Drill/Driver and an Impact Driver..... ?

[Meat Hunter]

I am looking for an electric drill that also has that little hammering-like action that can be used drilling holes and also for setting small screws and for taking off small nuts -- not an electric impact wrench that one uses for removing lug nuts from wheels?

What is the difference between a: Drill/Driver and an Impact Driver?

[Drawingablank]

Many of the newer drill / drivers have a hammer drill setting which impacts in line with the bit mainly for use with masonry bits.

An impact driver impacts in a rotary action designed to loosen / tighten nuts and bolts.

[mudpuppy000]

Yeah, the hammer drill pounds the bit in and out in the direction you're drilling (useful for making holes in concrete, etc), while the impact driver hammers in the direction it's spinning. (better for driving screws into stuff, or bolting things together)

I was trying to put some long screws in our wall last night and doing that with a drill sucked. (kept stripping the head) Impact driver blasted the thing in no problem.

[Captain Goddammit]

They make cute little 1/4" drive impact drivers that work great if you don't need something big enough to take lug nuts off. Peterbilt with. I wanna get one myself.

[The Rod]

Drills make holes and drivers drive bolts and screws.

[torrey.smith]

All this talk of torque provides a good opportunity to list the 4 banned substances in Sextant Camp:

Heroin
Meth
GHB
Phillips Head Screws

[some seeing eye]

Phillips head screws replaced by?

[Captain Goddammit]

Personally I like torx head screws. Easy to get the bit into, easy to keep it in, and hard to strip if the bit is in good shape. I'm not a fan of Phillips either.

[torrey.smith]

Personally I like torx head screws. Easy to get the bit into, easy to keep it in, and hard to strip if the bit is in good shape. I'm not a fan of Phillips either.

Torx. Readily available and addresses all the issues with Phillips.

[BBadger]

I don't mind cross-head type screws, but the problem is that there can be a mismatch in the screw and screwdriver, causing one or the other to get damaged. Cheap screws, especially those shitty-ass brass screws from China, generally come as phillips-type screws and are especially terrible and they often come damaged by whomever first attached them to the product. Slot-heads are annoying to keep aligned. Torxs are nice, but the screwdrivers aren't always available. I like and use hex screws too, but having the tool on hand is also uncommon.

I guess the moral of the story for me is to buy and bring the screws/screwdrivers myself so I know they won't suck. :\

[Jackass]

Like having a bunch of flat head screws and the only cheap screwdriver you have has the tip rounded off, like a butter knife...
Flat heads suck to drive, but can usually be tightened more than a phillips.

[torrey.smith]

For reference, the Makita TW1000 is the largest electric impact wrench you can buy readily. 738 ft-lbs with 1" drive.

(And now, a shameless rip from the thread we should really be contributing to)

[Token]

I suddenly feel very inadequate.

[Captain Goddammit]

Or just do what I do and bring a compressor and air tools. They survive playa dust much better.

[torrey.smith]

Or just do what I do and bring a compressor and air tools. They survive playa dust much better.

What compressor and what air impact?

The electric Makita maxes out at 738 ft-lbs, which is inadequate on the 46" penetrator.

How much torque do you have?

[Jackass]

1" drive air impact guns range from 1100-2150 ft lbs, 3/4" drive 1050-1600 ft lbs, and 1/2" drive models can go as high as 1300 ft lbs...
These specs are from my local tool porn catalog...

Either you'll need a compressor with a 60+ gallon tank @ 150 psi, or something with a smaller tank that is capable of producing 24cfm or more @150psi. Gasoline powered, service truck style compressors are usually a good choice. They usually have a tank of 30-40 gallons, but they make up for it by building up a shit load of air in no time.

[Captain Goddammit]

Ha! 738 ft/lbs... that right about what my truck makes! Damn.
I just use air tools because the playa dust kills electric ones, plus it's literally impossible to survive in BRC more than a day without compressed air anyway. You have to inflate things and blow dust off stuff.

