new weapon of choice

Yee-haw this is my new toy, a 12-Volt Bosch impact driver. Its sole purpose is to insert & remove screws. I call it my Miracle Tool. (yes I know my fingernails are dirty.)

I've always had a hard time working with screws. My hands and arms aren't usually strong enough to get a screw properly tightened down with a regular screwdriver. I have a power drill that I have used for screws but again, I'm not strong enough to keep the bit firmly in the screw head. I end up stripping the head, making it useless. I may get it screwed in place, but I will never be able to remove it.

Last December I had to remove a row of screws from the underside of the top of a closet-door frame. I had to stand on a stool, reach up with both hands, and bend my head back to see. Because of the awkward position & the weight of the drill I ended up severely pinching a nerve in my neck. It took more than 6 months to recover most of the use of my shoulder. I decided it was time for a good power tool.

This impact driver weighs only 2.13 pounds and I only need one hand to use it. I looked at a lot of drivers and this is one of the lightest if not the lightest, but it's got plenty of torque. I can put in a screw & then remove it in one fell swoop. I was able to remove 12 tight screws holding some door hinges in under 5 minutes. The Miracle Tool has made my life so much easier I've decided to tackle some real woodworking projects.

Ta-dah. Oh, I know, it's just a box frame. It's for a raised garden bed. It's made of four pressure-treated 2x10" boards with three 2-1/2" deck screws at each corner. While I did make pilot holes for the screws I probably could have got by without them. When the screw's path gets sluggish in the wood, the impact driver turns into a "mini jackhammer" to MAKE that screw go in, and all I have to do is hold it in my dainty little hand. Thank you, Bosch, for making a tool a Girl can use!