Impact Wrench, or Impact Driver...?

[The Z'eer]

Done a little research into this, and so far I'm still not 100% what tool to buy.

In the coming weeks I'm due to construct a workshop from timber, and figured the an Impact Driver would be more suited to this job than an Impact Wrench...or would it?

As such and I really should have one for the garage to work on the car, I don't have an Impact Wrench. Question is will an Impact Wrench with its greater torque be suitable for both jobs and thus eliminate the need for buying both Wrench and Driver?

I'm looking at a rechargeable lithium unit as opposed to an air or 240 volt tool.

Any ideas? Thanks

 

[sg66]

I have impact drivers that are fine for driving screws into wood, and I sometimes use them for the odd bit of bolt work, my big impact wrench is a different thing altogether will happily undo front drive shafts nuts and crank pullys, depends what your expecting an impact driver to cope with.

 

[CornishPete]

you'll definitely need one of each as neither one will do both jobs. You could get the same brand then batteries can be shared, plus you can buy other bare tools as and when you require them. I use Dewalt 18v gear, it's not the cheapest but it's good quality and they have a cordless tool for every job. Buy the driver with batteries and the wrench without could work out cheapest as you get better deals on drills and impact drivers.

 

[steveo3002]

my milwauke 1/2 impact gun roars coach bolts into wood no bother

 

[Agrismith]

Buy a 1/2 compact impact wrench and an adapter to 1/ 4 in hex there fore you get both
An impact driver with an adapter to 1/2 in drive is nowhere near as powerful for say automotive work but most compact impact wrenchs have a button on them to refuce power now days to stop damaging things when using as a driver

I run
https://www.screwfix.com/p/makita-d...gclsrc=aw.ds&dclid=CM_a2K_J8NYCFQwi0wodaYgMAA
And its a beast for its size biggest socket i use is 24mm and can do up tight enough that a combi spanner wont undo
I the have
://www.angliatoolcentre.co.uk/milwaukee-48-03-4410-quick-change-impact-adaptor-1-2in-square-to-1-4in-hex-pid36943.html?gclid=CjwKCAjw64bPBRApEiwAJhG-fjnALN8s27tt_Tnbkup-xj9JplGJE4Sqz2er5UYQQ--1jzvZy6GWORoCN3kQAvD_BwE
I had the dewalt adapter before and its junk

 

[dan treg]

i have a Bosch IDH 182 Hybrid Impact Drive which is both a driver and wrench which is really good but not sure if thats what you meant . if it is you will want 2 battery's mine are 4ah to be worthwhile

 

[CornishPete]

can you get a bit adapter for the wrench to drive screws and is it as controllable as an impact driver? I've used carded drills to drive screws but only as a last resort cos its hard to control the depth.

 

[dan treg]

the bosch one i use has different settings think 3 or 4 to control the torque and power to adjust between screws bolts using 1/4" bit and using as a 1/2" impact sockets

 

[armalites]

My 10.8v dewalt impact driver happily drives 6mm coach screws, just about manages 8mm.

It'll undo m8 nuts/bolts too, but doing up always seems to need a spanner afterwards. Dead handy as a spinner though.

What those 10.8v Dewalt units achieve is amazing, I've got the drill/driver,impact driver and 3/8 impact wrench as well as a couple of torches. The batteries seem to last for ages.
Every time I pick one up I have to check it's real as it feels so light.

 

[wyn]

I use my 3/8 impact wrench for tek screws and coach screws with no problem.

With the tek screws the impact only seems to happen when it's cutting the thread and not on the drilling.

 

[gaz1]

ive just used the snap on ones whilst in the garages whilst working there i found the 1/2" nice for the big stuff but the 3/8s drive was nice and light but had some nice torq with it but most of the time had to use the bigger 1/2" for many a stuff when using it on the cars

 

[Richard.]

If I had to chose one tool it would be a 3/8 drive impact wrench with variable power control.
Nice and light. Usual max power is around the 300-350ft lb
mark but with the variable control you can take it down to the most delicate approach. Milwaukee do a lovely little brushless 3/8 thing.

 

[WorkshopChris]

They are good tools for putting in a big screw, but a lot of the time no faster than a normal drill driver in many situations.
We have a neighbor whos hobby from what I can make out is to insert and remove screws in anything that doesn't move that constant click, click, click drives me mad.
Have built many sheds and outbuildings with a regular drill driver without any problems. (and a lot quieter)
They seem to be losing favor over impact drivers nowadays.

