Archived from the Tools In Action forum (Power Tools). This thread is read-only.
Hi guys,
I haven’t been on TIA lately (been super busy on several personal projects) so I’m back !
So far, I have only one powerdrill the Festool T15+3 and I have to say I’ve been super happy with it so far. It seems the Festool TI15 is discontinued…didn’t lived up to its reputation ?
Because of that, I’m considering either Makita (XDT08 or XDT09 ?) impact drills since it seems they are the king of impact drills at the moment but I still have a soft spot for Bosch impact drills too (I have a Bosch SDS rotary hammer I absolutely love).
It is unlikely that I will use the wrench feature… but will mostly use the internal hexagon attachement.
Here are a few things I would need your input on:
– My Festool T15+3 drill is a 14V. Shall I stick to 14V as well for the impact ? I’m thinking the 18V would really be overkill (as we as I thought a 18V powerdrill would have been overkill for my needs). I love the compactness / weight of the 10V but I think the “oomph” of the 14V would come handy.
– There are lots of features to look for. Besides weight and max torque, any particular spec I should look at ?
– Impact drills can be (very) noisy. In your opinion, is it something to be taken into account ? Don’t want to end up wearing ear plugs everytime I’m using it.
Thanks everyone.
No experience with festool, chrisk had them and loves them he’s had great luck and I ve heard of nothing but quality from them. Makita makes a great impact but also consider the Milwaukee gen 2 and the Dewalt DCF 887.
Jimbo
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I have a makita impact gun and hammer drill and a few others. I love them. I do believe makita just came out with an oil pulse impact gun which is supposed to be quieter than the standard impact gun. ridgid also has one.
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Hey Jimbo,
Thanks for that. Never been a big fan of Dewalt but I’ll have a look at Milwaukee.
Don’t understand why there are soooo many models to choose from (speaking of Bosch and Makita)
hemdale wrote:
16 minutes ago, hemdale said:– There are lots of features to look for. Besides weight and max torque, any particular spec I should look at ?
– Impact drills can be (very) noisy. In your opinion, is it something to be taken into account ? Don’t want to end up wearing ear plugs everytime I’m using it.
Thanks everyone.
Yes, modes/speeds/whatever you want to call them. A lot of the lower end drills only have one speed, which, granted, can generally be changed by feathering the trigger. The Milwaukee M12 Fuel impact driver (2453-20) has two speeds. The Milwaukee M18 Fuel (2753-20) has four settings, but really only three speeds. The fourth setting is for self-tapping screws. Milwaukee has three lines, 1) Brushed 2) Brushless and 3) Fuel (which is also brushless). I haven’t verified with every single impact driver they make, but I’m 99% sure that the only ones that offer speed selection are the Fuel line.
Dewalt just came out with an impact driver that has speed settings, the DCF887. It offers a slide switch to change between settings, whereas the Milwaukee M18 has individual buttons for each setting. The M12 has one button that is just a toggle between the two settings. I believe the Dewalt DCF895 also has speed selection. It features an odd chuck that requires a separate trigger to release the bit. Some like it, some don’t.
I also have the Makita XDT08Z, which does not have speed selection either, although it is brushless.
I guess you could just sum up by saying, in addition to weight and torque, look for speed selection, and whether the tool is brushed or brushless. You may also want to figure out what other tools you may need down the line and figure out which brand is best for those needs. That way you don’t have to keep up with multiple battery and charger lines.
To help aid you with your search, the proper name for these tools is “impact driver.” Yes, they are noisy, and if you’re driving screws all day with one, I would advise you wear ear protection (and also eye protection). This goes for any type of impact power tool.
Stay away from the ridgid stealth impact I have a video on my YouTube channel and in a thread as well you can find the link through my profile if you’d like or I can get t for you as well same as the dcf 887.
Jimbo
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I would recommend 18v 3 speed impact driver as the speed adjustment allows for a huge range of flexibility. Even with variable speed trigger it is very easy to over drive a screw in softer woods. I would recommend the Milwaukee 2753 it is super compact and extremely powerful. Dewalt DCF887 is also a great impact driver with plenty of power and excellent ergonomics but I still would recommend the Milwaukee due to there overall better 18v lineup.
I really like my Milwaukee impact but I think I prefer the Dewalt impacts…and I’m not normally a fan of Dewalt.
