I'm always fascinated by how good modern tools have gotten. This evening, we picked up a Dewalt 887 impact driver.

Coming from just having a power drill...wow. It drove our 2" screws into studs that otherwise were laughed at with the power drill. I knew impact drivers were good. I didn't know they were this good. USA made to boot, which I've been trying to do as much as I can lately.

In the last year we picked up a miter saw, a jigsaw, circular saw, air compressor, and 18 gauge brad nailer. I haven't found a single tool lacking in power or quality. Bosch, Makita, and the American-made Dewalt products are outstanding these days. And online reviews make picking the best of the bunch incredibly easy.

Sure makes changing tires and lawn mower blades easier. Lithium ion batteries amaze me with their ability to hold a charge.

quote:

Originally posted by doublesharp:
Sure makes changing tires and lawn mower blades easier. Lithium ion batteries amaze me with their ability to hold a charge.

Costco and xeriscaping make sure I don't have to do much of either luckily

I bought a Ridgid 18 volt 1/2" impact gun last week and am amazed at how easy it was to take off the tires on my sons car. Next week it will be shocks and struts on our Yukon. These tools make the job almost fun.

A DeWalt impact driver was my first experience with such a tool, too. After that, I can't believe I ever used a drill to drive screws. That was a pain in the ass.

They are impressive. I don't know what took me so long to buy one, it's my go to for most light stuff from home to automotive.

Don't discount the modern fasteners either. The way the bit engages is world's better than the standard #2 Philips most common in old deck screws. I think the star pattern (torx) and the Philips/square drive are where it's at.

quote:

Originally posted by rtquig:
I bought a Ridgid 18 volt 1/2" impact gun last week and am amazed at how easy it was to take off the tires on my sons car. Next week it will be shocks and struts on our Yukon. These tools make the job almost fun.

Did you get the kit or just the bare tool? I went online last week to buy the kit and they are no longer available.

quote:

Originally posted by shiftyvtec:
They are impressive. I don't know what took me so long to buy one, it's my go to for most light stuff from home to automotive.

Don't discount the modern fasteners either. The way the bit engages is world's better than the standard #2 Philips most common in old deck screws. I think the star pattern (torx) and the Philips/square drive are where it's at.

After reading much praise here about modern 12v impact drivers I happened to stumble on a clearance Makita impact driver and drill driver combo for $70 with 2 tiny little batteries. The tools are super small and light and I absolutely love them, especially the impact. It puts my 18v Porter Cable impact to shame at 1/3 the weight.

I built about 100 feet of fencing with only one battery swap. Most impressed.

Impact Drivers are Incredible

Why yes, yes indeed. I have Milwaukee stuff myself.

You are a little late to the party but better late than never!

And yes, as shiftyvtec mentioned, torx head fasteners rule.
Also pick up a bit extension for those hard to reach spots.

I used a little bitty 12V Bosch impact driver to drive about a hundred 3/8" lag bolts putting together a swing set for my daughter a few months ago.

I had to change batteries a couple of times (also drove several hundred wood screws), but the power of even the little 12V tools is amazing.

The brushless porter cable 20v kit with impact driver and drill is an unbeleavable value at $200.

quote:

Originally posted by caneau:

xeriscaping

I caught xeriscaping once, but strong antibiotics cleared it up just fine.........Oh, wait......

When your arm torques when you pull the trigger you know it has some power.

I can drive a screw pretty much through a 2x4

quote:

Originally posted by shiftyvtec:
They are impressive. I don't know what took me so long to buy one, it's my go to for most light stuff from home to automotive.

For me it was the price coming down first. The prices finally came down enough a few years ago where I went with the Milwaukee 18v brushless set.

I suspect battery prices coming down really dropped the overall price. Plus when you standardize your battery, you end up having only to buy tools instead of having to buy batteries and chargers.

I have the impact, sawzall, 7 1/4" circular, drill and grinder. All brushless with 5amp batteries. These tools were just too heavy and/or expensive even just 5-7 years ago.

I've become a Ryobi junkie and have 6 or 7 of their tools, but the impact driver impresses me the most I think. It's a tank with the 4Ah batteries and a charge lasts forever.

How did mankind live without these things?

Jim

It makes me angry every time I think about all of the times I struggled to drive a screw into a board with a power drill. The driver is easily one of the best things that I've ever bought.

quote:

Originally posted by BadDogPSD:

quote:

Originally posted by rtquig:
I bought a Ridgid 18 volt 1/2" impact gun last week and am amazed at how easy it was to take off the tires on my sons car. Next week it will be shocks and struts on our Yukon. These tools make the job almost fun.

Did you get the kit or just the bare tool? I went online last week to buy the kit and they are no longer available.

I could only buy the bare tool, which is frustrating as they only do lifetime with the kit tools. A month ago they did have the kit for $20 more, I should have jumped on it them. I bought 2 4 Li batteries for $99, but again not being in a kit they are only a limited 3 year warranty. Still a great tool. I use my charger from my drill/driver kit I had bought but it is slower than if I bought the larger charger.

They are great for removing tires. Do not make the mistake I did of using one to INSTALL the lug nuts. A slightly imperfect alignment and I buggered two studs (had to rethread them) and messed up several lug nuts. Lesson learned.

I love my Milwaukee impact. I have said here before it gets used almost daily doing concrete form work. It probably has over 100k screws driven since I have bought it.
Granted I am a Milwaukee tool snob but I had a deWalt 4.5" grinder literally explode in my hands and vowed never to use DeWalt again. The milwaukees have been bulletproof.

For use around the house i jumped on the home depot ryobi one+ deal about 8 9 months ago. It was purchase any 2 tools and get a battery and charger free. I got an impact driver and recip saw and an extra capacity battery, the batteries are cheap as far as lithium goes only 50$ for the larger capacity and 30$ for the smaller one. I got the impact driver that uses bits and bought a huge bit set for 20$ I've been able to tackle anything sround the house with it and even some automotive side jobs. For home use Ryobi is good to go and priced right. The 50pc ryobi bit set is great too. It even came with 5 or 6 standard sized multi use drill bits and i havent stripped a screw yet.

For professional use my snap on tools are still amazing, the new 1/2" electric impact will break loose anything my air impacts will. I also have a 3/8 amd 1/4" drive impacts that make shit easy.