Northern Tool Cordless Impact Wrench

[KennyV]

Are they 'Drivers' or are they actually "Impact" wrenches?
I have seen many 1/4 inch powered screw and nut drivers but never any actual Impact. KennyV

 

[Kernopelli]

Are they 'Drivers' or are they actually "Impact" wrenches?
I have seen many 1/4 inch powered screw and nut drivers but never any actual Impact. KennyV

Kenny, they are actually impacts and listed as such, they will be spec'ed with both rpm's and BPM (or sometimes IPM's- impacts per min.). The cordless drills or "drill/drivers" that we all see will always have a standard type adjustable chuck, usually keyless. Almost all of the cordless drills anymore are actually "drill drivers"...the difference between a drill and a "drill driver" is that the drill driver has an adjustable clutch for driving screws that adjusts torque up to a fully locked clutch setting for drilling. Then you have the hammer drills that rotate and actually push the drill bit forward intermittently. Then you have the impacts. which most of know how that works. Every 1/4" impact I have seen uses a "chuck" that will only accept a 1/4" hex shaft and has a sliding collar that locks the shaft in the "chuck" instead of a 3/8" or 1/2"adjustable chuck". Hitachi,DeWalt, Makita,Bosch etc all make excellent ones but even the cheapo craftsman's are decent and regardless of brand, the impacts are far more powerful than their comparable volt "drill driver". The manufacturers seem to really promote them for their exceptional ability to drive screws and will usually refer to them as "impact drivers" and they will drive screws better than anything else but I'm telling ya...they're the berries to use in place of a 3/8" ratchet!

 

[Bird]

Yep, Kenny, enough companies make them (Ingersoll-Rand, Chicago Pneumatic, Matco, K&E, and others) that there's obviously a market for them. When I was working on air tools, I only repaired one, a Matco MT1730 with a chip broken off the anvil. They're cute little tools, even if you and I have never had a use for one.

 

[Kernopelli]

Yep, Kenny, enough companies make them (Ingersoll-Rand, Chicago Pneumatic, Matco, K&E, and others) that there's obviously a market for them. When I was working on air tools, I only repaired one, a Matco MT1730 with a chip broken off the anvil. They're cute little tools, even if you and I have never had a use for one.

AHHH Bird, you're still missing the point. The thread is talking about cordless impact wrenches...not some 30 ft/lb 1/4" pneumatic, 3/16" nut loosener (with cord and compressor to deal with). I wish I had the money to buy you a new 120ft/lb torque Milwaukee 14.4V 1/4" cordless impact, some Phillips head bits, a set of hex shanked drill bits and a 3/8" socket adapter and let you use them around the shop for a month and then tell me "you never had a use for one"
I promise, you'd take your NRA bumper sticker off your truck and replace it with one that said " They can have my new impact gun when they pry it out of my cold dead hand!

 

[kendive]

Yep, Kenny, enough companies make them (Ingersoll-Rand, Chicago Pneumatic, Matco, K&E, and others) that there's obviously a market for them. When I was working on air tools, I only repaired one, a Matco MT1730 with a chip broken off the anvil. They're cute little tools, even if you and I have never had a use for one.

I have a Makita 1/4 impact with the lithium battery and I use it all the time.

I use it on my camper to put the 4 stabilizers down. Better than that hand crank.

 

[enew]

I have owned a couple off brand cordless impacts and for light duty things they worked ok. If you are not going to do heavy stuff or make a living they will do just fine for the price. I have since bought a Snap-On cordless since I do side work which takes me away from my compressor so I can't use my air impacts(3/4 and 1/2 Ingersoll-Rand and 1/2 MAC). I have learned over the years to buy quality tools once not cheap one 2 or 3 times cause when they break is when you need they the most.

 

[JoelD]

Good point Enew, I'm relying on the online feedback the tool got, which was excellent.

The price difference was huge, $300 for milwalkee or snap on or the like versus $100.

I hope it works out, the reviews for the most part stated that the battery life was excellent and the tool was reliable.

Joel