[maladroit]

plus it's literally impossible to survive in BRC more than a day without compressed air anyway. You have to inflate things and blow dust off stuff.

Today I learned that I died years ago

[Captain Goddammit]

Savagery, I say!

[ZigZag]

So If I decide next year to replace all the rebar for my monkey hut with 3/8 x 18" lag screws and won't have the luxury of a generator or compressor, do I need a impact driver or a drill driver? What size drive and how much torque do I need for say, an 18V driver?

[Captain Goddammit]

You want an impact driver.
They sell super handy little 1/4" drive models but I'd be more tempted to go up a size.

[kowtow]

You want an impact driver.
They sell super handy little 1/4" drive models but I'd be more tempted to go up a size.

I have to agree with the Captain, pump up the impact wrench to something you know will do the job. I took a 1/2", 20Volt impact driver with 5/8" x 23" lag bolts and that worked wonderfully. I didn't have to worry at all about a ratchet strap coming loose even once and I was securing three 10'Wx10'Lx10H screen rooms for the entire week.

[mudpuppy000]

So If I decide next year to replace all the rebar for my monkey hut with 3/8 x 18" lag screws and won't have the luxury of a generator or compressor, do I need a impact driver or a drill driver? What size drive and how much torque do I need for say, an 18V driver?

Whatever you decide on you might want to invest in a car charger for the battery, in case your battery dies halfway through setup or teardown. You can also buy a spare battery. The cheaper drivers tend to have crappier batteries, or motors that are less efficient. You want something with Lithium batteries (not ni cad) and if they have brushless motors that's better as it wastes less power for the same amount of work.

[Token]

So replace a 3# sledge and vise-grips with all this electric motor junk, spare battery, chargers, power source ...

I fail to see the economy of scale for a small/solo camp.

But that's me, a 6'5" knuckle dragger with plenty torque in the shoulders to use simple tools.

[krly]

So If I decide next year to replace all the rebar for my monkey hut with 3/8 x 18" lag screws

ZIGZAG, from what I've read , the lags don't work that well (compared to re-bar) for slipping the pvc over. They definitely work better for tie-downs though.

[Captain Goddammit]

I guess it depends if that driver is a tool you'd want to have anyway. In my case, any and every tool is one I'd want anyway.
If you don't suffer from tool addiction then Token's got a solid point.

[BBadger]

This burn my impact driver evidently lost its ability to drive in lag bolts effectively, despite making a lot of noise, so I had to resort to using a ratchet wrench for the final bit instead. Still a lot better than driving in rebar but I'm kinda pissed that the impact driver is giving up the ghost.

[Captain Goddammit]

Wow, what kind, how old??

[mudpuppy000]

So replace a 3# sledge and vise-grips with all this electric motor junk, spare battery, chargers, power source ...

I fail to see the economy of scale for a small/solo camp.

But that's me, a 6'5" knuckle dragger with plenty torque in the shoulders to use simple tools.

Yeah, if I was just setting up a monkey hut or tent it's kind of ridiculous.

This summer I went car camping with some long distance backpackers and their ultralight stuff. I think their heads almost exploded when I set up my huge coleman cabin tent and started lagging it down with the impact driver.

[ZigZag]

So replace a 3# sledge and vise-grips with all this electric motor junk, spare battery, chargers, power source ...

I fail to see the economy of scale for a small/solo camp.

But that's me, a 6'5" knuckle dragger with plenty torque in the shoulders to use simple tools.

Yea, that thought occurred to me. Kind of like shooting a chicken with a howitzer.

ZIGZAG, from what I've read , the lags don't work that well (compared to re-bar) for slipping the pvc over. They definitely work better for tie-downs though.

That's good to know. I kinda wondered about that since I'd need to leave what, 6-8 inches above ground?


Unfortunately I'm not a 6'6" knuckle dragger, I'm a 5'8" senior woman and though I'm pretty tough, pounding in all that rebar just ends up taking a lot of time and energy. I can handle it, I'm just looking to shorten my set up/tear down time where possible. Besides, I always look for an excuse to buy tools!