Noob tool questions

[Anonymous No.1712991]

as a relatively newb when it comes to tools, I never really understood the difference between a drill and a driver, though this link seems to have cleared that up somewhat: https://www.howtogeek.com/305007/power-drills-vs-impact-drivers-whats-the-difference/

I have a drill-
>dial 1-25
>switch that goes from high speed to high torque
>claw/chuck

I think I may be better suited for a driver, or maybe a set containing both a drill and driver. I see differences of opinion on best brands, but I'm wondering if someone could recommend one or both. I don't do a whole lot, mainly just stuff around the house, though I have built a deck (used my drill for everything since I didn't know a driver was a thing) as well as other smaller projects around the house. I just want something with interchangeable batteries (and batteries that are easy to replace. Thanks

[THe_KvD !ZNBx60Gj/k No.1712993]

>>1712991
What you have with the 1-25 is a drill/driver. Drill-driver can do the job of an impact driver, but the impact driver is shitty at drilling holes. Impact driver is only good for driving screws and bolts, and it won’t torque your wrist back nearly as much as the drill-driver.

If you can only have one, the drill-driver would be the way to go.

[Anonymous No.1712994]

>>1712991

Drivers are very good at driving screws, thanks to their impact mechanism, but can also function alright as a drill when using smaller bits.

Drills are made for (duh) drilling, but can also function alright as a driver.

If in doubt, just get the drill. It's better at being a driver than the driver is at being a drill.

[Anonymous No.1712997]

Drill - Makes Holes
Impact- Drives Fasteners like Screws, Nuts, Bolts


If you're going to frame, I recommend a pneumatic Hitachi nail gun.

If you're going to build some small structures, I recommend an impact with TORX screws

[Anonymous No.1713006]

>>1712997
Given black friday sales, I would seriously consider going to Lowes to pickup a 2 tool kit with a free circular saw for $200


I paid $100 each tool for a Kobalt. Despite rumors of its demise, there's newer tools coming out for the platform. They're good performers (look at youtube), affordable, and the batteries are cheap. I think for any home owner, I would get a

1. Impact
2. Drill
3. Circ Saw - Cut lumber on the go
4. One Handed Sawzall - Demolition Saw
5. Multi-Tool Oscillator - Fine Detailed Cuts
6. SDS Roto Hammer/ Hammer Drill - Drive anchors in concrete


An impact is great because there's no kickback when the tool gets stuck. It's not the same with a drill nor a roto hammer. An impact is basically a drill without the front chuck, and there's an impact mechanism which does this micro-hits to drive the screw in. If you're going to drive a big ass lag screw into wood without a pilot hole of some sort, you'll be wishing you had an impact.

At worse, you can make do without a drill. Just purchase a drill chuck to adapt on an impact.

We only use the regular drill for making holes in metal. That's not even the right tool for the job, so no one really uses it.

[THe_KvD !ZNBx60Gj/k No.1713007]

>>1713006
I tried putting a spade bit in an impact driver once... never again.

They sell lots of drill bits with the hex shaft for impact drivers, but it’s really awkward using impacts to drill holes. Much easier using a drill-driver to drive screws like this anon said >>1712994

[Anonymous No.1713008]

>>1712993
cool, so not only did I not know the difference, I didn't realize mine was a combo! It makes sense, as I've played with that dial on mine, I've noticed that it will stop drilling at certain numbers (when drilling in wood for instance), that must be the torque (???).

>>1712994
thanks, I may get another drill/driver as that's apparently what I currently have. It's suited me fine for the last few years but the battery is shot and expensive to replace. I'm lucky to drive in 8-10 screws before it's dead.

>>1712997
cool, that's a simple comparison

So another question then, With my current drill/driver I have sets of both drill bits and drive bits (both have hex shanks). According to the link in my OP post, the drive bits with hex shanks are 'few and far between'. I can see how the rounded drill bit and hex shanks would fit into the drill (the three "teeth" would hold it in place), but what keeps the drive bits held in place (is there something to physically tighten as there is with the drill). Pic related. I can see the hex shank on the driver, but I'm unsure how the bit is held firmly in place

[Anonymous No.1713012]

>>1713007
haha you answered my question seconds before I asked it. Funny because it took me several minutes to figure out what I was trying to say/ask.

thanks!

