Archived from the Tools In Action forum (Power Tools). This thread is read-only.
I am looking at the Ryobi impact wrench and the impact driver, the impact wrench is about £85 and the impact driver is around £50 imported from the US (i live in the uk and prices are a bit higher for them here) i was looking for input on which will be better for taking off bolts on motorbikes and stuff but also using for woodwork and driving screws, i was thinking the impact wrench for double the torque although i doubt I will be taking many lug nuts off, but the driver is alot cheaper and i can easily buy adapters for sockets. i dont have the budget for both as i have just built my workshop so buying a bunch of tools, sticking with ryobi as i have a recip saw already. Thanks for any help.
An impact driver should work alright for small fasteners seems like it probably would suit your need better. Should be a bit more compact too, so it will fit in tighter spaces. If you aren’t working on bigger, tighter bolts you probably don’t the extra torque.
MattV wrote:
2 hours ago, MattV said:An impact driver should work alright for small fasteners seems like it probably would suit your need better. Should be a bit more compact too, so it will fit in tighter spaces. If you aren’t working on bigger, tighter bolts you probably don’t the extra torque.
Ok, good points, thanks.
Yes, if you have to get one, get the impact driver. You can’t use the impact wrench for screws and woodworking. I am not sure if the Ryobi impact driver will loosen lug nuts. Before you buy, you might want to do a little research on the model you want and see if it has the power.
Eric – TIA wrote:
8 hours ago, Eric – TIA said:Yes, if you have to get one, get the impact driver. You can’t use the impact wrench for screws and woodworking. I am not sure if the Ryobi impact driver will loosen lug nuts. Before you buy, you might want to do a little research on the model you want and see if it has the power.
you can buy 1/2 square to 1/4 hex adapters from dewalt, for torque it claims to have 2000in lbs (220nm) of torque but not sure if that can be trusted. Only thing i am worried about is ordering through amazon i get some protection with the wrench, whereas the driver is on ebay and says in the description, ‘out of original packaging for lighter shipping’, seems a little weird but probably okay, any thoughts on those points?
The Main Differences Between Impact Drivers vs Impact Wrenches are: Impact drivers are used to drill long screws into wood or metal, whereas Impact wrenches are used to loosen or tighten nuts and bolts. Impact Drivers are easy to use, whereas Impact wrenches are more powerful and heavier.