Impact Wrench Recommendations
cobram at juno.com
cobram at juno.com
Tue Jul 11 12:05:14 EDT 2006
"mboucher at hotmail.com Boucher" <mboucher70 at hotmail.com> writes:
> I decided that an Impact wrench would be a good investment if I'm
> going to continue working on cars. So I headed out to Home depot
yesterday
> to pick one up.
First mistake, you're much better served by a tool distributor or
Internet vendor.
> They only had one electrical model, a "DeWalt" DW293 for $199 CAD.
> figured I'd bite the bullet and make the investment. I thought that
> it
> would also double for a torque wrench because, as I understood it,
> impact
> wrenches usually have adjustable torque settings.
To a degree, and usually on Air guns. FAR from precise, only there to
protect certain fasteners from gorilla torque.
> So I was surprised to see this $200 tool only have a button for one
> direction and one for another. Since it provides 400+ pound/ft of
> torque,
> wouldn't this only be good for taking bolts off? The highest torque
> bolt I
> can find on the front suspension is the shock piston ring which
> lists at 133
> pound/ft. Many others are as low as 20. Wouldn't a wrench like
> this strip
> most bolts that you attempt to tighten?
NOTHING, repeat, NOTHING should be assembled with an impact wrench. Only
exception I can think of is lug bolts/nuts which can be installed with an
impact gun, as long as you use torque sticks.
http://www.torquestick.com/
> Is this a good buy, or can someone recommend an electrical impact
> wrench
> with an adjustable torque setting instead?
What you should do is invest in a compressor, and some air tools. For
assembly with air/power tools, a good 3/8 and 1/4 inch air rachet can't
be beat. You'll also find that a good whizzer (cutter) and air chisel
will be items that will have you wondering how you ever got along without
them.
A battery powered impact gun might be handy to keep in the trunk for
changing tires, suspension disassembly etc.
> Incidentally, I thought about renting one from the Home depot tool
> rental
> center. When I asked for an impact wrench, they pointed me to a
> tool that
> looked like an electrical drill but would provide a sudden forward
> 'impact'
> as if to drive a nail in. Not certain who has the name wrong, me or
> the
> home depot rental people.
Home Depot thought that you were looking for an impact drill. That's a
drill which spins like a normal drill, but has the option of hammering
the drill bit while it spins. Usually used for masonry, stonework etc.
BCNU,
http://www.geocities.com/cobramsri/
I was nothing more than an almost innocent bystander.
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