Hitachi Impact Driver

Vaughn McMillan

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I've been wanting an impact driver that used the same batteries as my 14.4v drill, and finally found what I considered to be an acceptable price at www.reconditionedsales.com. Here's what I ordered:

41EP65QV5XL._SS500_.jpg

It arrived yesterday, and although it's a reconditioned tool, it looks brand new. Since it's a stablemate to my Hitachi 14.4v drill, the batteries (it came with two) and charger are identical to those I have for the drill. (I also have the matching flashlight, which also gets a lot of use.)

After playing with it a bit last night, now I fully understand why people are raving about impact drivers. As a test, I tried driving a #8 x 1 1/2" wood screw into a 2 x 4, without a pilot hole. [Edited later to say it was actually a #12 screw, not a #8.] This would be pretty much impossible with a driver bit on the drill. It would almost be guaranteed to strip out the screw head long before the head was flush with the wood. Not so with the impact driver. Not only did it drive the screw flush without slipping off the head once, I was able to countersink the screw about a half inch below the surface before things slipped, ultimately stripping the screw head. Aside from being noisier, the impact driver is SO much better at driving screws than a standard drill motor. I'll never drive screws the same way again. :) :thumb:
 
I agree! I wanted to buy a Ryobi 18v drill last year and they had a set with an impact driver. I didn't think I would ever use the impact driver, but it was a good deal...The next weekend, I had a big prolbem with me garage door when and had to replace some of the lags that held the track to the studs...I started with a socket set and then remembered I had an impact driver....wow, how easy it was!! Don't know what I'd do without now. Enjoy Vaughn.:thumb:
 
...After playing with it a bit last night, now I fully understand why people are raving about impact drivers. As a test, I tried driving a #8 x 1 1/2" wood screw into a 2 x 4, without a pilot hole. This would be pretty much impossible with a driver bit on the drill. It would almost be guaranteed to strip out the screw head long before the head was flush with the wood. Not so with the impact driver. Not only did it drive the screw flush without slipping off the head once, I was able to countersink the screw about a half inch below the surface before things slipped, ultimately stripping the screw head. Aside from being noisier, the impact driver is SO much better at driving screws than a standard drill motor. I'll never drive screws the same way again. :) :thumb:

Yeah, they're great, aren't they? I have the DeWalt 14.4 that I bought reconditioned about a year and a half ago. Same deal - two more batteries and another charger, and everything looked like brand new.

I have used the heck out of mine. I built a 12 X 20 barn in the Fall of '06, and I mainly used 2½ and 3" deck screws for the construction - about 25 pounds of them!. I built much of the framing, and applied all of the decking, sheathing and roof sheathing with screws. Went thru about six battery chargings a day for a week, and that driver never even stuttered. I even dropped it about ten feet, off the roof, once (onto admittedly soft turf) and it still worked great. I still use it a couple times a week on average, and it still performs beautifully. Gotta be my favorite cordless tool!
 
vaughn, i agree they are great, even though i don't have one yet. i have used one.

what kind of head was on that screw? the reason i ask is my lil 18v makita drill, the new lithium ion version can drive the heck out of just about any thing, especially in a 2x4.

please don't take me wrong i'm not trying to discount how good your new driver is, just curious seeing i have never had problems with my drill.

glad you like it, hopefully i'll have one soon. i mainly want one for getting into tight spaces where i need more power than my bosch pocket driver can provide.
 
...what kind of head was on that screw? the reason i ask is my lil 18v makita drill, the new lithium ion version can drive the heck out of just about any thing, especially in a 2x4...
Chris, it was a regular old Phillips head #8 wood screw. [Er...it was a #12...my mistake.] I think I let the driver bit get a little loose in the slots, and after that, it stripped out in a heartbeat. (I was so surprised to see the screw head sink so far below the surface that I lost my concentration for a second.) I think if I'd been able to keep the bit from slipping, I would have been able to drive the screw all the way through the board. At least it sure felt that way. :) This driver sure seems to have plenty of torque. I'd imagine your 18v will sprain your shoulder if you're not paying attention. :p (But I also suspect yours will drive 3 1/2" deck screws all day long without breathing heavy.)
 
Vaughn,

Nice Score !
I don't have one yet, but everyone that I know who has one swears by them.

Does your new impact have a clutch of any type, to prevent the over driving of screws?
 
...Does your new impact have a clutch of any type, to prevent the over driving of screws?

Nope, no clutch. I was a bit concerned about not having one, since I really rely on it with my drill/drivers. As it turns out, the rotation of the impact driver slows down as the screw gets tighter, so it seems to give ample reaction time to stop before driving the screw too far. I guess I'll see how that plays out over time, and see if I have the eye for when a screw is tight enough.
 
I put up some drywall about a week ago, I never screwed drywall years ago, it was always nailed. After repeatably hearing how much better screws are for hanging drywall I decided to step up in the modern world and give it a try.

I tried a regular cordless drill with a dimplier clutch attachment made by Dewalt, It worked pretty good, but it did break thru the paper now and then.

Just for "chits and giggles " I decided to give it a whirl with my Makita LXT 18volt impact driver. I was quite shocked how much control I had sinking the drywall screw to just the right depth without a paper break!

I finished the job with the impact driver without the dimpler.

I drove the screw flush and just a coupla impact blaps and viola it was set just right!

Who wuda have thought an impact driver that can drive a screw right through
a piece of wood would also be versatile enough to drive drywall screws!

Go figure!
 
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vaughn, i am not sure the specs on your hitachi, but most impacts i have seen have about double the torque of a normal drill with the same sized battery. my makita does have a ton of torque for it's physical size, but no match for any impact. also, you may have noticed, an impact usually has a much higher no load rpm, closer to an corded drill than a cordless. this makes them great for driving self tapping sheet metal screws. something i learned when my friend showed up with one to help me build my shop. it drove those screws in half the time.
 
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