Thoughts on cordless vs manual?

[Coxyzxr]

Hi there,

I touched on this in another thread but need some direct advice.

Things are going well in the workshop at my new job but finding time is wasted undoing A LOT of arbitrary bolts, fairings, airbox bolts, In fact balancing throttle bodies today, 75% of my time was getting off the bolts on the layers of fairing.

Do you feel there's merit in getting a decent adjustable torque (with slipper clutch) cordless screwdriver to quickly nip these bolts in and out with ease and nip them up by hand to avoid overtorque?

I get theres some fiddly bolts you can only do by hand, but just generally.

Does anyone do this in the professional environment on bikes? I don't want to rock up with cordless gadgetry at the new job and look like a dick.

They also do cordless ratchets now but a screwdriver seems more precise.

Opinions definitely welcome.
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**WAS FITTED "WRONG WAY ROUND" !** CANT ACCOUNT FOR THE STUPID !

[moonzoomer]

I tried using my cordless screwdriver and to be honest found it a lot more hassle than it was worth plus it did break/strip a few screws and smaller bolts, I do use a dewalt cordless impact gun for removing larger stubborn nuts which is a great help.

[stinkwheel]

I've seen people use air ratchets if they have a lot to do but in general, by the time you've got the thing out, it's not saved any time.

Periodically do them in lidl/aldi.

What's very useful are T-bar wrenches with a good heavy handle, you can spin them in and out.
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“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[Pete.]

A weighted t-bar is handy but nowadays I do a lot of work with my cordless drill. I put either a 1/4" extension or a cut-off 3/8" extension in it and use sockets or hex driver bits. Just crack the fastener with a bar then whizz them all out. Same for re-installing except I wind off the friction drive and also slow right down just before the fastener seats. It's not hard to gauge it to a fraction of a turn with some practice. At work we have a small makita battery drill which weighs much less than my DeWalt or Works ones at home and is a handy small size. If you're going to buy one for extended use I'd suggest looking at the small makita ones.
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a.k.a 'Geri'

132.9mph off and walked away. Gear is good, gear is good, gear is very very good

[The Artist]

The production guys at work all use cordless ratchets, drills, screwdrivers for assembly work. Probably to do with speed and repetitive stuff.

The development guys don't bother because unless everything is easy access, they end up not being used anyway.

If it genuinely helps then why not.

[davebike]

I use a cordless Driver a bit but not on fairing panels way to easy to crack one if not aligned you need the feel of a normal driver

Air ratchet is useful as is a palm 3/8" drive impact for engine strips

I use a t bar for assy don't use power it easy to break things !

Good rule of thumb is power to undo do up by hand

Dave
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Dave
NC750Xdct + others at work !
davebike1@gmail.com

[BTTD]

I used a cordless drill driver on a lot of bolts yesterday and it made a huge difference, but mine isn't all that light to be wielding around for hours on end.

[G]

Yes; I like a cordless drill for doing up and undoing longer fasteners before you get to the point where torque matters.

Of course, my usual trick is to spend five minutes looking for where I put it to save three minutes of time I could have done it manually .

For long engine case bolts, air box screws and so on it can save a good bit of time if doing it regularly.

And never had a problem with using power to do up - either set it to a low torque or just stop before it's tight .

[Hugh Farking Cant]

[Pete.]

[G]

Also, fairing bolts don't tend to be too long threads (often just a half turn) and further, ones that are 'normal' bolts often fasten directly to metal, with a rubber gromit holding the fairing in place, so no force is put on the fairing it's self.

[Hugh Farking Cant]

[Pete.]

That's fine, if you don't feel you have the dexterity to use a low-powered variable-speed portable tool then stick to Dave's method. Others can choose how they want to save their time.
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a.k.a 'Geri'

132.9mph off and walked away. Gear is good, gear is good, gear is very very good

[Hugh Farking Cant]

[G]

I just took it to be "Many blokes are complete idiots", which is certainly the truth .

[Hugh Farking Cant]

[Pete.]

[trisers]

+1 for a power tool

I use one all day long for my work albeit mostly a range of small bolts and self-tapping screws. My particular choice of weapon is a 12v De Walt, the clutch can easily be set light enough so as not to strip half inch self-tappers going into plastic, and heavy enough to screw up M8 nuts and bolts...I always hand tighten 8mm nuts and above anyway but the power tool saves quite a bit of time.

Not sure you'd want to to torque up anything larger than an M6 with it though...it spins quite quickly and does wrench your wrist a little when the thread bottoms, but then I always use it on the fast speed setting.

Best bit I have is a hex to 1/4in adapter...in fact I have several and they often remain plugged into different sized 1/4in sockets. That way using sockets is just as quick as changing driver bits.

Good tip is just make sure you have the right driver bit for the screw...zero chance of it jumping out...

[Coxyzxr]

Right,

Back at work today and given it some direct thought as I was working on bikes today and reading through replies here I definitely think it'll be a big time saver.

As I work in a main dealer we get LOTS of new bikes come in which always require the same things to be bolted on and assembled which always means fairings off then back on one stuff fitted, almost to the extent of it being slightly production lineish - so it's going to be a big help in that regard.

I'm looking at something lightweight and reasonably low torque like this or the one below;

These can have the toque set so low you wouldn't even strip fairing bolts. Plus the spindle lock on the snap on allows you to do the remaining torque up by hand.

I'm gonna grab buy one on Weds and see how it goes. Though the snap on is costly (obviously, it's snap on??) I still have to decide whether I can justify that cost.

Thanks for all the input.

https://www.toolhead.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/bosch-gdr-10.8v-li-ion-impact-screwdriver-1.jpg

or this

https://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c392/tlee20/828A1921-60F1-473C-A745-26BC5357191B-6241-0000046A223A17AC_zps96338e70.jpg
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**WAS FITTED "WRONG WAY ROUND" !** CANT ACCOUNT FOR THE STUPID !

[G]

I'd go cheapish to start with.
Not the end of the world if it breaks.

My 18v and 24v cordless drills have had settings that will torque-out if you hold it with your little finger. Yet the 24v one could start a generator (maybe 250cc 4 stroke engine or so.)

[Hugh Farking Cant]

[/quote]
It's got nothing to do with superior knowledge - it's what you're comfortable with. If you're employed then it's what your employer is comfortable with you doing. Personally, I have no problem using a power tool for fasteners and I can't recall ever stripping a thread using one to run up casing bolts.[/quote]


Casing bolts were not mentioned in my post..
It was specifically about fairing fixings.
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Remember; Someone on here always has a blacker cat.

[Pete.]

[DMCpro]

[c_dug]

Lots of the AV guys use the Bosch one at work too, generally rated well by all of them.
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[Hugh Farking Cant]