I just replaced my Milwaukee M12 brushed impact with a 2 speed Fuel impact and I love it. I also have the brushed M18 too, but I don’t anticipate using it much now unless I am using lags. Home Depot has a deal online right now for $169 for the 2 battery kit and a free tool or battery or for $229 you get the hammer drill and impact combo with a 2.0 and 4.0 battery plus a free tool or battery. I got the right angle drill with my kit and it seems great so far.
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With all the development put into 18V tools recently the other voltages are lagging a bit behind even with top brands like Bosch and Milwaukee for 10,8V. (eg. XDT09 is shorter than most 12V impacts).
As for impulse drivers (quiet impact drivers) they can deliver a pretty significant reaction back to the user almost like pulsing the trigger on a drill. The old makita ones and new ridgid ones are do this but I believe the new makita ones are fine. I would definitely look into that if noise is an issue.
That would drive me nuts using that!
Thanks for your feedback. I’m guessing that having an impact driver would mean that keeping a regular power drill would be irrelevant ? Unless you can drill properly / at all with an impact driver ?
Hi again,
I can’t find the Makita XDT08 or XDT09 in Europe. Can you please confirm that the equivalent seems to be the DTD146 ?
Thanks !
Impacts have a 1/4″ hex quick connect chuck so most drill bits will not fit because of the shanks. In addition to that most drill bits are not rated for impact use.
Jimbo
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hemdale wrote:
2 hours ago, hemdale said:Thanks for your feedback. I’m guessing that having an impact driver would mean that keeping a regular power drill would be irrelevant ? Unless you can drill properly / at all with an impact driver ?
they are two different tools and although you may be able to get away with an impact to drill holes (with hex shanked bits) you will be limited more so than an actual drill. So in saying that if you were to only buy one I would get a drill first as it can do a lot of what an impact does. then again most times a drill/impact combo is probably you best bet cost wise as they usually sell for not much more to have both tools….
What Comp and Jimbo said, I use my drill a lot more than my impact. Impact is used for very specific tasks, drills do a lot more tasks, this is why a LOT of kits include both tools.
Thanks chaps. Will wait a bit to see if the need to invest in an impact is getting really obvious. Let’s see how things go.
I would definitely wait hem especially since, like the crew already mentioned, you can get almost all your tasks done with your drill. But if the need persists, check out jimbos review of the DeWalt impact. He does a really good job on breaking it down and showing the capabilities of it
hemdale wrote:
On 3/4/2016 at 0:00 PM, hemdale said:Hi again,
I can’t find the Makita XDT08 or XDT09 in Europe. Can you please confirm that the equivalent seems to be the DTD146 ?
Thanks !
I believe the DTD147 is the best makita have to offer in europe. Could be the equivalent of the two model numbers you mention. The 146 is the brushed version, not sure if that matters to you. Like others said I’d go for a 3 speed, better for smaller jobs that the single speed is just too powerful for.
DTD148 is a big step up over the DTD147. With European vs. American prices I don’t think importing a XDT09 would be much more expensive than a DTD148 would be in Europe.
The makita is nice
hemdale wrote:
On March 3, 2016 at 5:41 PM, hemdale said:Hi guys,
I haven’t been on TIA lately (been super busy on several personal projects) so I’m back !
So far, I have only one powerdrill the Festool T15+3 and I have to say I’ve been super happy with it so far. It seems the Festool TI15 is discontinued…didn’t lived up to its reputation ?
Because of that, I’m considering either Makita (XDT08 or XDT09 ?) impact drills since it seems they are the king of impact drills at the moment but I still have a soft spot for Bosch impact drills too (I have a Bosch SDS rotary hammer I absolutely love).
It is unlikely that I will use the wrench feature… but will mostly use the internal hexagon attachement.
Here are a few things I would need your input on:
– My Festool T15+3 drill is a 14V. Shall I stick to 14V as well for the impact ? I’m thinking the 18V would really be overkill (as we as I thought a 18V powerdrill would have been overkill for my needs). I love the compactness / weight of the 10V but I think the “oomph” of the 14V would come handy.
– There are lots of features to look for. Besides weight and max torque, any particular spec I should look at ?
– Impact drills can be (very) noisy. In your opinion, is it something to be taken into account ? Don’t want to end up wearing ear plugs everytime I’m using it.
Thanks everyone.
Yeah, the Ti15 tried too hard to be everything and it kind of just went away. Great impact gun but with the anti impact ring on then the chuck it was a pretty large drill. Anyways, no rumors on an 18v impact from the Jerrys thus far but I’m waiting patiently 😉
Thanks everyone, the Oil Impact version looks quite tempting too !
Since your in France have a look at toolstop.co.uk. I find them decent price wise.