In my opinion, it’s not a good idea to use an impact driver for pocket hole joinery. The extra torque of the driver will break a bit that is not impact-rated. If you want a hole larger than ¼” in a material that is more substantial or denser than softwood or light-gauge steel, you’ll need an impact driver bit. However, if you have the correct hex-shank bit, you can drill a hole up to a ¼” in light-gauge steel or softwood. The high torque of an impact driver is meant for driving (or removing) large or long fasteners, not for drilling holes.
Impact driver screwdriver drivers#
Impact Drivers are Not Meant for Drilling It’s all too easy to over-tighten screws or drive them too deeply, making impact drivers too powerful for precision work.įor projects that require a delicate touch, use a drill or screwdriver instead. Impact drivers operate at lightning speed and generally don’t have speed or torque settings. Impact-rated bits are easy to identify from other bits because they’re usually thinner in the middle and encased in plastic. The high torque of an impact driver might snap a bit that is not impact-rated. These bits are made to handle the tremendous torque of an impact driver. Second, and most importantly, you must use “impact-rated” bits. First, impact drivers have a collet that only accepts ¼” hex bits. There are a few things to keep in mind when choosing a bit for your impact driver. Back to Table of Contentsģ Tips for Using an Impact Driver 1. For those jobs, you’ll need a hammer drill instead. For those jobs, you’ll want a screwdriver or a drill.Īn impact driver is not meant for driving fasteners into hard materials like brick or concrete. Impact drivers are ideal for big jobs, like building a deck when you need more torque to drive long screws or carriage bolts.īecause the high torque is frequently too powerful for delicate tasks, an impact driver isn’t often needed for building DIY furniture projects. A collet is a band or sleeve that surrounds the bit to keep it in place. The chuck of an impact driver does not have adjustable jaws like a drill. When the drill encounters a certain amount of resistance, the slip clutch disengages, preventing the fastener from being driven too deeply into the workpiece or stripping the screw. Many drills are equipped with a slip clutch. Because impact drivers lack any settings, they are generally compact, lightweight tools that can fit into tight spots and hard-to-reach places. Impact drivers seldom have speed settings or a clutch with torque adjustments. This means bits are less likely to spin out of the screw or strip out screw heads. This impact motion also helps bits from slipping out of the grooves of the screw head. When the impact driver encounters some resistance, it begins to deliver those bursts or impacts.Īn impact driver’s high torque is ideal for driving (or removing) large or long fasteners like screws and bolts. Impact drivers can produce two to three times more rotational force than drills, and they do so in quick bursts. In a nutshell, torque is the amount of twisting force. Related: Impact Driver vs Drill: Which to Use & Why High-TorqueĪn impact driver is a high-torque tool. An impact driver’s high torque is ideal for performing one job really well: driving screws incredibly fast. Impact drivers are not the best tool for every home improvement project. What sets it apart is an impact driver has more torque, is smaller in size, and weighs less than a traditional drill. An impact driver, sometimes called an impact drill, is a handheld power tool that looks similar to a power drill.
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