I finally changed my mind about those electric impact wrenches after 15 years of saying they were a gimmick

I used to swear by my old pneumatic setup, thought battery powered stuff was for weekend warriors. Then last month I borrowed a Milwaukee M18 from a buddy to do a stuck control arm bolt on a rusted out 2010 F-150. It cracked that bolt loose in about 3 seconds flat, no waiting for the compressor to kick on. What was the one tool you thought was overhyped but turned out to be the real deal?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_elizabeth2d ago

Told myself for years they were just expensive toys but man that Milwaukee changed my whole view.

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the_jessica2d ago

Oh man, @the_elizabeth that's exactly what happened to me! I picked up a Milwaukee impact driver on clearance just to try it and now I use it for everything from building a deck to fixing my fence. My old Ryobi always left me frustrated with stripped screws and dying batteries halfway through a job. This thing just keeps going even when I'm driving lag bolts into old pressure treated lumber. It actually makes me want to look for projects to do instead of dreading them.

michael8032d ago

Buddy of mine had been using the same old Craftsman drill he got from his dad back in the 90s... finally killed it on a fence job last spring. He broke down and bought a Milwaukee fuel hammer drill just to finish the work. Called me that night sounding like he'd seen the light... said he couldn't believe how much easier it was to drive 3 inch screws into cedar. Now he's got three batteries and talks about torque settings like it's a hobby.