Harbor Freight, my first visit

[krw]

An impact driver beats any hand drill. ...but that's besides the point.

[Bill]

Beats it at what? It's easy to think of jobs where neither an impact driver nor an electric drill belongs.

[krw]

Driving 100 screws. I can't think of one, BTW.

[Puckdropper]

" [e-mail]" wrote in news: [e-mail]:

I can think of one: Where the screws are tiny (0-80, 1-72, 2-56) and anything with a motor would be too cumbersome.

On the other side of the connection, some model railroad manufacturers use plastic (or plastic-like) nuts to hold screws. The time to stop tightening them is before or at the moment the pieces are snug. Something with a motor would have a hard time stopping at the right place (not to say it can't be done, just the average drill/driver will have trouble with it.)

One other place comes to mind: at or below the waterline. I don't know what you'd be fixing to need to drive 100 screws below the waterline, but an impact or electric drill would not be a good choice there.

Puckdropper

[krw]

A precise clutch would be certainly offset the size.

You've never seen an powered torque wrench/driver? They're used for such assemblies all the time.

Screws below the water line? Yeesh!

[Mike M]

Are you into model railroading?

Mike M

[Leon]

That used to be true, now that Festool has the Tseries drills I am not so sure. I have absolutely quit using my 12 volt Makita impact since getting the Festool Drill. The Festool drill will drive 3" deck screws in 2x4 stock almost as quickly as the impact and with greater fineness and much less noise. I was a believer in impacts for 7+years but not so much anymore.

[tiredofspam]

Just how does it do that Leon?

The thing that impressed me about impact drivers is that I don't have to lean into a long bit like I used to to keep the phillips from camming out. The impact driver drives it without the problems.

[Larry Jaques]

Yabbut, how _few_ will it drive? I'll get 100+ out of my Makita 18v impact. (PopMech mag got 128 in their review) Now, how many 1/2" x 6" lag bolts will yours seat?

The finesse is an added point, though, especially for small wood screws in hardwoods.

-- Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any one thing. -- Abraham Lincoln

[krw]

Leave it to you. ;-)

BTW, I have both Bosch 12V and 18V impact drivers. I'm not about to give either up, or buy a Festool to replace them. I like Festool stuff but one of their drivers isn't in the future for this pup.

[Puckdropper]

Mike M wrote in news: [e-mail]:

Yes, I am. I had just gotten back from a train show when I wrote that message.

Puckdropper

[Leon]

The impact does it with torque, the Festool T series drills do it with torque, controlled torque. I was assembling 2x4 shelving in my storage shed and driving 3" deck screws up to their heads. I could start out slow to go in the correct direction and speed up, slow down, stop, start slow, start fast, etc. Regardless of what trigger position I chose the drill turned the bit at that speed and stopped instantly if I released the trigger. Basically I had total control and did not have to over squeeze the trigger to restart if I chose to stop mid way into driving a screw.

All I know is that I have a 18 volt and 12 volt impact at my immediate disposal and have not use either that I recall since January. I used to use the impacts about 60% of the time. And I don't use a corded drill for pocket holes any more either. The Festool drill is doing it all.

I was not sure about the hype of the new Festool T series drill until I had used mine for a few days.

[Leon]

I was driving about 200, 3" screws with the Festool drill, It has a 3amp

15 volt battery pack.

Yeah that is pretty cool too, the clutch is electronic, it sounds a tone and stops with out the rattling sound most clutches make. The drill remains stooped after the clutch setting is reached until you release the trigger and pull it again.

[Leon]

Actually I have an 18 bolt Bosch impact too. ;~) I very seldom used it over the 12 volt Makita.

I certainly do not recommend replacing an impact with a more expensive Festool T series for the sake of eliminating the impact. My Makita batteries had been replaced once and were due again and both the drill and impacts had been used a lot in the last 7 years, it was time to replace. My wife pushed me over the edge by getting it for me for Christmas. I also would never have believed the way these things perform, I was seriously interested in knowing that Festool is supposed to offer a naked impact later this year. Now not so much. Now days I have the Bosch impact as a back up should I need the extreme, but so far 6 months later I have not had the need.

[Larry Jaques]

Color me really impressed! Most drills don't do more than a couple dozen. The high torque kills the batteries fast.

Nice.

-- Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any one thing. -- Abraham Lincoln

[Dave]

On 25 Jun 2012 09:03:25 GMT, Puckdropper

You should be able to find what you want at Micromark.

[Leon]

It does not add up. LOL I wonder if it is the electronic circuitry and the brush-less motor..

[Larry Jaques]

Either that or you were padding the hell out of your figures. ;) Oh, I used to use 3.5" screws for decks, then I found the 25# boxes of

3-inchers were cheaper. Then the local store changed to another hardware supply and prices dropped significantly. I haven't yet priced deck screws at SASCO but will when I swing though Medford today.

-- Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any one thing. -- Abraham Lincoln

[Puckdropper]

Dave wrote in news: [e-mail]:

Sure, but Harbor Freight's cheaper. *g*

That "Mini chop saw" is a great buy at around $30. If they'd eliminate the clamp and install a traditional fence, it'd be even better.

What I needed for driving those tiny screws, though, I found at Lowes. They have a two pack of screwdrivers for around $2 I think that feel good and fit the screws quite nicely. With a couple little tangs on the metal part where it's inside the plastic, they're not likely to suffer from spinning like many of the cheaper ones do.

Puckdropper

[Mike M]

I still have my lionel train from when I was a kid in the 50's. Set up for xmas a few years back but haven't found a place to set it up permanetly yet.

Mike M