Drill vs Impact Driver

[mk08]

Good Morning
I am looking to buy a drill/screw driver. I came across Impact Driver. What's the difference and will Impact Driver work the same as screw/drill driver?

Thanks in Advance

[E63eeeeee...]

mk08 said:

Good Morning
I am looking to buy a drill/screw driver. I came across Impact Driver. What's the difference and will Impact Driver work the same as screw/drill driver?

Thanks in Advance

Impact driver is similar to a hammer drill in that as well as turning the bit it also "hits" it to help drive in or out in tougher situations, like driving long screws into timber or unsticking rusted bolts. You can't really use one instead of a screwdriver, if you can't turn off the impact function it will be too destructive for most jobs.

[catfishdb]

Well.....really depends on the job that one is attempting to accomplish.

Cordless drills are much like the older drills with a number of nifty features. Most are variable speed and have a stall mechanism to allow you to dial in the preload or just set it to drill mode. The drill mode can be also used for driving screws as well as drilling holes. The stall mode will allow you to set the "torque" applied to a screw as to not over drive it.
Pretty much an all-around tool. I would start there.

Impact drivers use a clutch system that "ratchets" the drive head. The impacting action allows you to drive larger and longer screws with greater ease. Typically used for driving fasteners only but you can buy specialty bits that fit the 6mm/1/4" drive that have drill bits attached as well as other tips but a standard drill bit set will not work because there is no chuck to close down on the drill bit. Usually only a magnetic bit holder.

If you were going to buy only one....go with the drill/keyless chuck. Although many manufacturers sell a kit that includes both an impact gun and a drill with 1or2 batteries and a charger.

Arthur

[craig1912]

As above the impact driver can be a bit brutal fir lots of jobs.

I bought one of these a few months ago. Really decent quality and good value against some of the better known names.

https://www.screwfix.com/p/erbauer-eid18-li-ecd18-...

[normalbloke]

E63eeeeee... said:

mk08 said:

Good Morning
I am looking to buy a drill/screw driver. I came across Impact Driver. What's the difference and will Impact Driver work the same as screw/drill driver?

Thanks in Advance

Impact driver is similar to a hammer drill in that as well as turning the bit it also "hits" it to help drive in or out in tougher situations, like driving long screws into timber or unsticking rusted bolts. You can't really use one instead of a screwdriver, if you can't turn off the impact function it will be too destructive for most jobs.

Incorrect. Most modern impact drivers can be controlled absolutely. I’m happy to drill with mine too.

[Fishlegs]

Impact drivers hit in a rotary direction to drive screws in harder, while hammer drills hit in and out to push a drill into hard masonry.

You don't use a hammer drill to turn screws, and you don't use an impact driver to make holes.

[E63eeeeee...]

normalbloke said:

E63eeeeee... said:

mk08 said:

Good Morning
I am looking to buy a drill/screw driver. I came across Impact Driver. What's the difference and will Impact Driver work the same as screw/drill driver?

Thanks in Advance

Impact driver is similar to a hammer drill in that as well as turning the bit it also "hits" it to help drive in or out in tougher situations, like driving long screws into timber or unsticking rusted bolts. You can't really use one instead of a screwdriver, if you can't turn off the impact function it will be too destructive for most jobs.

Incorrect. Most modern impact drivers can be controlled absolutely. I’m happy to drill with mine too.

Thanks, didn't know that. I didn't look at the higher end stuff when I bought mine, and I have plenty of space so generally happy to have dedicated tools but I can definitely see how that would be useful.

[Baldchap]

Certainly on my Makita, the harder you press the trigger, the harder it turns.

I have been fitting a chipboard kitchen this last week in a property we're flipping and started off with my drill driver because I thought the impact might cause problems.

I'm now using the impact and it's 1000 times faster, slips less and *just works*.

I don't think I'll ever use my drill for putting screws in again. It just isn't the right tool for that job. It is a better drill, though.

[Baldchap]

E63eeeeee... said:

Impact driver is similar to a hammer drill in that as well as turning the bit it also "hits" it

No it isn't and no it doesn't.

A hammer drill vibrates the chuck fore and aft (or in the case of an SDS drill, the drill bit is hammered by a piston, independent of the rotation of the drill), whereas an impact driver applies torque (rotary force) rapidly and repeatedly.

Very, very different things and totally different results (including no damage from the impact driver where the drill would cause damage if on hammer mode).

[Fishlegs]

Correct, Baldchap. Exactly what I said above. Maybe you worded it better and will have more luck.

[donkmeister]

normalbloke said:

E63eeeeee... said:

mk08 said:

Good Morning
I am looking to buy a drill/screw driver. I came across Impact Driver. What's the difference and will Impact Driver work the same as screw/drill driver?

Thanks in Advance

Impact driver is similar to a hammer drill in that as well as turning the bit it also "hits" it to help drive in or out in tougher situations, like driving long screws into timber or unsticking rusted bolts. You can't really use one instead of a screwdriver, if you can't turn off the impact function it will be too destructive for most jobs.

Incorrect. Most modern impact drivers can be controlled absolutely. I’m happy to drill with mine too.

Is this a case of two power-levels of tool being compared? A nifty cordless Makita isn't the same thing as a big air-driven model. One would be fine for screwdriving and general use but might not shift the worst corroded fasteners, the other would snap screws but get crusty nuts undone in a trice.

I have three different SDS drills for the same reason - if I need the power I use the big mains-powered one, but I wouldn't use it to put up shelves as I'm far more likely to dislodge a brick than if I use my normal-sized cordless one.