[Anonymous No.1713035]

>>1713008
An impact holds its bits in with spring loaded bearings that tighten on the bit when its inserted. There may be other styles but thats what I've seen before

[Anonymous No.1713041]

>>1712997
>If you're going to frame, I recommend a pneumatic Hitachi nail gun.
Not OP but I wanna get one of those big-dick Hilti powder actuated guns

[THe_KvD !ZNBx60Gj/k No.1713049]

>>1713008
That is a drill/driver like most modern cordless “drills”. It’s made to drill holes and drive screws. A typical old school drill may not even have a reverse switch, and it won’t have a clutch. That 1-24 or whatever is the “clutch” and helps you when driving screws. Set it to max for drilling holes, but when driving screws, setting it lower will make sure you won’t shred a small hole or drive it too deep and fuck up the project.

>>1713012
Yeah the 1/4” hex shanks are made for impact drivers, but the 3-jaw chucks in drill-drivers will hold them too. It’s a universal size to fit in all of the attachments and shit too and will keep the bits from slipping in the chuck of the drill (round drill bits can slip if you don’t tighten them enough).

Like other people said, if you can only have one, get the drill-driver. The combo kits are nice because you can drill a pilot hole with the drill and drive the screw into it with the impact driver. Impact drivers are much more comfortable for driving medium to large screws than a drill-driver.

[Anonymous No.1713070]

>>1713049
well written response! I probably will end up with another drill/driver. The main thing I noticed when comparing drivers is this
>Impact drivers are much more comfortable for driving medium to large screws than a drill-driver
I find myself doing plenty of screwing (lol) in small spaces and the drill/driver is pretty large --at least mine is-- and the head sometimes doesn't want to fit (If a screw is one inch from a wall, it's very hard to get to, I'll often just manhandle it with a screwdriver, using my own force to drill the hole)

[THe_KvD !ZNBx60Gj/k No.1713076]

>>1713070
Look at the 12V tools. I shill them all the time after getting mine. I use them for 95% of drilling and driving around the house because they have more than enough battery life and power for small projects. The Ridgid 12V is the little guy on the left with a 2.0Ah battery in it.

Look at Milwaukee, their M12 line is badass, and the M12 Fuel tools are almost as powerful as 18V tools from cheaper brands. They’re more affordable than the 18V Milwaukee tools, and you can often get a 12V drill, impact driver, and hackzall for ~$150 or just the drill and impact for ~$120. Plus 5 year warranty on Milwaukee tools.

[THe_KvD !ZNBx60Gj/k No.1713081]

>>1713070
>>1713076
There are flexi shafts and right angle attachments for those tight spots as well, or right angle drills.

The impact drivers are always going to be shorter than drills because there is no adjustable chuck or clutch, but there are other things that affect the length. A hammer drill/driver (with a hammering function that helps to drill holes in concrete) will be longer than a regular drill/driver. And newer drills with brushless motors will often be a little shorter because the motors are smaller, pic related shows newer brushless Ridgid vs older brushed DeWalt. The drill is far shorter, but that’s also design and not just the smaller motor.

The brushless thing you will probably run into when looking at new tools. The newest higher end models will be brushless, it’s a little bit more efficient so they will run slightly cooler, a little more power, and a little more battery life. There are more electronics to fail, but you will never need to change the brushes on the motor (which most homeowners will never use the tool enough to wear through the brushes anyway).

[THe_KvD !ZNBx60Gj/k No.1713084]

>>1713070
>>1713076
Oh, and another option, there are the “compact 18V” tools. If you want to step up to a better brand without spending an arm and a leg, but you don’t like the limited 12V tool lineup, the DeWalt Atomic and Makita Sub-Compact tools are a great serious DIYer option. They aren’t as large or powerful as the flagship full size models, but they still have plenty of balls. Then you already have the batteries and charger if you want to pick up another Makita or DeWalt 18V tool in the future.

