Cordless impact drivers -why???

[spikey]

Just been marvelling at all the toys for boys in the short-form Toolstation catalogue, and I'm left scratching my head.  I know that scaffolders nowadays use impact drivers rather than the traditional spanners, and that seems to me an entirely logical move.  But what's with all the power tool makers now pitching cordless impact drivers at the building trades, complete with impact screwdriver bits?  Who uses these things, and why are they now apparently A Thing?

[tigerburnie]

Health and safety, removing trailing live electrical cables from the site, seeing them in factories too where compressed air isn't around.

[john new]

Even at the DIY end of the market cordless has many advantages so I can fully understand why the professionals use them.

[Kickstart]

Quite a few get used for working on vehicles, as the tool can be changed

 

I have a cordless impact driver, but it is a pretty heavy duty one (think it is 750 lb ft). Useful for things like the nut in the centre of the clutch on a motorcycle, and more powerful than any of the air powered ones I have.

 

All the best

 

Katy

[spamcan61]

I think the gist of spikey's question, which I've also wondered myself, is why the shift from screwdrivers to impact drivers, irrespective of corded versus battery powered.

[tigerburnie]

Domestic screwdrivers would last about 10 minutes in an industrial situation, quite often the torque loading is much higher, so an impact driver does the job, easier and quicker.

[TheQ]

Having used both a battery impact screwdriver and a battery screwdriver a couple of days ago, on some woodwork that had been glued and screwed. The impact definitely freed the screws better from the glue..

[russ p]

I have a dewalt impact gun has a breaking torque of 1800NM brilliant for automotive work. Just have to be very careful direction is set correctly 

[Mark Saunders]

2 hours ago, spamcan61 said:

I think the gist of spikey's question, which I've also wondered myself, is why the shift from screwdrivers to impact drivers, irrespective of corded versus battery powered.

 
Toys for the boys!

[spikey]

Having used several different air and electric ones on cars and motorbikes, I am familiar with their uses. Similarly, I have for years used cordless tools.  As tigerburnie rightly points out, my question was about cordless impact drivers and their use by the building trade.  It's still beyond me why it looks like most tradesmen seem to think they need one, unless of course it's to avoid loss of site cred.  What next - special screws for use with impact screwdrivers?

[Dave John]

Time and therefore money Spikey.  Impact drivers are faster for larger screws into things like studwork or decking and much better for self drilling screws or bolts into steelwork and the like. 

 

There are plenty of comparison videos online . 

[LBRJ]

 It could well be because impact drivers  actually work well, most electric screwdrivers probably are better when used as paperweights than they are for screwing screws.

Even the cheaper ones have that much grunt that for normal jobs when using an impact driver you have to ease it off to avoid going straight through the wood and out of the other side!

 

I would suggest that impact drivers are the single best screwing of things related invention since the Yankee screwdrivers of my youth ;)

 

[tigerburnie]

From personal home use, doing up bigger screws/bolts with an impact is easier/better than without, using my corded(I don't own an impact cordless) hammer drill I was able to easily drive 6 inch coach bolts into railway sleeper sized timbers when building raised beds in my garden for veggie growing.

[57xx]

4 hours ago, spikey said:

Who uses these things, and why are they now apparently A Thing?

 

Window fitters, using them to fix masonry screws. The guy who did my windows ~8 years ago used one, so they aren't recent. 

 

 

[chris p bacon]

I use Milwaukee 18v impact drivers. Today was making up profiles for the stonemason out of 3”x3” timber with 6” no12 (in old money) screws. No pre-drilling required as they’re powered in faster than a nail.
If you used this kit all day you’d realise why they’ve become popular.  

[Tony_S]

Over 40 years ago I had a cordless impact screwdriver. It was held in place and then whacked with a mallet. 

[fulton]

I can remember exactly the same reaction when power tools started to be used on sites, why? you can do everything with hand tools, until they realised just how much the guys with the genny, leads and power tools (this was pre cordless) could earn, doing a quicker and often better job, soon everyone had invested in the new gear, after all the object of going to work is to earn money as easy as possible.

[Enterprisingwestern]

9 hours ago, Tony_S said:

Over 40 years ago I had a cordless impact screwdriver. It was held in place and then whacked with a mallet. 

 

Was that in Manchester perchance?!!

 

Mike.

[Wheatley]

12 hours ago, LBRJ said:

 It could well be because impact drivers  actually work well, most electric screwdrivers probably are better when used as paperweights than they are for screwing screws.

Even the cheaper ones have that much grunt that for normal jobs when using an impact driver you have to ease it off to avoid going straight through the wood and out of the other side!

 

I would suggest that impact drivers are the single best screwing of things related invention since the Yankee screwdrivers of my youth ;)

 

Quite. You can do anything with a cordless impact driver than you can with a normal screwdriver, and a lot more a lot quicker.

 

The second most useful tool for working on Land-Rovers was Tony S's hammer-powered impact driver (the most useful being the hammer), I wish I'd had an electric one when I was trying to hit the damn thing at arms length wrapped around a chassis rail.    

[ColinK]

 

Quite. You can do anything with a cordless impact driver than you can with a normal screwdriver, and a lot more a lot quicker
 

Get the lid off a tin of paint?

[Reorte]

18 minutes ago, ColinK said:

 

Quite. You can do anything with a cordless impact driver than you can with a normal screwdriver, and a lot more a lot quicker
 

Get the lid off a tin of paint?

Think I'll stick to the normal screwdriver anywhere near my models!

[Hibelroad]

I have a small cordless impact screwdriver, I actually got it free with another cordless tool and had no use for it until I needed to extract some old rusty screws. It gives you a fighting chance of getting them out where a non impact driver would just chew up the heads.  So they have there uses, another weapon in the armoury. 

[MarkC]

10 hours ago, Tony_S said:

Over 40 years ago I had a cordless impact screwdriver. It was held in place and then whacked with a mallet. 

Funnily enough, I found mine recently, whilst tidying the garage (stop sniggering) at the behest of the long-haired Admiral (AKA SWMBO). It must be of similar vintage - the impact screwdriver, that is  - and it still works!

 

Mark

[PeterStiles]

I miss my "Yankee" (pump-action screwdriver to you). It was a present from my dad and I believe it was knicked by one of the builders we had at the house. It never run out of battery power! But my arms felt it...

[37114]

I designed and built a wooden framed Garden office a few years ago and bought an Ebauer (Screwfix/B&Q own brand) impact driver as my Makita cordless drill/screwdriver batteries were getting knackered. I was sceptical how good the impact driver would be (especially as ordinarily I prefer corded power tools) but it has had quite a bit of use and has been brilliant, so useful to have on hand.