For everyone wondering about the test I showed where the DeWalt did a terrible job on limiting the torque, even at the lightest setting, I just shot a new video (ua-cam.com/video/DB6HFxejSsQ/v-deo.html) where I thoroughly tested five drills with big batteries, little batteries and in their high gears and low gears. The results were pretty crazy. The DeWalt DCD999 didn't do well. It's a fantastic drill overall, just not so great on limiting torque. And just to clarify, the Flex drill shown in this video was in all of the exact same settings. Big battery, 1st gear, and the clutch worked way better. Every drill is different.
You forgot the most important fact. The right bit to use with said clutches is pozidriv, which looks almost exactly like phillips, but has less tendency to cam out, so you do not need to push the drill like crazy. And you have to use not only pozidriv bit, but also pozidriv screws, otherwise your bit will cam out even more wildly. You can distinguish pozidriv bits/screws by second smaller cross at 45 degrees to the main cross. Or you can use torx etc. The phillips was actually invented when only plain drills were available, so your choice was either to tear the screw head away with said drill, or to let the bit cam out, so all freshly driven screws were "slightly" damaged by design. So actually at least four facts, so you can make another 20+ minute video from this.
Big batteries and small batteries-size has nothing to do with it. It’s the amount of Ah (Amp-hours) that’s important, as that’s where the power comes from-not the size of the battery.
One thing to also note is that DeWalt flexvolt batteries output more power voltage than their standard XR batteries. So the driver was made for those batteries in mind, the flexvolt will increase a bit more power for their impact drivers.
I appreciate the tear down of the clutch system. I'm a commercial HVAC service tech. I have M18 tools for construction/installs, but most days I use the M12 hex-drive drill driver is my go to. Most panels are sheet metal and a hex-drive impact rounds out the holes. Using a clutched drill allows me to consistently remove and reinstall panels without needing to make new screw holes or us larger screws.
Thank you, thank you, thank you. So many "techs' have the nerve to complain about stripped screw holes while they're going from unit to unit holding an impact drill. Drives me NUTS. I show all my apprentices videos of impact drill internals as they're hammering on the shaft to show how much excessive force is being applied with them
I'm a noob with a black and decker drill trying to do small projects around the house and this was wayyyy more informative than I expected it to be. Bonus points for being easy to understand. Good stuff.
I'm really sorry, but you don't seem to be very smart. To be honest, it's embarrassing when you have a device like this at home and don't understand what it does. Please take care of yourself, such devices can theoretically cause serious injuries if you don't have the mental capacity and don't know what you're doing.
@@kasauerkrautimgulasch It is clear the tester is not an engineer and thus all he will ever produce is subjective results which are meaningless. Ditto a lot of posters are equally clueless. Who buys DeWalt in the first place? It's all very well being "American" about the tool but there are better tools available, notably from Europe. We should not forget the "incompetent workman blaming his tool". Professional tradesmen simply adapt to what tool is available. I know I did. It's the hamfisted wannabe amateurs that concern themselves with power. They just don't have the finesse to use such powerful tools in the home environment. I ascribe some of the blame to caring wives who haven't twigged their husband is a very amateur clueless oaf and believes their nearest and dearest is another Norm Abrams or Tommy de Silva and thus buys them tools on the advice of some wily shopkeeper who simply wants to see a profit. I suspect too that these tyros don't trouble too much with reading the "destructions" either. Probably such stuff is best left to the "professionals" ... although that can be a lottery in itself.
For me, even more important using the clutch is driving bolts. The right clutch setting prevents the bolt head being snapped off, preventing the 5 minute job ballooning into a 5 hour job. Also, when driving bolts without the clutch (drill setting) you risk injuring your wrist when the torque counter rotation suddenly hits your hand once the bolt is fully seated.
@@rswow That's a totally valid question. Check out my video on Drill vs Driver. The torque on an impact driver is typically way higher than a drill because of the rotational impact. They're unmatched for driving bolts, lag screws and screws in general and they use less battery in the process. They're also smaller, lighter and they help avoid kickback. A drill with the clutch engaged, on the other hand, can be used for any delicate work (smaller screws) and for a lot of bigger jobs (bolts, lag screws) so long as they don't require a high torque situation. The clutch will automatically limit the torque of your drill's output but could save your wrist. If you need more torque than the highest clutch setting, that's where the impact driver is king. I have a little Milwaukee M12 Fuel Surge Driver (hydraulic impact driver) and I use it for all kinds of things but it's not as sensitive as a drill with a clutch. I hope that help.
That last one is why I never tighten or untighten bolts with a drill, I use an impact hammer or a simple wrench. Hurt my wrist (just stayed home for a day) when undoing a bolt. Bolt didn't want to move, but the drill did, and smashed my wrist right into the concrete
I’m 70 y/o, have arthritis in my hands and wrists and Thank You SO Much for this information. I’m having to learn many of my now disabled husband’s skills in order to do repairs around our old house. Never knew I could adjust the torque to the requirements of whatever I’m working on. This was a blessing, sir!
Wow!! I'm a 47-year-old man that has been using tools all my life. I've built tons of stuff, and I've never once questioned that clutch. I mean, I have felt it slip before, and I had the idea that it was a clutch of some kind, but I didn't understand what the purpose was. I always just put it on the drill setting and modulate the depth with triggered pressure and timing. Thank you so much, live and learn.
Very good for the newby to get a quick-start on using a drill. As a professional, having a whole host of drills, and varying over the years, clutches will vary from MFG to MFG, and then add in usage. Density of woods, age, and a host of other things add to the variance involved. Age and usage of the drill are definitely a factor. Simple situation. My favorite Bosch Impact and regular drill for cabinet installation, the drill finally gave-it-up, the new replacement was a WOW-Factor - quick learning curve. Last quick note. the hardware you are driving, I.E. type and make of the screw and pilots has a large factor in the overall success. As an over-review of this video, ... this guy is on his game. He's quick, to the point, doesn't drag out the obvious with idol chatter. As a professional woodworker (Certified KCMA - Old School) This guy is worth the listen, I may be looking for other videos. Keep hitting it guy ! GB
As a relative novice, I appreciate your professional opinion! There are so many people online (& especially on UA-cam) offering advice that ranges from poor through unhelpful & all the way up to concerningly wrong & actively dangerous, making it difficult just to *find* the genuinely useful information, let alone to accurately identify it as such. Comments like yours really do make a big difference. I'm more confident that I can trust this resource (& likely the other videos they've posted too, as you point out yourself). You also mention that it's probably going to be helpful for someone around my level of skill & knowledge, which makes me feel more comfortable & less intimidated. Considering that I'm in a position where I'm having to learn about a powertool from a UA-cam video, that's of considerable value too. Thanks for the help. I hope someone does you a similar kindness sometime soon :)
On the Festool drill you're on the high torque mode. Slows the RPM down and ups the torque. Swap the settings and then use the clutch. My electronic clutch on my T15+ is phenomenal.
When I first learned to use the proper power setting, it blew my mind (in a good way). Instead of tapping the trigger on the impact, setting the ideal power setting on my driver gave me a perfect screw depth every time. Sooo much more reliable. Now all that's left is avoiding getting "screwed" if I ever buy into a brand for 18V handheld tools. *woodwork/electrical
Even if you buy into a brand, there are plenty of adapters out there - They're all the same batteries internally whether they're marketed as 18v or 20v, so you can put a Dewalt Battery on a Milwaukee/Makita/Flex or vice versa with no issues. The only caveat is to *never* charge a battery except on it's matched charger.
I've been using my Dewalt drill and driver for close to 10 years now, and I really like them. However, this explains why I've been using hand drivers for simple home repair. Thanks for the info!
I am so happy that you have put this together. I had absolutely no clue what I would want to set the “turning thing to”. I didn’t even know that I would not want to use the full power of the drill. I previously just would use the trigger button and as I got closer to the final spot on the screw and run the drill short amounts of time until the screw was where I wanted it to be. Thanks
@@erictjones If you want to learn about the absurdities of manufacturer liability (the bulk of the manual is just legal disclaimers of no value whatsoever)
Finally, someone who showed how clutches work. The thing I learned is that the lowest # is the "softest" pressure and the highest # is the most powerful. So, I can see how each drill, is different and one cannot rely on a specific # to be the same as the same # on another drill. Good to know.
I use the clutch all the time on a drill! I've been repairing electronics for 10 years now, and there's an awful lot of things I take apart and put back together where having a power drill just makes sense. Not for the torque, but for the sheer number of screws. A PS5 has like 30 something little torx screws, and doing them by hand even with a ratcheting screwdriver always takes ages. I had never used power tools until I started looking into a drill for my line of work, and I quickly became familiar with the clutch collar. A correct setting ensures the bit will cam out when the screw has been adequately torqued.
