I Have a Dumb Question About Power Tools
 

I am looking at a Makita Drill/Impact Driver kit.

Q: Do I need both? What does an impact driver do that a drill cannot?

Impact driver will drive harder with less torque on your hand and wrist.

What is your intended application?

I own both, and use the impact almost exclusively if I am driving screws or lag bolts, or if I am using it wrenching on a car.
Drill is not even comparable when putting in something long like a landscape lag, or breaking loose a nut on the car.

Not as useful for drilling holes though...;

My impact driver (DeWalt) does not have a standard chuck, rather a 6 point receiver.

Think of it this way....

The drill takes the turning motion of the electric motor and transfers it to the end of the drill bit. If you are going through wood or metal you will get through it; it is just a matter of time and the quality of your bit.

The impact is just that. It makes a hard impact that transfers all of its' energy into one point and that point is turning in one direction. Then it stops, backs up, and hits it again. It is just done very quickly.

But if you were trying to remove a tight bolt the drill would bog down and start to overheat. If you were trying to drill a hole the impact would makes a hole, but it would tear its' way through the material while it is doing it since it is really just making a series of very hard hits on the bit and turning it ever so slightly.

You don't have to buy a power impact driver. There are hand held ones you hit with a small sledge out there for less than $10. Use it to knock a bolt loose and then use a wrench to take the bolt out the rest of the way.

The impact driver is great for small bolts but it can be hard on screw heads because it basically depends on your finger to control how hard it hits.

The drill has a clutch and it great for rapidly removing or installing screws with a set torque because you can set the torque and hold the trigger down and still get fairly consistent torque on the fastener.

As an example, I have to rack up equipment at work and the torque spec is 5 lb/ft. I can set the torque on the drill and install all day without thinking about it. The impact puts far too much torque on stuff like that. On the other hand, the impact is great for un-racking equipment because invariably, some gorilla has put about 800 lb/ft on the #10 screws and removing them by hand will wear out the old palms...

The impact driver is a screw gun. The drill can drive screws but is mostly for drilling.

I have like half a dozen drills and impact drivers depending on the application.:D

What you owns depends largely on what your trying to do. For a homeowner a single good drill set will just about do it all. DeWalt 20V is there latest.

The impact driver will give you maximum torque when needed and maximum speed when it isn't. It's great for taking screws out. It will do the impact thing til they get sorta loose and will then speed them the rest of the way out in a heartbeat. With a cordless drill/screw gun, you often need slow speed to break the long screws loose then you sit there while the slowly come the rest of the way out. Changing speed is an option but it's an awkward way to go.

There's a small learning curve with the impacts, they tend to jump out and off the screw til you get the touch. But after you get the feel they drive screws much better than the drill/drivers. I have an older 14.4 volt NiMH and you have to press pretty hard to keep the bit from jumping out of the screw, not off the screw but bouncing over the Phillips head. Wears out the screw and driver tip.

The impact guns are also much lighter. The chuck and gears add a lot of weight to a drill/driver. The hex shank bits make for good drilling with an impact - you can change the bits much quicker than with a drill. Pop them in and out. They're a bit more spendy than the regular drill bits but it's close.

I like to keep a drill/screw gun around for when I need to drive some screws outside later in the evening. An impact driver can be a noisy sum b!tch, especially screwing plywood down. The drill is also useful to keep a countersink chucked into for fast going. When I want to make time, I've got a 6 inch 1/8 bit in my corded drill, a cordless drill with the countersink, and the impact for driving.

Makitas are still the best. Wouldn't use anything else. Cordless that is. I have the 18 volt lithium drivers in the blue and white models. Both are 18 volt but the blue has more amp hours, I forget the numbers. The white is lighter but feels about as strong as the blue. Makes sense as they are both 18 volt. The white charges way fast, about 20 minutes. The combo kit with the white drill and impact for $199 at Home Despot is a steal. I paid $200 for my impact alone about 2 years ago.

Like some others here I own multiple cordless drills, hammerdrills, impact drivers, etc, both at home and in the shop at work.

I like Makita tools very much, particularly their hand & mitre saws. Their drills are very nice as well, I currently have a 18V 6343D. Very well balanced, nice keyless chuck, but no hammer drilling option.

I've long been loyal to Milwaukees. The M12 line are very compact & light weight and the 1/4 driver:
M12
has to be about the handiest little brute I've ever used.
You can drill with it if you buy 1/4" hex shanked bits, but I almost always have a dedicated drill at hand on any project.

My current favorite is the Milwaukee 2604 m18 1/2" hammer drill. More power than I ever need, good battery life, excellent chuck.

Recently bought a Dewalt 1/2" hammer drill for the shop. It is an OK consumer/homeowner drill, but nowhere near the quality of either Makita or Milwaukee, IMO.

I have the 18V Dewalt 1/2" impact driver. Seen them recently at Lowes or the other (Orange) Lowes as a bare tool for a really reasonable price. It is a very handy tool but I am very old school and use it with a breaker bar. It will break loose lug nuts and head bolts, etc, I prefer the breaker bar for that. Get the impact, you won't regret it.

