Any recons on Impact Drivers for all puropse drilling/screw gun? I need to keep it on a budget and the Dewalts I have seen are pricey! Makita supposedly makes a nice one that isn’t too expensive. Please let me know, I hear a lot of guys who swear by them!
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Ryobi Home Depot. About $70 less battery. I had several other Ryobi tools that used their 18V battery so I bought the Impact driver when it first came out. I later bought a Dewalt which cost about three times as much but I like the Ryobi better.
MAkita Lith Ion is the KILLER. We drill hundreds of rivet holes a day, install pounds of screws/ lag bolts, tapcons...one battery all day long.
Belt hook, LED light ( it can doulbe as a flaslight even) and weighs less than my old 14.4 V Nimh MAkita, and is an inch shorter too. You'll never be happier.
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Shooting rubber bands at the Moon
I have the Bosch 12 Volt. Great tool that gets used all the time.
Here's a link to the CPO site that has them reconditioned: Bosch CPO
I have a Makita 12-V that I like a lot. Recently, when I was doing a bunch of subflooring work, I passed by a display of 14-V DeWalts on sale for just under a hundred bucks. Picked one up and I like it better, but I'll still use whichever is closer when I need one. The DeWalt has a bit more power, driving the screws further (and faster) before switching to impact mode, but either one will do the job.
Mike Hennessy
Pittsburgh, PA
You're gonna get a lot of different opinions on this one. I have a 12v Hitachi and love it. If I hadda replace it, I'd likely get another, or maybe get the 18v Ryobi since I already have a bunch of the Ryobi "ONE+" tools already.
I have the Ryobi too, and have bounced it off concrete many times so I can attest to its durability. It is very, very powerfull. I driver everything with this. But at 18v, it can be heavy if you are doing alot of overhead work. If you will do ALOT of overhead work, then dropping the extra $300 to go LiIon would be a good investment.
BTW, the 12v Ridgid right angle impact driver is a nice addition too. I picked it up with a 12v drill combo - now it is my favorite three tools.
Rebuilding my home in Cypress, CA
Also a CRX fanatic!
I had a 12V Makita, nimh and sold it, just did not fit my hand. I have 12 and 14.4 DW but my favorite is the Bosch 12V. Also have a B&D Firestorm 12v that I originally got to take to daughter's house for daddy-do's. Ended up keeping it and when assembling furniture in shop use it for screws.
You might e-mail Mark at HDT, I think I saw one Bosch 12v on the counter that he had left over from a promotion. He does not list them on the site but I am sure he will check. Tell him "rich man " sent you.
http://www.heavydutytools.net/Scripts/contactUs.asp
We have the Bosch and the Hitachi 12s - both are awesome, we like the Hitachi a little better b/c it fits the hand nicer.
My Hitachi 12v is going on 2 years old and I love it. All of my other regulars have been relegated to dust collecting. Love the weight and the power...so far battery life has been great.
Be sure to get the higher AH. A buddy used mine and bought one at one of the Borgs...smaller battery life and it showed quickly. I talked him into taking it back and ordering the larger (2.0 AH vs. 1.2 AH I believe).
john