ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade General Discussion Area The End of the Drill?

By the time the LED comes on, the screw is already on the floor. But, maybe it's just because I'm slow and find that they run way too fast for driving screws. Last time I used mine to drive screws (of course, without the magnetic bit), it jumped the screwhead and hammered a nice little hole UNDER my thumbnail. Ouch.

Please, give usa link.

We have been using these little suckers for about a year and a half now and I kinda thought that by now everyone might have had some exposure to their use. I first tried one out that one of the turd herders had when he was putting in some metal vents on a contract site we were on and I've been hooked on them ever since, so I went and got 3 of them for us to try out.

It took our guys about a day before the complaining stopped about having to use a "new" tool and once they got used to them they just loved them. Now all I hear about is the adapters that get lost sometimes. Magnets only have so much power and sometimes even the best of us get in a bit too much of a hurry.

I don't know how much money we've saved in 12/14.4/18/36 volt batteries for the drills we had before but it must be in the multiple hundreds of dollars since I hardly see any of the guys or myself for that matter, pick up a regular cordless drill much any more. (I do admit to being a bit of a dinosaur though, because my faithful old Dewalt still swings from my belt however).

We have tried a Makita, 2 Dewalts and a little B&D unit that looked kind of crappy and cheap but it has not quit even after being dropped a few times and they all seem to work and last very well. I have only had to replace one Makita battery pack so far and that was only because a bit of metal somehow got into the Makita drill/battery connection and shorted out the contacts with the resultant and not to be unexpected high heat coming from the battery pack. About the only thing they have trouble drilling through is an inch of oak or maple when we have to drag out the Milwaukee Hole Hog.

I think the only time we go back to a regular drill anymore is for rough-ins in good old spruce studs when the Milwaukee has to drill 150 3/4" holes for the NM in the studs. There is no battery powered drill that can do that anyway so it's a moot point.

The big problem now is the whining I hear when someone has to actually drag out a cord for the good old Milwaukee and actually have to start the generator too. My gosh times are tough these days.

If the guys that make these things now go to a small keyless chuck instead of the 1/4" drive, they'll make a pile of money on new sales.

Anyone else here had any experience with other brands?

CP, there is an after-market little chuck sold, that has an attached hex shank. I have not tried it, but it looks like in might ... repeat, might ... be useful.

I have a uni-bit that was manufactured with a 1/4" hex shank, and I've seen 'ordinary' drill bis with the shanks, too.

Milwaukee makes an impact driver with a 7/16" hex collet ... which will accept the 'selfeed' bits, as well as many hole saw arbors and extensions.

The first one I used was the Panasonic model. I bought a 9.6 DeWalt, so that I could use my existing chargers. The 9.6 impact easily outperforms my 14.4 drill. Since then, I have handled the Makita, and find it superior to the DeWalt in every way.

I see that both Bosch and Milwaukee are marketing tiny impact drivers - about the size of a hot-melt glue gun - that use the lithium ion batteries. They claim that these tools are serious tools for real work. I admit it would be nice to climb a ladder with the tool in my pocket, rather than in my hand.

Finally - and I cannot stress this enough - a bigger battery on the tool does NOT mean it has more power. The impact mechanism usually delivers the same size 'blows' as the smaller models. The bigger battery just runs longer. Time to leave the 'Tim Taylor" mindset at home.

Has anyone used auger or spade bits in these impact drills? is so how did they fare with nails and knots? I can see the nail cutters on them being FUBAR'ed

After riding the drill all day, how do you feel? Vibrations all day on the wrists is not neccesary a good thing. For example, folks who run orbital sanders rather fequently can easily develope carpo-tunnel(spelling?)

Unlike an orbital sander, I did not perceive any vibrations in the handle while using the tool. You really do have to use one to appreciate just how different it is.

I bought mine for a job that involved running pipe through 4" LVL's, some spaced less than 14" apart (A note of caution here: there are VERY specific rules for drilling LVL's!) Thee were also I-joists present.

I also, at that time, bought a set of Irwin "Speedbor MAX" bits. I bought these, simply because that is what was used when I saw the tool demonstrated. These bits are a cross between spade, auger, and self-feeding designs, and have the 1/4" hex shank. Once you got the screw tip started, all you needed to do was keep the trigger presses - the bit did the rest .... until 'punch through,' where some pushing was needed (of course).

These bits are NOT designed to cut nails; a similar bit is advertised by Lenox that does make such a claim. In my experience, you very quickly became aware when the bit struck a nail - it stopped progressing, and the sound was different. Upon examination, the damage seemed concentrated on the scoring point at the outer edge of one of the flutes. This point is quite important at 'punch through,' so damage there means more pressure is needed, and the exit is not as neat.

Overall life of the bits was somewhat more than that of a spade bit. There were absolutely no problems with the shanks being bent - even with the largest (1 1/4") bit. That's a big hole for a little shank! Holes bored were extremely clean. As for knots ... as long as the pilot screw can grab, the drill powered through without problem.

This, of course, brings up another issue: bits. As nice as either the bit or the tool was, they are an awesome combination.

When used driving screws, there was a real improvement; the bit did not seem to spin out of the screw nearly as readily. You were much more able to control just how deep you sank the screw. Still ... if you have the choice, you might consider Robertson, rather then Phillips!

I have the Ryobi 18V impact driver and I love it! It will even drive lag bolts into wood poles without any problem... Tapcon screws? Blows them into the wall just as easy! Being without an impact to me would be like being without a set of 'Kleins!

A.D

How about the weight of the Ryobi? Carry it up a ladder by hand or just stick it in the ol' tool belt? I went on their web site but it seemed a bit vague about the weight.