Fender1325
Well-known member
- Joined
- Dec 30, 2014
- Messages
- 1,309
After learning about it on this thread I thought itd be a nice tool to have and for roughly $60 it sounded like a good deal.
I bought it today and took it home. Im on the fence as to whether I want to keep it or not.
When you release the trigger it unwinds like a regular corded non-impact drill, which makes you especially prone to rounding out the screw. It was downright annoying putting in 2 inch phillips head wood screws into 2 2x4's. Constantly spinning and rounding out screws. The power is variable with the trigger but the hammering doesnt engage until higher torque is required, which almost kicks in when the head of the screw hits the surface - and then it hammers in an extra 1/4" in a second. Its very fast and I found myself needing to really put weight behind the drill to not round things out.
In comparison to my 1/4" craftsman lithium ion cordless impact driver, the craftsman engages the hammering action much sooner and allows me to put in screws much easier and with much more control. It also has a brake if we could call it that, when you release the trigger, it stops immediately, which is really helpful when putting in screws over your head or awkward positions. Every screw went in so much easier.
Now, when I tried hardened 3 inch screws that come with the star bit, the porter cable actually grabbed, and engaged the hammer action much quicker, making the control easier.
I think in heavier duty, higher production situations like building a deck where youre using heavy duty screws and need to put in a lot of them quickly, the porter cable would be useful. But 2 inch phillips head wood screws? Forget about it. It just spins and rounds them out, and if you do get good contact it puts them in so fast you drive the head below the surface a good 1/4" in the blink of an eye.
So, Im kind of on the fence with this one. I think framing with 2x4's would be much better suited to the craftsman.
I bought it today and took it home. Im on the fence as to whether I want to keep it or not.
When you release the trigger it unwinds like a regular corded non-impact drill, which makes you especially prone to rounding out the screw. It was downright annoying putting in 2 inch phillips head wood screws into 2 2x4's. Constantly spinning and rounding out screws. The power is variable with the trigger but the hammering doesnt engage until higher torque is required, which almost kicks in when the head of the screw hits the surface - and then it hammers in an extra 1/4" in a second. Its very fast and I found myself needing to really put weight behind the drill to not round things out.
In comparison to my 1/4" craftsman lithium ion cordless impact driver, the craftsman engages the hammering action much sooner and allows me to put in screws much easier and with much more control. It also has a brake if we could call it that, when you release the trigger, it stops immediately, which is really helpful when putting in screws over your head or awkward positions. Every screw went in so much easier.
Now, when I tried hardened 3 inch screws that come with the star bit, the porter cable actually grabbed, and engaged the hammer action much quicker, making the control easier.
I think in heavier duty, higher production situations like building a deck where youre using heavy duty screws and need to put in a lot of them quickly, the porter cable would be useful. But 2 inch phillips head wood screws? Forget about it. It just spins and rounds them out, and if you do get good contact it puts them in so fast you drive the head below the surface a good 1/4" in the blink of an eye.
So, Im kind of on the fence with this one. I think framing with 2x4's would be much better suited to the craftsman.