Which Impact Driver Bit is Best? Let's find out! Phillips #2 Showdown

having a really nice impact driver is a very nice thing to have to tackle that big project but you really need an impact bit that goes along with it otherwise you're just going to cause a lot of damage so the question is which one of these brands is the best we'll be testing 10 different brands today one i'm claiming to be 50 times better than the competition so let's get the testing underway and see which one of these brands is the best in the first test we'll drive 100 screws for each brand of impact bit and then compare the amount of wear under a microscope we'll measure the amount of twisting force required for the driver bits to cam out when they are new then we'll measure how much twisting force is required to cause the bits to cam out after driving a hundred screws finally we'll measure the amount of twisting force required to break each driver bit driving drywall screws into 4x4 puts a tremendous load on the screws and the impact bit in order to standardize the testing as much as possible i drove all 1000 screws into the pressure treated four by fours approximately one-quarter inch before testing the impact bits all the four by fours were purchased the same day from the same stack of lumber and were maintained in the dry environment for a couple weeks before the testing costing only 5.99 the least expensive brand we'll be testing is this warrior brand 32 piece set that's only 19 cents per piece they're constructed of chrome vanadium made in china some people say that impact rated bits don't last as long as these which are not impact rated so it's gonna be very interesting to see how the warrior brand compares quite a bit of wobble with the harbor freight warrior harbor freight warrior which is not designed for use with an impact driver survived all 100 screws i see more than twice as much as the harbor freight warrior at 43 cents each is this bauer brand impact rated bits are constructed at precision tolerance heavy duty hardened s2 tool steel with shock absorbent zone for heavy duty use they claim their precision design reduces stripping and resist corrosion made in taiwan compared to the warrior the bar offers a much better fit and there's very little wobble the nice tight fit of the barrel made driving the screws very easy also solar harbor freight is this hercules brand costing 45 cents each which is only 2 cents per unit more than the bauer brand hercules impact rated insert bits use exclusive bit fit technology to provide exceptional fit and reduce stripping they're built with hardened s2 tool steel these impact bits are professionally made in taiwan unfortunately the hercules just doesn't offer a very good fit quite a bit of wobble i could definitely tell that the hercules had quite a bit of wobble compared to the bauer icing 50 cents per unit is this craftsman brand it claims to deliver improved performance through its optimized torsion zone constructed of s2 shock resistant tool steel for maximum durability it claims that its cnc machined bit tip ensures precise fit and screw heads reducing opportunity for cam out made in vietnam the craftsman definitely offers a much tighter fit than the previous three brands the craftsman just didn't seem to grip the screw as well as the bower costing 52 cents each is this irwin brand which claims its forged bit delivers a superior fitment which reduces stripping and increases life by three times manufactured with heavy duty cold forged high grade steel to withstand high torque output made in china everyone has a pretty good fit but there's definitely some wobble i could definitely tell the irwin had more wobble than some of the other brands costing just 53 cents or one cent more than the irwin is this bosch brand which claims to deliver 10 times the life over standard impact bits extended torsion zone helps to absorb high torque of new impact drivers precision engineered tips for a tighter fit and less cam out heat-treated manufacturing for stronger bit made in vietnam the bosch offers a very tight fit very similar to the craftsman the bar started off great but the performance seemed to degrade quite a bit by the end of the test costing 53 cents each the same as the bosch brand is this dewalt max fit which claims its optimized tip geometry reduces wear and creates an ideal fit with every fastener cnc manufacturing ensures the product consistently delivers the highest level of quality each bit features a unique torsion zone to deliver long life in both metal and wood fastening applications made in china very nice tight fit with a dewalt with very little wobble i really like the performance of the dewalt it provided a great fit costing 66 cents each which is 13 cents more per unit than the dewalt is this makita gold designed exclusively for high torque impact drivers precision fit tip engineered to prevent cam out and stripping 10 times longer life than standard insert bits made in japan even though it's a pretty good fit with makita there's definitely a little bit more movement than compared to some of the other brands while makita did fairly well it just didn't seem to grip the screws as well as some of the other brands also costing 66 cents each the same as the makita brand as this milwaukee shockwave impact bit rare guard tip protects the fit over the life of the bit it's made of a custom alloy 76 steel which is engineered to extend the bit life milwaukee has by far the most ambitious claim saying that their product lasts up to 50 times longer than other impact bits very nice fit by milwaukee very little wobble professionally made in china i have to admit i was quite impressed with the milwaukee it seemed just as good as new throughout the entire test passing a 1.20 each or very close to twice as much as the second most expensive brand is this weha brand it claims to offer 30 times performance over standard bits it claims to have a special energy absorbing dual material design precision heat-treated and premium chrome vanadium tool steel manufactured by weha vietnam engineered by weehaw germany the wee hot definitely has a little bit more wobble compared to some of the other brands the weha didn't have a perfect fit but still did a terrific job and still seemed to be in great shape by the end of the test most hardness test is definitely not the gold standard for determining metal hardness but it'll provide us with some great information on whether or not the tip hardness has any impact on durability the irwin makita milwaukee and weha all seem to be around a 7 in hardness compared to a 6 for the other brands it'll be interesting to see if the harder bits show less wear and more strength let's take a look at all the driver bits to see how much wear took place the new harbor freight warrior is on the left and the one that's been used for 100 screws is on the right the part of the driver bit that experiences direct impact shows quite a bit of wear and some of the metal along the edge of the bit is elevated the bar actually did very well and is in much better condition than the warrior brand by showing very little wear along the leading edge of the flutes the