[rdst_1]

I've wanted to upgrade to Flexvolt batteries and a couple of tools as well, especially their Flexvolt Circular Saw. However, the restriction of 100Wh for a battery pack on flights is what's stopping me from ordering one through my friends.

[R2D2]

@holyghost and @rdst_1, gents thanks very much for your detailed inputs. Obviously my use will be for light domestic odd jobs and probably the cars' wheel lug nuts. Therefore I hesitate to invest in a top of the line tool like a Dewalt DCF 899 and the likes.

I narrowed it down to this one Bosch GDX 14.4 V-EC less expensive but @about Rs 28K on Amazon the price still merits further thought before I place the order.

But it has a 1/2" square drive. A tool with 3/8" or 1/2" drive would be essential for me given the easier availability of tool bits and sockets.

[Holyghost]

Originally Posted by R2D2

I narrowed it down to this one Bosch GDX 14.4 V-EC less expensive but @about Rs 28K on Amazon the price still merits further thought before I place the order.

14.4V tools from Bosch is an odd lot among the Lion cordless tools. This is neither 12V nor 18V system which most manufacturers stick to. I still feel that you should go for a proper 18v system or stick to 12V. In a few years time, you will start seeing adapters in Aliexpress and other sites with which you will be able to use Bosch batteries with other 18v tools. So I believe you may not want to get stuck with an odd voltage battery kit.

There was one guy in US who used 3d Printer to make adapters for Dewalt 18v batteries and within a few months removed it from the website. The new Dewalt 2018 series have a built in chip which prevents the use of other batteries.
The desktop printer manufacturers did try this chip technique and we all know where to buy those chips to override this lock. We will soon see this happening in tools world once the market matures.

[rdst_1]

Originally Posted by R2D2

@holyghost and @rdst_1, gents thanks very much for your detailed inputs. Obviously my use will be for light domestic odd jobs and probably the cars' wheel lug nuts. Therefore I hesitate to invest in a top of the line tool like a Dewalt DCF 899 and the likes.

I narrowed it down to this one Bosch GDX 14.4 V-EC less expensive but @about Rs 28K on Amazon the price still merits further thought before I place the order.

But it has a 1/2" square drive. A tool with 3/8" or 1/2" drive would be essential for me given the easier availability of tool bits and sockets.

Please ask for prices at your local Bosch dealer before plonking money online. In India, any power tool I have bought, I have gotten much better prices at the local authorised dealer/distributor.
I have even been able to get in touch directly with one of the biggest tool sellers online who go by the name ASMA group. It was a by-chance meeting when I walked into their shop in Chawri Bazar, Delhi and have been buying from them ever since. Prices are much cheaper than what they sell the stuff for online.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by Aroy

As far as I can recollect, wood screws work by compressing the wood fibres when they are screwed. The fibres then relax and clamp on the screw. That is why you should never dill a pilot hole

On this occasion, I think you are wrong. Carpenters drill pilot holes in wood for screws. The hole should be around the size of inside diameter of the thread. The thread cuts into, and grips, the wood around that grips the thread. As the thing is tapered, there will be some expansion of the hole, but wood screws are not intended to be screwed blind into wood.

or hammer the screws in, you reduce the compression offered by the wood fibres.

When screws are hammered, they just drive a hole equal to the thread diameter, which is then not gripping on anything.

Another tip that I got from a those who work on large wooden structures is to use blunt nails.

This is something to do with preventing the wood from splitting.

These again do not cut the fibre but move them so that the nail goes between fibres, and once they relax they grip the nail strongly.

This behaviour is one of the reasons that extremely hard woods and MDF are not able to hold wood screws or nails - they simply come out, and you have to use nut and bolt to hold pieces together.

Maybe some woods might need to have a thread cut into them, like steel! But I am sure that teak, mahogany, etc, take screws. Fibre composites are not real wood: different stuff applies.

[rdst_1]

Originally Posted by Aroy

As far as I can recollect, wood screws work by compressing the wood fibres when they are screwed. The fibres then relax and clamp on the screw. That is why you should never dill a pilot hole or hammer the screws in.

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

On this occasion, I think you are wrong. Carpenters drill pilot holes in wood for screws. The hole should be around the size of inside diameter of the thread. The thread cuts into, and grips, the wood around that grips the thread. As the thing is tapered, there will be some expansion of the hole, but wood screws are not intended to be screwed blind into wood. When screws are hammered, they just drive a hole equal to the thread diameter, which is then not gripping on anything.

If one can get their hands on self-drilling screws, then there is no need to drill a pilot hole. They drill their way through and grab a very good hold. However, such screws need to be driven in with a lot of force. An impact driver hammers (rotational hammering) the screw in after rotation has stopped. In softwoods, that hammering can sometime cause the wood to split as I have experienced at my home working with Cedar.

So, I try to drill a pilot hole a size smaller than the screw (the insertion end, not the head) and a little less in length than that of the screw. This ensures that the screw goes in easily and yet grabs hold of the wood from all sides.

