I've got two garden sheds I need to put up. Theres roughly 200 screws in each pack so I need to do up roughly 400 screws.
It's very unlikely the screwdriver will be used for anything else except perhaps for IKEA flatpack furniture and the occasional other bits of assembled furniture — it won't be used for drilling into walls for example.
Maximum budget around $50.
Any thoughts on this Wesco,
this Chinese generic
and this IKEA FIXA
This ^^ - or if you dont have one, grab a cheap cordless drill ozito / 909 for bunnings or masters that has adjstable torque so you dont bore out the screws/shed…Will be like $30. Dont waste money on a cheap dedicated driver, they are junk
EDIT: something like this for $45 - http://www.bunnings.com.au/ozito-12v-ni-cd-cordless-drill_p6…
Prob get one off gumtree for $15-20… Use it then sell it on… May even make $5 profit!
The little ones don't have much power.. I have a small cordless like the chinese generic, and it's not powerful enough for much.
Assuming that the sheds are made of metal, and at most you'll have some pilot holes to drive a screw through, the Westco would be the best. You'll probably need to buy some bits to go with it though.
Yes, the sheds are metal and are 'Yardstore' garden sheds.
When you say power, do you mean torque or battery endurance in general? Im not sure what is the recommended amount of torque required to drive screws into a garden shed (with pilot holes). But I do know I will need one with a big enough battery or can take extra batteries.
Both.. They typically range from 3.6v to 7.2v, and have tiny batteries (they are small afterall). If they are screws and not bolts, then the pilot holes will probably be small, so you will need enough force to drive the screw through. The small units won't have that power.
The westco is more of a drill. As Drew22 mentions, if you have a drill, just get some bits. But if you don't have a drill, consider an 18v Li-Ion unit. They are super handy to have, even if you get a cheapie. The Li-Ion battery is more suited to occasional use as they hold their charge, and don't get shitty when you're always partially charging them.
Actually, I though the westco was a Ni-MH, not a Ni-Cad… Which is even shittier again.
Thanks. I may just accessorize my drill with screwdriver bits. Reading the review on this sounds like I may need to drill holes in it anyway.
If you get screw driver bits, I'd recommend a set with a magnetic drive guide. Pain in the arse when a screw goes in at a wrong angle. I bought this one; very happy with it though it might have a few more bits than you really need (lots of identical PH #2).
It's been a while since my last shed, but sometimes you do need to put quite a bit of force behind the screw, so at the very least you want a driver with a pistol grip - you can brace your other hand behind it. A straight driver would be a bit awkward.
The absolute best would be an impact driver (they're designed specifically to prevent slipping, though they risk over-tightening while inserting a screw…). Not sure if you can find one in that price range, though, and might need special bits. ~$70 for an Ozito. Kogan has this funny thing - ~$35, batteries not included.
@scrimshaw: If the sheetmetal doesn't have holes already, then the screws will be self-drilling. This means you need more battery to spin them until they 'bite' into the metal. Out of the ones you showed, I'd be leaning towards the drill, rather than a cordless screwdriver. Because the battery in the small ones will run out fast (I have a similar one). And because electric drills would probably strip the hole before you get a chance to slow down - a cordless drill - set on the lowest setting.
However… There are some cordless screwdrivers on Amazon that are powered by AA cells. Since you're on ozbargain - you DO have a drawfull of eneloops - right!? While my cordless screwdriver like in your links runs out of power fast - if it were powered by eneloops, would last a lot longer.
Nope, I bought Vartas…
I only have one Eneloop. And that came with my Logitech M950 mouse, LOL.
I bought one very similar to this to put up a bunch of Ikea furniture. This screwdriver can be locked at different angles so its quite useful when you've got screws in awkward angles that are harder to reach with the bigger drill like screwdriver's.
Does it have enough battery runtime? Looks pretty compact though, but probably too compact for my needs.
I'd avoid the Wesco one purely because it's a Ni-Cad battery. Definitely want something Li-ion. Ni-Cad is terrible for anything you want done in a pinch, because it takes forever and a day to charge, has fairly high self-discharge and also doesn't have as much energy capacity.
