The Drill I did not like

Bartee Lamar

Member
Messages
499
Location
Alpharetta GA ( Metro Atlanta)
I had been thinking about getting one of the new small impact drills. I saw this one at HD and since I have several other Ridgid battery drills and saws I picked it up.

I got it home, put in an 18v battery and I DID NOT LIKE IT !!!

I guess I just don't like the impact part. VERY loud and it seem like my standard 18v has more control over the screws.

Interesting to note on this. The drill comes without the battery. Sorta makes sense. I have 2 batteries for each drill. But really interesting I checked while at HD and they did not have any Ridgid batteries for sale !!!

drill1.jpg

Note that the drill will take 2 different batteries....

Drill2.jpg

So I took it back.
 
Thanks for the honest report Bartee!

Great thing is, you can return it, and you then can go shopping from a choice of many other good tools! :thumb:

When you find one you like, make sure you review that one too!

Cheers!
 
Bartee,
I find myself thinking much along those same lines. The Impact system on most drills is very harsh, by nature of how it works. My dad has the Dewalt 36v Lithium system (decided he needed a Nice drill for once in his life, good for him!) I got to use it on a trip down to visit, and while it works fine, It just didn't 'feel' right. I suppose I'm used to my 'old' budget Black & Decker 18v, but I'd rather have that than the impact driver.
Funny thing, a buddy came over to help with the shop project and brought his Ryobi impact gun. That one I Liked. go figure. :dunno:
 
I've got a DW 18v impact driver. At first I had a similar reaction. But over time I have really come to like it. Compact, powerful and good control. I dunno, but perhaps because it feels and sounds so different it takes a while.

Ken
 
An impact driver is a completely different tool to a drill driver. They can be made to do similar jobs (so can a hammer and a screwdriver) but are really different beasts. If you are gonna use an impact driver to drive woodscrews you need to get used to dealing with lots more torque and lack of a clutch control system (at least on any that I have tried). Let me hear you say "heads sheared off". But once you have the feel you get more power from less weight for a longer time per charge.
 
I have a cheap corded impact driver that I use only for driving screws, it works fantastic, you can hold it with two fingers and drive deck screws into 2x4s all day long. My 12V drill will do that too, but you just about need two hands to hold onto it :D

Yes the impact drivers make some noise, but less than the noise I make when trying to hang onto that normal drill driving 3/8" lag bolts!! :rolleyes:

Cheers!
 
Impact drivers are really more of a construction tool than anything else. They work great for running long screws without pilot holes, and for driving lag bolts, but I wouldn't try to install hinge screws with one. Mine actually has great trigger control, so much so that I found it better for hanging drywall than a regular driver with a clutch.
 
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