To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!

Impact gun / screws

Dragster Racer

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 9, 2008
Messages
1,891
Location
Morrison, IL
I see Holmes and his guys using an impact gun for driving screws. How come? I have had a couple of wrist injuries, and was having trouble driving the long phillips into decent wood. I switched to torx, and boy did that help! Just wondered what the deal with the impacts was.
 
To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!

jvitez

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 30, 2009
Messages
2,429
Location
Big Sky Country, Canada
An impact driver has far more torque than a straight drill-driver. The anvil mechanism causes the "ratcheting," which also reduces cam out. A bunch to small whacks inside the screw head keep the bit seated far better than steady torque.

BTW, I assume you mean Mike Holmes of Holmes on Homes TV fame. Since he's a fellow Canuck, we use Robertson screws for woodworking almost exclusively, which also helps with cam out vs Phillips.
 

2chipped

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 14, 2009
Messages
641
Location
Jesup Ga USA
I see Holmes and his guys using an impact gun for driving screws. How come? I have had a couple of wrist injuries, and was having trouble driving the long phillips into decent wood. I switched to torx, and boy did that help! Just wondered what the deal with the impacts was.

I am going to be captain obvious,and tell you that you have never used an impact before.:bounce:
If you drive 1# 3in screw in anything with your drill ,then you can take it out and rescrew it you will not ask this question.
 

Ign

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 7, 2006
Messages
12,769
Location
Butte Peak ND
Yep, I could never understand why phillips was still around. In fact I had gone robertson exclusively on everything I used. Once I used an impact driver I understood why phillips still existed.

Grab a Milwaukee 2450 kit. It's only $99 and your injured wrist will love it - compact, lightweight, impact. My wife also loves the impact as she doesn't have the hand/arm strength to wrestle a good drill.
 
OP
D

Dragster Racer

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 9, 2008
Messages
1,891
Location
Morrison, IL
I will try it. I have the Dewalt kit, which has an impact. I use it now and then when air isn't handy in the shop, and it is great on nuts and bolts on the engine. I wish I would have gotten onto this long ago. That little impact is small and light.
 

Busted_Knuckles

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 9, 2009
Messages
2,613
Location
Northwest Illinois
You guys might find this interesting, my 104 year old farm house is southern yellow pine, and the wood is rock hard, no kidding. So Ive done extensive remodeling to it, adding/change rooms, new stair case, new joists/floors, including deleting two exterior doors, adding another on the other side, and changed out and resized 22 windows. So I have a mix of new pine, and old pine.

We've been using the 18v Milwaukee and Bosch impactors when driving screws. Allot of the framing is screwed together where 3-1/4 framing nails could not reach.

Anyhow, the wood is so hard, that R2, R2/P2 Combo, and #12 Torx will cam out if you try screwing them with a cordless drill, because the wood is so hard (resistance/torque) does not matter how hard you push while screwing. The impactors, will run up to 6" screws of any drive head into the old pine, no problem. When you go from the old pine, into an adjacent new pine board with the impactor, its like you screwing into butter, the screws just fly into the new wood. Its kind of crazy how well the impactor works.

We are even using them (impactors) to run 1-5/8s sheet rock screws with a P2 Drive, because my screw guns cam out, in the old wood, even with a screw that small and short.

One side note, the Bosch runs the screws quicker, but the battery features of the milwaukee are better. Both impactors where new at the start of the job. Also, they are loud enough when driving into very hard wood, that you might want ear plugs.
 
Last edited:

leiterch

Active member
Joined
May 15, 2010
Messages
38
Location
Boon, MI
This is a funny topic. The impact as a screw driver just came to me last week. I grabbed it after seeing a buddy use his on my drywall project (drywall bit of course) and shot in some 3" screws through 2x4 and studs. WOW!!!! Actually don't have to stand on the drill to put them in. I couldn't believe how great they work. I have the ryobi 1+ setup and it is a tad bulky I will be adding a lightweight impact to my collection.

Dragster Racer - trust me, grab an impact and your wrist will love you. :)

Ign - I will look into that Milwaukee kit. I was going to grab the dewalt as that is the rig my buddy had, but I see many other options.
 

gc11090

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 4, 2010
Messages
290
I have not used a drill on a screw sense I got my impact. I have built 5-6 decks over the summer with it and will never try to do one without an impact again. I have the dewalt 18 volt model and I must say, I am impressed. I also use the grip right torx head screws available at lowes and I have never had a cam out or anything.
 

Steevo

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 18, 2009
Messages
8,738
Location
43.49600, -112.04300
I have used DeWalt 18v drill/drivers for screw driving for years, and then a few months ago, I tried out the new DeWalt 12v LithIon impact driver.
The little 12v driver seriously out-performed the big 18v drill/driver for driving screws.
I bought it on the spot.
 

KenS

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 21, 2007
Messages
726
The drill gets dusty when you have an impact-- except on the rare occasions when you actually need to drill a hole and not drive a fastener.
 
To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!

rlk

Member
Joined
Nov 10, 2007
Messages
21
Location
Apex, NC
I have not used a drill on a screw sense I got my impact. I have built 5-6 decks over the summer with it and will never try to do one without an impact again. I have the dewalt 18 volt model and I must say, I am impressed. I also use the grip right torx head screws available at lowes and I have never had a cam out or anything.

What is a "cam out"?

rlk
 

Busted_Knuckles

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 9, 2009
Messages
2,613
Location
Northwest Illinois
What is a "cam out"?

rlk

Cam out is when the drive bit "jumps" out of the fastener head because the resistance of the screw is great enough to stall, but the drill still has enough torque to continue to turn, so the bit jumps out, or "cams out" which ruins the head of the screw and put super-accelerated wear on the driving bit.
 

Greatbear

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 17, 2008
Messages
1,702
Location
Columbia/Fulton, MD
In addition to preventing cam-out, impacting drivers have very little "recoil" torque compared to a traditional drill-driver. This makes it far easier to use a driver in an awkward position, like on a ladder, or with a single hand. I got a little carried away buying myself drivers as a result. :lol:
 

klhitman

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 17, 2010
Messages
1,016
Location
pewee valley
when my dad built his deck i brought over my small air impact with a Robertson driver and he used is ridged corded drill(with the same driver) and i out drove him like 5 to 1 on the screws for the deck boards as he was cussing the screws often. he dosnt know how to start slow. its always full tilt.
 

Killer95Stang

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 1, 2008
Messages
341
Just got the Hitachi 18V combo for Christmas, and have used the impact gun on at least 10 projects, while I haven't even tried the drill driver yet.

I'm just surprised I waited so long to get one..
 

97Tahoe

Banned
Joined
Dec 9, 2010
Messages
31
A impact driver used with common sense will drive a phillips screw clear through a 6x6 and not strip out of you have a long enough bit, I've even used my impact driver to remove previously stripped screw with no problem.
 

ket-tek

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 28, 2009
Messages
1,289
I agree with all of the above, I love my little 18v impact.. It's great working on a car, and it's awesome for driving deck screws and the like.

From my experience driving wood screws, sometimes you have to push so hard on a regular drill to keep the bit seated in the screw, to stop it from 'camming out' like these guys refer. You don't have to push on the impact at all like a you do a drill driver. The impact does the work for you.

Try it you will like it.
 
To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!
Top Bottom