Impact driver choices

[ARW]

Any recommendations as I want to buy one - or put it on my wish list to Santa:-)

[Jim K]

loving my Makita - uses same batts as me combi - cost =A360-70 odd from ebay, bare no batts/case, uses 18v NiCds or NiMHs not posh lithiums...;>(

ebay "makita impact 6936" tho cheapest bare is now 85/90?

spose depends if you have existing cordless kit to make extra use of....

Cheers Jim K

[Jim K]

oh here you go

ebay 271102782763

from someone who can't spiel ;>) =A375 posted

Jim K

[John Rumm]

Makes sense to go for something that matches the batts and chargers you already have, unless you fancy some of the new very small and light 10.8 LiIon models that Bosch and Makita do.

[Frank Erskine]

It would make even more sense to go for one that doesn't rely on a charged battery at all, and just uses a hammer.

Manual impact drivers (the originals) are popular in the biking fraternity.

Lower carbon footprint too!

:-)

[John Rumm]

It depends on what you want to do with it, but for the vast majority of applications it would make absolutely no sense at all...

Indeed - but the only thing they really share in common is the name - they are for all practical purposes unrelated tools.

Yes the electric one might free a stubborn fixing, but you are not going to use a "clobber with a hammer" ID to stick 500 3" screws into a deck any time soon.

[RJH]

Any recommendation up to say £100? I've been using a B&Q 14.4 £10 clearance jobbie for the past couple of years and it's been great, one of my most used power tools. But the battery now holds very little charge and the 'chuck' has a worrying amount of play.

I have no other battery powered drills etc, although I'd like to buy with an eye to getting a half decent cordless drill at some point. Got my eye on partner's Bosch blue but I can, apparently, sing for that :-)

Rob

[polygonum]

I've got one of the small Makita ones - actually two! The stick-format

7.2V which is, for its size and voltage, quite amazing. And one of the 10.8V ones which knocks the spots off the 7.2V.

If it does what you need, it is good, though I would choose something a bit bigger and (even) more powerful for decking construction. The small size makes it fit into quite tight spaces and it is quite controllable.

Also got its partner drill. Again, amazing for its size. But I do sometimes appreciate having my bigger, more powerful SDS.

There are always offers going on such as:

a) that includes radio; b) still seems expensive.

(When I say "I've got" what I really mean is that these are SWMBO's tools which I end up nicking because they are so nice to use.)

[David WE Roberts]

I have been previously told that there is an old ?Makita? driver which matches my 18V Site (Screwfix special) drill/driver. Can't find the post in my stash at the moment. Anyone able to point me to one on eBay?

Cheers

Dave R

[fred]

"Fine Woodworking Tools and Shops Annual Issue " tested a selection. Conclu= sion was Panasonic EY7550 best with DeWalt DCF895C2 coming in second. Makit= a LXDT08 got an honourable mention. (Those are American market names. You m= ay have to search for the European equivalents)

[Dave Plowman (News)]

But they require a considerable whack to work - which is fine if the thing you're removing the screw from is solid, but of no use if it isn't. An impact drill driver can be used with anything.

[John Rumm]

Not really a surprise since Site stuff was typically last year's model Makita in red.

Assuming your site tool is a NiCd or NiMh battery, then you need one like mine:

[David WE Roberts]

Just to double check: my Site is an SMB810 with the BA1813 1.3Ah Ni-Cd battery. Oh, and red is a generous colour description. Mine is more like sex aid pink ;-)

Cheers

Dave R

[Jim K]

suspect you may have to get off your arse and visit a store to see if your batts fit....

Jim K

[newshound]

Not quite clear if you mean for tight nuts, in which case your choice is a manual hammer type, an air tool, or the electric equivalent. Or a combined drill / impact drill / electric screwdriver, in which case you can have a cordless.

I've recently got a Makita combi and it is very nice (the moderate priced NiCad)

*but*

it really doesn't have the oomph of a traditional sized mains drill (I have a Ryobi) even for modest size holes. So slow for a couple of 6 mm holes in blockwork yesterday that it was worth getting out the mains drill. I suspect the big De Walts and similar would match the mains drill, but you are talking serious £££ for them.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Don't think any cordless will match a mains for serious use - the battery would be vast.

[Jim K]

never seen one of those either corded or cordless - got a link?

Jim K

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Impact drill drivers can't use a chuck as that would slip and negate the impact action. But you can get hex drills for use in an impact driver - or maybe even a hex chuck to 'plug' into it, to use ordinary drills.

[Dave Liquorice]

I suspect confusion between "impact drill" and "impact driver". The former being a bog standard hammer drill that rattles the drill bit along it's length a bit and the latter having a rotary impact action.

[Jim K]

I presumed those were to save faffing about switching when drilling pilot holes (with drill in chuck) & then driving screws (bit holder in chuck) with one tool.

Impact drivers generally need no pilot holes IME

Jim K