Looking at getting an impact wrench

[ShadowsPapa]

HAHA - that's one thing I have to watch when running bolts or nuts on - once it gets tight if you hold that trigger too long, your wrist is going to hurt.
I have a big 1/2" electric drill (corded) from the 50s that we used to use to knurl valve guides - if the knurling tool got stuck in a guide it would either break your wrist or flip the head clean off the stands or snap the knurler shaft. Yeah, it could likely bust a good sized drill bit.
I don't use it much as I suspect it weighs 15 pounds or so and takes both hands to operate.

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[Pescatoral Pursuit]

After 10 years I have to say that I'm really impressed. My expectation was that they weren't in the same league as deWalt or Milwaukee. But surprisingly they have lasted and work well.

I was very happy with my basic 18v Ridgid kit: (impact driver, hammer drill, circular saw) which served admirably for many years of hard, daily use, when they were stolen.
At that point I decided to cut the cord and go completely battery and the only readily available mfr with a wide assortment of construction specialty tools was Milwaukee so I bought into them. They are a decent product that in many cases, as they chase industry leading top performance numbers, the practical application suffers. One time this came into stark reality was when I borrowed a customer's Ryobi impact driver. I've never been happy with my top model impact driver because its performance can best be described as spastic (but they got the highest IPMs!) but the Ryobi put their R&D into actually driving the screws and you can tell.

I guess I didn't realize you were talking the toys, the light duty impacts. (or they call mid-duty?)

I only go for the best/highest torque. I won't mess with anything less.

I have a brushless Milwaukee mid-size ½" drive impact thinking that with an advertised 450lbs it would be more than adequate for my needs. Wouldn't even run the leveler down on an 18' camper! Another huge let down.

I have a big 1/2" electric drill (corded) from the 50s that we used to use to knurl valve guides - if the knurling tool got stuck in a guide it would either break your wrist or flip the head clean off the stands or snap the knurler shaft. Yeah, it could likely bust a good sized drill bit.

Like the older Milwaukee corded Hole Hawgs: if you were drilling vertically with anything 2⁹/¹⁶ or larger and you didn't brace it and it grabbed, you were going along for a short, usually painful ride.[/QUOTE]

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Like the older Milwaukee corded Hole Hawgs: if you were drilling vertically with anything 2⁹/¹⁶ or larger and you didn't brace it and it grabbed, you were going along for a short, usually painful ride.

You got that right!

 

[Rusty PW]

I have a corded Milwaukee Magnum Hole Shooter 1/2" drill. If you ain't careful. It WILL beat you up. I've twisted my wrist, beat myself in the chest and jaw with it. I use it when the cordless just don't have enough power turning large bits.

I also have a corded Milwaukee hammer drill. Love that thing for drilling concrete and block.

 

[dcmdon]

Like the older Milwaukee corded Hole Hawgs: if you were drilling vertically with anything 2⁹/¹⁶ or larger and you didn't brace it and it grabbed, you were going along for a short, usually painful ride.

The first injury I ever sustained that left me with a permanent (though very minor) problem was around age 18. I was in a crawl space in a less then excellent position when the hole hog i was using bound up and spun my knuckle hard into a joist.

A few years later when I was renovating my first home and was in the market for a heavy duty drill the DeWalt was a no brainer since its long handle gives you much more leverage.

They don't actually even make the one I have anymore. (Model DW124). But they are readily available on ebay.

All the new ones are shorter, like the hole hog. I wouldnt' trade that long handle for anything.

 

[chorky]

Anybody have experience with the craftsman?

https://www.craftsman.com/product/c...ordless-38-impact-wrench-tool-only?tid=568801

https://www.craftsman.com/product/cmcf930b/v20-cordless-38-drive-ratchet-tool-only?tid=568801

 

[Pescatoral Pursuit]

The first injury I ever sustained that left me with a permanent (though very minor) problem was around age 18. I was in a crawl space in a less then excellent position when the hole hog i was using bound up and spun my knuckle hard into a joist.

A few years later when I was renovating my first home and was in the market for a heavy duty drill the DeWalt was a no brainer since its long handle gives you much more leverage.

They don't actually even make the one I have anymore. (Model DW124). But they are readily available on ebay.

All the new ones are shorter, like the hole hog. I wouldnt' trade that long handle for anything.

Ahh the old Timber Wolf which ran like a hole hogs bigger angrier brother but had more leverage. There's a lot of spaces you couldn't and wouldn't want to get that timber wolf into.

 

[texanjeeper]

Bought an impact for suspension work a couple of months ago worked awesome dewalt cordless. However, personally I am not comfortable using an impact on lugs, cheater bar and loosen with tires on ground my .2 cents.

I recently standardized on DeWalt and this is the one I bought as well. It's a rugged beast that should last about forever.

 

[dcmdon]

Now that’s like using nothing but box wrenches for big jobs vs the modern battery powered impacts.

Ahh the old Timber Wolf which ran like a hole hogs bigger angrier brother but had more leverage.

I was told that the original hole hog was so short so that it could fit into joist pockets sideways. So it wasn't more than 14.5 in long. That seems pretty stupid. But the new dewalts are the same way.

I don't get it. The one i have is the bomb. You can turn a 2" paddle bit with no risk of getting wound up.

The new ones have the same dangerous design as the hole hog.

 

[ecidiego]

Ain't your Dad's mid torque. 2022 DeWalt 891 mid will beat most everyone else's hi torque and all of their mids as far as cordless. Results this weekend. I can't imagine any bolt in the Gladiator needing more than this.

The new DCF 900 Hi torque is 1030 / 1400 which even though only 70$ more it seemed pointless.

Come on @ShadowsPapa ....this ain't a light duty toy!

 

[OHJeeper]

I gave up on Dewalt after they nixed their 36V batteries and the prices on ebay went into the $100's just for one battery. I had a thousand dollars of drills, saws, etc that all instantly became relics. I sold all of them to a hobbyist who rebuilt cells (battery cells, not prison cells)

I have a Sioux 1/2" impact air wrench I inherited from my dad - it's probably 30 years old and I have not found a bolt it won't bust except maybe a 20+year old frame bolt that's chemically welded in place.

Day-to-day I use a Hercules 20V from HF... it's been REALLY good, especially on a not-so-old gladiator. I've heard rumors that they are made by the same mfg as some "name brands" but I think that's urban legend. I've never been able to definitively find anything on who actually makes them other than "some chinese company that makes them for HF".

 

[Rusty PW]

Who owns who.

 

[Escape.idiocracy]

Who owns who.

Festool?

To the original topic- I have a couple Milwaukee m18 1/2 impacts. Beat, dropped, wet, big enough to break most nuts/bolts on the Jeep…

 

[ecidiego]

Time to put on the LCA skids....sockets came in.

 

[Pescatoral Pursuit]

I was told that the original hole hog was so short so that it could fit into joist pockets sideways.

I'm sure it was solely designed to allow plumbers to drill out horizontal waste arms and vents through 2x stud walls with a 2⁹/¹⁶” selfeed bit and that it does exceptionally once you learn how to ride it.
Then there's the Milwaukee Right Angle Drill. A truly gutless wonder. You better have a new bit and no knots with that Sally.
These days my hole drilling is done with the cordless version of the hole hawg and new design hole saw bits. A little messier but the job gets done as fast with less grunt.

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