Hi guys,
I noticed in the new issue that Gary Katz added to the review of impact drivers he had previously done by comparing the new Makita and Dewalt impacts in the tools and materials section.
I am looking to get an impact I thought I would get a Dewalt but Gary wasn’t to impressed with the Dewalt at least he did’nt sound like it. So I wondered?
1. Have any of you all tried the new Dewalts, if so did you have the trouble with getting the tool to roatate at slow speed like he did? He seemed to indicate that it was a little difficult to drive screws with it.
2. He seemed to like the makita alot better, I was interested to hear your alls thoughts.
Thanks for replies
Chris
Replies
i love my makita impact. Quality is top notch and its one tapcon driving unit. I love the no cam out feature of impacts.
My mak unit balances well and feels sweet to use.
Look for a makita with the nickel metal hydride batteries, they are panasonic batteries posting impressive amp hr ratings and durability.
I have one of the new DeWalt drivers and it is almost exactly like the Makita. I also had one of the first DeWalt inpact drivers. It had 2 speeds and was not able to go super slow.
The new unit is miles ahead of the old unit. If you have DeWalt 12v or 14v line of cordless tools now, this will be a great addition to your toolbox.
Chris: My advise is don't walk, but run (or drive) as fast as you can and get an impact. Be it DeWalt, Makita, Panasonic, what have you. Best tool in my arsenal.....at least for the moment.
I have the Makita 12V with the old 2.0 Ah batteries but it still rocks. I don't think you could go wrong with the updated DeWalts but my Makita just feels so right. I have 4 DeWalts Drills and they're good tools but I don't use 'em as much as used to. Go impact and you'll never go back.
Rugby
I have not seen the new article but in the past they have compared the older versions. I have both the DeWalt and Makita impact drivers. They are both great. My Makita is the one that comes with the 2.2 ah batteries and does not have the black handgrip. It has only 870 inch #s of torque. The DW is 1000 inch #s. Either will do the job and will make you forget you have drills. I use mine with the hex shank drills and drill where I cannot get one of my other drills into.
My preference is the DeWalt as it seems to fit my hand better. I try to be fair as I think the newer Makita is about identical to the DeWalt in power. I have never used the Panasonic but have heard nothing but good things about them.
I have a Makita kit with recip, circ, hammer drill, light, blower/vac, and case. I usually say bad words when I use the recip saw for anything other than a quick one cut deal. I try to be objective when comparing it to my 24V DW but it is not the power, it is the safety lock, shoe, and other aggravations. Then again the whole kit was about the price of one 24V saw or two of the 24V batteries.
Hey Rasconce,
So using your Dewalt you don't have any problems with driving tons of screws? I was just concerned after reading the article Kaatz says he had problems with controlling the dewalt when starting and driving screws, could be that he is just use to his Makita.
I am really curious to hear from guys how the new dewalts work because that was my pick of the ones to buy. I like the makitas but they are about 60.00 more than the dewalts. You don't have to convince me to use an impact. I can't wait to get one!
Any info would be appreciated.
Chris
I do not notice any difference in screw starting between the two. I normally use the short screw starter bit with the sleeve and the only time I have any problem is if I do not extend the sleeve. You do need to develop your technique because they will start up quicker than most drill drivers. The extra torque will strip screws if you are not careful since there is no clutch.
I got the DeWalt for a net $180 from Tool Crib (Amazon) with a $20 off special. My Makita came from my local elec and plumbing supplier that sells a lot of Milwaulkee and Makita. It was on sale for $180 and an extra battery with trade of any cordless tool. They have a web store. http://www.heavydutytools.net/ As I have posted before I have no connection other than a satisfied customer. It is a family operation and usually smokes Lowes and HD on supplies.
Does anyone know if there are any corded impact screwdrivers out there, that do the same job and have the same characteristics as the more expensive cordless tools?
If you look hard you can find one that Makita makes. I have been wanting to get one but it only has a 2.8 amp motor. I thought that with what seems to be a higher demand for these tools they may update and increase the power of it. I know it is sold at Amazon, but you have to look harder to find it. I think it is about $170. We become by effort primarily what we end up becoming
- Zig Ziglar
Absolutely! All the hubris over the battery impact drivers is amazing and their costs are ridiculous. The really good screwguns made by B&D, PC/Rockwell and Milwaukee all had triple gear reduction in their top end machines. I own several and they easily run 3/8 lag screws even without a pilot hole. I picked up a PC machine, vintage 80's last year for $7.
PC and Milwaukee in particular still make an extra heavy duty screw gun - you can tell because it has much lower rpm (usually under 1000) as opposed to drywall guns that run way above 1000 rpm. All my extra heavy duties run at 750 rpm - geared down for the long haul.
I sent queries to both B&D/DeWalt and Milwaukee asking which machine will ultimately out perform and both manufacturers said in the long haul, the corded extra heavy duty machines are superior and will outlast the battery impact drivers. And the corded machines are lighter and cheaper!
What you are dealing with is a whole generation of carpenters/woodworkers who never experienced the industrial machines that were made by B&D, PC/Rockwell, Milwaukee, Souix, etc. I'm amazed that some folks don't even have a hand screwdriver - only a battery machine - 'if it can't be done with a power tool (preferably a battery machine), it can't be done!'
I have to agree with you about corded tools being the first priority.
Actually, my first-to-hand driver tool is a German-made Schroder ratchet driver.
