Is a drywall screw gun worth it?

[Kent Fitzgerald]

Sometime in the next oh, decade or so, I'll be drywalling our two car garage (about 1,000 sq ft). For a job of this size, is it worth getting a dedicated drywall screw gun? I used one briefly years ago, and I recall that it was fast, but I don't remember much else. Or should I just stick to my cordless drill/drivers and impact driver?

There are plenty of used DeWalts going on eBay for $25-40, so it's not a big deal financially, but this ranks pretty low on my tool lust scale, and I don't really feel like buying something unless it's going to contribute to the ease / speed / quality of the job.

Thanks for any advice,
Kent

[Charles Wilson]

With the floods that we had last year, I helped re-drywall her workplace and a dedicated drywall gun came in handy. CPO Bosch has a brand new one for $50.

Hope this helps.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Kent.....I bought a Dewalt.....It's been good ...but regardless of brand..Yes....You can set the depth of that you want the screw heads recessed and get it most of the time. Worth it in my book.....

[Matt Meiser]

You can buy a bit for your drill that has a stop to set the depth. I've used one with pretty decent luck. I've never hung more than a couple sheets of drywall in one project though.

[David G Baker]

Home Depot and other Borgs sell a Senco AC powered gun that has the screws fastened together similar to a pneumatic nail gun for $99.00. I haven't used one but I had a pro do some Sheetrock work for me. He had one, said it worked great, didn't cost that much and the screws were very available.
I have a Milwaukee AC screw gun and hate it. I have thought about removing the head and replacing it with a standard chuck and using it as a drill.
I usually use a battery operated drill but frequently drive the screws too deep.

[Steven Triggs]

I have used the below pictured style of bit with cordless drills and had very good results. Use this in combination with an appropriate (play with it until you get it right) clutch setting on your cordless drill and I think you'll be pleased. It will make the depth right and create the dimple that you need for when you do the mudwork. They do wear out though, so you should pick up a handful, and figure on returning the ones you don't end up using. These are readily available at Home Depot and Lowe's.

[David Duke]

I second Steven's recomendation, these dimplers work great in a cordless drill are cheap and work as good if not better than a dedicated drywall gun especially if the gun is corded.

[Grant Davis]

Kent.....I bought a Dewalt.....It's been good ...but regardless of brand..Yes....You can set the depth of that you want the screw heads recessed and get it most of the time. Worth it in my book.....

Ditto, I ahve the Dewalt and loved it when I did my basement.

[Rob Russell]

I second Steven's recomendation, these dimplers work great in a cordless drill are cheap and work as good if not better than a dedicated drywall gun especially if the gun is corded.

IMO, there is a difference between the cordless drills and corded drywall guns - RPM. I have a Milwaukee screwgun, it's speed is 2500 RPM and that makes putting in the screws faster.

Whichever you use - screwgun or bit for your cordless drill - it's way better than nailing drywall nails.

[Matt Meiser]

They still make drywall nails? :D

[Michael Lutz]

I found the depth setting gizzmos to be a little to finicky. I also had difficulty getting reproducable depths using it with my cordless. I went with the drywall gun when I did my basement. It works well. For smaller jobs I just use the cordless with out the depth setter.

Mike

[Kyle Kraft]

I have the Milwaukee corded unit which I used on a 1500 sq.ft. basement finishing project, my 1000 sq.ft. shop and several smaller jobs, and I have nothing but good things to say about it. It was one of those labor-for-tools deals. The thing I like about it is it has a snap clutch instead of the bzzzzzzzzzzzzzt clutches on other guns.

[Jim Becker]

IMHO, yes, worth having if you are going to be doing more than simple repairs. The nose is designed for the job. And you don't have to spend a lot of money...the Dewalt I bought many years ago works great and although I don't remember the exact price, it was not that much.

[David G Baker]

Kyle,
My problem with the Milwaukee corded screw gun was the age of the studs. The studs were Douglas Fir and were around 70 years old. To drive a nail the studs had to be pre-drilled in many cases. On new lumber it was great.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

Sometime in the next oh, decade or so, I'll be drywalling our two car garage (about 1,000 sq ft). For a job of this size, is it worth getting a dedicated drywall screw gun?

If you are over 40 I say - - yes. The nerves in your wrists (carpal nerves) are thickening with your age and they may ( esp if you have small wrists) be getting close to the point where they are going to be pinched by the little bone tunnel they pass through.

