Impact driver safety warning

[RogerS]

OK - not strictly woodworking but as a safety alert......

While using my impact driver yesterday a piece of the bit broke off and embedded itself in my cheek just below the eye socket.

I'd never ever have thought to wear safety goggles when screwdriving but I do now.

 

[Digit]

Sorry to hear that Rog, having myself only one useable eye I know the fear that such a near miss can cause. I also have had the bits shear as well and it's good to warn people of this particular danger!

Roy.

 

[chippy1970]

I have had a LI-ION makita impact about a year and a half now and I have never broken so many bits

They have so much power and sometimes I use the cheap Dewalt 2" long bits and I have snapped 3 in a day. Luckily I have never had any broken bits hit me.

They are great screwdrivers though I love the way you can stretch out with them and put screws in from odd angles where you cannot get any weight behind them and they go in easy as anything no slipping. :lol:

 

[Karl]

Special bits are sold for use in Impact Drivers - I understand that standard ones aren't manufactured to accept the high torque generated.

I was ply lining a concrete floor recently and ran through a box of screwfix #3 pozi bits in about 2 hours - every single one sheared after a few screws.

Cheers

Karl

 

[Digit]

The same applies to sockets for impact drivers Karl. Special heavy duty ones are required.

Roy.

 

[RogerS]

.....ran through a box of screwfix #3 pozi bits .....

Says it all, really :wink:

 

[exigetastic]

Special bits are sold for use in Impact Drivers - I understand that standard ones aren't manufactured to accept the high torque generated.

I was ply lining a concrete floor recently and ran through a box of screwfix #3 pozi bits in about 2 hours - every single one sheared after a few screws.

Cheers

Karl

I have actually found really cheap bits fair pretty well, but expensive bits (designed for non-impact drivers) seem more likely to shear.

My theory of the week is that the expensive ones are made of harder (and therefore more brittle) steel. The real cheap ones are made of much softer metal, which would easily round off in a normal driver, but in an impact driver this seems less of an issue.

To evidence this, whilst doing my decking I managed to get through 500+ screws on a single B+Q cheapo McAllister bit :shock:

However all my expensive bits (non impact specific) are now dead with a lot less work done on them.

My extremely non scientific testing has been done on a 18v Ryobi Impact Driver, and I must add I've not tried the Wera (or similar) impact specific bits.


Si