But for the price of those, you can get a top level Ryobi. Also if you’re on a budget, check out the new Skil stuff on Amazon, those have been getting great reviews for the money. You can’t go wrong with the Ryobi 18V you originally posted though, they offer so many sweet tools for good prices.

[Anonymous No.1713189]

>>1713076
I've got the m12 1st gen screwdriver, hammer/drill/driver, and the Fuel circular saw and an m18 Fuel brushless drill/driver. Can confirm, great tools, use them for light industrial/assembly/around the house.

[Anonymous No.1713199]

>>1713007
Really? Spades and augers are one of the explicit purposes of impact drivers. You don't want to use a drill for big holes in things like telephone pole because when it catches it will twist your arm off while your on top of a ladder. Ever wonder why they make 7/16 impact drivers? Specifically for putting holes in big ass lumber.

[Anonymous No.1713216]

>>1712991
> I see differences of opinion on best brands, but I'm wondering if someone could recommend one or both.

If you buy mainstream, you wont have any issues. If you buy offbrand, you probably still wont have issues until potentially the future when batteries fail or you want to buy more tools.

Wait for black friday, find a combo kit that has both a drill and an impact driver.
Buy it from Big Red, Big Yellow, or Big Blue.

Follow the SlickDeals website, the combo kits all get posted near black friday.
I ended up buying a brushless Milwaukee M18 combo kit last year and have been more than happy with it.

[THe_KvD !ZNBx60Gj/k No.1713237]

>>1713199
Meh I tried it on some small hardwood and it split the entire fucking thing as soon as it started hammering. If there is a time you should be drilling holes with an impact driver, that wasn’t it.

[Anonymous No.1713407]

>>1713216
>Big Red,
?
>Big Yellow,
? (orange? hd?)
or
>Big Blue
Lowes.

Also why buy from there and not anywhere else?

[Anonymous No.1713409]

>>1713216
>>1713407
nvm, I'm a moron
>Milwaukee
>Kobalt
>Dewalt

[THe_KvD !ZNBx60Gj/k No.1713430]

>>1713407
>>1713409
He probably means Makita with Blue. DeWalt and Milwaukee for yellow and red.

Kobalt isn’t quite on the same tier. Kobalt and Ridgid are about the same, they’re better than homeowner Ryobi or Black & Decker, but a little below hardcore contractor. They will hold up to pro work, but not as good of a lineup as the Big 3.

[Anonymous No.1713441]

>>1713430
thanks. B&D is pretty much junk, right?

[Anonymous No.1713448]

>>1712991
OP don't listen to these retard shills. Wait for Christmas season and buy a Ryobi kit. They'll give you 2 tools free with the kit and you'll spend maybe $250 for like 6+ tools. Milwaukee and Dewalt are great tools, but fucking ridiculously expensive for homeowner use. Ryobi is fine, they have the most tools available and come with a 3 year warranty. Seriously underated tools and are the perfect solution for DIY cordless tools.

[Anonymous No.1713469]

>>1713441
There is no good rule of thumb with Black and Decker, they sell such a wide range its stupid. Black and Decker owns Bostich and Porter Cable and Dewalt.
Like pic related, 80$ pretty much an entry level Dewalt or Porter Cable, itll be a great drill.

But then they sell some $30 Nicads or some 12v Lithium drills without removable batteries which are dogshit.

Milwaukee and Ryobi are the same company,
Look at Milwaukee, you know if it says Milwaukee its a high end tool
You see Ryobi and you know its their lower end tools.

You look at a Black and Decker, or a Porter Cable, or a Bostich, you have to compare prices and specs to their Dewalt lines. Which Dewalt has some entry level lines that arent so good too. It makes things difficult.

Makita has a single name, but they just have a much smaller line of tools. Their lower end tools are the ones with the lower specs. Easy.

[Anonymous No.1713475]

>>1713469
Oh and Black Decker owns Craftsman power tools that just showed up to Lowes too.

[Anonymous No.1713487]

>>1712991
The ryo impact has a nice trigger sensitivity. It does a solid job of doing the jobs of both tools. Ryobi tools have less balls than most brands from my experience. Their drill doesn't have enough torque to get a lot of things done. The speed bit system is a strength and a weakness of the impact. It's very efficient, but then the bits cost more and not all bits are available in the hex shank. Impact drills also seem to handle abuse better imo. You can get that tool cooking pretty hot without it failing on you.

