Impact Wrench

[Skub]

I have an impact driver shaped hole in my life,so what do the hive mind recommend with ample torque for rattling off things like stubborn front sprockets,etc?

A mains one preferably,as I don't need it to be portable and it will spend most of it's life lying idle.

I have a cordless dewalt,but it wouldn't loosen anything really tight,pretty useless for anything more than posidrive fence screws.

[Rockburner]

Having bought one last year (battery powered) and sheared 3 of the first 4 bolts I undid with it... I'd recommend just getting a long length of steel pipe suitably adjusted to fit over whatever spanner you're using.

[kendo57]

Impact Driver is different to an impact wrench , that's why your Dewalt is not up to the job.
If you already have Dewalt batteries might as well buy a bare impact wrench.
I have a compact 1/2 drive Makita which will undo wheel nuts on my car no trouble and i share
the batteries with my other Makita tools.

[Skub]

Impact Driver is different to an impact wrench , that's why your Dewalt is not up to the job.
If you already have Dewalt batteries might as well buy a bare impact wrench.
I have a compact 1/2 drive Makita which will undo wheel nuts on my car no trouble and i share
the batteries with my other Makita tools.

Very good points.

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

I've had the same impact driver since 1984, you hit with a hammer and it turns, it's hardly been used since the Japanese stopped using JIS screws to hold engine casings on.

[Skub]

Having bought one last year (battery powered) and sheared 3 of the first 4 bolts I undid with it... I'd recommend just getting a long length of steel pipe suitably adjusted to fit over whatever spanner you're using.

Oops. That'd ruin yer day. Maybe the bolts were ripe for shearing anyway?

[Skub]

I've had the same impact driver since 1984, you hit with a hammer and it turns, it's hardly been used since the Japanese stopped using JIS screws to hold engine casings on.

I have a couple of those somewhere too,but as kendo pointed out,it's an impact wrench I need and you knew that.

Fred title now changed and every day's a schoolday.

[Rockburner]

Having bought one last year (battery powered) and sheared 3 of the first 4 bolts I undid with it... I'd recommend just getting a long length of steel pipe suitably adjusted to fit over whatever spanner you're using.

Oops. That'd ruin yer day. Maybe the bolts were ripe for shearing anyway?

Possibly - they were on a 2nd hand garden chair I was breaking down to sand/oil and rebuild....

[mangocrazy]

I'd concur with your preference for a corded rattle gun over cordless (unless you can find one that takes a battery you already have, of course). I bought a mid priced Clarke impact wrench (the CEW1000) and was very impressed with the way it rattled off the crank pulley on a motor that hadn't been touched in 40 years. It costs around £90 but if you can buy it when Machine Mart have one of their 'no VAT' offers it's an even better deal. Having said that, it's a heavy old thing but unless you're using it for long periods it won't matter too much.

However if you can drop on a Parkside (Lidl) 230V impact wrench it's just as good, lighter and nearly half the price. I use it in preference to the Clarke these days and it's undone everything I've put in front of it.

[MrLongbeard]

However if you can drop on a Parkside (Lidl) 230V impact wrench it's just as good, lighter and nearly half the price. I use it in preference to the Clarke these days and it's undone everything I've put in front of it.

S'what I've got, and for the few times I have to break it out of the cupboard it did the job admirably

[Druid]

I have a compact 1/2 drive Makita which will undo wheel nuts on my car no trouble and i share
the batteries with my other Makita tools.

I have one too, it was free and came with three 18v batteries which was nice. They're different from the 18v batteries that fit my Makita drill

I also have a 230v Clarke impact wrench, I don't think I've used it since I got the battery one

[ZRX61]

Pneumatic rattler not an option? I have a 3/8drive IR, it's going to be augmented by some hairy arsed 1/2in version soon.

Make sure the anvil is hog ring style, not detent pin style

[Skub]

Pneumatic rattler not an option? I have a 3/8drive IR, it's going to be augmented by some hairy arsed 1/2in version soon.

Make sure the anvil is hog ring style, not detent pin style

I don't have a compressor,despite know how handy they can be,but sadly,space is a major factor.

Regarding the hog/detent thang,for casual use does it matter much?

[mangocrazy]

Pneumatic rattler not an option? I have a 3/8drive IR, it's going to be augmented by some hairy arsed 1/2in version soon.

Make sure the anvil is hog ring style, not detent pin style

I don't have a compressor,despite know how handy they can be,but sadly,space is a major factor.

In my experience unless you have a hefty compressor with a big tank and properly sized hose and connectors they don't deliver the grunt that an electric rattle gun can. But compressors are incredibly useful - I couldn't manage without mine now.

[Taipan]

Got two. The Clarke one which is amazing and saved me getting another engine for my sh300 as along with an Irwin bolt grip it undone the rounded off crank nut. Also running it off a genny, we undid a very rusty old swivel nut on a tractor which impressed the people who had been jumping up and down on a scaffold pole and not shifted it!

I also have a Makita 18v one which makes light work off and speeds up so many job when working on bikes and cars. Wouldn’t do anything up with it obvs.Makes undoing things with a ratchet seem so archaic!

[ZRX61]

I don't have a compressor,despite know how handy they can be,but sadly,space is a major factor.

Regarding the hog/detent thang,for casual use does it matter much?

Not even a little 25-30gal jobby?
Hog ring is a better method of making sure the impact socket stays attached.

[katana]

Lidl do cordless rattle gun.

Milwalki ones seem popular in garages that used to use air tools.

[dern]

I can't help with corded. I've had a cheap lidl 'impact wrench'... the kind that spins a flywheel up to speed and then applies a force when the speed gets high enough. Was utter crap, went in the bin the same day.

I have an air gun but it rarely gets used as the compressor needs filling up which is noisy and time consuming. I'll use it for big stuff such as stubborn wheels and big suspension jobs. It's very good though and when they wear out then the gun part is relatively cheap to replace, the compressor is the expensive bit.

I've had a Clarke battery impact wrench for about 5 years. The first one just stopped working and was replaced and the second one has also just stopped working. It was good for the time it worked though, just not that powerful. Good for anything on the bike except really stubborn axle buts. Even though I still have the charger and two batteries I won't buy another Clarke, they just don't feel that impressive.

I've just bought a Milwaukee M12 Fuel compact impact wrench that arrives today and I'll let you know how that goes. It looks smaller than the Clarke and has way more torque. I have the M12 die grinder from Milwaukee so it made sense to get something with the same battery shape. The die grinder is an amazing bit of kit though and feels very well made.

When you get one don't stick it on full power on an M8/M10 bolt that may be seized and expect it not to break/strip something.

[Mussels]

I find compressor tools great where I need to use them for long periods as I'm holding less weight but for brute force the 2.5hp isn't anywhere near as good as mains electric.

[dern]

Factor a set of impact sockets too. I've been using normal sockets for years but it is a risk that's probably not worth taking unless you've got a cavalier attitude to that kind of thing. The normal sockets I've used with the impact wrench (and for everything else) were halfords professional sockets which speaks well of their quality. I've just bought a set off amazon of impact wrenches though in a much belated attempt to not lose an eye...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08FCH2WYG