Good cordless screwdriver for RC use

[wintersdawn]

Any recommendations?  Cheers.

[alvinlwh]

.

[ad456]

This is probably total overkill but I have the set. Turn the clutch down depending on how well used and you can go mad and never ruin the plastics 

 

And helps no end round the house. 

[Willy iine]

I use a Panasonic one with slipper clutch.  It is very small and has a 1/4” chuck.  

Model: EY6220NQ

https://na.panasonic.com/us/factory-equipment-solutions/assembly-tools/screwdrivers/24v-cordless-low-torque-screwdriver

However, I mostly use ratchet screw drivers (ANEX & Wera) over using electric drivers for RC.   

 

 

[markbt73]

Wow, really? You guys use power screwdrivers on RC cars? I don't think I ever would do that. Too much chance of overtightening/stripping things.

[Jonathon Gillham]

A Hikoki DB3DL which is amazing. I had a cheap Bunnings one which worked ok but struggled a bit with the 8th scale cars. It died earlier this year and i replaced it with the Hikoki on the recommendations of others- one has had one for 8 years (branded hitachi though) and builds customers cars for them.

I only really use it on the 8th scale cars, although its useful on the 10th cars too if I'm feeling lazy

For tips I bought the Arrowmax set but have since replaced the 2mm and 2.5mm with MIP

[alvinlwh]

.

[Juggular]

44 minutes ago, markbt73 said:

Wow, really? You guys use power screwdrivers on RC cars? I don't think I ever would do that. Too much chance of overtightening/stripping things.

My concerns, exactly.  I have 1 heavy duty Black & Decker, and less powerful Ryobi, but I never used either for RC purposes.  

but...

I'm not getting any younger.   Even this 0.5kg (about 1lb) thing became cumbersome. 

Besides, I have enough stuff to do. Like replacing rotten wood of fascia board I discovered yesterday, mow the leaves (yes, I just mow them down), replacing fan control board or pressure switch of the 30 year old furnace, etc...  When it comes to RC, I'd rather take it easy, IF it won't strip things.   

So I'd like to ask Alvin, how is the torque on yours?  I found that it only costs about $15. (I love cheap stuff, if it works, why not?)  I reckon it's not too powerful?  I'd prefer that it does NOT have enough torque to screw in a M3 machine screw on really tight fiber-reinforced plastic.  That takes a lot of torque and if it could do that, it's too strong.   

1 hour ago, alvinlwh said:

Been using this for over a year now. A charge lasted me for ages, same USB C charger as my phone, turns screws around clockwise and counterclockwise.

Probably too cheap and unbranded for some though.

 

[BuggyDad]

I have a Bosch one which is low power, USB recharged. I use good quality (wera) bits with it. I won't use it on screws in the softer plastics, especially if I've replaced self tappers with machine screws, but I do find it useful to speed things along in applications where I know it won't cause harm. I set it to a torque which I pretty much know won't get the screw all the way tight, so everything still needs nipping up. It's first two settings are very low torque. Then as @alvinlwh does I often just turn it by hand to feel my way to the right tightness.

One thing I would say is that if you do up a screw that's threaded very deep into plastic I have had the heat affect the plastic before. I forget what it actually did but in that scenario I'll stop halfway now.

I don't use it all the time, in fact looking in my toolbox I only just noticed I haven't got it with me despite an afternoon RC tinkering the other day. 

[alvinlwh]

.

[Juggular]

Thank you @alvinlwh, I had the page open for several minutes and I failed to refresh it.  But still, it is nice of you to answer again, and I appreciate it.

So it is strong, but it sounds like you can use the skin-clutch.  It looks small and light, so I think I'll order it.  

 

[alvinlwh]

.

[Saito2]

1 hour ago, Juggular said:

skin-clutch.

We had a guy get fired from work last Friday for just such an incident. Good riddance.

I use screw guns and drill drivers everyday, all day at my job but when it comes to assembling my favorite plastic RC kits, no way. I love the direct feel of hand screwing JIS fasteners into their appropriate holes......wow, that does not look good after I typed that. 

[Rinskie]

32 minutes ago, Saito2 said:

We had a guy get fired from work last Friday for just such an incident. Good riddance.

I use screw guns and drill drivers everyday, all day at my job but when it comes to assembling my favorite plastic RC kits, no way. I love the direct feel of hand screwing JIS fasteners into their appropriate holes......wow, that does not look good after I typed that. 

I'm with you on this one, well all except for getting a guy fire for is skin clutch issues. 

