Tools of the Trade: Irwin recently introduced an impact rated drill/drive set for Tapcon and Tapcon-like concrete screws (Tapcon is an ITW brand). Concrete screws have been around since the late 1970’s, as has the unique drill/drive system designed to install them. The system consists of a special masonry bit (or bit holder) that fits in the chuck of a drill or impact driver and a hollow sleeve that fits over the bit and holds Phillips, hex, or other types of drive bits. With this system, the tradesman is able to use the same power tool to drill and drive masonry screws without the need to swap bits in and out of the chuck.
2 comments:
This is a very innovative idea for making a usually long and tedious task much simpler. I know from experience that changing bits is a hassle and slows you down significantly. And typically the only thing to do is either have 2+ drills set up with what you need or just struggle through swapping bits. However, there are rarely enough drills in supply to give everyone on a job two or more, but with this kit, some one is able to do a multi-bit job with one tool without slowing down the building process. Very innovative, and I love the compatibility with impact/hammer drills, just speeding up the process even more!
I’m not an engineer, but I’d be worried about using an impact driver to install Tapcons. After the hole is drilled to the appropriate size, driving the screw into the substrate with an impact drive seems like it might widen the hole more than desired. The other issue with the impact driver is the potential to overtorque the screw, which can cause the head to strip out, shear off, or strip the hole out entirely, defeating the usefulness of the screw.
Personally, when I install Tapcons I tend to use a cordless hammer drill, and flip it off of hammer when driving the screw in.
I’m sure that Buildex and Irwin have both done the appropriate tests on the strength of properly installed fasteners with both an impact driver and standard driver, as well as a screwdriver. The key word here is properly installed. An impact driver makes me uneasy because it’s likely easier to improperly install the screw with it.
In construction, typically, Tapcons are used for non-critical applications, such as electrical boxes, and when they are used overhead (for a suspended ceiling) they are used in a network such that one fastners failure is unlikely to cause the whole system to fail. So luckily improperly installing one fastener is unlikely to cause failure.
I realize I just went on a Tapcon rant. That’s because I’ve seen them used in some scary situations, such as holding up loft blocks, and blocks for spot rigging.
All that being said, if it works, it works. I do know that the installation kit is very useful. I’ve used one, and it is a lot faster than other methods of installation, but if you are only doing 5-6 screws it’s probably not worth the cost of the kit.
Post a Comment