I have a DeWALT DCD996, and I love it. I have found that lower drill speed results in higher torque, even with the clutch settings. Therefore, on drill speed 3, setting 1, the clutch barely drives a screw at all. On drill speed 1, the clutch is much more aggressive. I notice that you have the DeWALT on drill speed 1, making for much more aggressive torque.
Panasonic drills actually list the clutch steps in Nm. The standard 18v drill says: approx. 0.5 - 4.4 Nm (18 stages). I really like the low power torque for fine work, use Bosch for everything else.
Excellent video. This is why I use a gyroscopic screwdriver for driving screws instead of drill with a clutch. I find the clutch on the DeWalt gyroscopic screwdriver to apply much less torque at lower settings which allows greater control. And with anything you're assembling from furniture to plumbing, you don't want to overtorque.
Never really use my clutch (except in my car) but my Q is, does it wear out the components since they separate and essentially slip. Great videos. Finally found you after all these years. Keep it up I think it’s important to learn and use things correctly instead of just buying more and more stuff like other utubers lean towards.
I agree with you, keep making that clutch rattle it,ll eventually give up altogether, imo if you feather the switch when screwdriving the drill will live longer
Great job. I've had a DeWalt electric drill for a bit more than a year. Confession: I've never taken time to examine this important feature. Your demo and explanations were excellent. I passed this on to my brother. I'm glad I met ya. I'll be back.
I've been using drills since the days of huge NiCad batteries and man have clutches improved! Great summary as I've never tried disassembling one to figure out how it works. Thanks!!!
I'm one of those people who only look at the instructions as a last resort, or never at all. :) Your video about those settings was very informative and so I thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience.
I'm with you, Jerry. I just try to figure things out but I often find that I'm missing out on some cool features until someone shows them to me :) Thanks for watching.
The amount of nuance and features you have missed out on in life is astounding. Thats like passing up free money; literally dozens of features or parameters of specifications you never even knew about just going to waste or being violated...and you're proud? You've had a full lifetime to do better and you chose to not.
The difference is not just in the chuck of the drill but also the resistance of the substrate. Especially when you drill into wood, the density and resistance is not going to be consistent within the same piece. Less of an issue with metals, plastics, composites...
You're absolutely right. You can't ever count on two areas in a wooden board to have the same density, so this is an imperfect test. Hopefully it still gets the point across though.
Wish this video had come out earlier. A year ago I stripped multiple screws because of incorrect drill settings when attempting to install dimmer switches around the house. It was so bad that I could not remove the bad screws even with specialized tool kits. What finally worked for me was drilling thru the screw up to 1/4th of its height with a 1/8" drill bit and then reversing the drilling direction, which caused the drill bit to unscrew the damaged screw. Spent hours doing it.
While I’ve utilized torque settings on my drills, actually how precise it can be blew my mind. Bosch impact drivers have a ratcheting system so fasteners never get overtightened. Where it matters I always drill a countersink hole with a bit, we all know thats cleaner. In the theater we always just used the driver bit to start that off. Always good to pick up helpful hint, thanks for the video!!!
very helpful, tend to use my Impact Driver for everything because it is smaller, lighter and more comfortable but yeah sometimes you need to break out the Big Guns for certain jobs
Way back before impact drivers were around, I used drills to drive screws. I did that for years. When I first saw an impact driver at work, I was sold and went out and bought one right away. I have rarely used a drill to drive screws since. I do have a 10 volt Makita impact driver for smaller screws and some 18 volt ones for bigger screws, lag screws and bolts. I drive a lot of screws but I never use a drill. That's just me.
What you use depends on the work you do. Impacts are good for most general labor but a drill is good to have in case those few cases where impacts can't cut it
What a great straight forward video. No flashy distracting graphics, silly over-the-top humor, or padding for the time algorithm. Clean presentation and useful information. Thank you. Subscribed.
Long time handiperson, but fairly clueless on drill settings (and I know it). I really appreciate the overview information and I did learn a lot. However, I now realize I could still use a more basic lesson. My drill, an old Ryobi, has a 1 - 2 setting, plus 24 more settings, which I now know are clutch settings, on the collar. I never really understood what each setting is for, though I at least now have an idea of how to test them and figure it out. I’m going to go looking for a how to use your drill for the complete newbie. I always try to do CLA and/or repair when something breaks and I have been having trouble tightening and loosening the clutch. So I’ll also be looking for info on how to maintain my drill. Thanks for the information!
I had some "ikea" style dressers and just modulating the trigger was enough and fast enough for me. Full send until the moment before it went into the wood-stuff, then back off and slow it down. Just snug it. If I was mass producing, I wouldn't want to have to manipulate the device like that all the time.
I use a Festool CXS for Ikea cabinets, the clutch is gentle and it's great. I usually get the tightness just right around 6 for most screws and up to 9 for big ones. Also, Ikea uses Posidrive. Do yourself a service and get some PZ2 bits, life changer. 😊
@@BenjaminCronce I used to modulate the trigger as well, but I had to put a bunch of donated furniture together for a fund raiser, and setting the clutch was definitely the better choice. Even with the clutch at ‘1’ on my hyper tough drill, which ratchets for almost anything, I still had to modulate some screws. The wood in cheaper furniture just doesn’t want to grab screws sometimes.
Instead of making "1" setting, get a better drill. I assembled the whole flat with Ikea furniture with a relative cheap Lux-tool drill. It had very sensitive clutch, and it was able to turn any type of screws with exactly needed force. No screwdriver after!
@@larrybud no, i was refering about the top speed setting it affects the torque ouput on the clutch, so 1 in the clutch and 3 in the top( faster rpms) is the lowest torque so you dont strip the fasteners
@@dmoqppsoysc Interesting I always found the slower RPM / speed setting tends to sit the screw head a little higher, If I drive it hard and fast on 2 it'll sink deeper down before the clutch slips at a given torque setting. I'm only talking a half or even quarter rotation of the fixing in the difference but I've noticed it on literally thousands of screws that I've put in on both my combi drills.
Weird about that Dewalt. I’ve gone through a couple over the years and the clutch set to 1 was never like that. I’ve used them to install cabinet hardware without issue.
I’m terribly disappointed with my Dewalt cordless drill. Exactly as you said, clutch 1 will totally drive a screw too far or totally strip a Philips head screw before disengaging. As much as i want to like this drill, it’s just too aggressive. I’ve even sprained my wrist with a medium clutch setting driving lag bolts. Zero finesse!
I love my Dewalt drill but I usually only use it when I drilling into hard woods or if I need the battery to last for quite a while. I have a black and decker drill that I use for small projects, soft wood and something I’m not worried about the battery dying in middle of.
@@stefanbuscaylet… visit a Home Depot or Lowe’s or high hardware and try the 12v models. If you’re home updating the interior, they have plenty of power. I own Milwaukee, dewalt and metabo. For decks and framing, I’ll step up to 18v Ridgid since they are life time warranty and I have eight 4amp batteries.
Anytime I'm working with small screws on delicate projects, I bring the clutch down to like 1-2, and drive in the first screw carefully. If it's not strong enough the screw won't drive in. Adjust it up 1 level at a time until it drives the screw as intended.
I typically use the clutch for taping out holes machine thread screws. The smaller taps like 6/32, 8/32 and 10/32 will snap with little torque. I also use it with my unibit and other metal drilling bits to keep it from kicking too hard when it gets caught.
This is interesting. I've got "only" a Black+Decker cordless drill that I bought maybe a year ago. It replaced a corded drill that I had from my dad that was maybe a SEARS brand or something? I clicked on this video because I recognized this as a feature on my drill as well, but I've never messed with it. I only change from drill bit, to countersink, to driver for the screw. I don't use it for any professional stuff, just use at home from time to time, but also whenever I'm building on stuff for a model railroad layout, so I've been drilling and driving quite a bit more in the last couple weeks just getting in to a new house. Thanks for sharing!
Funny that I just found you. And it was not long ago that you hit that 1 million. Congratulations. I never understood the clutch. Hate to say it that I use my impact driver for almost everything ,except drilling hole .
I have the Milwaukee Fuel cordless set, and it's a dream. I am a timberframer in Brazil (I am a Canadian that is moving down here), and I can sink a 1" auger bit into any species of wood here, including camara and massaranduba, which are both almost twice as dense as oak. I just put the drill into "drill" setting (who knew? haha) and click back to the #1 setting, slowing down the rotation, and it just melts through it.
I'm far from a #hailcorporate guy, but Milwaukee is a brand I am passionate about and I'm not even a professional, just an amateur car enthusiast and occasional home DIYer. Their products blow everything else out of the water, to the point where I took the time to sell my initial dewalt tools on Facebook and reinvested that money into Milwaukee equivalents. They have 100% earned my business for life
Subscribed as a mother of 5 who love's diys. I have been a drill owner for 8 years now as it is the only tool (besides a hammer and screwdriver) that I own and know about, well at least I thought I did. If I have not found your channel there is no way that I would have known that I have been using my drill the wrong way. Wish I could go back and recreate my diys the correct way using the correct mode and clutch setting. Thank you for your well explained videos so glad I found your channel. I will continue to follow, watch, and learn as I buy new tools or maybe even win some 😊
Throw away your screwdriver and hammer, and use your drill to drive screws and hit anything with it. All men know that any tool is as good as a hammer...😂😂😂. Greetings.
