Impact tools are not optional for DIYers

[master_shake_]

Eh, impacts don't need big cfm like sanders and such. They'll be fine with smaller compressors as long as you're OK with the cycle time.

tried using mine on a smaller compressor.

didn't go well.

the one at work is 50 gallons and 150psi.

 

[herm0016]

i have the mid level husky 1/2 in air and a ridgid impact driver for screws. Both are great. Cant imagine doing my seasonal tire swap with out the air, or doing any of our remodel projects without the driver.
i have a 30 gal. compressor that takes forever to fill. works fine for tire swaps and light work.

 

[Torn Mind]

Meh. Live in a salt free state and it's a non-issue. Nice to have but not vital.

Other things that are neglected could be water heater anode rods or removing the internal fan in many Whirlpool and its derivative brand dryers to swap out a dead motor. The minerals for the former make it so tight you just twist the pipes of the water heater when using a breaker bar and the as has a plastic square that needs to be held still and is often rounded off.

Of course, I do know that one may simply not bother and just let the water heater continue its course. Likewise, for the dryer, one could just hammer the fan out of there and order a new one....

 

[Muse]

this is where i got mine.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fro...trocat+1200.TRS0&_nkw=nitrocat+1200k&_sacat=0

That's a compressed air tool, right? Is that what they're talking about in this thread or also battery powered impact tools?

What do you guys make of this Craftsman C3 19.2 Volt Drill and Impact Driver Combo Kit? Orchard Supply has this on sale right now for $99.99, also I have a $20 discount coupon for this weekend on $100 purchase. One cent makeup item shouldn't be hard to find.

Edit: Problem with this kit is it has just one Li-on battery.

 

[TridenT]

Don't skimp on the power of the tool either. Broke one during brake rotor change. Also broke some bits and adapters while using a breaker bar thereafter.

It was a sad time... got another impact wrench and it just broke the heck out of anything it met. It's the $75 earthquake impact wrench or whatever it's called from harbor freight. Works alright.

Next one I get though is gonna be all electric. Probably an IR or Milwaukee.

 

[JEDIYoda]

wrench/breaker bar + rubber mallet

you have no clue, why bother..

 

[sontakke]

That C3 is impact *driver*; you want impact *wrench*; C3 does have that kit too but it would be more expensive. Something like this
http://www.amazon.com/Craftsman-Imp...d=1455980089&sr=1-1&keywords=c3+impact+wrench

I have it and I recommend it highly.

 

[Muse]

That C3 is impact *driver*; you want impact *wrench*; C3 does have that kit too but it would be more expensive. Something like this
http://www.amazon.com/Craftsman-Imp...d=1455980089&sr=1-1&keywords=c3+impact+wrench

I have it and I recommend it highly.

Would that impact wrench be in lieu of the impact driver? I'm wondering if I should get this combo kit for $80+tax anyway. IOW, would I have uses for the impact driver even if I had the impact wrench and the drill included in the combo kit I linked? Right now I have no impact tools of any kind, I also don't have any compressor equipment.

I am thinking it might be a good deal for me in the interim (this deal is today and tomorrow). Right now I have a Panasonic 12v cordless drill that's useless to me because the NiCD batteries won't hold a charge and two Dewalt 9v cordless with 4 of their NiCD batteries that hold a charge but not long and when they run down they lose their force progressively. The Dewalts came with 2 batteries each. Sad that they are selling this Craftsman two tool combo kit with just one battery. But that kit is still cheaper than the Dewalt 9v kits I got and the last Dewalt struck me as a serious downgrade, the quality of that cordless drill really fell off.

I'm thinking I could maybe use an impact driver too. Right now, I have several Black & Decker Versapak cordless screwdrivers that are OK for weak stuff but not much good with tough screwdriving. I don't use my Dewalt 9v cordless drill for that, it doesn't seem well suited to driving screws. I imagine that an impact wrench is not what I want for that kind of thing, am I right?

Edit: I think I was right, I just watched this video that explained the difference:

IMPACT DRIVER vs IMPACT WRENCH


I figure with that one battery combo kit, I would have a better drill driver, an impact driver and can pick up an additional Li-on battery down the line, maybe with an impact wrench kit.

