Drilling with a driver or impact?

[Stuey]

My personal tendency is to avoid drilling with a cordless screwdriver or impact driver. There's too much initial wobble, and even if it trues out while boring the hole, there's too much friction and rubbing against the hole walls for my liking.

If I don't need precision placement or sizing, I might go ahead and grab an impact drill bit. I really love using impact hole saws, but that's another story.

Here's my boring 3-minute quick video that shows the wobble, thrown together b/c I confused the heck out of people in this thread.

ANYWAYS, what are your usage habits? Do you drill with cordless tools that have 1/4" hex bit adapters?

 

[jjjrmx5]

Do you drill with cordless tools that have 1/4" hex bit adapters?

No--especially impacts.
Or should I say no unless the impact is the only tool available and the hole location need not be exact.

While I deal with manufacturing and semi-precision on a daily basis, jacobs chuck and std. drill bits on either a cordless drill or air drill with a real twist lock chuck is what I prefer unless using verticle type drill press or milling machine type equipment.

I've used 1/4" hex fitment chucks that use std. drill bits and those 1/4" shank drill bits and even if using a push punch or center punch to mark your hole, there is still is a ****-ton of wobble, even on new bit holders.

If doing deck work or pre-drilling lag bolts, it's less crucial in my eyes.
Doing metal work or custom automotive work where fastener location is crucial and unforgiving means a big "no" for me for shank based drill bits.

BTW Stuey, I sen you a PM last week here on GJ and never heard back. LMK.

 

[Stuey]

No--especially impacts.
Or should I say no unless the impact is the only tool available and the hole location need not be exact.

While I deal with manufacturing and semi-precision on a daily basis, jacobs chuck and std. drill bits on either a cordless drill or air drill with a real twist lock chuck is what I prefer unless using verticle type drill press or milling machine type equipment.

I've used 1/4" hex fitment chucks that use std. drill bits and those 1/4" shank drill bits and even if using a push punch or center punch to mark your hole, there is still is a ****-ton of wobble, even on new bit holders.

If doing deck work or pre-drilling lag bolts, it's less crucial in my eyes.
Doing metal work or custom automotive work where fastener location is crucial and unforgiving means a big "no" for me for shank based drill bits.

BTW Stuey, I sen you a PM last week here on GJ and never heard back. LMK.

Yep, I tried that too - center punching first, and it didn't help.

I did get your PM, I think, (like 2 days ago?) and glanced over it when it hit my email inbox, but have been too swamped with work to go over it carefully and get back to you. My PM box is filling up, my email box is filling up, and I don't even want to think about the number of people I was supposed to call back. I like to take things slow, and will get back to you ASAP as soon. Sorry about the delay.

 

[2chipped]

Yes I use an impact to drill for general stuff,not for precise holes to be tapped etc. As an example, I use it to predrill alumn screen porches brackets that receive tapcons, vinyl and alumn gateposts need 5/8 holes drilled to accept the lock latches. The impact will have wobble and I would never recommend drilling through 1/4 in material before cutting threads. But for thinwall it is 1/3 faster then to have an extra tool to lug around. IMO.

 

[Danglerb]

I have the $6 set of hex drive drill bits from HF. Same thing, if I need a nothing special hole and don't want to lug around two tools, works fine.

 

[jamesc]

I use impact drivers all the time for quick drilling, I haven't had any problems with any accuracy but I use different drills when things need to be precise. I keep all my 1/4" bits on the side of my tool box because I am always using the impact driver so I drill anything none precise with it.

 

[Greatbear]

My personal tendency is to avoid drilling with a cordless screwdriver or impact driver. There's too much initial wobble, and even if it trues out while boring the hole, there's too much friction and rubbing against the hole walls for my liking.

If I don't need precision placement or sizing, I might go ahead and grab an impact drill bit. I really love using impact hole saws, but that's another story.

Here's my boring 3-minute quick video that shows the wobble, thrown together b/c I confused the heck out of people in this thread.

ANYWAYS, what are your usage habits? Do you drill with cordless tools that have 1/4" hex bit adapters?