I have DeWalt drills. I don't use the clutch because as you saw it does not do much of anything unless you are also switched into 2 or 3 speed setting. (drive just about everything with impact driver) I do have a Milwaukee drill and driver set that I have not really ever used. I should try them out see if the drill clutch is any better. Thank you for this video.
incredible video, i maintain commercial equipment for work and the amount of people that just use the strongest setting for even 1/4" machinery screws blows my mind. Doing the lords work
I'm a lady who likes tools. I learned how to use a lot of them when I worked in a theme park fabricating props and painting murals & graphics. I worked with a carpenter on several projects and we created some fantastic props. There is a sign shop connected to the scenic shop and they use screw guns very often to install signs around the park. The only brands I've ever seen there is the 18vDewalt and Makita. I have a bunch of tools and two screw guns/drills. The stupid thing is, I never learned how to use the settings on them. For some reason, the carpenter and I never discussed it. I usually just use one setting which is really dumb I know. I'm glad you made this video and I just discovered your channel this morning. I don't work much with my tools any more but when I need to I need to use them properly like yesterday when I was installing two Fliplock door locks. Not as easy for me as the videos demonstrate.
I barely learned the difference between a drill and a driver a couple years ago...and the clutch thing I barely understood before. Gotta love these DIY videos
@@BedjamRiveraI feel that way about everything. I’m such a nerd. I can’t help it, I just love learning. I barely watch regular TV or movies. I’m almost always more excited to tune in to this channel or some of the others I subscribe to, or listen to an audiobook. (I have a visual impairment, so I don’t read print as much as I used to). So, yeah, I definitely agree.
@@LRN2DIY You're right about what you said early on in the video. They don't tell you in the manuals what all the clutch settings mean. I have 3 power drills and none of the manuals tell you much. However, all mine have two speeds (set via a slider at the top of the drill. Either 1 or 2). Do these speed settings have any bearing on the clutch?
I have used my DeWalt (same model as the one you used here), but I noticed the clutch settings act upon the fasteners differently depending on the battery I'm using. If I use a Flex-Volt battery, I get similar 'over-driven' results as you did. So I tried the other batt's and sure enough, the clutch acted like the other driver/drills I have. Then I used the normal (not Flex-Volt) when it was getting drained from level 2 to level 1 charge status, and that produced less force so it sunk the screws less than a fully charged battery. I believe the clutch settings are arbitrary for the same reason, too many outside forces are possible to determine one number = one, consistant result. Don't get me started about the status of the driver tip, or quality and hardness of the fastener! The other factor I've learn over the years is material deviations, even in the same piece. That Douglas Fir you were driving into...as soon as you get within an inch of the knots, the wood becomes much more dense, and the screws will not go in nearly as far given the same setting. Even when driving into the darker lines where there are no knots, the slow-growth lines are much more dense... I'm pretty sure most people have figured that out, but I teach woodworking and like to show the younger students things which will make their experiences more fulfilling, their projects turn out more satisfying. Personally, I use the Milwaulkee hydraulic driver most of the time to drive fasteners because I twist the heads off screws using anything else. I forget the official name of it, but I know it works far more effeciently because the impact upon the fastener is not as harsh, yet it drives with sufficient force. Thanks for the presentation. I realize not ever little aspect of a subject can be included.
Great points here. The Milwaukee Surge driver is the one you’re referring to and it’s my go-to tool as well. Easily my favorite driver to use. I love the battery insights here as well. I’ll have to do some experimenting with those DeWalts to see how that plays out. Thanks for watching and commenting!
I noticed this battery effect after buying a dewalt 20 volt impact / driver. While I do do some around the house 'large' scale DIY stuff on occasion, the vast majority of my DIY time is spent on small / medium scale projects like props and tech toys, so I ended up also buying a 12volt dewalt drill too just so I could have a 'delicate/precision' general use drill for smaller scale tasks that don't call for the 20volt drivers' "I-will-drive-this-or-die-trying" energy.
Comes in really hand with so much inexpensive pre-fab cabinets and shelving available. I've gotten really good at dropping it to a 1 on the first screw, to ensure I don't just totally bore out the screw holes. Once dialed in, makes assembly so much easier.
Sometimes, you don't even know that you don't know until, a video like this pops up. Nowadays, the text in manuals is so tiny, poorly written and off-putting that I just assumed the numbers indicated power. Thank you for drilling into us such simple, yet overlooked, important aspects about drills!
A point that I would like to bring up with drills with mechanical clutches is if you are having trouble getting a drill bit to stay tight in the chuck try setting the clutch to a light setting then tighten the drill bit in the chuck by hand then hold the chuck with one hand and run the drill while holding the chuck and let the clutch slip and click, this put an intermittent force on the chuck that helps tighten the the drill bit in the cluck.
@@dirtrider88 Yes I know that is how it is suppose to work. But for some people they can't tighten by hand and the ratcheting of the clutch tightens the chuck more.
It's definitely time to "pull that trigger" and get that DeWalt cordless drill (this Christmas) I've been putting off for years now. Right now I have an old Craftsman (20+ years old) that still works fine, but it's bulky, corded, with a keyed chuck that sometimes doesn't grab on the teeth well, and has no clutch for torque settings.
I'm a weekend DIYer and I have noticed the different clutch settings on my Milwaukee cordless drill. Hate to admit this but it wasn't until this video, I knew what the heck those numbers on the dial were. Thank you!
I've noticed that drills with an electronic clutch, the 1 setting is still way too strong still. But with a physical clutch it works much better with delicate work. The advantage of the electronic clutch is the tool is shorter
On modern drills the power settings are for different torque applications. I haven't seem a drill im years where 1 isnt the strongest setting. This makes sense. Low speed = high torque For the purposes of this test, you would have seen better results using a higher "power setting" Staying on 1 ensured you had maximum torque. Low setting = drilling holes High setting = driving fasteners The only exception to this rule is when they put a dedicated "low" mode for electronics or plastic. You understand the clutch, but not the power settings. Ever driven a stick shift? What gear do you use to go up a hill or gain more torque?
I bought a drill with a clutch to protect myself. A couple years ago, I was using a regular drill with a large auger bit to make holes for planting tulip bulbs. I hit a root that stuck the bit and thought if I tried a little harder I could get through it. Unfortunately, I underestimated the size of the root and suddenly the drill kicked back and my hand spun around instead, broke a bone in my right hand and wrenched the tendons in my hand and wrist. Wore a cast and splint for weeks, went through a long time getting my strength and flexibility back but I still have fingers that won’t straighten out all the way anymore. For a while, I was afraid to drill again but I’ve done some simple drilling since. A clutch system that will prevent the same accident from happening again will be very reassuring for me.
I will also use the clutch when drilling thick steel, particularly if the hole is angled, the clutch just helps not to snap drill bits if you wander off straight and also the "grab" you get when you get to the bottom of the hole. Especially for bigger say 6mm plus.
I like to run my clutch at around 6-9 when putting together furniture to prevent stripping or over tightening. I use a 3-4 when putting in drywall anchors to make sure it tightens to the wall but not stripout.
Very informative video. I have 2 Dewalt drills, the clutch doesn't work effectively in 1st gear. The clutch works well in 2nd gear which is counter intuative.
just found your channel and glad I did... my DeWalt drivers are always on high torque and my fasteners always go in kinda deep. I never thought of going to a lower number now I'll drop down a notch or two when I'm building stuff. TANX
An excellent video. Some of the differences are the power of the drill. Your heavy duty (industrial) sometimes has too much power; for delicate work some of the home-use drills are weaker, thus more delicate. That's important when doing work such as assembling metal buildings. Your note about the impact driver is a good one, too. Those can be useful when working with pressure treated and/or old wood, while the drill worked better attaching sheet rock to 40 yo wood studs.
Keep in mind that the model he used is a hammer drill and is going to have more torque than a standard drill. I use a regular DeWalt drill and have not had that problem.
No, its not useless. There is another switch on top of the drill, for high and low, has an effect on torque and the clutch. I have a 20v dewalt hammer drill and it works just fine for small home projects. Usually around 5-7 on mine for driving screws into predrilled drywall and studs or those oh so lovely plastic anchors.
@@spud69g So it doesn't hammer everything deep into wood on the low setting, like he showed in the video? Also, how does 'small home projects' factor into it?
@@imacmill when set properly it will not do what was shown. In small home projects where materials are generally softer, use of as much power and torque is not needed vs industrial where harder and thicker materials are usually used.