I use the fluorescent work light more than any of the other rechargeable tools and I have almost all of them. Definitely get one, gotta have.

Truth is I have become very lazy about mechanical work and prefer to avoid it these days. Lucky for me, modern vehicles require very little work and I am very good at preventive maintenance.

As expected, I got great feedback. :-)

Ironically, the potential value of impact drivers was driven home (haha, get it: "driven") a few hours after posting when I had to assemble a steel aquarium stand, which came with long allen bolts and a ridiculously short wrench.

I am looking to assemble a comprehensive, yet compact tool kit suitable for a condo/apartment dweller such as myself who does not have workshop space, other than a small corner of a room. My projects will include light metal, wood and plastic fabrication -- small furniture, a bird cage, custom aquarium piping, etc. Basically creating small projects, and modifying big ones.

Sounds like you may often work on projects where you don't have a lot of room. I recently had to relocate an electrical out for a new wall oven. I had to move the 50 amp junction box across one stud, and up 18". Required securely mounting a new metal box, securing the existing box that was just kind of laying loose, drilling through studs for wire, etc. All while working in the back of a 30" wide cabinet.
I bought this cool drill to help me out. Never had a Rt angle drill before. Very cool tool!
M12TM Cordless Lithium-Ion 3/8

Hitachi 1/4-inch Hex Cordless Impact Driver (Reconditioned) | Overstock.com

If your looking for just a driver to put furniture together something like my Hitachi is hard to beat. Its light, compact, and its 12v so it still has the balls to drive in a 4in deck screws if you need it.

My vote is for Milwaukee across the board. I absolutely hate that they are made in China now, but they have a good five year warranty and do stand behind their products.
Dewalts are below garbage to me, I have set many of their products on fire during what should have been normal use, and the use I put my Milwaukee stuff through.
Makitas are ok, they basically created the cordless drill, but do seem to lag behind a bit now especially when it comes to battery life. I have had some experience with the Ridgid brand, but they are heavy, lower top rpm, and again short battery life. They are sturdy for working all day, but you'll need three batteries and a two place charger to make it work right.

x2 i own the milwaukee m18 kit, and a whole handfull of 12v pieces. almost oll of my corded tools are milwaukee as well. dewalt and ridgid are both equally junk imo.

impact drivers are awesome for driving self tappers as they spin them so fast. you see alot of tin knockers using them. also awesome for driving long screws into wood. if you do buy one, buy a set of milwaukee shockwave bits. they stand up a whole lot better.

I like Milwaukee sawsalls and their corded drills are good. Never been exposed to their cordless drills. Seems to be a regional thing. Out here one sees Bosch drills (corded) on jobs all the time so you get exposed to them, borrow them now and then and get a feel for the quality. Likewise Makita seems to the choice for cordless.

I really like DeWalt chopsaws and a few of their other tools but I agree, their cordless drills are to be avoided. Rigid makes a nice 10" table saw and their bench planer is pretty good but other than those and shop vacs, I don't have much use for them.

Whatever you buy don't spend too much money on it! Those batteries are crap - that's where the value is - and the cost of replacement often outstrips the cost of a new machine...

...if the machine lasts more than 3 years you are doing well. For most people - gone are the days when you had to save up for your power tools and they would then last you 20 years; they are cheaper but they don't last as long. Even the really good stuff is getting shoddy (in my opinion).

actually id argue on the batteries being crap. if you stay with a good brand like milwaukee or makita , the batteries have never been better. li-on is the cats meow.

I get new batteries every couple years at the Black Friday sale. $99 gets you two new batteries and new drill with a case and charger. I want lithium but don't need them.

For personal use the Dewalt stuff has been great. The only trouble I have had is with a jigsaw. It doesn't cut straight, came like that. I use it anyway. I have other jigsaws if I prefer to use them.

ive got a bosch jig saw. amazing! zero blade play. i use it 90% of the time on steel. ive cut tons of 1/4'' plate with it.

YMMV but I use mostly DeWalt and Hilti drills. Right now everything I have is quite old but still chugging along.

My 18V DeWalt is 2008 vintage and has been beat on without much mercy since than. I have done everything to it, including using it to run a pump to pump out 250 gallons of oil in one shot. The drill was so hot...but I just lined up about 12 batteries and kept it going.:D Sunday I had to put some brackets on a set of stairs so it got a mud bath.

The Hilti stuff is almost 10 years old, and indestructible. I have a hammer driver, regular drill, and two corded concrete drills.

No battery has died on me yet. I kind of want the DeWalt stuff to pack it in so I can get their new 20v system or just go all Hilti.

I have that one too, a corded one. I was proud to pay retail for it back then. Got a spare at a pawn shop later.

I got mine back when they were made with non-slave labor, well, actually it was probably made with Western-Slave labor right here in the US.

Big Bosch router is another favorite but used very little.

What are your collective thoughts ion Ryobi? I am sold on Makita for drills/drivers and their oscillating multi-tool. Ryobi seems to have many positive reviews on other tools like miter saws, circular saws, drills, etc.

