I was trying to remove an old, corroded screw in the bottom of a table leg (metal, not wood), but the screwdrive kept slipping out of the mangled slot. My neighbor removed it with an old tool called an impact driver, which is like a screwdriver that you hit with a hammer. The impact of the hammer turns the driver while forcing it against the screw so it won’t slip.
Can this tool be safely used on wood to insert screws? Even when I drill a pilot hole (which, according to an old FWW, should be narrower than the screw without its threads), sometimes I can’t get the screw in all the way. Then I have to remove the screw and make the hole bigger. Or does this mean that I need to use a wider/longer drill bit in the first place?
There are dozens of impact tools on eBay, but they are all power tools and you don’t smack ’em with a hammer. Do they perform a different task than my neighbor’s impact driver?
Replies
You don't want to use an impact driver for installing screws. Have you tried lubing the screws before installing them. If that doesn't help then you probably haven't piloted properly.
You can get this tool from Craftsman. However I would not use it for tightening. Mainly because you would not have any "feel" as to how tight or close you were to snaping the fastner.
What I do, esp. with brass, is to buy a few steel screws in the same size, put wax on them, and run them in with a drill to "tap" the pilot hole. Then, when you go to your final aassembly, the screws go in easily, without any dings in the head of screw. Just a thought.
Edited 11/2/2002 2:42:33 PM ET by s4s
The impact tools are use to tighten bolts on cars or farm equipment. Some times a carpenter will use it for carriage bolts. If you were to use it on wood screws it will sink the screw all the way through the wood or thread on the screw would drill out all the wood you would loose screw. The driver your neighbor had if use to drive a screw in you could just as well use the screw as a nail.
If you look closely at a screw you'll see that the outside diameter of the threads is the same diameter as the unthreaded portion of the screw. To get the srew to go all the way you have to use two drill bits - one to cut a pilot hole of the threads, the other a clearance hole for the unthreaded shank. I don't know how often I've forgotten to do this and subsequently snapped the head off the screw!
If you're real rich you can but a drill bit that will cut the clearance and pilot hole in one go.
Ian
still learning
I've never heard of such a gadget. What does it look like?
DW
I have a taper bit made by Fuller for #10 screws (used with a counter bore collar), Lee Valley / Veritas advertise stepped and tapered bits, look at their drill bit page under step drills, http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.asp?page=42240&category=1%2C180&SID=&ccurrency=3 other suppliers must also carry them. I got mine from my local (Sydney, Australia) Delta machinery supplier.
Ian
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