[smirk-racing]

My favorite version of a power driver is a gyro-driven screwdriver:

https://www.amazon.com/DEWALT-DCF682N1-Gyroscopic-Inline-Screwdriver/dp/B011WRUODC

Because it has a gyro, there is no trigger or a button to activate the motor.  To drive a screw, you just twist your wrist. The more you twist your wrist, the faster it turns (in either direction). You have total control and total connection with the work. Once you use it for say 5 minutes, it just becomes an extension of your hand and you stop thinking about it actively. Problems with torque and over-tightening are vastly reduced (almost the same as using a non-motorized tool). As a fallback, there's a 15-step clutch to control torque on the tool above. If you set it pretty low (say, 1-2) the screw will barely be any tighter than if you had twisted it into place with your bare fingers. At about 5, I can use it with total impunity and never worry about stripping any holes, ever.

I've tried plenty of normal screw guns and drivers. A gyro-based design is the absolute best in my opinion. The only problem is they are pricey...

Christmas is coming - treat yourself! No exaggeration: this is my number one favorite tool in the entire garage. There's nothing like it.

 

[markbt73]

51 minutes ago, Saito2 said:

We had a guy get fired from work last Friday for just such an incident. Good riddance.

I use screw guns and drill drivers everyday, all day at my job but when it comes to assembling my favorite plastic RC kits, no way. I love the direct feel of hand screwing JIS fasteners into their appropriate holes......wow, that does not look good after I typed that. 

Another good point. That tactile feel of driving a fastener home and feeling exactly when it's tight enough is part of the experience, and one that I'm not willing to turn over to yet another machine. Besides, after a while these things get almost too easy to build anyway; why speed up the process? I'd rather savor a build.

[Sogogi]

33 minutes ago, smirk-racing said:

My favorite version of a power driver is a gyro-driven screwdriver:

https://www.amazon.com/DEWALT-DCF682N1-Gyroscopic-Inline-Screwdriver/dp/B011WRUODC

Because it has a gyro, there is no trigger or a button to activate the motor.  To drive a screw, you just twist your wrist. The more you twist your wrist, the faster it turns (in either direction). You have total control and total connection with the work. Once you use it for say 5 minutes, it just becomes an extension of your hand and you stop thinking about it actively. Problems with torque and over-tightening are vastly reduced (almost the same as using a non-motorized tool). As a fallback, there's a 15-step clutch to control torque on the tool above. If you set it pretty low (say, 1-2) the screw will barely be any tighter than if you had twisted it into place with your bare fingers. At about 5, I can use it with total impunity and never worry about stripping any holes, ever.

I've tried plenty of normal screw guns and drivers. A gyro-based design is the absolute best in my opinion. The only problem is they are pricey...

Christmas is coming - treat yourself! No exaggeration: this is my number one favorite tool in the entire garage. There's nothing like it.

 

Looks cool.. though 1lb weight…

[chris.alex]

Sometimes I use my Bosch "ixo 6" to unscrew screws. It is very small and infinitely adjustable. Yesterday it got a little TLC for the first time: the switch needed a small drop of oil. In doing so, I noticed that the 18650 battery seems to be easy to replace (which is nice just in case it is going to be necessary one day).

[Rinskie]

So clearly a chick before egg sort of thing. One is forced to wonder, what did you use to unscrew your screw driver? 

[chris.alex]

2 minutes ago, Rinskie said:

So clearly a chick before egg sort of thing. One is forced to wonder, what did you use to unscrew your screw driver? 

Haha 🤣... I used a #8 torx bit in my non-electric screwdriver... (why are letters in my last post so big? Didn't want to shout.) 

[alvinlwh]

.

[Sogogi]

20 minutes ago, alvinlwh said:

How about changing that silver can to brushless?

Maybe use outrunner for more torque.

[87lc2]

I get the argument for doing it by hand on a new kit, but when doing crawler beadlocks or assembling/disassembling 2.6 monster truck hubs a few times over the course of a raceday a power driver is an absolute must. 

Milwaukee M12 is what I use, can get great rpm out of it.  Don't waste time with the junk single speed stuff, spend once on something good that will give you good rpm/torque when needed. 

[Wooders28]

13 hours ago, markbt73 said:

Wow, really? You guys use power screwdrivers on RC cars? I don't think I ever would do that. Too much chance of overtightening/stripping things.

If you're racing, they're a great benefit, as replacing broken parts/ swapping diffs etc is alot quicker between rounds with a power driver.

[simalarion]

10 hours ago, chris.alex said:

Sometimes I use my Bosch "ixo 6" to unscrew screws. It is very small and infinitely adjustable. Yesterday it got a little TLC for the first time: the switch needed a small drop of oil. In doing so, I noticed that the 18650 battery seems to be easy to replace (which is nice just in case it is going to be necessary one day).

Maybe go Brushless also?