Help with impact driver.

[Gregg Feldstone]

I don't own one of these yet but my dad asked me to recommend one. I tried out a 14V Dewalt that was easy to use. Which 10v to 14v driver easily accommodates regular (not hex shank) drill bits? Do you recommend using an impact driver as a drill also? Pro or cons?
What's the best impact driver that comes with a chuck, regardless of size/voltage?
The driver for my dad should be lightweight and easy to handle. I am looking for a more powerful unit with a built in chuck. Do any of the 14v or smaller units come with attached chucks, or do you have to use an adapter?

[Mark Bolton]

None of the impact drivers come with a chuck. All impacts are hex. I dont think a drill chuck could hang on to an impact or stand up to the impacts.

You would have to choose a conventional drill (chuck no impact) or a driver.

Mark

[Bill Huber]

The Ridgid has a chuck, its not an impact drive, its a drill/driver.

http://www.ridgid.com/Tools/R82007-Lithium-Ion-Drill/EN/index.htm

[Andrew Rogove]

I think they all use hex shanks. There are chucks that fit into these-dewalt makes one that I have. I have a bosch impactor 12 V (PS40) as well as a dewalt 18V. The 18 V is much more powerful, but also much heavier. Bosch also makes a compact drill/driver with a chuck the PS30 that I have that works well, but is not an impact driver. Makita also makes a good 10.8 impact driver, but with a hex, don't own one, but tried it at the Depot once.
Check out the Bosch impactor and add the chuck.

Hope this is helpful.
Andrew

[Dave Sabo]

Fellas - the ONLY combo on teh market is from Panasonic:

http://www2.panasonic.com/consumer-electronics/shop/Building-Products/Cordless-Tools/Drill-Drivers/model.EY6535GQW.O_11002_7000000000000005702#tabsec tion

Don't think it'll meet Andrew's needs as it fairly big , heavy and not really well balanced when the drill chuck is attached.

In my opinion, getting 2 seperate units is going to be the way to go. Get a medium size/weight impact and then get a smaller/light weight drill/driver to round out the deal. I prefer a bit of heft to an impact as you are usually driving long heavy guage fasteners with them. The extra mass will help dampen vibration, and sink the fastener.

[Gregg Feldstone]

Are you guys sure none of them are made with chucks? Pretty sure I saw them in the larger sizes. Why wouldn't a chuck hold up to a sharp drill bit going through wood?
How is a hammer drill/driver different than impact drivers?

[Prashun Patel]

You should figure out what yr dad's gonna use it for.

A hammer drill is for driving holes into concrete. The difference (I BELIEVE) is that the IDriver hammers rotationally, to deliver more torque when driving a screw. The HDrill hammers vertically to pulverize concrete when using a drill bit.

If he's mainly doing household stuff and woodworking, a 10v driver like the Rigid or Bosch will be ergonomically nice and adequate in terms of power.

If he's planning to build a deck or routinely driving 3" screws into stuff, an ID is nice.

A good combo set is the Makita 18v compact LiIon ID/driver combo. The batteries are small, but there's 2 so you can cycle and it's got the weight and feel of a 12v. If it were me - for general woodworking, I'd skip the ID. It's nice to have but just not used too much. A 10v driver can also be used to drill which is nice, AND it's great for getting into tight spaces vis-a-vis it's larger cousins..

[Larry Edgerton]

I have 4 Makita Lith./Ion 14V impacts/drill kits, and I use the heck out of them. I use the drills less and less

I welded up a chuck adapter, although I think I have seen one on the market.

They are awesome!

[Dave Sabo]

Gregg - is it that you don't believe me/us or is it that you fall into the age old consumer trap of "if I want it bad enough, it must exsist"

In addition to the differences that Shawn note the main one is TORQUE. An most impacts have double the torque of comparable hammer drills. The prob. for the chuck is not holding onto drill bits - that's what it's designed for. The prob. comes in transfering the increased energy during impact drivng.


GUYS: please be careful when using impacts, you should not use regular hex shank drive bits that you get everywhere. They are too brittle and could shear during use. A special hardened hex shank bit is the proper tool. They are becoming more widely available at the home centers and are usually denoted by their black color. And don't complain that they're expensive. Ho much is your hand or arm, or face worth?

[Mark Bolton]

I would agree with David here, I will give you a perfect example. We have 5 Makita NiMH impact drivers. Some 12 and some 14.4. These are our primary drivers. Personally I use a Bosch 10.8v impactor a lot but though doesnt compare to the bigger drivers for speed and power. Its still an awesome tool.

Anyway, we installed a 50k manufactured playground at a local elementary school. The playground was assembled with over a thousand 3/8" S.S. tamper proof button head Torx screws of various lenghts. These took a T45T torx driver. We picked up a couple from the Snap-on truck that werent impact. I ran them with a 1/4" hex to 3/8" socket adapter. I never thought these little drivers would break them. They held til' the end of the project and final tightening was being done.

I honestly dont have a ton of trouble running standard bits but we run a lot in soft woods. That said, whenever I replace I replace with impact if available.

Mark

[Ed Labadie]

In a pinch I've used my 10.8v Bosch impact driver as a drill (hex shank bit), it does work. I try not to put pressure on the drill so the tool won't start impacting. Not something I would do on a regular basis, it's really tough to stop the bit if its not a thru hole. Easy to plug up the drill flutes also.
I would go with a 2 tool combo myself.
Makita also makes a 4-1 driver-impact-hammerdrill. It ain't cheap.
http://www.makita.com/en-us/Modules/Tools/ToolDetails.aspx?Name=BTP140
http://www.amazon.com/Makita-BTP140-18-Volt-4-Function-Driver-Drill/dp/B000K6JRZI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1235573806&sr=1-1

I want to add that in no way would I try or recommend drilling with an imapct driver in metal, especially steel. The drill bit will dull or at the worst, shatter very quickly.

Ed

[Greg Narozniak]

The small Makita combo has 10.8 (I Think) drill with a chuck and an impact driver with a hex.

I do not own one but have played with it and it works great but as others have said it depends on what the use will be.

I do own the 18v Dewalt impact and I love it.

[Dave Falkenstein]

I have used several different drill/drivers and impact drivers. What you buy depends on how you plan to use it. The newer small (10 volt) drill/drivers and impact drivers, like Bosch, are great for small work. But trying to build a deck with anything less than 12 volts is a problem. I use a 12 volt Dewalt impact driver for longer screws - plenty of power and still relatively light. I'd have your Dad get a combo set - a drill/driver and an impact driver.

[Ryan Baker]

I've got to agree with Dave too. I've broken off a number of standard driver bits before I finally located some impact driver bits. Using any kind of chuck or chuck adapter and drill bits in an impact driver is just asking for a dangerous accident. Impact drivers are great for what they were designed to do. They are not a replacement for a drill/driver.

[John Sanford]

DeWalt is selling Impact Driver bit sets, available at assorted BigBox stores.

I have the Bosch 10.8/12v Impactor, along with 2 clutched drivers. Love 'em. However, I have wanted both more power from the impactor, and more speed from the drivers. As a result, I'll be adding an 18v Lithium Ion set (drill/driver and impact) to my tool corral.

[Dale Morris]

I HIGHLY recomend Panasonic 14,4 LI Ion impact driver. SWMBO bought me one for my birthday. It is the best I have ever used. I am an electrician by trade ad have used almost every brand I own about 5 other brands including Dewalt PC Milwaukee, but none cvan even come close to the panasonic for power, light weight, balance, or quality. The batteries last forever and charge in about 15 minutes. I use it forever. IT IS THE BEST MADE!