 

[sontakke]

Absolutely! Impact driver by itself is very very useful for around the house. With proper adapter (hex to 1/4 or hex to 3/8 male or hex to socket sets), you can even use it on the car but it will not be efficient and for the amount of oomph provided in that application, it will be too big. For driving screws, you would be shocked how easy it is with the impact driver and would be wondering "why didn't I do this before?"

Get both the kits; that way you will have extra batteries and would handle almost all of your household and automotive needs. Just make sure you get the Lithium kit. There may be still some C3 sold with NiCd batteries.

 

[Squisher]

Let's not go overboard here in our love of impacts. I do love my impacts and they are 100% necessary when it comes to something you can't lock down 100% like what Jules brought up earlier or compressing the front forks on a bike, yes they do save wear and tear on your body, but I've never seen an impact do better than a breaker bar when breaking loose a nut or bolt.

 

[Muse]

Absolutely! Impact driver by itself is very very useful for around the house. With proper adapter (hex to 1/4 or hex to 3/8 male or hex to socket sets), you can even use it on the car but it will not be efficient and for the amount of oomph provided in that application, it will be too big. For driving screws, you would be shocked how easy it is with the impact driver and would be wondering "why didn't I do this before?"

Get both the kits; that way you will have extra batteries and would handle almost all of your household and automotive needs. Just make sure you get the Lithium kit. There may be still some C3 sold with NiCd batteries.

Yeah, I became aware of that gotcha in researching the C3 kits online last night. I made sure I got the lithium C3 in the kit... I got it this morning, haven't opened the box yet, figured I'd wait for affirmation here. Thank you! :thumbsup:

Of course, it's almost critical to have an extra battery system for your cordless tools. That way if you lose power you can swap in the spare system, use it, and at the same time recharge the other system, no down time.

I think I probably have the adapters I'll need. I have a lot of stuff like that I've gotten here and there, one way or another (no, I don't steal!). I find stuff, snagged interesting looking cheap stuff at Harbor Freight.

 

[Muse]

Let's not go overboard here in our love of impacts. I do love my impacts and they are 100% necessary when it comes to something you can't lock down 100% like what Jules brought up earlier or compressing the front forks on a bike, yes they do save wear and tear on your body, but I've never seen an impact do better than a breaker bar when breaking loose a nut or bolt.

Wow! Your icon, that used to be the TV logo (filled the oval CRT) for Channel 5 in Los Angeles, TV station KTLA back in the 1950's, probably into the 1950's, IIRC.

 

[Torn Mind]

Let's not go overboard here in our love of impacts. I do love my impacts and they are 100% necessary when it comes to something you can't lock down 100% like what Jules brought up earlier or compressing the front forks on a bike, yes they do save wear and tear on your body, but I've never seen an impact do better than a breaker bar when breaking loose a nut or bolt.

Small fasteners with noticeable rust are dangerous to use the pull 'er till it starts moving, because the bolt or screw will not budge while the head just simply snaps off or strips.

 

[Pacfanweb]

tried using mine on a smaller compressor.

didn't go well.

the one at work is 50 gallons and 150psi.

It's probably dual-stage as well.

I have a Craftsman Professional 50 gallon 150 psi, and it works to keep up with high-cfm tools like air sanders. It's a single-stage, though.

Forget running a sand blaster with it. Does air ratchets and impacts just fine.

If you're going to do any body work with air tools, do yourself a favor and get a dual-stage compressor. Couple hundred bucks more and far superior.

 

[Herr Kutz]

I could have used one yesterday. Taking my front wheels off for a rotor and brake pad change was a major PITA. I literally stood on the wrench that came with my car to loosen the lug nuts and some of them still would not budge. Thank goodness I rented a torque wrench thru the autzone loan a tool program. That thing was massive and gave me enough leverage to take off the lugs nuts. I will definitely be purchasing one in the future.

 

[Squisher]

Small fasteners with noticeable rust are dangerous to use the pull 'er till it starts moving, because the bolt or screw will not budge while the head just simply snaps off or strips.

