Black And Decker Impact Driver Reviews: A Great Tool Around the House
An impact driver is a tool that is used to drive screws into the thickest types of wood. It does this easier than any other tool. It uses a combination of rotation and concussive blows in order to drive the screws home.
It is a very powerful tool and the torque produced is just too large, when compared to drills. This Black & Decker Impact Driver Review will explain why this product in particular is a great option.
What to consider before buying impact drivers?
There are certain factors that you should consider when you are buying impact drivers. These tools are very powerful and you should weigh performance and safety at the same time. Here is what you should think about:
- Weight – impact drivers should be light so you can carry them around for long hours without your arm getting tired. When you are working on overheard projects, a light driver will come in handy
- Torque – the torque of the impact driver will determine how well the screws bits are driven into the wood. Hard wood projects would need one that is more powerful (such as on 18v impact driver), than soft wood projects.
- The size of the chuck – the larger the chuck hex release is, the more bits that the driver can use.
- Variable power settings – there are impact drivers which will give power depending on the force of your finger on the trigger. These would be the best bet.
- Cord or battery powered – you need a battery powered impact driver since it will allow you to move around freely without thinking about the power cord. Again, you may be working on a project that is far from any power source, like building a cabin in the woods.
Presenting the Black &Decker Impact Driver
When you need to do some jobs in the house, you need an impact driver that is light and does not use up too much battery power. The Black &Decker impact driver is a great tool to have around the house, when you need to have screws put into wood at fast rates. This is probably not the most powerful of impact drivers, but it will get the job done when you are looking at the home DIY scene. The ergonomic design makes sure that you do not tire quickly when working with this impact driver.
Things We Liked
- The impact driver is light and makes it easy to carry around; it is great for overhead jobs
- The impact driver does not use up a lot of power and so does not drain the batteries quickly
- It is cordless and can be carried anywhere, even where there is no power
- It has variable power settings, giving you more control over the process
Things We Didn't Like
- It is best suited for home DIY projects and not serious hard wood work
- There are no other cons so far
Key Features of the Black & Decker impact driver
Here are some of the key features associated with the Black & Decker impact driver:
The Black &Decker impact driver is not as powerful as some of the professional impact drivers, but it comes with a punch of up to 1375 pound per inch, and the motor runs on 20 volts of battery power. The tool comes with a lithium-ion battery which can be recharged at home. This means that most homes owners can own this versatile tool. The battery capacity ensures that you can use batteries interchangeably with older cordless models, which you may have already rendered obsolete.
Main features:
- It is light and has a compact design. This makes it easy to move around. You can secure it to your work belt, and then unhook it when you want to drive in some screws.
- It has a ¼ inch chuck hex release – it is very easy to change bits when using this tool. This is the largest size and it can use a wide variety of bits
- It has a high torque despite its low power usage. Up to 1375 lbs per inch of torque. This is quite a high transmission for such a small tool.
- The batteries can be used with other Black & Decker tools that also use 20 volt batteries. If you have another tool from the same manufacturer, you can use its batteries on the impact driver.
- The lithium-ion batteries last longer than most.
Variable speeds explained
With the Black & Decker impact driver, you can get speeds reaching up to 3,000 rpm, but the best thing is that you will have the option of determining how fast the screw is driven in. You may be working on soft wood, and you know that high torque may damage the surface of the wood; by gently squeezing the trigger, you will apply less force and spins, and spare the wood. On the other hand, when working on hard wood, you can press the trigger hard for maximum power and rpm. You may also start off hard, and then release the trigger slowly, to gently slow the power and rpm. This is why it is a versatile tool for most of your home projects.
Great value at low cost
Given that the tool is ideal for home-use, you may still not be convinced that this is a tool that you should buy. Well, there is another feature that will help convince you to buy it. When you compare the price of the Black & Decker impact driver, with those of other contenders in the same class, you will find that the price is less than half of theirs. So why should you spend more money to buy a tool that will do the same job as the Black & Decker impact driver? Well, it may not have a belt clip, or an LED light, which would make it unsuitable for people who work at night, or in dark closed spaces, or people who must climb ladders when they are working, but you can always engineer something to address these shortcomings and still end up making a huge saving.
What other users say about the Black & Decker impact driver
After browsing the Internet we found certain customer reviews that shed some light on certain aspects of Black & Decker impact driver. Here is a sampling of their comments:
One consumer says that the price is what attracted him the most, but he soon found out that the Black & Decker impact driver is just as handy as some of the high-end models. He expected there to be some reduction in performance but he was pleasantly surprised.
Another consumer says that he likes the fact that it is compact and light in weight. Its design makes it easy on the wrist and hands even when working on overhead projects. This is a great feature for him, given that he is recovering from an accident and still wants to keep busy.
Alternatives to Dewalt portable table saws
Rockwell Brushless Impact Driver
The brushless motor of this tool gives 25% more power than the brushed motor. It delivers increased power consistently due to this brushless feature. With the extra power of the lithium-ion battery, and this feature you can be sure that this impact driver will give you better performance. It comes with an LED light, which allows you to illuminate your work when working in dark places. The light is placed at the base of the driver to ensure that the chuck does not cast a shadow on what you are working on. The light also stays on for a minute after releasing the trigger so you can see your next point of interest.
Hitachi Lithium Ion Cordless Impact Driver
This is a tool that is favored by people who work in small confines because it is extremely light. When you are up on a ceiling beam, the last thing you need is a heavy tool that will unbalance you. It also has a lot of power and does the job in a short period. When you lightly touch the trigger, the Led will first turn on, and once you have seen where the point you want to work on is, you can then press the trigger hard, and the impact driver motor will be activated.
Ridgid Cordless Impact Driver
This impact driver has three speed settings which allow you to work on a wide variety of materials. You can drive a steel screw into metal, and then use the driver to drive another screw into a softer dry wall. All you have to do is change the settings and the power will be increased and decreased accordingly. The tool also has a Tri-Beam, LED light system that produces a bright luminance to lighten up the darkest recesses of a house. You can also turn it on permanently using a button if you do not at it to be activated by the trigger action
In conclusion
Impact drivers are great tools for lightening up the work load when you want to use screws to fasten items in your projects. They have some wonderful features, and the most important are the speed, power and lighting. You can also look at other features that are added for convenience and not functionality. The Black & Decker may not have the bells and whistles of other impact drivers but you need to look at the low price. If you want more features then you can consider some of the alternatives mentioned above.
For other great evaluations of impact drivers and drills make sure you read our extensive reviews here.