Talk to me about torque!

[ricc]

only an idiot would try to use a hammer drill to insert a screw. an impact driver is a totally different tool...... the hammer drill gives an impact along the axis of the drill bit to break up masonary under the drill tip. an impact driver gives a rotary impact to turn the screw....a bit like whacking the end of a spanner with a large hammer ..

to drill screws into metal you either use a pilot hole and normal pointed self tapping screws, or self drilling screws which have a drill like end pressed onto the end of the screw.


dont think id try to use an impact driver on plasterboard... id expect there to be a tendancy to wind the screws right through the plasterboard....a normal drill driver will allow some control over the amount of torque applied, have to get the balence between enough to get the screws into the metal and not too much to rip the heads through the surface ..

 

[sparrks]

An impact driver should not be used to fix plasterboard, far to violent. Impact driver is more like an air wrench.

To fix plasterboard to the steel uprights you want the needlepoint type plasterboard screws, they have a fluted head design rather than a straight countersink - they look very simliar but are less prone to damaging the plasterboard paper surface.

Screws, note the fluted heads

You can buy special bits, in P2, that will sink the screw into the plasterboard to the correct depth and then release the screw. Like these here

 

[Teutone]

Like this used all the time now instead of drill drivers.

Mayer, Paul (27 December 2010). "Do I Really Need an Impact Driver?". Woodworkers Guild of America. Archived from the original on 17 October 2012. Retrieved 17 October 2012. "An impact driver combines much higher rotational torque than traditional drills, with fast paced rotational tapping (not to be confused with hammer drills with deliver tapping from the rear to help power through concrete and other hard materials) which serves to nudge the fastener along while keeping the screw tip in place without spinning out of the slots."

hence my advise earlier to use "short bursts" with hard pushes to get a stubborn screw in. Sort of impact drill for the poor

a hammer drill for screwing into metal, oh dear.......

 

[ricc]

using short bursts with a cheap drill will probably result in it getting tooo hot
leccy motors take more current on starting than they do on running, current basically converts to heat ...and the cooling fan only works efficiently when running at speed.

in general the more expensive the tool the better its designed and the cooler it runs when abused

 

[n brown]

that's one of the problems with forums-too much advice ! i'm a professional and have learnt how to do stuff my way,and for me it's the best way[of course] but i didn't reach this level without listening very carefully to other professionals.then i pick ther best advice and act accordingly.based on the previous posts,i'll continue to give a small c/sink and then use self drilling s crews with a standard quiet drill set on 'drill'.

 

[ricc]

its also the beauty of forums.....you get x experts giving x ways of doing summit.... their own favorit works for them....if yer lucky you get some reasoned debate on the pros and cons of each .... then you can make a better informed decision on which route to follow.....theres always several ways to do something and we all pick whats right for us in our particular set of circumstances.and available resources