 

[Robotstar5]

I bought the previous model to this a couple of years ago, best investment I've made for putting screws in, I use it instead of my DeWalt drill/driver now.

 

[GW8IZR]

About 5 years ago 'er brother went to a large agri show with his mates.. he cant recall what he paid for his small 10.8v dewalt driver drill and impact gun set or the little bosch screwdriver. He knows it was 'cheap' but he also needed to sleep for a few days when his mates brought him home.

I have the Bosch on my bench and its worked flawlessly ever since.

His Dewalt tools live in the little holdall they came in and get absolutely flogged to death, they are none the worse today than when he bought them, If I go to the tractor or jeep where they live I can guarantee the battery is sufficiently charged to do what I need whereas every other thing he has needs charging when you go to it. The drill is incredibly resilient, he buys the cheapest bits he can find and forces them through, I reckon nails would be sharper and the drill just keeps on working.

When we put the sheets on the shed roof in the next weeks I will be positioning myself so the row of screws that I do will be next to his impact drill and manoeuvring him into position next to my battery drill.. it will just work out that way.

 

[armalites]

I'm looking at additional battery options...)

In the last couple of weeks i bought and extra pair of batteries so I could keep one on the torches, I also went for a DCB115 charger which is 30mins in stead of 60.

Pair of batteries was £52 delivered(there's some 2.0ah on ebay £49.95 at the moment) and the charger was £27.

With regard to the torches, a while back one of the online suppliers had the them for £13.80!

 

[daleyd]

I have a little Sparky 12 v 1/2 inch impact wrench that I used to use quite a bit in my last job taking off inspection covers which were held on by about 20 m10 bolts. It's great for whizzing stuff like this off /on but it's not got a huge amount of torque so it's not going to be whizzing wheeel nuts off any time soon.

It came with a little 1/2 to 1/4 hex adaptor so can be used for both, I've used it to screw some planters together and put some flooring down in the attic but I'm with @WorkshopChris in that I generally just use my drill (especially since I got a decent Bosch one a while back).

 

[The Z'eer]

I have impact drivers that are fine for driving screws into wood, and I sometimes use them for the odd bit of bolt work, my big impact wrench is a different thing altogether will happily undo front drive shafts nuts and crank pullys, depends what your expecting an impact driver to cope with.

I'd expect an impact driver to undertake the driving of screws in a majority of carpentry tasks. With respect to a garage/workshop environment I'm not entirely sure what I would receive from a impact driver, and suspecting an impact wrench would be more suitable.

 

[The Z'eer]

you'll definitely need one of each as neither one will do both jobs. You could get the same brand then batteries can be shared, plus you can buy other bare tools as and when you require them. I use Dewalt 18v gear, it's not the cheapest but it's good quality and they have a cordless tool for every job. Buy the driver with batteries and the wrench without could work out cheapest as you get better deals on drills and impact drivers.

The impact wrench will be overly torquey for carpentry useage?

 

[The Z'eer]

Buy a 1/2 compact impact wrench and an adapter to 1/ 4 in hex there fore you get both
An impact driver with an adapter to 1/2 in drive is nowhere near as powerful for say automotive work but most compact impact wrenchs have a button on them to refuce power now days to stop damaging things when using as a driver

I run
https://www.screwfix.com/p/makita-d...gclsrc=aw.ds&dclid=CM_a2K_J8NYCFQwi0wodaYgMAA
And its a beast for its size biggest socket i use is 24mm and can do up tight enough that a combi spanner wont undo
I the have
://www.angliatoolcentre.co.uk/milwaukee-48-03-4410-quick-change-impact-adaptor-1-2in-square-to-1-4in-hex-pid36943.html?gclid=CjwKCAjw64bPBRApEiwAJhG-fjnALN8s27tt_Tnbkup-xj9JplGJE4Sqz2er5UYQQ--1jzvZy6GWORoCN3kQAvD_BwE
I had the dewalt adapter before and its junk

Thanks for the link I see your Makita unit has three power settings, do you know what each setting is good for? Do you use this impact wrench for carpentry duties as well as undertaking garage/workshop tasks?