I know that Hitachi makes a corded impact driver, but it may only be for Japanese domestic consumption, the WH12VB. Can't find it on their US website.
Hitachi's new WH14DH 14V cordless Impact Driver looks very nice, too, and they claim it drives screws faster than any other device on the market. Local list price for this beastie is $560, though, and I can't see paying that for a damned screw driver. I think the Hitachi WH12DH is available in the US.
Some years ago, I had the opportunity to spend some time with engineers with Nissan Automotive. We started talking about power tools and they said Makita has a reputation as a low end machine in Japan and that Hitachi is considered top of the line. This was about 10 years ago and things can change, but I did find their prespective interesting.
I still find great used tools - kind of you have to be there at the right time. I've bought great corded screwguns for under $20 and just picked up a Porter-Cable worm drive bayonet say for $21 - sells new for over $300.
Yup. Hitachi is a huge conglomerate in a class with GE, but Makita is just a #### little company that makes only carpentry power tools AFAIK. Hitachi (and Toshiba and Ryobi) have much smarter engineers, but I think Makita tries harder since it is such a small firm. They are innovative and are first to market with some great tools. Later on the big boys copy them with better engineering and QC.
On the topic of corded vs. cordless, the other day I saw a guy on a remote site using an air powered impact driver. Dunno who the maker was, but the tool looked very small and light and was no doubt powerful. If you gotta have a compressor onsite anyway, this might make a lot of sense.
I wonder how the US carpenter would react to an impact driver that looks like this 12v Hitachi wh12dm2:
View Image
Actually air is really the way to go. With all the compressors on the job site, I predict a movement to air driven machines for some carpentry work. Sioux is an excellent air tool - good, solid mid-west engineering/manufacturing; Snap-On purchased them a few years ago ensuring a continuing stream of excellent air tools (and a few electric machines).
You are right about Makita - they are scrappy. They have some excellent timber framing machines (16 inch portable saw, 12 inch planer). But what I found most interesting is the battery machines that Makita introduced in the early 80's. Black & Decker came out with the first commercial battery drill in the early 60's and really did little with it (porr battery technology among other problems). Then Makita caught them with their pants down and still is more innovative than B&D (now trading their tools under both B&D and Dewalt brands - a marketing shell game). I look at how creative a company is - B&D historically is second to market - they buy their technology (Elu, Emglo, etc.). Firms like Makita and Porter Cable and Milwaukee are first to market with many innovations - I like that.
Only saw this today, haven't checked Breaktime for a few days.
I got a DeWalt 14.4 impact driver so the batteries would match my drill and saw. Love it. Only had a couple of weeks, but installed two sets of kitchen cabinets in Habitat houses. 1-1/2 batteries for both kitchens. (Had to recharge first battery halfway through second kitchen)
Took a few screws to get used to how fast it drives before the impact hammering starts. Much easier on the wrist than countering the torque of a drill. Haven't had any trouble stopping when the screw is where I want it. Drove screws into filler pieces of maple without snapping off heads which was fairly common before (drilled pilot holes first).
Hey, this may be of interest to you, I recently read I think in FHB that Dewalt was closing one of its last two U.S. plants and moving it to Mexico. They will still have a plant in Fayetteville S.C.
Don't know if that makes any difference in your choice of tool purchases or in the quality of Dewalt, but it makes me have a little less comfortable buying their products.
The Makita 12v is the most compact/powerful/versatile/FUN tool I have ever owned (And ALMOST the loudest)
Bought the DeWalt 2 weeks ago and have driven lots of screws into 1" ipe decking boards. It's a hoot! Battery holds up pretty well, too. No qualms with slow speed drilling, though I find I do use the technique he mentioned in the article about tapping the trigger. If that's not necessary with the Makita, then maybe it's better. But there was the issue of price. $199 was plenty to pay, especially since I shelled out nearly that much for a Porter Cable 557 biscuit joiner not long ago.
I also should qualify my comments since I don't make a living with my tools, so except when I'm in the middle of a project, they're not getting daily (ab)use.
Hi guys,
I still haven't made an impact driver purchase yet. I have been looking at the Hitachis. I really cant see paying 280 for their wh12dm, even though it looks like a sweet machine. I plan to use the one I get for mainly medium remodeling work in my own home and for friends, this in addition to my cordless drills.
So, I was looking at Lowes at the Hitachi wh12daf for about 180 tax and all. I really like it, it has about 780 inch pounds of torque and a job light powered by separate batteries its only drawback seems to be some lite weight batteries. They are 1.2 amp hour 12 volt batteries and the manual says to expect about 300 charge discharge cycles from each battery.
I don't really need a super power house, the 780 ipt is plenty for me and I could do without alot of snapping off screw and bolt heads. I haven't really used one so I won't know the difference but what I can use is the low price tag, I guess I am trying to find the perfect match for me.
An added plus with this unit is that Hitachi supplies an extra battery with it, I am not sure if that is the case with the more expensive units of theirs and it seems like alot of their stuff used to only come supplied with one batttery. I also noticed in tool crib that they are selling a cordless drill kit w/2batteries, the same batteries as the wh12daf for 74 dollars, tool crib sells the replacement battery (eb1212s) by itself for 69 dollars.
Any one own or use a wh12daf? Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Chris
Edited 8/5/2003 5:15:40 PM ET by CLWEBB