The engagement and disengagement of mechanical clutches was taught to me best when I learned how child-safety caps on medicine bottles prevented actuation without a certain amount of down-pressure. What separates that from these drills is that, while a medicine cap's static friction is practically constant and the down-pressure you apply is variable, the down-pressures given by the settings on a drill's clutch are constant, and it's the torque demanded by the fastener or bit that varies, so the drill actuates until it reaches the point at which the torque necessary exceeds what the down-pressure is capable of overcoming, where it then slips. Very cool, Kanye.
Friend, congratulations on your channel, it's really great. But allow me to add some knowledge. You are using the Dewalt DCD996 wrongly. At torque level 1 and speed 1, it is very strong as you showed, but if you put torque level 1 and speed level 3, you will see that it will have even more torque options than flex or any other. I explain and show this in detail in my video 18 SPEEDS! THE STRONGEST 18V DEWALT DCD996 IMPACT SCREWDRIVER/DRILL SOLD IN BRAZIL ua-cam.com/video/y_l1wX6B1rY/v-deo.html Many people don't know that this Dewalt multiplies torques along with 3 speeds. Hope this helps. Best Regards
Amigo, parabéns pelo seu canal é realmente ótimo. Porém me permita agregar um conhecimento. Você está usando a Dewalt DCD996 de forma equivocada. Eno nível 1 de torque e na velocidade 1, ela é bem forte como você mostrou, mas se colocar nível 1 de torque e nível 3 de velocidade, verá que ela ficará com ainda mais opções de torque do que a flex ou qualquer outra. Explico e mostro isso em detalhes no meu vídeo 18 VELOCIDADES! A MAIS FORTE PARAFUSADEIRA/FURADEIRA DE IMPACTO 18V DEWALT DCD996 VENDIDA NO BRASIL ua-cam.com/video/y_l1wX6B1rY/v-deo.html Muitas pessoas não sabem que essa Dewalt multiplica os torques juntamente com as 3 velocidades. Espero ter ajudado. Abraços do Brasil 🇧🇷😃🎬
So it's torque setting. This could have been a 4 second video. I wanted to know because I never understood what it was but I guess it was important for me to watch a 14 minute video to get this simple answer: it's a torque setting.
Glad to help you try to hit 1 million! I've been buying more power tools and with more DIY at home needed. My dad knows a ton and has helped me a lot but he doesn't communicate everything as quickly and effectively as you do. Thank you!
Great video! I’ll definitely be using these tips. Just an FYI, your audio issues seem to be being caused by “auto leveling” from whatever you’re using to record the audio. Basically the mix is always trying to keep things in a certain range and will either amplify or quiet down on its own. I’d recommend a zoom H1 and a lav mic, set the levels manually and you’ll get consistent audio levels.
i use the clutch with drill bits. smaller bits are lighter clutch setting. if the bit locks just as it punches through a piece of metal the odds of breaking the bit are a lot lower. as the bits get larger breaking a bit goes down. but if your using a big drill with a lot of torque that doesn't stop quick when you release the trigger, if the bit locks up it can twist the drill out of your hand. since i started using the clutch for drilling, i've not broken a single bit.
My new Ryobi ONE+ doesn't have a clutch. I didn't realize that until after I bought it to replace my Harbor Freight Warrior like the one in the video. It still works but it sounds like the motor is dying, or something is about to break. As long as both drils work, I can use the new one to drill holes and the old one to drive screws, but when the old one dies, driving screws with the new one will be risky.
first video i watch from you, and happy to see you hit the 1m, i reached the age of my life where i am trying to gather useful info on being more handy and understanding tools, that we usually use 5% of what they can actually offer thanks a lot!
Dude. Thanks for this particular video. I just now stumbled upon your channel because of this topic. I love having this knowledge now. I subbed to help your cause even though I see you’re over 1 million. Well done. I’ll be watching more now that I know about you.
Just found your account - needed to know what the difference between a drill and impact driver was (diff video) - subbed right away! I’m getting into diy projects and furniture repair, so I’m really happy to have found such a great resource!
I found the 20v DeWalt to be the lightest clutch of all that I tried. Easy to stop with bare hands on #1 setting. Bosch, Stanley, B&D, Makita all were much harder. Some would damage the wood on #1.
I enjoyed your video. I have watched a few videos over the years in testing various tools, and not one ever talks about RIDGID power tools. With there lifetime warranty it does not make since not to buy one. That warranty is on tool and battery.
This guy is definitely a spokesman for flex tools. I own a Dewalt drill with a variable clutch a had to turn it to 5 before it would drive the screw all the way down then slipping.
Well one old man has just learnt something at 75 years of age, i have never understood what the settings mean but after your showing off the screws being screwed down i now have some ideas; great explanations i have now subscribed you never know one old dog can still learn when i thought i new it all lol.
For everyone wondering about the test I showed where the DeWalt did a terrible job on limiting the torque, even at the lightest setting, I just shot a new video (ua-cam.com/video/DB6HFxejSsQ/v-deo.html) where I thoroughly tested five drills with big batteries, little batteries and in their high gears and low gears. The results were pretty crazy. The DeWalt DCD999 didn't do well. It's a fantastic drill overall, just not so great on limiting torque. And just to clarify, the Flex drill shown in this video was in all of the exact same settings. Big battery, 1st gear, and the clutch worked way better. Every drill is different.
You forgot the most important fact. The right bit to use with said clutches is pozidriv, which looks almost exactly like phillips, but has less tendency to cam out, so you do not need to push the drill like crazy. And you have to use not only pozidriv bit, but also pozidriv screws, otherwise your bit will cam out even more wildly. You can distinguish pozidriv bits/screws by second smaller cross at 45 degrees to the main cross. Or you can use torx etc. The phillips was actually invented when only plain drills were available, so your choice was either to tear the screw head away with said drill, or to let the bit cam out, so all freshly driven screws were "slightly" damaged by design. So actually at least four facts, so you can make another 20+ minute video from this.
Big batteries and small batteries-size has nothing to do with it. It’s the amount of Ah (Amp-hours) that’s important, as that’s where the power comes from-not the size of the battery.
here you go @BradMosch_engineer - some more wisdom for the "expert" - make sure your batteries are big ones - hahaha
Do you not think different woods, hardwood would be of use for the clutch?
One thing to also note is that DeWalt flexvolt batteries output more power voltage than their standard XR batteries. So the driver was made for those batteries in mind, the flexvolt will increase a bit more power for their impact drivers.
I appreciate the tear down of the clutch system. I'm a commercial HVAC service tech. I have M18 tools for construction/installs, but most days I use the M12 hex-drive drill driver is my go to. Most panels are sheet metal and a hex-drive impact rounds out the holes. Using a clutched drill allows me to consistently remove and reinstall panels without needing to make new screw holes or us larger screws.
Thank you, thank you, thank you. So many "techs' have the nerve to complain about stripped screw holes while they're going from unit to unit holding an impact drill. Drives me NUTS. I show all my apprentices videos of impact drill internals as they're hammering on the shaft to show how much excessive force is being applied with them
I get it lol. Drives@@rayzerot
I'm a noob with a black and decker drill trying to do small projects around the house and this was wayyyy more informative than I expected it to be. Bonus points for being easy to understand. Good stuff.
Quit lying, this video was dumb.
I'm really sorry, but you don't seem to be very smart.
To be honest, it's embarrassing when you have a device like this at home and don't understand what it does.
Please take care of yourself, such devices can theoretically cause serious injuries if you don't have the mental capacity and don't know what you're doing.
@@kasauerkrautimgulasch Bro what are you on about
@@kasauerkrautimgulasch um. Your comment is uncalled for, and it brings nothing to the conversation. Hope your comment gets deleted.
@@kasauerkrautimgulasch
It is clear the tester is not an engineer and thus all he will ever produce is subjective results which are meaningless.
Ditto a lot of posters are equally clueless.
Who buys DeWalt in the first place?
It's all very well being "American" about the tool but there are better tools available, notably from Europe.
We should not forget the "incompetent workman blaming his tool".
Professional tradesmen simply adapt to what tool is available. I know I did.
It's the hamfisted wannabe amateurs that concern themselves with power.
They just don't have the finesse to use such powerful tools in the home environment.
I ascribe some of the blame to caring wives who haven't twigged their husband is a very amateur clueless oaf and believes their nearest and dearest is another Norm Abrams or Tommy de Silva and thus buys them tools on the advice of some wily shopkeeper who simply wants to see a profit.
I suspect too that these tyros don't trouble too much with reading the "destructions" either.
Probably such stuff is best left to the "professionals" ... although that can be a lottery in itself.
For me, even more important using the clutch is driving bolts. The right clutch setting prevents the bolt head being snapped off, preventing the 5 minute job ballooning into a 5 hour job.
Also, when driving bolts without the clutch (drill setting) you risk injuring your wrist when the torque counter rotation suddenly hits your hand once the bolt is fully seated.