Mine cause me difficulty whenever I use hand drill. A screw gun will make the work go faster and I'm guessing with less stress. However you might pad the gun ( or a glove) such that the stimulation points for the nerves are left out of the equation.

[Matt Meiser]

Cliff, that's happening to us younger people who have grown up typing since being kids. :D I don't have much trouble, but I know others my age who have had significant problems.

[Bryan Rocker]

I would say it depends. If you already have a good cordless drill 18V ish I would say no. I did a 2 car garage several months ago with my rigid 18V cordless drill. I also had one of those small adapters that just barely sinks the screws. It took me the better part of a day. If you plan on doing other large jobs then I would say yes. Of course if the LOML says you can get what ever you need to do the job then by all means BUY one :D

[Matt Meiser]

I just had a thought--one thing you could do is buy one and then sell it when you are done if you don't think you'll have a need for it again. If you can buy one used for say $30, then you should be able to sell it for that. Even if you lose $10 on the deal, that's cheap rental. I basically did that with a framing nailer when I finished my shop and came out WAY ahead of renting one. Actually even if I hadn't sold it I still would have come out ahead.

[Kent Fitzgerald]

I have used the below pictured style of bit with cordless drills and had very good results.

Yup, that's exactly what we used on a Habitat build last spring. With 20 volunteers and about a dozen drivers, corded tools would have been a huge tangled mess :eek:.

I appreciate all the replies. It sounds like a dedicated driver falls into the useful-but-not-essential category. I'll probably keep trolling for a cheap deal. As Matt suggested, I can always "reBay" it later.

BTW, for anyone who might have wondered, 1,000 SF is the total wall + ceiling area of my garage, not the floor area.

[Greg Peterson]

There are a couple of key differences between a drill and screw gun.

As noted before, RPM. The Milwaukee goes from zero to full RPM instantly and the screw is driven in, consistently to depth, in the bat of an eye. It's very fast and consistent.

I'm hanging the sheet rock myself and being able to drive a screw or two quickly is very helpful.

The screw gun is designed to drive screws and once you try it you'll appreciate the difference between adapting a drill to the task versus using the dedicated tool for the task.

[Rob Russell]

Another point about the screwgun, at least my Milwaukee, is that it's designed to be used with one hand. It fits well into my hand so I could easily have my hand on the butt of the screwgun and a finger on the trigger. That means you can push with your arm straight behind the screwgun, so if you're going into hard wood, you can literally put body weight behind it much more easily than some drills.

[Kyle Kraft]

David,
I hear you on that one. My moms house is nearly 60 years old and made from pretty old growth Michigan lumber. You do have to pre drill!!!

[David G Baker]

Rob,
The $99 Senco gun loads the screws for you so it is totally a one hand operation.

[Greg Peterson]

My only complaint about the Milwaukee screw gun is that it isn't self-loading. That feature alone is worth the price of admission.

[Owen Gregg]

I wouldn't be without my Screwgun. It doesn't have the all purpose usefullness of a cordless, but for putting up drywall it can't be beat. The clip that lets it hang on your tool belt while putting up lids, easy to adjust nose cone, trigger lock, and the two position grip that extends your reach 4-5". Mine's been through a few houses, so it's definitely paid for itself ($65). But like you said, with such little square footage, the cheapest option might be your best bet.

I love the quickness, especially when I'm balancing a full sheet of rock on my head and want to drive those first couple screws in a HURRY.

[Doyle Alley]

I have the Dewalt deck screwgun. It is the same thing as the drywall screwgun, but geared lower. I drywalled my whole house with it. Even though it is geared lower, it is still plenty fast. I can't imagine needing the speed that the regular drywall gun. Plus, I can drive 3" screws without it even breathing hard.

[Greg Peterson]

My first impression of the Milwaukee screw gun was that it has more in common with a framing gun, in terms of performance, than it does a drill.

It's very fast.

[K. L. McReynolds]

That dimpler---that is what the pictured insert is called----has a very short learning curve where the screwshooter has a fairly long learning curve. I have a Milwaukee screwshooter(corded) and seldom use it on small jobs---the cordless and the dimpler takes only a little bit more time.

[Greg Crawford]

Milwaukee. Wouldn't be without it, and will never sell it. Do an average of 300-1000 sq. ft. a year. Not much, but it sure saves time.