Stuey, I posted in another thread one solution. To address drilling with an impactor, I've done it just to try it, but I am not satisfied with the performance of the tool. It can be done in rough woodworking, but I would never drill into metals or in any case where you need to tightly control the speed and feed rate of the bit. I have a Bosch 26618 combo drill/driver/impactor that works well. I can shut off the impacting action and drill at high or low speed, and with a conversion chuck, it's not much different than a normal drill.

 

[Monte]

Festool

 

[ChrisF250]

I used to use my impact driver for all my drilling but found a regular drill for cheap. The drill spins at lower rpms and the chuck accepts a wider variety of bits so now I use it for all my drilling.

 

[Stuey]

Stuey, I posted in another thread one solution. To address drilling with an impactor, I've done it just to try it, but I am not satisfied with the performance of the tool. It can be done in rough woodworking, but I would never drill into metals or in any case where you need to tightly control the speed and feed rate of the bit. I have a Bosch 26618 combo drill/driver/impactor that works well. I can shut off the impacting action and drill at high or low speed, and with a conversion chuck, it's not much different than a normal drill.

You've got a point about the conversion chuck, I didn't think about that.

So how do you like the Bosch combo impactor? I remember it coming out a while ago and writing a preview for it, but haven't met anyone who bought one. Interested in it myself, I couldn't get past the price.

Festool

Shhh, the F word isn't allowed in my home ever since I traded a paycheck for a vac and track saw! =P

 

[Greatbear]

You've got a point about the conversion chuck, I didn't think about that.

So how do you like the Bosch combo impactor? I remember it coming out a while ago and writing a preview for it, but haven't met anyone who bought one. Interested in it myself, I couldn't get past the price.

I have an ancient Milwaukee 2.4V cordless screwdriver kit. The batteries are shot, so I don't use it anymore. It was replaced by a little Skil LiIon driver. At least it can sit around for a month and the battery will still be good. Anyway, the Milwaukee came with a 1/4" keyed conversion chuck. I started using that in my first Bosch PS20 driver. I found the DeWalt chuck at one of the big box stores and picked that up in order to use larger bits. It is a perfect accessory for the 26618 combo driver.

The price is not quite as steep on the 26618 as it used to be. I was looking at a bare tool version and it was high for a long time, and recently the price of that fell to under 200 bucks. I was ready to send off for it along with an extra battery for the fleet, then realized there was a full kit with the tool, 30-minute charger, two fatpack high capacity batteries and a nice case for 80 dollars more, about the price of the one extra battery I wanted. So, I got the kit and came out ahead.

I've put the thing through its paces already and love it. Combined with the chuck it is a great drill, the 2800rpm high range is great for woodworking, and it has 1500 lb/in of torque in impact mode. The 750rpm range is fine for metalworking. I beat the hell out of my 25618 impact driver doing timber framing work driving ten inch lag screws, the combo has the same torque rating. I got a couple of projects where I will give the combo driver a good workout. I just have to wait until my health permits it.

 

[Harvey Melvin Richards]

Spade bits with 1/4" hex shanks work great in 1/4" impacts. Really, really fast.

 

[Monte]

Re: FESTOOL

Shhh, the F word isn't allowed in my home ever since I traded a paycheck for a vac and track saw! =P

Festool Festool Festool Festool Festool Festool Festool Festool Festool Festool Festool Fes...

 

[Stuey]

Re: FESTOOL

Festool Festool Festool Festool Festool Festool Festool Festool Festool Festool Festool Fes...

Haha. At least you didn't say the 4-letter F-word!! (Fein, lol).

As mentioned in my "what'd the forum get you to buy" thread (link), you're already responsible for my buying a Petzl Pixa and indirectly responsible for my Zebralight purchase!!

 

[Monte]

Re: FESTOOL

you're already responsible for my buying a Petzl Pixa and indirectly responsible for my Zebralight purchase!!

I´m sorry

 

[Steevo]

I don't use hex-shank drill bits. Except . . . for things like a pilot hole in a wall/stud for a lag bolt, where the impact makes fast work of the pilot hole.