Needless to say, anyone hammering in screws ( not to say Indian tradesman won't do it), is definitely doing it wrong.

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

On this occasion, I think you are wrong. Carpenters drill pilot holes in wood for screws. The hole should be around the size of inside diameter of the thread. The thread cuts into, and grips, the wood around that grips the thread. As the thing is tapered, there will be some expansion of the hole, but wood screws are not intended to be screwed blind into wood. When screws are hammered, they just drive a hole equal to the thread diameter, which is then not gripping on anything.
This is something to do with preventing the wood from splitting.
......

I beg to differ :
. When carpenters drill holes, they do so in joints and that too to put pegs that will hold the joint tight. The holes are round and the pegs sqauer - to ensure a tight fit.
. When you hammer the screw into wood, you are cutting the wood fibre. In contrast when you hammer a blunt nail you are pushing it in between fibres.
. Teak wood is not all that hard, but Ironwood and Mahogany are, and you will rarely find any screws or nails in furniture of building frames made of these woods.

What most of modern carpenters in India do, will not make the grade of proper practice any where in the world. Heck it will not even gel with old timers. Last year when I go an old timer to make a few desks, I got into a discussion of modern carpenter's practice. He was thoroughly disgusted with the short cuts they take, and drilling holes or hammering the screws was one of them. What he said was interesting. Instead of working with wood, most of them are used to plywood and boards, where they use hammers and pilot holes with impunity. They are not even aware of how wood is to be joined without adhesive.

So drilling pilot holes, or hammering wood screws is a strict no-go in my dictionary.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Hammering screws is no-go for me too! Even into masonry.

There are screw-free wood-fixing methods... even dating back to pre-screw days. When I visit my best friend in July, I'll discuss screws and holes with him. He is an accountant! But he spent a great deal of his working life as a carpenter, and has done some boat building, which is a very high art of woodwork.

I'm sure there is a whole study, and probably some controversy too, in the matter of screws and wood

[rdst_1]

I think I qualify as a woodworking hobbyist at the moment. I have my own multipurpose woodworking machine which is a planer, jointer and table saw built into one. I have multiple routers and will be comissioning my own table saw with a sliding table soon.

One of the most revered source of information for woodworkers is the Popular Woodworking magazine.
You can check what they have to say on the matter of screws and pilot holes over here - https://www.popularwoodworking.com/t...-screw-holes-2

Please read the comments as well, if you have time. The commentators concur that only the good quality self drilling screws don't need a pilot hole but others do as the article suggests.

Edit - Another article telling about the reason behind and the importance of drilling a pilot hole - https://www.howtogeek.com/298938/why-you-should-drill-pilot-holes-before-screwing-into-wood/

P. S. - Looking at all the online videos of power tool reviews even I thought I should drive in screws with my impact driver without any pre-drilling. However, when I started actually doing that, did I realise the importance and need of pre-drilling a pilot hole. I've installed more than a 500 screws during installing wood planks for my false ceiling this year and I learned from experience the importance of drilling a proper pilot hole.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Yes, that all makes sense to me. Not that I have ever liked woodwork, but I seem to remember in a barely glowing brain cell from the childhood, that not drilling quite often leads to split wood.

I've never since, until today, heard of anyone not drilling for ordinary wood screws in ordinary wood, and I don't like the idea. The thread holds the screw in, as any thread does.

[pjbiju]

After having done a fair bit of wood work (using real wood as well as plywood), pilot hole drilling is a must/required when you want to drive in screws or even sometimes larger diameter (and longer) nails. The quality of screws that we get here varies quite a bit. Some of the lower quality screws will break off if you try to force them in without pilot holes or with very small pilot holes compared to the screw size.

[unk9ja]

I came across this wonderful site today. Sharing the link here for the fellow DIYists to feast on.
https://www.allaboutdiy.com/countryselect.htm

[sagarpadaki]

Bit the bullet and purchased the 12V cordless Bosch Impact Driver GDR 120 LI.

https://www.amazon.in/Bosch-GDR-120-...e-8e27f3efe637


Purchased from amazon.in where it was available for 32% off over MRP. Checked with 3 dealers and the max discount i was offered was 25% off MRP and none of them had this item in stock and it was order against advance.

Initial impressions are good. The impact driver is light weight and fits the contours of the hand well. Makes light work of driving screws into wood. Have ordered a set of Impact screw bits from the US.

Comes with 2 X 1.2Ah batteries which i feel is not good enough since the same tool sold in other countries comes with 2Ah batteries. The supplied charger takes about 60 minutes to charge the battery from the depleted state.

Will update my experience as i use it more

[a4anurag]

Anyone's purchased stuff from Industry Buying?

Are they delivering orders? Can't find their App on Play Store too.

[Behemoth]

Originally Posted by a4anurag

Anyone's purchased stuff from Industry Buying?

Are they delivering orders? Can't find their App on Play Store too.

I have purchased from Industry buying earlier, but they supply only to registered business ( GST regn required). Individuals cannot buy from they as they are a business to business portal.