DecisionalReview.info

True variable speed

Makita has two 14.4 impact drivers on the market. The older one is the 6932 and the newer the 6935. While both are priced about the same, the older is widely promoted packaged with a drill/driver unit. I chose to forgo the allure of a free drill/driver unit and bought the newer 6935 model. While both units are described as “variable speed”, the newer was advetised by Makita to have “true variable speed”. I took the addition of “true” to mean that torque would remain constant even when rotational speed was reduced. The quick and easy way to acheive variable speed is to reduce speed by modulating power. The draw back is that reducing power also reduces torque, to maintain full torque high speed is necessary.

The 6935 has meet my expectations. With the 6935, when driving a long screw, you can start fast and as the surface of the wood is approached, slow the speed and have the constant torque to continue driving the screw to the desired level. Of course, the deeper the screw goes, the more torque is demanded. and for shorter screws, the declining torque provided by an “untrue” variable speed driver will still get the job done. With longer screws, more demanding operations the need for full torque comes into play.

I think I made the right choice and passed on the free drill/driver that comes with the older model. The with the 6935 there is virtually no need for a drill/driver unit. The 6935 is far superior as a driver whether driving screws, nuts, or spade bit. And as a drill it has greater rotational speed than the drill unit. For me its better to carry one tool rather than two.

To complete the comparison, the 6935 has more the 10% greater speed and torque than the 6932, or for that matter other 1/4″ impact drivers on the market.

As much as I like the 6935, and think it was the best choice at the time of purchase a few months ago. If I where to be in the market today and knowing what I know now, I would be hard pressed not to go for the new Panasonic 12 volt which permits the choice of three different torque levels. While the 6935 permits good fingertip control, it requires close attention and a mistake can be a broken screw or an over driven screw. It would be helpful to choose a maximum torque.

Update (2/6/2012): I also found some auctions for this item here.

The featured review for this product, Makita 6935FDWDE 14.4-Volt NiMH Cordless Impact Driver Tools & Hardware, was written by James Oitzinger.

The average rating for this item is 4.7 out of 5 stars, according to 3 reviews.