Craftsman’s 12V right angle impact driver is a nicely balanced and reasonably power tool for driving fasteners in tight spaces.
The kit, which comes with (1) 12V Li-ion battery and a charger, is currently on sale for just $40 at Sears.
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There are certainly better cordless right angle impacts out there, but not for $40.
It’s uncertain as to how long the sale will last, but this particular tool kit goes on sale quite frequently, especially during holiday shopping seasons.
Buy Now(via Sears)
Matthew Fant
When this tool went on sale for $60 bucks, about a year ago or so, I snapped it up in a heartbeat. The design is very cool, the torque is not bad, and the case is pretty well designed. That being said, The trigger on this tool is absolute garbage. It almost completely lacks in variable speed situations. when you pull the trigger ever so gently, it spools up to a few hundred rpms immediately. Pull the trigger any harder, it switches to full speed. I thought I had a defective one, so I tried many other ones in store, all the same. I ultimately decided a tool that had no variable speed trigger, was completely useless to me, at any price. I was incredibly disappointed, because I really loved the feature set, and this tool would have filled a need for me. Oh well. If you guys aren’t as particular as I am, it’s a great deal for $50. And batteries are pretty cheap. For what it’s worth, I could swear I saw an 19.2V version of this tool from craftsman also.
Steven B
I never use mine. Mine “crashes” If I give it too much torque, the lights start blinking and the tool freezes up. I have to pull out the battery and put it back in.
cal
I love mine, but then again I use mine with a socket adapter and use it as a 3/8 ratchet.
Phil
I really wish Bosch and/or Milwaukee would come out with one of these, so I can ditch my lone Hitachi and stay with a consistent battery system I am already well invested in. There are some situations where this style of impact driver is the only solution.
John G.
Bosch does! The first one is the 12V Max 3/8″ Angle Drill Driver
PS11-2A and the 12V Max I-Driver PS10-2A. Got them both but prefer the PS-10. Not quite as powerful but smaller and lighter. Both are very well built with swiveling heads.
Dennis
I have the Bosch PS-10 myself and love it. But neither the PS-10 nor the PS11-2A are impact drivers.
Phil
I have both the drill and driver as well, and the adjustable angle on both is perfect for those last ditch efforts where few other tools will fit. But neither is a reactionless impacting driver, and the Hitachi I use is. There are those very rare instances where I need to drive a screw at a right angle in an impossibly small area, and the non-impacting drivers sometimes don’t have the torque. Also, with having to finagle the driver into a small space I can’t always apply enough force on the bit to keep it from camming out. Impacting drivers have much less tendency to let the bit lift out of the fastener because of the intermittent nature of the torque. The mass of the tool holds the bit in the screw for that short moment of high torque, and if the bit were to start camming out, the longer period where there is no torque being applied as the impacting mechanism is being reset, the bit has a chance to fall back in place before the next blow. With a standard driver, the torque in applied constantly, and if the bit starts lifting, it will eventually cam out, then drop back in. If if can’t seat itself well enough, it will cam out repeatedly and the fastener is ruined.
I fell in love with the impacting drivers with my first Bosch many years ago. At first I thought it was a bit silly to drive small screws with an impacting mechanism, but it made sense after I tried it. Very little recoil reaction, the bit is less likely to cam out, and the torque beats a standard drill or driver easily. More often than not, there is less wear and tear on the fastener using an impact than brute-forcing it with a high torque drill or driver. The latter has the advantage of speed, especially with driving deck or drywall screws, but it is actually easier to control the depth of drive with an impacting driver, there is a lot more control.
susano
Craftsman seems to be gutting the 12V line. My favorite item was the inflator, you set the PSI and when the pressure reaches the desired psi ithe device shuts off. It is by far the best portable inflator I’ve owned.
KL
You’d think so but they’re bringing out a Nextec heated jacket. They haven’t officially killed the line, I wish they’d revive it!!
DaddyO
I bought the Craftsman 12v drill and impact in a set with only one battery between them but the price was such a steal I bought two sets. I am under the impression the Milwaukee 12v is the same battery as they look identical! Can anyone confirm this?
Stuart
The batteries might look similar, but they are not the same.
Buster Hymen
I have actually had great success with this tool. Reliable and easy to hold, I have sunk over 12k screws through sheet metal into wood and used it for auto and plumbing. Worth twice what it cost. The trigger is zippy I agree, but I have not had it cause me a problem as I nam after the solid instant torque it delivers. The batteries last surprisingly long given how small they are and how sturdy the tool is.
Doug murphy
This is a tool not a torque wrench torque wrench have a torque settings .