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Foolproof Black & Decker LI4000 SmartDriver Screws Perfectly Every Time
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| posts about #carpenters more → |
Foolproof Black & Decker LI4000 SmartDriver Screws Perfectly Every Time |
Original material is licensed under a Creative Commons License permitting non-commercial sharing with attribution.
12/15/08
'next time I'm holding 2 curtain rail bits, while hanging off a ladder, while trying to juggle a screwdriver plus screw and cursing the fact I only have 2 hands rather than the six I actually need, this could be bloody useful!'?
12/15/08
12/15/08
12/15/08
Does it take a hex-shaft screwdriver bit? Because they've finally started making drill bits that have a standardized hex-shaft (no more bit-slippage to worry about, though they will probably be more prome to breakage).
12/14/08
12/14/08
I screw perfectly every time too. And you won't have to pay $4,000 for me.
Now accepting applications.
12/14/08
12/14/08
Point is, Black and Decker can make a great drill. (However no one screws perfectly every time, in my experience)
12/14/08
12/14/08
12/15/08
I miss the days when Bosch still made pistol-grip cordless screwguns, instead of these crap-ass T-grip things that the market has shifted to these days. In fact, I haven't seen a pro-grade cordless screwgun that didn't have a T-grip (short of getting a cordless hammer-drill) in at least five years.
12/14/08
12/15/08
Or you could learn how to visually gauge how level your screw is.
12/15/08
12/15/08
Actually...I can. In certain situations. If, for instance, I need to sink a screw at the midpoint of a distance of 2' or less, I can usually get it to within 1/2" without measuring at all (once you get below a 1' total distance, I'm usually within 1/4"). And it will be as vertical as possible, assuming the grain of the wood I'm sinking it into doesn't deflect its path of entry.
Maybe I've just got a naturally calibrated eyeball in that regard, or maybe it's just the 15+ years of shop experience (largely split between building small wooden boats, doing theatre stagecraft, and making tooling/pushers/jigs for a short-run thermoforming company).
@willyolio:
It's not the idea that a human can estimate better than they can measure with a tool. It's the fact that if you're paying attention to the level, you're _NOT_ paying attention to the screw, and you will increase the chances that you'll slip the bit and punch a hole in whatever you're trying to attach. It's also partly about knowing how to pick your tools. With a pistol-grip screwgun, you can center your force directly over the shaft of the drive system. With one of those horrid T-grip handles, you've got off-center leverage, which results in tilt when used by inexperienced or tired individuals. T-grip screwguns are designed to be ergonomically balanced when you're standing there trying to look like you know what you're doing, but they are the cause of many of the weekend handyman's problems in the proper sinking of screws. That and an often inflated sense of expertise. Learn how to do the job right, and you shouldn't ever need crutch tools like this. Heck, learn how to do the job right, and you wouldn't even consider buying this thing, even if it didn't have the screw-holder.
The LED light is about the only useful aspect of this design, but placing an angled beam on the battery gives you a better field of illumination, as well as keeping the light out of harm's way (that is, assuming you have a real battery pack, and not one of those under-powered in-the-handle designs).