Cordless Screwdriver (Electric Screwdriver), Do you use one?

[chromesphere]

I got one of these recently from my local hardware store, was about 65 dollars (AUD).  Wondering if you guys use one / find them useful?  Its a shame it doesnt come with the right bit so that you could use it with sockets as well, might have to look into that.  SURELY theres a bit out there that could do it.  Time to raid my dads tool collection

Do you like them or dislike?  Waste of money?  I think so far im pretty happy with it.  Soon see as time goes on i guess.

Paul

[Jdansti]

Looks pretty nice!  I really like the two angle attachments.

The thing that I would like to see on a cordless screwdriver, though, is an adjustable torque. This would help avoid damaging the screw heads when they stop and avoid stripping softer materials that the screw is being driven into. I use a Bosch cordless drill that has a low speed setting and a torque control when I have a lot of screws to remove or drive. I normally don't use it for screws on stompboxes since they only have four short screws.

I did use the cordless drill for screws quite a bit when I used to repair Sony PS3s. Those had about 25 screws and some were pretty long.  The adjustable torque worked well to avoid damaging the plastic cases  I definitely used it when I remodeled our kitchen. I replaced over 130 hinges and about 70 drawer and cabinet pulls. I was alternating between drilling pilot holes and driving screws, so I bought some drill bits that had a hex end that fit in the same socket as the screw driver bits.

Anyway, that's a nice driver and I'm sure you'll enjoy using it. Merry Christmas!

[Mike Burgundy]

I wouldn't work without one - although I build furniture for a living. Mine's also somewhat larger ;P
Adjustable torque is a biggie, so (for me) is rpm. Most of the smaller dedicated screwdrivers have too low a gearing for my liking - which is why I mostly use a cordless drill just like Jdansti.
There are socket bits available. One bit of gear that I *love* as well is the flexible coupling - like an angle attachment but adjustable (it just flexes) to wherever you want it to go.
I usually don't go for cheap tools (on the basis that the cheaper ones usually cost more in annoyance than you save in buying them), but I have been watching the small cordless screwdriver IKEA sells (yah, really). At 9 Euros for a Li-ion driven cordless, why not... It'll just be for the areas where the drill won't fit. I'll choose the drill for everything else for control and speed.

[Perrow]

Cordless drills and IKEA, wouldn't live without them

[drolo]

I almost cried when i first got mine. So many years wasted messing up your hands, ending with muscle pain, damaged screws ...
I wish i had a belt to carry it around with me everywhere, cowboy-style :-)

[chromesphere]

Adjustable speed would have been nice.  To be honest though, so far, the cordless screwdriver probably slips / damages the screw less then i do with a manual screwdriver

Im going to be using it mainly for stompboxes / small jobs around the house.  I have a pretty powerful / adjustable bosch drill in the garage for when i need to do larger jobs.  It's been a handy little gadget so far!

Ikea / flatpack furniture was the other use i was thinking of.  I put my son's nursery furniture together with an allen key.  My hands where red when i was finished.  Wish i had this little thing when i was putting that stuff together.  Or prehaps even just a brain to work out that i could have used my other drill with the hex bit!! 

Paul

[The Tone God]

Awhile back I used a couple of cordless screwdrivers and after a few months I stopped. They just don't have enough torque for serious jobs and when the battery runs out you are stuck with a manual screwdriver again. Where they have enough torque they can strip the part like in wood. The models that have enough torque have metal heads which makes them heavy to use long term due to hand fatigue.

For large jobs I grab my cordless drill, in my case an all metal anniversary B&D model, with variable speed and large changeable battery. Mid size jobs I have a set of large rubber gripped screwdrivers with long enough shafts that I can use two hands to finger rotate the screw then hand torque down with the large grip. Then I have a set of small precession screwdrivers with long handles and large rotating knob at the end to again finger tighten with both hands.

With those I can easily screw and unscrew faster then with that tool with less damage to parts and screw heads.

Just my opinion.

Andrew

[greaser_au]

Its a shame it doesnt come with the right bit so that you could use it with sockets as well, might have to look into that.  SURELY theres a bit out there that could do it.

It appears this kit has a couple of these adapters (look at the enlarged image, at the top right in the lid):   http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=TD2038  (my first kit like this was a 50 piece one).  if you don't want all the odd bits, try your local $2 shop, a tool shop in the markets, or even look in the screwdriver bits case at Bunnings. Universal Fasteners (coventry's) might be able to help, as well as SuperCheap Auto for a smaller set or just the exact bit you want.

When I was on the road for a large australian amusement machine distributor (I was the road tech for all their Adelaide suburban arcades, and our private sites), I had a small Makita cordless drill.  probably double the size of the Bosch screwdriver.  I wore it out in about 4 years - I went to replace the chuck, it was half the price of the tool, and the drill's replacement model was too big for my tool box.
I used the socket adapter with about 5 sizes of small sockets (and matching small spanners), #1/ #2 philips bits and 2 pozidriv bits.  I could strip a pinball machine playfield of all it's ramps and plastics in minutes (for clean/refurb).  I wore out two 1/8" hex bits, just removing control panels to replace/adjust buttons and joysticks. The other wierd ones saw a little use, the torx keys probably the most and the snake-eye the least, even the square (robertson) drive got used on the american import games.  I find the tri-wing are mostly for appliances.

