Mains screwdriver

[meow2222]

Been offered one at a very attractive price, but cant decide. Are they still worth having these cordless days? This one isnt an autofeeder.

NT

[polygonum]

worth having these cordless days? This one isnt an autofeeder.

For lightweight screwdriving, there are plenty of usable, cordless machines.

For heavyweight screwdriving, there are impact drivers. And even a relatively small and lightweight cordless one can have fantastic driving capability.

So where does a mains screwdriver come in? Unless battery life is very important.

[meow2222]

worth having these cordless days? This one isnt an autofeeder.

Quite. Decent cordless kit has largely displaced them. The only plus afaik now is when doing loads of screws, and even then recharging doesnt take too long. I loved such kit once.

NT

[Tim Watts]

On Tuesday 11 June 2013 19:05 polygonum wrote in uk.d-i-y:

Agree..

My 4 year old Bosch GSR driver can cope with 5mm 100mm screws. For my rare needs to driver bigger things, I put a hex bit in my mains drill :)

[John Rumm]

Depending on size it might be good if you were planning on either lots of drywalling or decking... Other than that, there are other tools I would rather have first!

[Thomas Prufer]

worth having these cordless days? This one isnt an autofeeder.

I worked with a Fein mains one. Had a clutch that engaged when it was pressed down, which meant one could keep the motor spinning, and just screw in one after another. Absolutely great for screwing down squeaky floorboards, where I used many hundreds of long thick screws, 5x60 or 5x80. Fire it up, run in a box of screws, stop the motor.

(A tip someone gave me was to tape up the screw-holding fingers beforehand -- gaffa, masking, sticking plaster, anything -- as the screw threads would chew up the skin after a while.)

Very good for continuous work, or battery-draining stuff like long thick screws, or work where it matters that it is a little bit faster. Otherwise, rechargeables with a second battery pack and a quick charger are probably more versatile.

For a "very attractive price", *I* would get one.

Thomas Prufer

[meow2222]

till worth having these cordless days? This one isnt an autofeeder.

I reckon I could get him down to £8, but as folk say I dont think its wor th it. For sheds I've got other kit that will do the job. I dont do decking . Thanks everyone

NT

[The Medway Handyman]

I have a mains impact driver to back up the cordless one when decking, it extends the batteries life, means we have two on the go & cost less than the price of a Ni/Mh 3 amp battery.

[polygonum]

I can certainly see it if you are regularly doing things likes decks.

[Rick Hughes]

I have seen them used in Timber frame Drylining .... using autofeed .. but never on single screw use.

[Brian Gaff]

Anyone remember those mains testing neon screwdrivers. Wonderful things. Brian

[John Williamson]

I bought one at B&Q the other week as part of a wiring kit. It was the cheapest screwdriver they had in stock. I don't even know whether it works or not yet.

[bert]

In message , Brian Gaff writes

Still got mine after 40 years. One idiot "engineer" who borrowed it nearly electrocuted me when he returned it He had decided the fault lay in the screwdriver so had replaced the resistor with a fuse. Luckily I was able to rescue it from the bin.

[dennis]

I used one last week. So old its not made in china.

[Rick Hughes]

Have 2 from early 70's ... still work fine.