Great points. That clutch is a bolt saver and a wrist saver at the same time.
@@LRN2DIY So why did I buy a drill with clutch AND a separate driver then? Power-tool newby here.
@@rswow That's a totally valid question. Check out my video on Drill vs Driver. The torque on an impact driver is typically way higher than a drill because of the rotational impact. They're unmatched for driving bolts, lag screws and screws in general and they use less battery in the process. They're also smaller, lighter and they help avoid kickback. A drill with the clutch engaged, on the other hand, can be used for any delicate work (smaller screws) and for a lot of bigger jobs (bolts, lag screws) so long as they don't require a high torque situation. The clutch will automatically limit the torque of your drill's output but could save your wrist. If you need more torque than the highest clutch setting, that's where the impact driver is king. I have a little Milwaukee M12 Fuel Surge Driver (hydraulic impact driver) and I use it for all kinds of things but it's not as sensitive as a drill with a clutch. I hope that help.
That last one is why I never tighten or untighten bolts with a drill, I use an impact hammer or a simple wrench. Hurt my wrist (just stayed home for a day) when undoing a bolt. Bolt didn't want to move, but the drill did, and smashed my wrist right into the concrete
Try using an impact driver, there is far less kickback, much easier on the hands.
I’m 70 y/o, have arthritis in my hands and wrists and Thank You SO Much for this information. I’m having to learn many of my now disabled husband’s skills in order to do repairs around our old house. Never knew I could adjust the torque to the requirements of whatever I’m working on. This was a blessing, sir!
Wow!! I'm a 47-year-old man that has been using tools all my life. I've built tons of stuff, and I've never once questioned that clutch. I mean, I have felt it slip before, and I had the idea that it was a clutch of some kind, but I didn't understand what the purpose was. I always just put it on the drill setting and modulate the depth with triggered pressure and timing.
Thank you so much, live and learn.
🤣
Here is a 44-year old who had less clue then :)
Same. I have a dewalt corded drill and all the numbers basically behaved the same. So yep, just modulate the trigger :)
Very good for the newby to get a quick-start on using a drill.
As a professional, having a whole host of drills, and varying over the years, clutches will vary from MFG to MFG, and then add in usage.
Density of woods, age, and a host of other things add to the variance involved.
Age and usage of the drill are definitely a factor. Simple situation. My favorite Bosch Impact and regular drill for cabinet installation, the drill finally gave-it-up, the new replacement was a WOW-Factor - quick learning curve.
Last quick note. the hardware you are driving, I.E. type and make of the screw and pilots has a large factor in the overall success.
As an over-review of this video, ... this guy is on his game. He's quick, to the point, doesn't drag out the obvious with idol chatter.
As a professional woodworker (Certified KCMA - Old School) This guy is worth the listen, I may be looking for other videos.
Keep hitting it guy !
GB
"clutches will vary from MFG to MFG" - doesn't vary then?
*idle
As a relative novice, I appreciate your professional opinion!
There are so many people online (& especially on UA-cam) offering advice that ranges from poor through unhelpful & all the way up to concerningly wrong & actively dangerous, making it difficult just to *find* the genuinely useful information, let alone to accurately identify it as such.
Comments like yours really do make a big difference. I'm more confident that I can trust this resource (& likely the other videos they've posted too, as you point out yourself). You also mention that it's probably going to be helpful for someone around my level of skill & knowledge, which makes me feel more comfortable & less intimidated. Considering that I'm in a position where I'm having to learn about a powertool from a UA-cam video, that's of considerable value too.
Thanks for the help. I hope someone does you a similar kindness sometime soon :)
On the Festool drill you're on the high torque mode. Slows the RPM down and ups the torque. Swap the settings and then use the clutch. My electronic clutch on my T15+ is phenomenal.
He clearly did not know how to use the festool. 😂
When I first learned to use the proper power setting, it blew my mind (in a good way). Instead of tapping the trigger on the impact, setting the ideal power setting on my driver gave me a perfect screw depth every time. Sooo much more reliable. Now all that's left is avoiding getting "screwed" if I ever buy into a brand for 18V handheld tools. *woodwork/electrical
Haha, right on! Yeah, knowing your tools makes all the difference for sure.
Even if you buy into a brand, there are plenty of adapters out there - They're all the same batteries internally whether they're marketed as 18v or 20v, so you can put a Dewalt Battery on a Milwaukee/Makita/Flex or vice versa with no issues. The only caveat is to *never* charge a battery except on it's matched charger.
@@SamuraiJeff ya you got that right. dewalts 20v is actually 18 and the 60v is 54
10:41 I am amazed how you actually manage to set the drills up in a way that makes it look like more like images inserted than actual tools
so true
I thought the same.
I've been using my Dewalt drill and driver for close to 10 years now, and I really like them. However, this explains why I've been using hand drivers for simple home repair. Thanks for the info!
I feel that, my DeWalt drill makes me feel like I'm a total hack with its tendency to mangle stuff
I have become a Torx fanatic because of Dewalt. Battling a Phillips requires a screwdriver. 😂 Now I know why.
I am so happy that you have put this together. I had absolutely no clue what I would want to set the “turning thing to”. I didn’t even know that I would not want to use the full power of the drill. I previously just would use the trigger button and as I got closer to the final spot on the screw and run the drill short amounts of time until the screw was where I wanted it to be. Thanks
I'm so glad it was helpful! And thanks for taking the time to comment and share too!
Reading the instruction manual that comes with your power tools is also a great place to learn!
@@erictjones If you want to learn about the absurdities of manufacturer liability (the bulk of the manual is just legal disclaimers of no value whatsoever)
@@erictjones many people using drills borrowed from other people and nobody keeps the instruction manual
Of course!@@FusRoDarshinae
Finally, someone who showed how clutches work. The thing I learned is that the lowest # is the "softest" pressure and the highest # is the most powerful. So, I can see how each drill, is different and one cannot rely on a specific # to be the same as the same # on another drill. Good to know.
I use the clutch all the time on a drill! I've been repairing electronics for 10 years now, and there's an awful lot of things I take apart and put back together where having a power drill just makes sense. Not for the torque, but for the sheer number of screws. A PS5 has like 30 something little torx screws, and doing them by hand even with a ratcheting screwdriver always takes ages.
I had never used power tools until I started looking into a drill for my line of work, and I quickly became familiar with the clutch collar. A correct setting ensures the bit will cam out when the screw has been adequately torqued.
I have a DeWALT DCD996, and I love it. I have found that lower drill speed results in higher torque, even with the clutch settings. Therefore, on drill speed 3, setting 1, the clutch barely drives a screw at all. On drill speed 1, the clutch is much more aggressive. I notice that you have the DeWALT on drill speed 1, making for much more aggressive torque.
Perfect, i figured out it with my DeWalt. Just few people know that.
Panasonic drills actually list the clutch steps in Nm. The standard 18v drill says: approx. 0.5 - 4.4 Nm (18 stages). I really like the low power torque for fine work, use Bosch for everything else.
Excellent video. This is why I use a gyroscopic screwdriver for driving screws instead of drill with a clutch. I find the clutch on the DeWalt gyroscopic screwdriver to apply much less torque at lower settings which allows greater control. And with anything you're assembling from furniture to plumbing, you don't want to overtorque.
He was also using it on low 1 instead of high 1, rookie mistake
Never really use my clutch (except in my car) but my Q is, does it wear out the components since they separate and essentially slip. Great videos. Finally found you after all these years. Keep it up I think it’s important to learn and use things correctly instead of just buying more and more stuff like other utubers lean towards.
I agree with you, keep making that clutch rattle it,ll eventually give up altogether, imo if you feather the switch when screwdriving the drill will live longer
Great job. I've had a DeWalt electric drill for a bit more than a year. Confession: I've never taken time to examine this important feature. Your demo and explanations were excellent. I passed this on to my brother. I'm glad I met ya. I'll be back.
I've been using drills since the days of huge NiCad batteries and man have clutches improved! Great summary as I've never tried disassembling one to figure out how it works. Thanks!!!
Thanks so much! And thanks for watching too.
I'm one of those people who only look at the instructions as a last resort, or never at all. :) Your video about those settings was very informative and so I thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience.
I'm with you, Jerry. I just try to figure things out but I often find that I'm missing out on some cool features until someone shows them to me :) Thanks for watching.
The amount of nuance and features you have missed out on in life is astounding. Thats like passing up free money; literally dozens of features or parameters of specifications you never even knew about just going to waste or being violated...and you're proud? You've had a full lifetime to do better and you chose to not.
Jem I like your attitude 👍🏻
I've never read a drill manual and I still knew what that was for.
Ditto
The difference is not just in the chuck of the drill but also the resistance of the substrate. Especially when you drill into wood, the density and resistance is not going to be consistent within the same piece. Less of an issue with metals, plastics, composites...