I think Ozito are kinda the 'house brand' at bunnings - it used to be GMC. It's cheap (and thus disposable), if you need a tool for a few uses it's ok:  my GMC mitre saw was $60 new, it could cut a 3mm thick slice off the end of a bit of 90x45 pine (you could see light through it) when new - I used it to build a bed frame,  maybe 100 cuts or so - and by then the blade was a bit dull. Even at $60 I could just throw it in the rubbish now, and I would still be in front of paying to get the supplier to cut to length or for the time involved in hand sawing.  Both the drills I have (one cordless, one mains powered hammerdrill) are Ozito - they are completely functional and usable tools- but if I was going back out on the road like I was, I'd buy makita/bosch/aeg...

david

[chromesphere]

Hey David thanks for the info!  Good to see that you can get that bit, i might have to grab one. 

I've never used a gmc or ozito.  They dont exactly carry a good name, but like you said, depends on the job / how much usage its getting.  Whats worse then buying a $60 powertool and throwing it out after 2-3 years is buying an expensive brand and throwing it out after 2-3 years

I didnt buy the cordless screwdriver for serious jobs.  I'm not sure why everyone keeps saying "its not as good as my powerdrill / cordless drill".  I dont think its supposed to replace that tool.  its just a quick electric screwdriver, grab it, do up a few screws, your done...and although you might be able to do up screws as fast as it can..well...that requires manual effort and i would feel pressured to try and match its speed, pesronally.  The only thing i would be hessitant to use it on is an already stripped screw because it might slip...but then so would a manual screwdriver....so i dont know...

Anyway, I think I'm going to quietly reserve my opinion on it till i've had some extensive use with it.

Paul

[greaser_au]

Hey David thanks for the info!  Good to see that you can get that bit, i might have to grab one. 

Chances are the more expensive tool will still be like new long after the cheapy is dead and buried! My mitre saw is still functional and I've used it a number of times since I made the bed frame (but every single use I get out of now is 'profit' - I'm not mentally "amortising" it's cost across things as I would be if i'd spent $300).

Don't worry about the naysayers, like the Dremel discussion in the other thread, it's another tool to make your life easier (e.g. I've suffered forearm pain from days of constant mechanical assembly with hand screwdrivers).   The beauty of it is the fact that it's smaller and lighter than a drill, plus the angle and especially the offset adapters. it will get into places that many of your other tools will not (even your hand screwdrivers - try using even your favourite stubby driver (from the vid) in a spot where the offset adapter is required!). Also to extend it's range: if you have a look in the toolshop near the other cheapy bit sets, you'll even find a kit of drill bits with 1/4" hex drive - like these: http://www.amazon.com/DEWALT-DW2551-16-Inch-4-Inch-Assortment/dp/B0000225OI/ref=sr_1_2?s=power-hand-tools&ie=UTF8&qid=1356753577&sr=1-2

david

[chromesphere]

Chances are the more expensive tool will still be like new long after the cheapy is dead and buried! My mitre saw is still functional and I've used it a number of times since I made the bed frame (but every single use I get out of now is 'profit' - I'm not mentally "amortising" it's cost across things as I would be if i'd spent $300).

Of course the hit rate for reliability with a more expensive brand tool is going to be lower then an ozito. Funnily enough the ozito had a 3 year warranty and the bosch had 2 year warranty.  I'm still more comfortable with the bosch though

It seems pretty good so far.  I dont think i would use it with drill bits though, i dont think it has enough juice, but im definitely going to look into that hex adapter for socket. That could be useful.

Paul

[Jdansti]

^ It's like any tool. Each has tasks that they do better than others. The cordless screwdriver is great for smaller applications, but you'd use a drill if you were installing a wood deck in your backyard. Being smaller and having angled attachments, you can get the cordless driver into tighter spots than a drill. There have been times when a cordless driver would have been handy because I couldn't get my drill wouldn't fit into the work space.

[ashcat_lt]

I was sure you were talking about something like this:

You can get cool noises sometimes by just holding the motor near the pickups.*  I've seen people use "personal massagers" in this capacity, as well.

I like to play with these things too:


*Doesn't work so well with Humbuckers.

[greaser_au]

I've seen people use "personal massagers" in this capacity, as well.

is this where we make some obscure reference to devices with small petrol motors?... 

david

[chromesphere]

I was sure you were talking about something like this:

You can get cool noises sometimes by just holding the motor near the pickups.*  I've seen people use "personal massagers" in this capacity, as well.

I like to play with these things too:


*Doesn't work so well with Humbuckers.

Lol Red Faces.  I would have been watching that when i was about 12 years old.  Hey Hey it's Saturday is a legendary Australian variety show. Brings back alot of memories

[dpresley58]

I've seen people use "personal massagers" in this capacity, as well.

is this where we make some obscure reference to devices with small petrol motors?... 

david

<grin> Yeah, I'm thinkin' that when you gotta kickstart a "personal massager", you're pretty much in over your head...

[ashcat_lt]

[Electron Tornado]

I have a set of precision screwdrivers I got at a dollar store, along with a ratcheting screwdriver with multiple driver heads I got at a hardware store pretty cheap. For jobs that need a skinnier shaft than the ratcheting driver, I have a few screwdrivers I got for $1 or less each. I don't really need an electric screwdriver. I'm good to go until I can get a sonic screwdriver. 

[J0K3RX]

I bet the electric tooth brush would be great for speed etching... I use a soft bristle tooth brush now for etching pcb but I am gonna try the electric!!! might fling ferric chloride everywhere though?

[Jdansti]

^You could try putting the board in a zip-loc baggie with a little ferric chloride, put the electric toothbrush head inside and zip it up to the shaft of the toothbrush. Just work it around from the outside of the bag. This would also help conserve your ferric chloride.  I've done the baggie etch without the toothbrush and I only need a few tablespoons of ferric chloride. I'm going to have to try it with an electric toothbrush and a baggie next time.