There are always new tools coming out of the big tool manufacturers. DeWALT is no different - they've recently released a new 20V Max tool line with new batteries and all new tools.
I was just reading a review on one of the first items in their line - an impact driver that sounds like it's pretty powerful and useful. Check it out if you don't know what an impact driver even is - it's interesting reading.
UPDATE: I just saw another review for the other impact driver they released. It's a 'brushless' driver, which means it's got a different kind of low-friction motor. Cool!
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Ten More Impact Driver Tasks
Unsure if you'll really use a cordless impact driver too often if you purchase one? Or maybe you've got one already however are not doing work too regularly with it. Look at these ten ways to use your tool to get some work done in no time!
1. Build a deck Work faster and longer when you construct a deck - use a powered impact driver . You will drive the screws quickly, and regardless of the screw sort you will not strip the heads. Buy one with a light weight lithium ion battery pack and your arm won't be sore the next day!
2. Boring... There's nothing like curing boredom than making stuff round the house. Like a mess. Or a hole. A big hole. Bore some big holes using some big torque.
If you wish to hog out some huge holes with that auger bit, and you aren't close to a power strip for your regular drill, use an impact driver to blast through and still have battery power left over. Since the power isn't provided just by the motor, even hard jobs won't eat up a battery as fast as a corded drill.
3. Change those tires You may most likely want at least an 18 volt model; but if the grease monkey who tightened your wheels wasn't a wise guy you most likely have enough torque to take off those lug nuts in no time.
If they are too tight or rusted or otherwise stuck, use a breaker bar to loosen them, then move over to your impact driver to make short work of the remainder. Then grease everything up, and tighten them right back on.
Another tip: for those of you without a real floor jack, speed up the tiny scissors-jack that comes with the automobile and use the cordless impact driver instead of the tiny lug wrench.
4. Rock and roll Yes, you'll be able to put up wall board with a cordless impact driver. In fact, the low weight and compact size make it straightforward to use and less tiring, too. Be careful not to become too over excited! Some cordless drivers are too hard to regulate with a soft press. If you're thinking that you may have that problem simply grab a drywall screw adapter and go to town.
5. Pilot holes With a chuck-adapter or a group of hex-shafted drill bits, you can transform your driver into a drill. Quickly drill out holes near the edges or ends of the workpiece. Although the battery powered impact driver has the strength to sink a screw without the help, this can prevent splitting and cracking.
6. Don't lag behind Driving lag bolts is where these tools show their value. A cordless drill simply does not have the power to seat long lags without killing the batteries. You may still want to drill a pilot hole to forestall the wood from cracking, however luckily you have already got the tool for that job, too...
Make positive you have got an impact-rated socket or you may be on the lookout for a new set before too long.
7. What is so screwy? Driving screws, in fact! This is why most people obtain a cordless impact driver to start with. Fast speed, high power, no cam out, easy to handle... do we have to continue? Of course, you will now have to be concerned with ripping the heads off of a number of the less sturdy screws. It's a small price to pay!
If you have ever attempted to put a 4" polymer-coated exterior screw into pressure treated wood, above your head, with a drill, and only got half way before it started to strip... you understand what we are talking about.
8. Don't be dim A lot of the present cordless impact drivers have a bright LED in the front. This allows you to work in the rear of the cabinet below the sink easily.
Get one like the Makita with 'Afterglow' and you'll be able to even see for ten seconds after you let go of the trigger switch - that ought to be long enough to get to that mini-fridge in the garage without being caught!
9. This is nuts! We've already written a very little concerning lug nuts, however there are heaps of nuts out there. And they all need to be tightened. Or loosened.
Anyway, the point is that with a nut-driver attachment, or by using a socket adapter and socket set, you'll quickly finish any nut-twisting jobs with little effort.
10. Take it apart So you've already planned out a deck, but now you've got to disassemble the previous deck 1st. There's nothing worse than 15 year old rusty looking screws that are buried in decking. You'll be able to tell by looking that they do not wish to turn. And you recognize from experience that a drill can end up stripping half of them, if you're lucky.
On the other hand, impact drivers have the torque to free them without stripping those heads - that you already knew if you were being attentive.
Begin off simple if you are handling old fasteners - too much power, too quick, and you will rip the top off while leaving the remainder of the screw buried in the wood. And then you have another kind of problem.