Thanks and duly noted. Will stick with good ol' lithiums.
http://www.ikea.com/au/en/catalog/products/70203259/
This one is a lithium ion screwdriver with low self discharge, and also comes with bits.
Hmm the torque is pretty weak on the ikea ones. Id go at least a cheap nasty runout 14.4 v drill from bunnings
I've got one of these Bosche ones (though older model), it's lasted years, got a decent amount of torque and does a great job putting ikea furniture together :)
https://sydneytools.com.au/bosch-ixo-4-diy-li-ion-3-6v-cordl…
Looks cheaper at Bunnings and Masters:
https://www.masters.com.au/product/900046384/bosch-3-6v-lith…
http://www.bunnings.com.au/bosch-3-6v-li-ion-cordless-ixo-4-…
In saying that, I will never again purchase anything from Sydney Tools even if it is cheaper. I have had great customer service at Masters, Bunnings, Mitre 10 and exceptional service from FK Tools. What I got from Sydney Tools was absolutely appalling - some of the most rude service I have ever experienced. I haven not written a review on the product review website but 96/135 Terrible reviews must say something.
I got the Ozito one's but they loose power too quickly. I ended up buying this:
http://www.amazon.com/Black-Decker-LDX120PK-20-Volt-Lithium-…
It was on very cheap sale around father's day , shipping was PIA but I had some free gift cards which covered the cost of it. So far it has worked great. It's a pitty that we can't find it here.
You will want to be careful if using a drill as a screwdriver. They tend to have a lot of torque and will tend to keep driving when the screws are fully seated. If it is a hex-drive head, you will strip the narrow thread cut in the sheetmetal and if it is a Philips head you will also damage the head and the bit. The head will be stripped of it's finish (nickel etc) and be exposed to bare steel which leads to rust. The way to avoid it is to get one of the better drills that have an adjustable clutch — a ring at the back of the chuck where you can dial up how much torque is applied before it slips and prevents damage to threads and stripping. Battery screwdrivers are more designed to stall once the screw is fully seated.
Can confirm all this /\ … Had this exact problem using an electric drill. Screws drill in too fast, strip the thread/screw. Had to half-drill them all, then finish by hand. But even then your finger can slip on the drill switch.
"The way to avoid it is to get one of the better drills that have an adjustable clutch" - is this http://www.bunnings.com.au/ozito-12v-10mm-cordless-drill-dri… good enough?
That's fine for general purpose work. See the ring at the front with all the numbers going around it? That's the clutch. One way it will be very tight and strong and the drill will keep turning no matter how much resistance it encounters, the other way and it will be very easy to stop the rotation with minimal resistance (even though the motor keeps turning, just like a clutch in a car). In between, you can dial up how much torque or twisting power the drill has. It's pretty rare to find a drill these days that doesn't have one, but they do exist. Also, even though they are "adjustable speed" via the trigger (think accelerator in a car), they might also have a switch that changes the mechanical gears ratio so the drill runs a lot slower. If you have a 4x4 4-wheel drive you will be familiar with this concept. Slower is better for driving screws, but slow gearing usually means more torque, so make sure you get the clutch setting right so you don't twist too hard and tear out the thread the screw makes in the workpiece.
Well that was a tough one… I have a shitty "performer" drill which spins way too fast and will strip screws if I attempt to drive with it. So I put together the first smaller shed by hand. Took me 3.5 hours and a few cups of coffee.
-_-" phew.
I hate my life. Welp, onto the second shed.
Does the Performer drill have a rotary clutch on the chuck? Most drills do. If so you need to dial it down to a low number, just enough to turn the screw but enough to make it slip and sound like a jackhammer (that's a good thing) as soon as it gets tight.
I've got the Bosch IXO 4 and they're brilliant. Huge torque and great battery life.
Aren't screwdrivers traditionally cordless?
Just get a screwdriver bit for your drill.