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Lockedcordless impact driver

posted on November 13, 2009 at 03:10PM Inappropriate?

What is your preferred brand name for a cordless impact driver?  Also, do you prefer 14 or 18 volts, or 1/4" or 3/8" chuck?  Thanks!

replies: 7 latest post: December 03, 2009 at 02:10AM by AdamO
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posted on November 13, 2009 at 03:44PM
 

The Craftsman C3 19.2v impact driver is quite powerful at around 900 in/lb of torque, and it's available right now with 2 batteries, 1 hr charger, and a 3/8" drill/driver for only $99.99 (reg. $149.99). Check it out on sears.com and read the reviews (00911550000). The batteries can also be used to power everything in the Craftsman C3 line-up, which consists of around 25 different items.

One caveat: if you're using it frequently, wear ear protection. Impact drivers are, by their very nature, very noisy.

posted on November 20, 2009 at 11:09AM
 

What are you wanting to use it for?  If you are planning to do any "heavy Duty" mechanic work, I would definately go for a 1/2" driver.  You can still get a 20V sears with the lithium ion technology (allows for much longer battery life but remember, 20Volts is 20Volts no matter what the brand or battery technology).

posted on November 20, 2009 at 11:12AM
 

You can also get an 18 inch long Break-Loose-Bar for use with your standard 1/2 inch drive Craftsman sockets, that does a good job, too.

posted on November 27, 2009 at 06:54PM
 

It would be interesting know if "impact wrench" and "impact driver" have clear distinctions.  The things called "impact drivers" at hardware stores generally have a female chuck that holds various screwdriver bits.  The things called "impact wrenches" have male chucks that fit sockets.

You can adapt one tool to the other's use, but I the "impact drivers" that are designed to hold screw driver bits don't work very well for heavy duty automotive work.

 

posted on November 29, 2009 at 12:13PM
 

The 1/4 inch hex drive impact drivers can make very fast work of assembling and taking apart stuff all around the home.

You can purchase separate 1/4 and 3/8 inch square drive adaptor that turn your driver into a socket driver.

Craftsman has EVEN recently introduced a two sets of 1/4 inch drive impact sockets (metricanicall and fractational).

They're black oxide coated, like their big brother impact wrench driven sockets.

posted on December 03, 2009 at 12:08AM
 

I recently added a C3 19.2 volt impact driver to my kit.  I've been using a C3 driver/drill to drive screws, but decided that I wanted the extra power that the impact driver tool offers.   I am very glad that I did.  The C3 impact driver is a much better tool for driving long, heavy screws.  It will easily drive 1/4" Tapcon 2 3/4" concrete screws flush, and the same with 3 inch exterior screws through 2x4s into 4x4 treated posts, without stripping the heads or putting a lot of torque on your wrist. 

The C3 has plenty of power and torque, and if using lithium ion batteries, will drive a ton of big screws without a whimper.  If you have a lot of big screws to drive, the C3 impact driver is the cordless Sears model that you want. 

I'd guess that the Nextec impact driver would probably work fine for smaller jobs. I've not used one. I generally prefer to use a cordless screwdriver or my C3 drill/driver for driving small screws, because I get a better feel for the screw's progress than I do with the impact driver.

posted on December 03, 2009 at 02:10AM
 

A Drill/Driver's forteit is the adjustable clutch, that can be used to control applied torque limits to a fastener, while driving the same type and length of fasteners, to the same type of driven material and any pilot holes.

The clutch also can be used to prolong the tool's need for recharging by providing a "slip", rather than stalling the battery powered drill motor.

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