hercules is likely made by the same manufacturer of the barrier but the bit just didn't fit the screw as well as the bower as a result there's quite a bit more wear while the craftsman did provide a fairly tight fit the width of the flutes near the tip are much more narrow and the tip actually seems slightly twisted while there's definitely some wear on the irwin's leading edge of the flutes it appears less worn than the craftsman the boss was the lightest bit of all the brands and it appears to have quite a bit of damage to the flutes while there's visible wear to the leading edge of the flutes of the dewalt it definitely has less wear than the bosch while there is some rounding on the leading edge of the flutes of the makita it seems to have less wear than some of the other brands the milwaukee seems to have held up very well with a very small amount of wear along the leading edge of the flutes the wii didn't do quite as well as the milwaukee in the next test we'll measure the cam out strength of the new as well as the used driver bits several things affect cam out including the bit geometry hardness of the metal and the type of coating used on the bit we'll be using a drill press to apply a downward force on the torque adapter and the impact driver bit the belt on the drill press has been removed to avoid interfering with test accuracy i placed a wheel on the lever arms of the drill press and attached a five pound weight on a rope the amount of downward force that will be applied to the impact driver is 27.2 pounds i drilled a pilot hole in a piece of cured osage orange also known as hedge apple i removed and installed a new screw between each test i had to switch brands of screws since the original drywall screws along with several other brands were just too brittle and broke with 27.2 pounds of downward force on the impact driver bit instead of camming out the new harbor freight warriors snapped at 93 inch pounds exposing the weakness of using an impact driver bit that's not designed for high torque use after installing a new screw the harbor freight impact driver bit that was used to install 100 screws was tested and actually did well caming out at 71 inch pounds the new bower did very well coming out at 102 inch pounds used bauer did better than the warrior camming out at 81 inch pounds very impressive the new hercules did very well at 101 pounds just one pound less than the bauer they used hercules which had a lot more visible wear than the bauer came down at only 53 inch pounds the new craftsman did fairly well at 95 inch pounds the used craftsman did better than the hercules but not as good as the bauer at 64. the new irwin lost grip at 96 inch pounds the used irwin was very close to the craftsman at 62. the new bosch slipped out of position at 94. the used driver bit did the same as the irwin at 62. the new dewalt lost traction at 101 inch pounds the used dewalt did much better than average at 67 inch pounds the new makita camped out at 96. the used makita really struggled at 56. the new milwaukee lost traction at 91. they used milwaukee did the best yet at 84 which is nearly as good as the new impact driver bit the new wehod did the best yet at 107 inch pounds the used wee hot did well above average at 75 but not as good as the milwaukee these are the screws we use and as you can see they actually held up very well the wiha did a tremendous job at avoiding cam out but the bauer hercules and dewalt were very close behind all the bits survived this test except for the harbor freight warrior in fairness the harbor freight warrior is not designed for extreme torque loads exposing the weakness of using this style a bit even though the milwaukee camed out sooner than a lot of the competing brands it came out on top in the competition after a hundred screws harbor freight bower brand did very well finishing second in the weha third even though the warrior held up very well after 100 screws they're extremely brittle the last test provides some great information on how the driver bits handle low to medium torque loads but the next test will provide some great information on the strongest driver bit for high torque applications i used some self-tapping steel screws for this next test along with 200 pounds of downward force to prevent the driver bits from camming out before snapping we won't test the harbor freight warrior again since it snapped at 93 inch pounds in the previous test the bower showed impressive strength snapping at 144 inch pounds the hercules did slightly better at 148 inch pounds the craftsman wasn't quite as strong with the bauer or the hercules at 143 inch pounds the irwin did the best yet at 149 inch pounds very impressive the box didn't do quite as well as the irwin at 146 inch pounds the dewalt snapped at 140 inch pounds the lowest of all the driver bits except for the harbor freight warrior compared to the other brands the makita seems to flex and twist the most before breaking you'll see the makita actually begins to cam out before snapping it still did great at 149 inch pounds the milwaukee claims last 50 times longer than the competition and did the best yet at 157 inch pounds very impressive the weha tied the milwaukee at 157 inch pounds again very impressive if money is not a factor and it's all about high torque capability the milwaukee and the wiha showed the most braun at 157 inch pounds however the irwin and the makita were very close behind at 149. according to the mohs hardness test the strongest 4 bits were also made of the hardest metal however some of the other brands like the hercules weren't too far behind my personal opinion is that brand makes a huge difference for impact driver longevity however i've quickly destroyed some very good quality bits because of being in a hurry and because of some bad habits one of the quickest ways to destroy a bit is through not applying enough downward force even if the driver bit doesn't cam out excessive movement causes a lot of friction from the movement wearing out the flutes another bad habit i've had is to remove the driver bit while the impact driver is still in motion this creates a lot of wear on the leading edge of the flutes especially towards the tip of the impact driver improving on these two things has made a huge difference in the lifespan of the bits so which impact driver bit brand you think is the best based upon your own personal experience i've never used the milwaukee brand before but i'm really impressed with it it claims to be up to 50 times longer lasting than the competition i'm not so sure it's that good but what i do know is i removed all 1 000 screws with almost all 1000. three of the screws broke in the process and it's a very good brand in my opinion the best of all the ones we've tested i also think bauer did a very respectable job so if it's all about the price bower might be an impact bit you might consider all my video ideas including this one come from viewers so if you have a video idea i hope you'll take time to leave a comment i read and reply to as many comments as possible just want to say thanks so much for watching the video please take care and look forward to next time