Inversely Dewalt's drill has hammer function so it's fine tool as well.

[THe_KvD !ZNBx60Gj/k No.1713497]

>>1713441
The 20V tools aren’t terrible, but it’s lower level handyman stuff. The better Black & Decker is probably close to the cheapest Ryobi.

Stanley Black & Decker owns so many brands. With power tools, Black & Decker is the lowest level, they make cheap ass 14V NiCd stuff for somebody who drills one hole every 2 years, but the 20V Li-Ion will hold up for a few years of homeowner stuff. Porter Cable and now Craftsman would be their next level up, that’s a more serious DIY brand and would survive a few months in the trades. And then DeWalt is SB&D’s contractor grade stuff, but even then there’s a wide range and the best Craftsman drill might be nicer than the cheapest DeWalt.

The Bostich brand... I’m not sure why that exists anymore. They still sell it at Walmart I think, it seems to Be like Porter Cable quality but that’s some old legacy brand they will probably end up dropping or just rebadge a Craftsman model to be sold at Walmarts as something better than B&D.

>>1713469
>>1713475
Kinda this. Except for the Milwaukee part, it’s just a blurry. They make Ridgid tools as well which sit right in the middle. The best Ryobi stuff will be on par with the cheapest Milwaukee $99 starter kit, maybe even better, and the good Ridgid is better than that stuff.

[THe_KvD !ZNBx60Gj/k No.1713511]

>>1713441
This >>1713448 isn’t a bad idea either if you’re a handyman. You can get a whole lot of Ryobi for like $200 if you get the right sale.

>>1713469
>>1713475
>>1713497
I’m trying to think of how to put it SB&D’s cordless power tools in order:
>Black & Decker 8V or NiCd
Grandma who had to hang a picture once and doesn’t have the hand strength to use a screwdriver
>Black & Decker 20V Max
Lesbian Aunt Sue who don’t need no man to build her Ikea furniture for her
>Bostich 18V
Tweaker Cousin Carl who “found” a $100 Walmart gift card and decided to buy the best drill they had to offer
>Porter Cable 20V
Aunt Karen’s Mexican boyfiend who is an unlicensed electrician
>Craftsman 20V
Boomer Uncle Joe, semi-retired, he can fix 50% of the stuff around the house, but the other 50% he breaks even worse
>DeWalt 12V/20V Max
Cousin Tony who just got an apprentice HVAC job
>DeWalt 20V Max XR
Uncle Ricky, Tony’s dad who is a union plumber, got Tony the apprentice gig.

[Anonymous No.1713517]

>>1713497
>14V NiCd stuff for somebody who drills one hole every 2 years,
Ironically enough, NiCd is horrible for such usage, it is better suited for professional use.
Here is what I think about B&D.
Some tools are OK. Their dremel thing is pretty good. I'm not buying original Dremel anyway.
Bosch quality depends on origin. Europe is fine 100%.
>>1713511
>Lesbian Aunt Sue who don’t need no man to build her Ikea furniture for her
Do you really need a drill for Ikea shit?

[THe_KvD !ZNBx60Gj/k No.1713538]

>>1713517
Lesbian Aunt Sue assembled her grill with that drill last spring and only one wheel fell off!

Honestly though, power tools on Ikea stuff is risky because that shitty ass particle board will fall apart like it’s nobody’s business. You better set that drill clutch to 1.

[Anonymous No.1713566]

>>1713538
>Honestly though, power tools on Ikea stuff is risky because that shitty ass particle board will fall apart like it’s nobody’s business.
With particle board you need something like pic related.
I have no idea why it is blue bosch, but I believe it is sold in US as Dremel Go. It is comparable to hand in terms of torque, but speed is higher.
Or Ixo thing.

[Anonymous No.1714309]

>>1713084
Fucking based

[THe_KvD !ZNBx60Gj/k No.1714425]

>>1714309
I would take the 12V over that, but you will never be able to use those batteries on a 7-1/4” circ saw.