1. Build a deck Work faster and longer when you construct a deck - use a powered impact driver . You will drive the screws quickly, and regardless of the screw sort you will not strip the heads. Buy one with a light weight lithium ion battery pack and your arm won't be sore the next day!
2. Boring... There's nothing like curing boredom than making stuff round the house. Like a mess. Or a hole. A big hole. Bore some big holes using some big torque.
If you wish to hog out some huge holes with that auger bit, and you aren't close to a power strip for your regular drill, use an impact driver to blast through and still have battery power left over. Since the power isn't provided just by the motor, even hard jobs won't eat up a battery as fast as a corded drill.
3. Change those tires You may most likely want at least an 18 volt model; but if the grease monkey who tightened your wheels wasn't a wise guy you most likely have enough torque to take off those lug nuts in no time.
If they are too tight or rusted or otherwise stuck, use a breaker bar to loosen them, then move over to your impact driver to make short work of the remainder. Then grease everything up, and tighten them right back on.
Another tip: for those of you without a real floor jack, speed up the tiny scissors-jack that comes with the automobile and use the cordless impact driver instead of the tiny lug wrench.
4. Rock and roll Yes, you'll be able to put up wall board with a cordless impact driver. In fact, the low weight and compact size make it straightforward to use and less tiring, too. Be careful not to become too over excited! Some cordless drivers are too hard to regulate with a soft press. If you're thinking that you may have that problem simply grab a drywall screw adapter and go to town.
5. Pilot holes With a chuck-adapter or a group of hex-shafted drill bits, you can transform your driver into a drill. Quickly drill out holes near the edges or ends of the workpiece. Although the battery powered impact driver has the strength to sink a screw without the help, this can prevent splitting and cracking.
6. Don't lag behind Driving lag bolts is where these tools show their value. A cordless drill simply does not have the power to seat long lags without killing the batteries. You may still want to drill a pilot hole to forestall the wood from cracking, however luckily you have already got the tool for that job, too...
Make positive you have got an impact-rated socket or you may be on the lookout for a new set before too long.
7. What is so screwy? Driving screws, in fact! This is why most people obtain a cordless impact driver to start with. Fast speed, high power, no cam out, easy to handle... do we have to continue? Of course, you will now have to be concerned with ripping the heads off of a number of the less sturdy screws. It's a small price to pay!
If you have ever attempted to put a 4" polymer-coated exterior screw into pressure treated wood, above your head, with a drill, and only got half way before it started to strip... you understand what we are talking about.
8. Don't be dim A lot of the present cordless impact drivers have a bright LED in the front. This allows you to work in the rear of the cabinet below the sink easily.
Get one like the Makita with 'Afterglow' and you'll be able to even see for ten seconds after you let go of the trigger switch - that ought to be long enough to get to that mini-fridge in the garage without being caught!
9. This is nuts! We've already written a very little concerning lug nuts, however there are heaps of nuts out there. And they all need to be tightened. Or loosened.
Anyway, the point is that with a nut-driver attachment, or by using a socket adapter and socket set, you'll quickly finish any nut-twisting jobs with little effort.
10. Take it apart So you've already planned out a deck, but now you've got to disassemble the previous deck 1st. There's nothing worse than 15 year old rusty looking screws that are buried in decking. You'll be able to tell by looking that they do not wish to turn. And you recognize from experience that a drill can end up stripping half of them, if you're lucky.
On the other hand, impact drivers have the torque to free them without stripping those heads - that you already knew if you were being attentive.
Begin off simple if you are handling old fasteners - too much power, too quick, and you will rip the top off while leaving the remainder of the screw buried in the wood. And then you have another kind of problem.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Drills and Impact Drivers: Which is Best?
Although cordless drills and cordless impact drivers each enjoy different purposes, they conjointly have several similarities. In truth, for most jobs you'll substitute one for the other and find the job done. However, in these situations typically one will work better than the opposite - it all hinges on the job, your experience, and personal preferences.
How they work
A powered drill operates with a easy electric motor. By squeezing the trigger switch, the electric motor turns on and rotates the bit. Current day drills possess variable-speed triggers, that basically means that the more you pull the faster the motor runs. Some have settings allowing you to change the maximum speed and customize for the present task.