You're absolutely right. You can't ever count on two areas in a wooden board to have the same density, so this is an imperfect test. Hopefully it still gets the point across though.
Just commented on how he should’ve done multiple screws per clutch setting
@@michaelwoish5962 Todd at Project farm would. ;) infact Im sure he did a cordless drill comparison vid.
Yep.. Just like I said when he first started putting in the screws and the knot of the wood was there.. lol.
@@LRN2DIY Ah, the gum veins in spotted gum...
Wish this video had come out earlier. A year ago I stripped multiple screws because of incorrect drill settings when attempting to install dimmer switches around the house. It was so bad that I could not remove the bad screws even with specialized tool kits. What finally worked for me was drilling thru the screw up to 1/4th of its height with a 1/8" drill bit and then reversing the drilling direction, which caused the drill bit to unscrew the damaged screw. Spent hours doing it.
While I’ve utilized torque settings on my drills, actually how precise it can be blew my mind. Bosch impact drivers have a ratcheting system so fasteners never get overtightened. Where it matters I always drill a countersink hole with a bit, we all know thats cleaner. In the theater we always just used the driver bit to start that off. Always good to pick up helpful hint, thanks for the video!!!
very helpful, tend to use my Impact Driver for everything because it is smaller, lighter and more comfortable but yeah sometimes you need to break out the Big Guns for certain jobs
Agreed all around. I love my M12 Surge but it's not always the ideal fit.
Way back before impact drivers were around, I used drills to drive screws. I did that for years. When I first saw an impact driver at work, I was sold and went out and bought one right away. I have rarely used a drill to drive screws since. I do have a 10 volt Makita impact driver for smaller screws and some 18 volt ones for bigger screws, lag screws and bolts. I drive a lot of screws but I never use a drill. That's just me.
What you use depends on the work you do. Impacts are good for most general labor but a drill is good to have in case those few cases where impacts can't cut it
@@jacobfreeman5444 I have never had any instance in an industrial work setting, where a M18 Fuel Impact Driver couldn't handle it.
What a great straight forward video. No flashy distracting graphics, silly over-the-top humor, or padding for the time algorithm. Clean presentation and useful information. Thank you. Subscribed.
Hear, hear !
yeah because helpful graphics and comedic relief are notoriously horrible
@@connorcolumbia5398 Thank you for providing comedy relief. But you prove your own point
He only has the DeWalt he used first with the conveniently faulty clutch and then uses his flex with the plug in for Amazon. Just an informercial
And no showing expensive tools.... just tools that work
Long time handiperson, but fairly clueless on drill settings (and I know it). I really appreciate the overview information and I did learn a lot. However, I now realize I could still use a more basic lesson. My drill, an old Ryobi, has a 1 - 2 setting, plus 24 more settings, which I now know are clutch settings, on the collar. I never really understood what each setting is for, though I at least now have an idea of how to test them and figure it out. I’m going to go looking for a how to use your drill for the complete newbie. I always try to do CLA and/or repair when something breaks and I have been having trouble tightening and loosening the clutch. So I’ll also be looking for info on how to maintain my drill. Thanks for the information!
Excellent video, l am a home DYI guy, recently got a second drill with hammer feature, and l learnt a lot from your video.
‘Ikea’ self assembled type furniture. Set the chuck to 1 then tighten with a screw driver. Makes putting everything together go so much quicker
I had some "ikea" style dressers and just modulating the trigger was enough and fast enough for me. Full send until the moment before it went into the wood-stuff, then back off and slow it down. Just snug it. If I was mass producing, I wouldn't want to have to manipulate the device like that all the time.
now I can put it together backwards even faster thx
I use a Festool CXS for Ikea cabinets, the clutch is gentle and it's great. I usually get the tightness just right around 6 for most screws and up to 9 for big ones. Also, Ikea uses Posidrive. Do yourself a service and get some PZ2 bits, life changer. 😊
@@BenjaminCronce
I used to modulate the trigger as well, but I had to put a bunch of donated furniture together for a fund raiser, and setting the clutch was definitely the better choice. Even with the clutch at ‘1’ on my hyper tough drill, which ratchets for almost anything, I still had to modulate some screws. The wood in cheaper furniture just doesn’t want to grab screws sometimes.
Instead of making "1" setting, get a better drill. I assembled the whole flat with Ikea furniture with a relative cheap Lux-tool drill. It had very sensitive clutch, and it was able to turn any type of screws with exactly needed force. No screwdriver after!
I have three DeWalt 20 volt drill drivers. None of them do that at the lightest setting. Did you have the top speed adjustment on 1 or 2?
Yeah, seems like he might have a defective unit.
@@larrybud No, he had it in gear 1 if you put it in gear 3 it will stop at a lower torque
@@dmoqppsoysc "1" is lightest torque. "15" (or whatever this drill's highest setting is) is the most torque (outside of the "drill" setting).
@@larrybud no, i was refering about the top speed setting it affects the torque ouput on the clutch, so 1 in the clutch and 3 in the top( faster rpms) is the lowest torque so you dont strip the fasteners
@@dmoqppsoysc Interesting I always found the slower RPM / speed setting tends to sit the screw head a little higher, If I drive it hard and fast on 2 it'll sink deeper down before the clutch slips at a given torque setting. I'm only talking a half or even quarter rotation of the fixing in the difference but I've noticed it on literally thousands of screws that I've put in on both my combi drills.
Weird about that Dewalt. I’ve gone through a couple over the years and the clutch set to 1 was never like that. I’ve used them to install cabinet hardware without issue.
Some folks have mentioned that the battery type and the gear you use both play a big part so I’ll have to experiment with this.
I’m terribly disappointed with my Dewalt cordless drill. Exactly as you said, clutch 1 will totally drive a screw too far or totally strip a Philips head screw before disengaging. As much as i want to like this drill, it’s just too aggressive. I’ve even sprained my wrist with a medium clutch setting driving lag bolts. Zero finesse!
I love my Dewalt drill but I usually only use it when I drilling into hard woods or if I need the battery to last for quite a while. I have a black and decker drill that I use for small projects, soft wood and something I’m not worried about the battery dying in middle of.
@@stefanbuscaylet… visit a Home Depot or Lowe’s or high hardware and try the 12v models. If you’re home updating the interior, they have plenty of power. I own Milwaukee, dewalt and metabo. For decks and framing, I’ll step up to 18v Ridgid since they are life time warranty and I have eight 4amp batteries.
Weird, mine on setting 1 will drive only a small screw with predrilled hole flush, just tight enough
Anytime I'm working with small screws on delicate projects, I bring the clutch down to like 1-2, and drive in the first screw carefully. If it's not strong enough the screw won't drive in. Adjust it up 1 level at a time until it drives the screw as intended.
I typically use the clutch for taping out holes machine thread screws. The smaller taps like 6/32, 8/32 and 10/32 will snap with little torque. I also use it with my unibit and other metal drilling bits to keep it from kicking too hard when it gets caught.
At 10:33: the DeWalt goes to 11. Awesome! Nigel would be proud!
haha...Spinal TAP reference. love it!
No, don't touch it. Don't even look at it.
Dewalt is top tier
Most overplayed joke ever.
@@MondoMiami and it never gets old.
Thank you for sacrificing that drill for that super cool cutaway. That was really interesting!
It was fun to do - I have done cutaways for hammer drills and impact drivers but had never seen a clutch in action so I found it interesting too!
@@LRN2DIY I hope it was on SALE at Harbor Freight 🤣👍
@@macforme Ha! Isn't everything always on sale at HF?
It wasn't a sacrifice, it was an investment. 5.5M views buys a lot more than a drill.
Thank you! I finally have a better understanding of how my drill is supposed to work. I appreciate this so much.
So glad to hear it! You’re very welcome.
This is interesting. I've got "only" a Black+Decker cordless drill that I bought maybe a year ago. It replaced a corded drill that I had from my dad that was maybe a SEARS brand or something? I clicked on this video because I recognized this as a feature on my drill as well, but I've never messed with it. I only change from drill bit, to countersink, to driver for the screw. I don't use it for any professional stuff, just use at home from time to time, but also whenever I'm building on stuff for a model railroad layout, so I've been drilling and driving quite a bit more in the last couple weeks just getting in to a new house.
Thanks for sharing!
I'm actually just reading about the one that I bought and it apparently has a "24-position clutch." It's a 20V Max Powerconnect.
Funny that I just found you. And it was not long ago that you hit that 1 million. Congratulations.
I never understood the clutch.
Hate to say it that I use my impact driver for almost everything ,except drilling hole .
This is probably the best video I've ever seen to help understand how to properly use a power drill!
I have the Milwaukee Fuel cordless set, and it's a dream. I am a timberframer in Brazil (I am a Canadian that is moving down here), and I can sink a 1" auger bit into any species of wood here, including camara and massaranduba, which are both almost twice as dense as oak. I just put the drill into "drill" setting (who knew? haha) and click back to the #1 setting, slowing down the rotation, and it just melts through it.