[Anonymous No.1714432]

>>1713566
Pic related is the best screwdriver ever, that blue thing is a joke.

[Anonymous No.1714459]

>>1714432
That blue thing has dimensions smaller than normal screwdriver.
That Milfuckee screwdriver has more in common with ordinary 12V electric drill, like Makita DW330 or something similar, and it is plain too big to fit in some places you'd use blue bosch thing.

[Anonymous No.1714476]

>>1714459
It's very small, 7" from chuck to end. I've found nothing that this can't get into.

[Anonymous No.1714478]

This has been one of the most wholesome and helpful threads on this board for a while

[Anonymous No.1714532]

>>1714476
What is the distance between center of the chuck and plastic crap on the outside? Bosch has 2 cm.
Anyway, know why I like Bosch? I stole 50 screws from chairs and tables from university. Manually it would take ages to do so, and I would get caught doing this. And this happened to me before in high school.

[Anonymous No.1714542]

>>1714532
It's about the same 2.2cm. The whole case is about 1 3/4 inches at it widest point. If I need to get into something any smaller I'll just use an extension bar.

[Anonymous No.1714551]

>>1714459
theres always this new Milwaukee installation tool with replaceable power heads, if this cant reach into where you are working there probobly shouldnt be screws there anyway.

[Anonymous No.1714553]

>>1712991
>I think I may be better suited for a driver, or maybe a set containing both a drill and driver.

Ryobi peasants dont have a brushless hybrid impact/hammer-drill driver.

[Anonymous No.1714560]

>>1714551
>if this cant reach into where you are working there probobly shouldnt be screws there anyway.
Not if you designed that it yourself...

[Anonymous No.1714562]

>>1713237
big log, more area to absorb vibrations, maybe?
I dunno, I aint a professional log driller.

[Anonymous No.1714570]

>>1713237
might work better with a big auger bit, Milwaukee has a whole line of Lineman's tools that are all meant to be used in their high torque impact wrenches, which are probobly the only thing that can dig straight through a power pole.

[THe_KvD !ZNBx60Gj/k No.1714682]

>>1714432
How is the trigger on that thing? Never used a cordless screwdriver, but I could see that being useful over a drill or impact driver if it had a good variable speed that is easy to use and a wide speed and torque range.

I love my little 12v impact though. Small screws, drive it slow before it starts to hammer, medium screws just let it rip, and bigger bolts you can hammer em on and hit it with a torque wrench after.

Also those little 12v 2.0Ah barrel batteries go so damn long when you’re just hittin little projects around the house.

[THe_KvD !ZNBx60Gj/k No.1714685]

>>1714553
Bosch makes this cool little 1/4” hex- 3/8” square impact. I thought that was neat.

>>1714551
This thing is neat, but when I saw it, I was wondering what the hell is that hand guard thing for? Is there something I’m missing?

Almost as cool as that 2-way Worx or whatever the hell you see commercials for on tv.

>>1714562
>>1714570
It was a brand new Bosch bit so it was super sharp, and an old piece of 2x8 that may have been real dry.

[Anonymous No.1715065]

>>1714682
The trigger and clutch are very good, I've used it on some fine stuff (computers and other electronics) and it has enough power to drive 3 1/2 inch deck screws in pt pine. I bought it because I wanted a small, light, driver that could be used all day driving 1 5/8 ss deck screws and it drives a couple hundred screws on that battery, a lot more if I use the 6.0 AH battery. It really is my go to screwdriver.

[THe_KvD !ZNBx60Gj/k No.1715123]

>>1715065
Based 12V tools.

If/when I give up on the Ridgid 12v, I will def go Milwaukee and those stubby impacts are real high on my list of tools to get.

[Anonymous No.1715223]

>>1714685
the handguard has a magnetic strip on it for holding spare screws and bits. they also need a place to relocate the light, battery indicator and belt clip to since the actual motor section is really small in person.

i still think the biggest mistake they made on that thing is moving the forward/reverse selector to a button on top of the motor, they could have made it just a little bit taller and had it in the normal location above the trigger.