Last Thursday I purchased a cordless impact driver.
I had been trying to drill 7/8″ holes, in wood, with a 14.4v cordless drill. About half the time the drill stalled as soon as the auger hit the wood; the other half the time, a battery charge would last but one hole.
Using a 9.6v impact driver, I was able to easily drive 7 holes through 4″ wood / LVL’s. No torque was felt at the handle; it was very easy to use, even from a ladder.
The bits used were the three-fluted ‘superbore’ bits just introduced by Irwin. These bits come with a 1/4″ hex shank, so are perfect for use with an impact driver.
Anther nice thing about impact drivers is that they tend to have shorter heads – meaning that it’s much easier to fit them between studs.
I have deliberately not mentioned any brands, as I do not believe that is relevant to this type of tool. But what you like; I first tried this with a different make, and have seen it demonstrated with a third make.
I purchased the tool in 9.6v, because an earlier review by FH of these tools suggested that there was little advantage to having a larger battery; what you gained was offset by increased expense and poorer handling.
I recommend everyone consider these tools for drilling in wood.
Replies
Using the impact driver for bigger holes sounds like a winner, altho it would be no problemo for my 18v DW. If there were any amount of holes I would probably just get out the Milwaukee 1/2" Magnum (corded).
That's the point I was trying to make ... and you missed it! My fault .... There is no comparison between a drill and an impact driver. Even Milwaukee has an impact driver for their 'self feed' bits. Using an impact driver is an entirely different experience. It's not just a question of power. If you do any amount of drilling in wood, you really must try an impact driver.
When faced with drilling hundreds of 1/8th in poprivet holes in copper and Alum. I found a pilot/Csink bit (Hitachi) w/ hex shank in an Impact , drilled 2 or 3 times as fast as a drill.
It never even goes into impact mode, just spins the bit that much faster..so fast in fact that I'd re-drill an installed rivet so I would get the little "donut" from the old rivet and it would keep the Csink from blowing thru what I was drilling.
A LONG hex shank bit is no good for riveting a lot, they bow and eventually break..and if riveting a chimney counter flashing, you will hit the masonry behind the flashing and kill the bit..you want a stubby bit.
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
"If you want something you've never had, do something you've never done"
I agree on voltage but would go for 12 instead of 9.6. That way you can have a 12v drill to go with it, a 9.6 drill is pretty puny. I have three 12 v impacts and one 14.4. Hardly ever pick up the 14.4.
My 12v Bosch impact is permanently grafted to my right hand.
I use an impact driver almost exclusively for driving screws except in sheetrock.
The impact creates a positive grip on the screws unatainable with a drill driver.
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I was roughing in a new shower valve a few weeks ago and needed to drill some holes for the new copper lines in the wall.
I had my impact on hand and a 3/4" speed bore bit and tried it. Just like you said, it easily plows through one handed. No torque at all on your wrists or hands.
With my regular drill the bit would have grabbed and my hands smashed into the wall. World of difference.
Matt