Powered impact drivers also enjoy an electric motor that is used to spin the bits. The electrical motor is smaller with lower power, though it commonly spins more quickly. But an impact driver contains further components - called a hammer and anvil - that engage when a lot of power is required. The components add a lot of extra power to the driver.
The hammers are rotated at a very high speed within the motor. When they are whirling fast enough, they strike the anvil. This provides a noisy banging sound to the impact driver, along with increased power. The method also leads to lower back-torque on the operator's arm and hand making it simpler to operate.
Which driver works better?
Each tool possesses totally different strong points. Unsurprisingly, for drilling holes you would in all probability choose a drill. Most battery powered drills possess better control at low speeds, allowing you to more exactly start holes. In addition, to use an impact driver for drilling you either need a set of hex-shafted drill bits or a drill-bit chuck attachment.
A powered driver will be the right tool in certain drilling tasks, on the other hand. When creating massive holes using a spade-bit, for instance, the high power and the inner mechanism can let it drill through with ease while not wearing down the battery as fast as a cordless drill.
If the task is driving fasteners, a drill using a screwdriver bit can work fine a lot of of the time. For small screws, a drill is preferred because of the fine control - a battery powered driver is so effective, you could over tighten or even rip the screw head right off.
For most fastening tasks, though, the simplest choice may be an impact driver. The quick impact force means the power is delivered to the screw so fast that even in hard situations, the bit doesn't have time to pop out of the screw head. So, the screw is not damaged, and no need for a lot of downward force on the screw. Additionally, because there is little to no back torque, you can screw long, long screws into hard woods simply - maybe one handed, if you need to.
When it involves nuts or bolts, once more the impact driver wins easily. An 18v impact can repeatedly drive in long lags while not wearing down the battery, unlike a drill which can begin to weaken after just one hard bolt.
The victor
If you simply want to drill lots of holes, or you would like tons of precision, then a drill is the simplest alternative. However if you intend on using the tool mainly as a screw-driver, then a cordless impact driver is certainly the best.
Get answers to your questions about impact drivers, or check out some impact driver reviews!
How they work
A powered drill operates with a easy electric motor. By squeezing the trigger switch, the electric motor turns on and rotates the bit. Current day drills possess variable-speed triggers, that basically means that the more you pull the faster the motor runs. Some have settings allowing you to change the maximum speed and customize for the present task.
Powered impact drivers also enjoy an electric motor that is used to spin the bits. The electrical motor is smaller with lower power, though it commonly spins more quickly. But an impact driver contains further components - called a hammer and anvil - that engage when a lot of power is required. The components add a lot of extra power to the driver.
The hammers are rotated at a very high speed within the motor. When they are whirling fast enough, they strike the anvil. This provides a noisy banging sound to the impact driver, along with increased power. The method also leads to lower back-torque on the operator's arm and hand making it simpler to operate.
Which driver works better?
Each tool possesses totally different strong points. Unsurprisingly, for drilling holes you would in all probability choose a drill. Most battery powered drills possess better control at low speeds, allowing you to more exactly start holes. In addition, to use an impact driver for drilling you either need a set of hex-shafted drill bits or a drill-bit chuck attachment.
A powered driver will be the right tool in certain drilling tasks, on the other hand. When creating massive holes using a spade-bit, for instance, the high power and the inner mechanism can let it drill through with ease while not wearing down the battery as fast as a cordless drill.
If the task is driving fasteners, a drill using a screwdriver bit can work fine a lot of of the time. For small screws, a drill is preferred because of the fine control - a battery powered driver is so effective, you could over tighten or even rip the screw head right off.
For most fastening tasks, though, the simplest choice may be an impact driver. The quick impact force means the power is delivered to the screw so fast that even in hard situations, the bit doesn't have time to pop out of the screw head. So, the screw is not damaged, and no need for a lot of downward force on the screw. Additionally, because there is little to no back torque, you can screw long, long screws into hard woods simply - maybe one handed, if you need to.
When it involves nuts or bolts, once more the impact driver wins easily. An 18v impact can repeatedly drive in long lags while not wearing down the battery, unlike a drill which can begin to weaken after just one hard bolt.
The victor
If you simply want to drill lots of holes, or you would like tons of precision, then a drill is the simplest alternative. However if you intend on using the tool mainly as a screw-driver, then a cordless impact driver is certainly the best.
Get answers to your questions about impact drivers, or check out some impact driver reviews!
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