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

[BBadger]

Wow, what kind, how old??

It was a reconditioned brushless motor-based Milwaukee 1/4" (FUEL M18) . It worked beautifully the first year (2014), and I pretty much didn't use it again until BM this year. The batteries were just fine as I had used the drill in the set recently too.

It was as if the impacting mechanism wasn't going the whole way. So the going would be really slow near the end as the lag bolt slowly turned. Initially I thought it was just really hard pack playa or something, but after using a wrench to drive the bolts in the rest of the way it certainly wasn't that. I could even help twist the lag bolt with my hands while driving that thing.

Maybe I'll open it up and see if something looks wrong.

[FIGJAM]

I slipped PVC over 4"s of exposed lag with no issues.

[ZigZag]

I slipped PVC over 4"s of exposed lag with no issues.

Cool. Were those 18" lags?

It seems the only purpose of the rebar inside the PVC is to stop lateral travel, its not as if there is a lot of vertical force exerted on them.

[EGAZ]

Open that thing up MH, if it sat all year it may just be dry.

Late to the thread but I bought this set last spring.

Full disclosure: I am a fan of Milwaukee power tools. (along with PortaBand and Makita) Now I needed to replace my cordless drills so I was in the market and use them weekly. You can buy just the hammer drill separately.

The hammer drill worked perfectly. it drove/removed a dozen 3/8x14" lags on a single charge with three bars left on the batt. I use 5.0Ah lithium batts

For off Playa use I found the drive clutch to be very reliable and repeatable when setting smaller screws MeatHunter was asking about. I've even used a wire wheel in it a few times.
Great tool that will last years.

[ZigZag]

Open that thing up MH, if it sat all year it may just be dry.

Late to the thread but I bought this set last spring.

Full disclosure: I am a fan of Milwaukee power tools. (along with PortaBand and Makita) Now I needed to replace my cordless drills so I was in the market and use them weekly. You can buy just the hammer drill separately.

The hammer drill worked perfectly. it drove/removed a dozen 3/8x14" lags on a single charge with three bars left on the batt. I use 5.0Ah lithium batts

For off Playa use I found the drive clutch to be very reliable and repeatable when setting smaller screws MeatHunter was asking about. I've even used a wire wheel in it a few times.
Great tool that will last years.

Thanks for the recommendation. I hear the calling of the Amazon jungle... its been missing me since the end of August.

I'm already starting to think about next year. I spent today getting all my lights cleaned up and pulling out the batteries for winter. The dust was plentiful and wonderful!

[WileE13]

Get an impact drill. Sooo much better than a normal drill for putting in screws. Not so good, however, for drilling. Get a kit that comes with a regular drill and the impact, it is cheaper that way anyhow than say buying an extra battery for one drill. I'd actually recommend a whole Makita kit with circular saw, reciprocating saw, angle grinder and two drills, along with multiple batteries. You can do most anything with that combo.

The key with Phillips bits is to use a NO. 2 REDUCED. The REDUCED part is key. Normal no. 2 bits suck.

[WileE13]

Another suggestion. Make sure your drill has a half inch chuck. 3/8th's chucks are a PITA.

[BBadger]

The key with Phillips bits is to use a NO. 2 REDUCED. The REDUCED part is key. Normal no. 2 bits suck.

Also, what's the difference between the reduced and non-reduced? I tried looking them up but wasn't sure what the difference was.

[Ratty]

I would guess that means pointy. The pointy phillips don't strip out your screws.

[GreyCoyote]

Heads up if you are looking for a 1/2 inch drive 120 volt impact: HF has them on sale now for a song.

[WileE13]

The key with Phillips bits is to use a NO. 2 REDUCED. The REDUCED part is key. Normal no. 2 bits suck.

Also, what's the difference between the reduced and non-reduced? I tried looking them up but wasn't sure what the difference was.

The reduced is narrower, it doesn't continue to expand out to the size of the hex part like a normal bit. Also, the end is blunt and not sharp, which allows it to grab the phillips insert better without the tip pushing it away from the screw because the depression of the phillips head isn't deep enough or has a burr or something else in it. Reduced bits also are not as prone to stripping, they usually break before stripping.

I was given this advice from a contractor friend and will never go back. Trust me, it is probably one of the best things you can change in your tool box. Get a pack of them and toss all the "normal" no 2 bits in the trash, you'll never use them again.

[BBadger]

Thanks, I'll look into those bits. It'll be nice having something consistently reliable.