Channel: Project Farm

Views: 4,059,536

Keywords: Seafoam, project farm, milwaukee, makita, makita gold impact bits, makita gold bits, dewalt vs milwaukee, dewalt impact driver, ph2, phillips impact screwdriver, phillips impact driver, milwaukee impact bits, dewalt impact bit test, dewalt, irwin, irwin impact bits, bauer, harbor freight, herculets, bosch, bosch impact bits, wiha, wiha impact bits, bauer driver bits, impact bit test, impact driver bit comparison, screwdriver comparison, screwdriver bit test, milwaukee shockwave bits

Id: 6-xOHQTT5tw

Length: 12min 27sec (747 seconds)

Published: Mon Mar 02 2020

Reddit Comments

[u/[deleted]]

Looks like those are the new Milwaukee bits. I have the black ones, and they do not fit the screw well. They wobble more than the Warrior bits. I may have to try the new ones. I use Makita Gold. Makita has come out with a line that is called XPS. I think these will replace the Makita Gold bits.

He always does a great job in his tests!

[u/ChocolateGautama3]

The video surprised me as I've always hated milwaukee bits, they always seemed to cam out early and never fit screw heads rights. Dewalt is my go to since they are fairly cheap and fit well, if I wear one out just toss it and grab a new one. Bosch and Makita were fine but did wear out faster than I liked.

[u/Stuffstuff1]

I wish he woud have tested the wera diamond tipped bit. They are very expensive and i have no idea if they are worth it

[u/rootbeer506]

I like the guy and trust him. He makes a lot of content in interested in, but in my opinion his test methods are a little dry and take a while. I wish he formatted or put out a second video just posting his results in something that could be consumed in 2-3 min.

[u/CPAMechanic]

I have one issue with the testing. What if the screw heads are slightly different? Maybe the manufacturers are trying to get the best overall performance between all the slightly different PH2 screw heads out there.

[u/gringo--star]

Everyone would be much happier with there bits if they changed to the canadian robertson head screw instead of the phillips screw head. Oh and the metric system. More calming all around.

[u/Sabnitron]

That sounds roughly right. I seem to have the best results with the milwaukee and Makita bits.

[u/[deleted]]

The best impact bit? I'll give you a hint, it's SQUARE.

[u/Jataka]

I look forward to his test 6 months from now that includes ACR bits.