Impact Drivers: Fastening Without Fatigue
Drill/drivers have become a staple woodworking tool, and with advances in cordless technology you’d be hard pressed to find a shop without at least one. They’re workhorses, but their power is directly related to motor size. Impact drivers, by comparison, do most of the same tasks but with effective power and torque far greater than a regular drill/driver. That means that a smaller tool can handle a bigger job.
Impact drivers have been in the shop since they appeared in the marketplace, but because of their immense potential torque, they weren’t suitable for delicate work. But with improvements to internal electronics and cordless batteries — plus the advent of brushless technology — modern impacters offer far more control than before. With it now possible to fine-tune torque and its applications, today’s crop of cordless impact drivers is making itself right at home in the woodshop.
Just what are these things anyway? Well, impact drivers are essentially descendants of the bulky pneumatic impact wrenches used in the metalworking and automotive industries (see top photo). Even before you knew what they were, you can probably recall hearing their rat-a-tat clatter in the garage background the last time you took your car in for servicing.
Drill/drivers are hybrid tools, as the name implies. But impact drivers are specialized tools that, while you can drill
