v combi stays in the van lately, I use the Bosch or Irwin multi material drill bits and the welly the Makita 12v has drills into masonry as fast as a hammer drill.
I wouldn't know. You raised that subject.
But you're the one who needs to screw with a Festool... :~O
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