In that case I've had real bad luck.

I've bought Makita and Bosch Professional stuff for the last 5 years - and they've all died. My Li-ion batteries are not left uncharged for prolonged periods and I keep 'em inside during the winter months so they don't freeze. If I have to do more to keep 'em going they'll be competing for old Mercedes time!

In England they are considered to be OK DIY standard but no way as good as the "real" stuff - they are hard to come by here in Holland though so I haven't seen the more recent stuff.

Is it possible they were over-charged?

I just discovered this problem with my cell phone, whose Li-ion battery is swollen, and dies when it drops to 70% charge, because I would not immediately unplug the charger after the battery charged.

I have a small Ryobi bench planer that's pretty good. Bought it used for $100. I believe they were the first to come out with the smaller size. Numerous of my clients have Ryobi screw guns. They're adequate but a bit heavy and clunky. One client has a Ryobi chop saw that is surprisingly good considering it's low cost. I almost bought a small Ryobi table saw recently but managed to fix the fence on my old Makita well enough. I think Makita might have been the first to come out with the small portable table saws as well. Not sure but they seemed to be in on the chop saw thing pretty early too.

I buy the Ryobi hex bit kits all the time. Good value, about $20.

I've given up on Makita.... too many batteries gone bad.

Having good luck so far with the DeWalt 18v stuff, all my cordless now take the same battery.

I wouldn't buy anything that says Ryobi... maybe bits like cmac suggested....

Well with these batteries you kind of need to use the charger - 'cos as mentioned above - they don't fit in any other type...

...all of the chargers that I've used turn themselves off. So I assume they're not just waiting until the batteries are fried before they stop the current!

My DIY client - an IT prof who secretly wishes he was a working man - I teach him tricks all the time, he's the guy with the Ryobi chop saw - likes my impact so he bought the entry model, the small 12 volt, in pic next to my getting worn 18 volt. It's surprising useful. Way better than the 9.6 volt Makiter impact that I first had back in the late 90s. I might get one - $100 at the Depot. Would be good for screwing a perpendicular hole in a corner as the diameter of the body is small.

Thermo ply makes excellent floor protector. We have it on a new kitchen floor now. Called that as it adds an R factor or two if you put on in addition to sheer wall. Thick cardboard (solid, not corrugated) about 1/8 thick.

I appreciate all the good feedback.

Now a more fundamental question:

Can you recommend a good tool box/bag that would comfortably and stylishly (ok, not necessarily stylishly) carry the drill, driver, oscillating multi-tool, and assorted hand tools and accessories -- ratchet & sockets; pliers, screwdrivers and miscellaneous items -- so they are neat and easy to identify and access?

I have a couple similar to this one.
Klein Hi-Viz Sit/Stand 3-Tier Tool Box, Tool Boxes & Storage, Organization & Storage - McFeely's

Great box, carries a lot and you can stand on it.

I'd get the carrying case that comes with the drill. Sometimes you can get a better price if you buy the package that's merely in a cardboard box, sans carrying case, but I don't think it's a good way to go. The carrying case protects the guns better and you can store bits and drivers in it. Other tool boxes are varied, just need to hunt them out.

IF...IF, you can figure out how to put the goldurned thing back in the plastic box after you take it out....:D

We have that problem with the Dewalt drill at the shop.;)

I have a couple old, metal, Makita and Dewalt boxes....
None of those weird structural ribs...

Guard them with my life.:D

I miss the old boxes. I'm not sure what they are trying to accomplish with those weird ribs, I crack a few out on every new case to increase what I can stuff inside it.:D

That was the very first job I did when I bought a dremel.... cut a bunch of those things out. Good practice getting used to a new tool.

The box that my old Milwaukee 10" circular saw came in can hold half a case of beer (if it didn't have the saw in it), and could be used as a jack stand. (although it would be hard to get the beer out...:D)

In my DeWalt 18v drill case I have two extra batteries, and two yellow DeWalt boxes full of drill bits and driver bits, as well as the handle, and a ton of miscellaneous screws and drill bits. Its 2008 vintage, but the new ones are a joke when you open the cases, I don't know what DeWalt was thinking.

Mostly I think they were thinking cheap packaging which will still look good to dude's wife when she goes christmas shopping at Home Depot...;)

Seems like the plastic is getting thinner too. Just bought another hammer drill because it was a good deal for the two Li-Ion batteries (didn't need the tool)
and the box seems thinner and weaker than ever before

The boxes for the newer 18 volt Makita impact drivers are much more practical than the older ones. None of that molded stuff with wasted space behind.

Resurrecting an old thread.

I got hits on it searching for oscillating multi tool. Anyone use one of these tools?

I see ads for them all of the time and it looks like it could be useful. Also looks like they want to trap you into buying a bunch of attachments for it. I could use it to cut some old sheetrock right now.

Is it mostly marketing or is it a keeper?

Only used one once but it worked very well. That was a milwaukee 12v model. Used it to cut a box into a wall that had wood panel on top, sheetrock under that, and plywood behind the sheetrock. Took about 3 minutes.

I like the Fein, it works very well.