Ferramentas à parte, espero que esteja apreciando sua estadia em nosso país, muito embora aqui não tenha maple syrup.
I'm far from a #hailcorporate guy, but Milwaukee is a brand I am passionate about and I'm not even a professional, just an amateur car enthusiast and occasional home DIYer. Their products blow everything else out of the water, to the point where I took the time to sell my initial dewalt tools on Facebook and reinvested that money into Milwaukee equivalents. They have 100% earned my business for life
Subscribed as a mother of 5 who love's diys. I have been a drill owner for 8 years now as it is the only tool (besides a hammer and screwdriver) that I own and know about, well at least I thought I did. If I have not found your channel there is no way that I would have known that I have been using my drill the wrong way. Wish I could go back and recreate my diys the correct way using the correct mode and clutch setting. Thank you for your well explained videos so glad I found your channel. I will continue to follow, watch, and learn as I buy new tools or maybe even win some 😊
Throw away your screwdriver and hammer, and use your drill to drive screws and hit anything with it. All men know that any tool is as good as a hammer...😂😂😂. Greetings.
Now go watch Hexman
I have DeWalt drills. I don't use the clutch because as you saw it does not do much of anything unless you are also switched into 2 or 3 speed setting. (drive just about everything with impact driver) I do have a Milwaukee drill and driver set that I have not really ever used. I should try them out see if the drill clutch is any better. Thank you for this video.
incredible video, i maintain commercial equipment for work and the amount of people that just use the strongest setting for even 1/4" machinery screws blows my mind. Doing the lords work
I'm a lady who likes tools. I learned how to use a lot of them when I worked in a theme park fabricating props and painting murals & graphics. I worked with a carpenter on several projects and we created some fantastic props. There is a sign shop connected to the scenic shop and they use screw guns very often to install signs around the park. The only brands I've ever seen there is the 18vDewalt and Makita.
I have a bunch of tools and two screw guns/drills. The stupid thing is, I never learned how to use the settings on them. For some reason, the carpenter and I never discussed it. I usually just use one setting which is really dumb I know.
I'm glad you made this video and I just discovered your channel this morning.
I don't work much with my tools any more but when I need to I need to use them properly like yesterday when I was installing two Fliplock door locks. Not as easy for me as the videos demonstrate.
I barely learned the difference between a drill and a driver a couple years ago...and the clutch thing I barely understood before. Gotta love these DIY videos
I found your channel about 2 weeks ago and I got to say I love it. I'm a tool guy myself so I love what you're doing. Keep up the great work!
Thank you so much! Can’t get enough power tool info!
@@LRN2DIY exactly. No matter how much you know, there's always something you can learn
@@BedjamRiveraI feel that way about everything. I’m such a nerd. I can’t help it, I just love learning. I barely watch regular TV or movies. I’m almost always more excited to tune in to this channel or some of the others I subscribe to, or listen to an audiobook. (I have a visual impairment, so I don’t read print as much as I used to). So, yeah, I definitely agree.
@@LRN2DIY You're right about what you said early on in the video. They don't tell you in the manuals what all the clutch settings mean. I have 3 power drills and none of the manuals tell you much.
However, all mine have two speeds (set via a slider at the top of the drill. Either 1 or 2). Do these speed settings have any bearing on the clutch?
@garyrumain9808 - I think they do. I haven't had a chance yet to test it properly but I'm hoping to do that shortly and I'll post what I find.
I have used my DeWalt (same model as the one you used here), but I noticed the clutch settings act upon the fasteners differently depending on the battery I'm using. If I use a Flex-Volt battery, I get similar 'over-driven' results as you did. So I tried the other batt's and sure enough, the clutch acted like the other driver/drills I have. Then I used the normal (not Flex-Volt) when it was getting drained from level 2 to level 1 charge status, and that produced less force so it sunk the screws less than a fully charged battery. I believe the clutch settings are arbitrary for the same reason, too many outside forces are possible to determine one number = one, consistant result. Don't get me started about the status of the driver tip, or quality and hardness of the fastener!
The other factor I've learn over the years is material deviations, even in the same piece. That Douglas Fir you were driving into...as soon as you get within an inch of the knots, the wood becomes much more dense, and the screws will not go in nearly as far given the same setting. Even when driving into the darker lines where there are no knots, the slow-growth lines are much more dense... I'm pretty sure most people have figured that out, but I teach woodworking and like to show the younger students things which will make their experiences more fulfilling, their projects turn out more satisfying.
Personally, I use the Milwaulkee hydraulic driver most of the time to drive fasteners because I twist the heads off screws using anything else. I forget the official name of it, but I know it works far more effeciently because the impact upon the fastener is not as harsh, yet it drives with sufficient force.
Thanks for the presentation. I realize not ever little aspect of a subject can be included.
Great points here. The Milwaukee Surge driver is the one you’re referring to and it’s my go-to tool as well. Easily my favorite driver to use. I love the battery insights here as well. I’ll have to do some experimenting with those DeWalts to see how that plays out. Thanks for watching and commenting!
I noticed this battery effect after buying a dewalt 20 volt impact / driver.
While I do do some around the house 'large' scale DIY stuff on occasion, the vast majority of my DIY time is spent on small / medium scale projects like props and tech toys, so I ended up also buying a 12volt dewalt drill too just so I could have a 'delicate/precision' general use drill for smaller scale tasks that don't call for the 20volt drivers' "I-will-drive-this-or-die-trying" energy.
Comes in really hand with so much inexpensive pre-fab cabinets and shelving available. I've gotten really good at dropping it to a 1 on the first screw, to ensure I don't just totally bore out the screw holes. Once dialed in, makes assembly so much easier.
Great breakdown. I've owned a home for about 14 years or so and I kind of figured about the numbers/clutch settings. Keep up the good work!
Great information, so many things popping up and covering the information being demonstrated.
Sometimes, you don't even know that you don't know until, a video like this pops up. Nowadays, the text in manuals is so tiny, poorly written and off-putting that I just assumed the numbers indicated power. Thank you for drilling into us such simple, yet overlooked, important aspects about drills!
A point that I would like to bring up with drills with mechanical clutches is if you are having trouble getting a drill bit to stay tight in the chuck try setting the clutch to a light setting then tighten the drill bit in the chuck by hand then hold the chuck with one hand and run the drill while holding the chuck and let the clutch slip and click, this put an intermittent force on the chuck that helps tighten the the drill bit in the cluck.
you know to tighten the check you just twist it right? no pulling of the trigger involved.
@@dirtrider88 Yes I know that is how it is suppose to work. But for some people they can't tighten by hand and the ratcheting of the clutch tightens the chuck more.
It's definitely time to "pull that trigger" and get that DeWalt cordless drill (this Christmas) I've been putting off for years now. Right now I have an old Craftsman (20+ years old) that still works fine, but it's bulky, corded, with a keyed chuck that sometimes doesn't grab on the teeth well, and has no clutch for torque settings.
I'm a weekend DIYer and I have noticed the different clutch settings on my Milwaukee cordless drill. Hate to admit this but it wasn't until this video, I knew what the heck those numbers on the dial were. Thank you!
1:33 I've always wanted to do that! Thanks for doing it for us.
My pleasure. It was fun to see the different settings.
I've noticed that drills with an electronic clutch, the 1 setting is still way too strong still. But with a physical clutch it works much better with delicate work. The advantage of the electronic clutch is the tool is shorter
They can be shorter and not having the grinding clutch sound is nice too. I just wish they were more sensitive.
On modern drills the power settings are for different torque applications. I haven't seem a drill im years where 1 isnt the strongest setting. This makes sense. Low speed = high torque
For the purposes of this test, you would have seen better results using a higher "power setting"
Staying on 1 ensured you had maximum torque.
Low setting = drilling holes
High setting = driving fasteners
The only exception to this rule is when they put a dedicated "low" mode for electronics or plastic.
You understand the clutch, but not the power settings. Ever driven a stick shift? What gear do you use to go up a hill or gain more torque?
Real men have trigger discipline and dont need no clutch
I bought a drill with a clutch to protect myself. A couple years ago, I was using a regular drill with a large auger bit to make holes for planting tulip bulbs. I hit a root that stuck the bit and thought if I tried a little harder I could get through it. Unfortunately, I underestimated the size of the root and suddenly the drill kicked back and my hand spun around instead, broke a bone in my right hand and wrenched the tendons in my hand and wrist. Wore a cast and splint for weeks, went through a long time getting my strength and flexibility back but I still have fingers that won’t straighten out all the way anymore. For a while, I was afraid to drill again but I’ve done some simple drilling since. A clutch system that will prevent the same accident from happening again will be very reassuring for me.
I will also use the clutch when drilling thick steel, particularly if the hole is angled, the clutch just helps not to snap drill bits if you wander off straight and also the "grab" you get when you get to the bottom of the hole. Especially for bigger say 6mm plus.
