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I'm making a slat board fence with old weathered wood and 2x4s.

My new cordless drill has 2 battery packs. I bought an impact driver for concrete but never used one before.

Can I use my impact driver for screws and my drill for drilling? or vice versa?

The drill has variable torque and variable speed. I'm using drywall screws on this wood. I'm tired of switching my drill from drilling to screwing and back, so I want to use two tools, one for drilling and one for screwing, to work continuously until my project is finished. I have hex bits for both drilling and screwing.

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    What kind of "impact driver for concrete" do you have? Please edit your post to give us the specific brand and model #, as there are several different types. Some may be able to be used in the way you want to, other definitely will not be able to.
    – FreeMan
    Nov 22, 2020 at 23:40
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    Get those glorious coated self-tapping deck screws and just use one drill. Drywall screws will corrode, don't use them.
    – whatsisname
    Nov 23, 2020 at 0:33
  • it's from Harbor Freight, "Chicago" brand, corded, w/ 3 settings-- for hammer, hammer plus torque, and torque only,for screws.. NEW PROBLEM! upon unpacking it: the chuck is quick release, but won't hold ANY of my bits, hex base philips heads, nor hex base extenders, nor hex base drill bits!!!!!
    – Janet P Schwartz
    Nov 24, 2020 at 2:19

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I have seen people use the impact drill for screws, they tend to deform the screw heads so that you cannot remove the screws later. For drywall that's irrelevant, for assembling something with wood, it might be. But...

Drywall screws are not a good choice for wood anyway, the shafts are thinner and weaker, because for drywall, you don't need the screws to be any stronger than the paper on the drywall. It's a LOT easier to twist the heads off of drywall screws when installing them and for them to break off afterward.

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    Yeah, I use deck screws and I pre-drill the holes. "But I don't want to have to change bits twice for every screw" I don't drive screws with drills, I use a speed wrench with a bit holder. Just as fast as drilling and much more control, and hasn't run out of battery yet. Frees up the drill also.
    – Harper - Reinstate Monica
    Nov 23, 2020 at 4:27
  • SINCE THE IMPACT DRIVER CHUCK WOULDN'T GRIP ANY OF MY HEX BASE BITS, I USED THREE OTHER DRILLS I HAD, ONE TO DRIVE SCREWS, OTHER TO DRILL PILOT HOLES. WHY WONT THE IMPACT DRIVER 'QUICK RELEASE CHUCK' GRAB MY BITS OR PHILIPS HEX HEADS???
    – Janet P Schwartz
    Nov 24, 2020 at 2:26
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Some, but not all, impact drivers can also run in a non-impact mode. If it can do that, great. If it can't then don't try - you will ruin the screws and/or the wood.

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  • YES, THE IMPACT DRIVER HAS 3 SETTINGS--HAMMER ONLY, HAMMER WITH TORQUE, AND TORQUE ONLY.. BUT THE QUICK RELEASE CHUCK WOULDN'T GRAB ANY OF MY HEX-BASED DRILL BITS NOR PHILIPS BITS, NOR MY EXTENDERS....
    – Janet P Schwartz
    Nov 24, 2020 at 2:28
  • "Torque only" should do the trick. I'm surprised it wouldn't hold any of your bits or extenders. That is a bit unusual. Model #?
    – manassehkatz-Moving 2 Codidact
    Nov 24, 2020 at 2:29
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The 'impact driver' is for drilling holes in concrete more easily. It's not for screwing in screws! There may be a switch to turn off the impact action, in which case, voila! If not you can try by all means, but most screwheads will get damaged by its action.

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  • i used black drywall screwws, as well as coated, long deck screws. my coated drywall screws were too short. yes, the impact drive has a 'screw only' setting--NEW PROBLEM. THE CHUCK IS QUICK RELEASE BUT WILL NOT HOLD ANY OF MY HEX BASE DRILLS NOR PHILIPS BITS!!!!!
    – Janet P Schwartz
    Nov 24, 2020 at 2:23
  • @JanetPSchwartz - if it's SDS, there is an adapter - SDS-hex drive that does the job.
    – Tim
    Nov 24, 2020 at 9:05

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