You don't pull slowly on stuck fasteners, you need to quickly apply as much pressure as you can. btw-the best thing to use on small stuff is a manual impact.

 

[SparkyJJO]

For small stuff

For big stuff

 

[bommy261]

1,200 ft-lbs breakaway torque. yes please.

 

[Meghan54]

Wow! Your icon, that used to be the TV logo (filled the oval CRT) for Channel 5 in Los Angeles, TV station KTLA back in the 1950's, probably into the 1950's, IIRC.

Just an FYI.....that isn't a logo for a TV station, it's a black and white TV test pattern that was used worldwide. It was used to adjust cameras, monitors, etc.

You can read about it here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian-head_test_pattern

 

[RLGL]

Come on people , there is a correct tool for each job! This is not a one size fits all.

 

[JulesMaximus]

tried using mine on a smaller compressor.

didn't go well.

the one at work is 50 gallons and 150psi.

I have a 20 gallon compressor. Powers an air impact wrench and nailers just fine.

 

[jlee]

I have a 20 gallon compressor. Powers an air impact wrench and nailers just fine.

Yep.

As long as it can sustain the air requirements of the tool (usually X CFM @ 90psi), the reservoir size and maximum pressure are irrelevant.

 

[Muse]

I bought the Craftsman drill/driver impact driver 19.2v combo kit from Orchard Supply (the one with only a single battery, no bag, no case, just the tools, one "compact" battery and a charger for $99.99-$20 off via coupon that was good Saturday and Sunday. Bought on Saturday, returned on Sunday!

Sunday I removed the drill/driver from the box, nothing else and just held it in my dominant hand (right) and retracted the trigger a few times and quickly realized it wouldn't work for me. The trigger was amazingly stiff. It took about twice as much force to retract it as the triggers on my Dewalt 9v and Panasonic 12v drill/drivers. I can do it but figure if I have to use the thing for more than 5 minutes my hand will be aching. F-that, it went back for a refund. I looked at their other stuff, but the combo kits were not out for display.

I did some internet searching and think I'm apt to be happy with this:

PORTER-CABLE PCL212IDC-2 12-Volt Max Compact Lithium-Ion 2-Tool Kit. I know, it's weaker than a lot of you would approve of but figure it would be sufficient for the great majority of my DIY projects. An 18-20v set would be overkill for most of the things I'm apt to be doing. I haven't done any work on my cars that would require an impact wrench. I might want to, but thing is I drive around 1500 miles/year, a 1997 Mazda 4cyl coupe, it has less than 30k on it.

Just an FYI.....that isn't a logo for a TV station, it's a black and white TV test pattern that was used worldwide. It was used to adjust cameras, monitors, etc.

You can read about it here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian-head_test_pattern

Yup, misnamed by me, it wasn't the station logo but it could be seen on that station regularly. As stated at the Wikipedia link

As television broadcasting ritual

The Indian-head test pattern became familiar to the large Post–World War II baby boom TV audiences in America from 1947 onwards; it would often follow the formal television station sign-off after the United States national anthem.

 

[Phanuel]

You would never get the nut loosened using a breaker bar. In fact, you would probably damage the nut.

Annnnndddd I'll stick with dual sided swing arms and regular nuts torqued to 70-80ft lbs!

 

[Vdubchaos]

I'm a DIYer, own a house, this isn't a salt area. I have never owned an impact driver, but figure maybe I should, don't know. I don't know if I should get one, or where to start in getting one. I have a 12 volt Panasonic cordless drill whose batteries went to crap a long time ago, I never got any real use from it. I have a couple of Dewalt 9v cordless drills, have had better luck with the batteries. Do I want an impact driver? Don't know. Or where to start.

If you NEEDED it, you would have already purchased it.

Personally, I don't own nor will I ever own any cordless/battery powered equipment. Mostly because I simply don't use it enough for battery to last. When I do use it, it's dead.

Wire is fine.....

I have a compressor and air tools but I hardly ever use it to be honest.

It all comes down to "how much you use it".