Work on normalizing your audio levels. Sometimes you're yelling, other times you're whispering.
Agreed, look into audio compression.
I watched adds to upvote this
Nope..
i can hear him speak just fine, and my wife says I'm deaf! 😅😂🤣
UA-cam comments… 🙄
Now this guy was born a Dad.
It would be interesting to see how the different battery sizes impact the clutch depths on the drills in hard and soft wood.
Absolutely. I need to try that out, as well as using different gears.
I like to run my clutch at around 6-9 when putting together furniture to prevent stripping or over tightening. I use a 3-4 when putting in drywall anchors to make sure it tightens to the wall but not stripout.
Very informative video. I have 2 Dewalt drills, the clutch doesn't work effectively in 1st gear. The clutch works well in 2nd gear which is counter intuative.
2:35 what was for dinner?
1:04 he did the thing 👀
He did 😂
Screwing together cabinet boxes for years without a clutch. You need feel, not a clutch, to avoid over penetrating.
100% I was thinking the same thing!
just found your channel and glad I did... my DeWalt drivers are always on high torque and my fasteners always go in kinda deep. I never thought of going to a lower number now I'll drop down a notch or two when I'm building stuff. TANX
An excellent video. Some of the differences are the power of the drill. Your heavy duty (industrial) sometimes has too much power; for delicate work some of the home-use drills are weaker, thus more delicate. That's important when doing work such as assembling metal buildings. Your note about the impact driver is a good one, too. Those can be useful when working with pressure treated and/or old wood, while the drill worked better attaching sheet rock to 40 yo wood studs.
So am I to understand that DeWalt's clutch is useless?
Keep in mind that the model he used is a hammer drill and is going to have more torque than a standard drill. I use a regular DeWalt drill and have not had that problem.
@@jamesgraybeal9572 So am I to understand that DeWalt's hammer drill clutch is useless?
No, its not useless. There is another switch on top of the drill, for high and low, has an effect on torque and the clutch. I have a 20v dewalt hammer drill and it works just fine for small home projects. Usually around 5-7 on mine for driving screws into predrilled drywall and studs or those oh so lovely plastic anchors.
@@spud69g So it doesn't hammer everything deep into wood on the low setting, like he showed in the video?
Also, how does 'small home projects' factor into it?
@@imacmill when set properly it will not do what was shown.
In small home projects where materials are generally softer, use of as much power and torque is not needed vs industrial where harder and thicker materials are usually used.
audio volume fluctuates high and low like a sine wave . . . . . it's a secret code! Someone decode it!
Your finger is your clutch/safety. 🙂
And thats why you aren't paid to do this kind of work 😊
Lol and workers comp is your BFF.
This guy is a 2a proponent.
Let’s see how your fingers go after a couple hundred screws at a time
Unless you’re old, like me, and have arthritis in your hands and wrists.
My Milwaukee tools are my favorites. My Milwaukee driver is VERY adjustable and the clutch isn't like the non-clutch DeWalt you demonstrated.
The engagement and disengagement of mechanical clutches was taught to me best when I learned how child-safety caps on medicine bottles prevented actuation without a certain amount of down-pressure.
What separates that from these drills is that, while a medicine cap's static friction is practically constant and the down-pressure you apply is variable, the down-pressures given by the settings on a drill's clutch are constant, and it's the torque demanded by the fastener or bit that varies, so the drill actuates until it reaches the point at which the torque necessary exceeds what the down-pressure is capable of overcoming, where it then slips. Very cool, Kanye.
Friend, congratulations on your channel, it's really great. But allow me to add some knowledge. You are using the Dewalt DCD996 wrongly. At torque level 1 and speed 1, it is very strong as you showed, but if you put torque level 1 and speed level 3, you will see that it will have even more torque options than flex or any other. I explain and show this in detail in my video 18 SPEEDS! THE STRONGEST 18V DEWALT DCD996 IMPACT SCREWDRIVER/DRILL SOLD IN BRAZIL
ua-cam.com/video/y_l1wX6B1rY/v-deo.html Many people don't know that this Dewalt multiplies torques along with 3 speeds. Hope this helps. Best Regards
You chanel is really interersting, even to show some models that is not available in Brazil. Please, check the above information.
Amigo, parabéns pelo seu canal é realmente ótimo. Porém me permita agregar um conhecimento. Você está usando a Dewalt DCD996 de forma equivocada. Eno nível 1 de torque e na velocidade 1, ela é bem forte como você mostrou, mas se colocar nível 1 de torque e nível 3 de velocidade, verá que ela ficará com ainda mais opções de torque do que a flex ou qualquer outra. Explico e mostro isso em detalhes no meu vídeo 18 VELOCIDADES! A MAIS FORTE PARAFUSADEIRA/FURADEIRA DE IMPACTO 18V DEWALT DCD996 VENDIDA NO BRASIL
ua-cam.com/video/y_l1wX6B1rY/v-deo.html Muitas pessoas não sabem que essa Dewalt multiplica os torques juntamente com as 3 velocidades. Espero ter ajudado. Abraços do Brasil 🇧🇷😃🎬
Realmente, o amigo Fernando tem razão. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
3:11 you asked for like/sub on your previous video goober.
I’ve always feathered my trigger at different intervals. But it’s definitely good to finally know this! Thanks
I use the clutch when tapping holes in steel. It really helps prevent snapping the hardened taps in the smaller sizes below 1/4-20.
So it's torque setting. This could have been a 4 second video. I wanted to know because I never understood what it was but I guess it was important for me to watch a 14 minute video to get this simple answer: it's a torque setting.
Google next time
11:36 ewww get this thing away
Worst resume ever
i've always used the clutch. this seems like information for beginners but then looking at the comments... glad you made this video!
Glad to help you try to hit 1 million! I've been buying more power tools and with more DIY at home needed. My dad knows a ton and has helped me a lot but he doesn't communicate everything as quickly and effectively as you do.
Thank you!
Great video! I’ll definitely be using these tips.
Just an FYI, your audio issues seem to be being caused by “auto leveling” from whatever you’re using to record the audio. Basically the mix is always trying to keep things in a certain range and will either amplify or quiet down on its own. I’d recommend a zoom H1 and a lav mic, set the levels manually and you’ll get consistent audio levels.
i use the clutch with drill bits. smaller bits are lighter clutch setting. if the bit locks just as it punches through a piece of metal the odds of breaking the bit are a lot lower. as the bits get larger breaking a bit goes down. but if your using a big drill with a lot of torque that doesn't stop quick when you release the trigger, if the bit locks up it can twist the drill out of your hand. since i started using the clutch for drilling, i've not broken a single bit.
I notice your example of delicate work was done with a Makita. Love that
Thank you. I just learned what these numbers mean on a power drill, what their function is, and how to use them correctly.
My new Ryobi ONE+ doesn't have a clutch. I didn't realize that until after I bought it to replace my Harbor Freight Warrior like the one in the video. It still works but it sounds like the motor is dying, or something is about to break. As long as both drils work, I can use the new one to drill holes and the old one to drive screws, but when the old one dies, driving screws with the new one will be risky.
I've had my Makita now for nearly 4 years and had no idea until watching this video. Solid explanation.
Very helpful!
How is the function of the trigger that the harder you presses it the faster the drills goes called?, sensitive trigger?
first video i watch from you, and happy to see you hit the 1m, i reached the age of my life where i am trying to gather useful info on being more handy and understanding tools, that we usually use 5% of what they can actually offer
thanks a lot!
Dude. Thanks for this particular video.
I just now stumbled upon your channel because of this topic. I love having this knowledge now. I subbed to help your cause even though I see you’re over 1 million. Well done. I’ll be watching more now that I know about you.
Just found your account - needed to know what the difference between a drill and impact driver was (diff video) - subbed right away! I’m getting into diy projects and furniture repair, so I’m really happy to have found such a great resource!
I found the 20v DeWalt to be the lightest clutch of all that I tried. Easy to stop with bare hands on #1 setting.
Bosch, Stanley, B&D, Makita all were much harder. Some would damage the wood on #1.
I enjoyed your video. I have watched a few videos over the years in testing various tools, and not one ever talks about RIDGID power tools. With there lifetime warranty it does not make since not to buy one. That warranty is on tool and battery.
This guy is definitely a spokesman for flex tools. I own a Dewalt drill with a variable clutch a had to turn it to 5 before it would drive the screw all the way down then slipping.
HI, you've helped me so much in learning about tools down here in the Caribbean.
Can't believe how you kept me engaged with such a simple thing I already knew...Subscribed because of t-shirt :) Keep 'em coming.
Well one old man has just learnt something at 75 years of age, i have never understood what the settings mean but after your showing off the screws being screwed down i now have some ideas; great explanations i have now subscribed you never know one old dog can still learn when i thought i new it all lol.