Makita BTD140 LXT 18 Volt Lithium-Ion Impact Driver Kit

Review

I’m very particular about my tools. I learned this lesson two ways, the first from my father. You see I was eight I was building a doghouse and I left a couple of screw drivers and a handsaw outside. It rained- the saw rusted. When Dad saw what had happened, rather than yell, he took me aside and explained that if you buy good quality tools, and take care of them, they’ll take care of you (I also cleaned the rust off the saw with WD-40, which was less a less philosophical but memorable approach). Fast forward ten years, and I’m in the driveway working on getting a stubborn lugnut loose. I crank down hard on the “discount” socket I’m using, and it splits up the side. As the load was released, I slammed my knuckles into the concrete. Once again a more practical lesson about the value of good, well maintained tools.

I’ve had this particular impact driver for almost two years. The magic of an impact driver over a regular power screwdriver is there’s hammering action (over 3,000 times a minute!) that delivers the torque directly to the fastener you’re driving. Simply put, you do not have to “bear down” on the tool to make it drive. I have routinely used it to drive 3″ screws into studs, and there was one spectacular demonstration when I used it to drive lag bolts into anchors in cinder blocks during a custom closet build. It is perfectly balanced and light, at only 3 pounds. There’s over 1,200 foot pounds of torque, so this is more than adequate for the vast majority of household, and probably quite a few professional tasks as well. There’s a solid electronic brake, when you let off the trigger it stops at once- no more overtightened screws. A little sidenote here, like everything, it pays to use quality fasteners matched to the job at hand. I’ve snapped the heads off cheap concrete anchors when they caught and stopped turning- the fastener quit well before the tool did. It comes with two batteries, what a great idea! There’s nothing worse than being in the middle of a job and having the battery die. Speaking of which, I get about 2-3 hours of solid heavy use out of one charge- for the occasional shelf project/light use I’ve gone as long as 3 months. The batteries are smart- they communicate with the charger, and you can have a full charge in about an hour- it even monitors their temperature during charging and kicks on a fan as necessary.

When my oldest friend got his masters degree, I agonized for weeks looking for something suitable to give him, that was more than just a plaque on the wall. I decided on the Makita, and he has been absolutely delighted with it ever since, it’s the tool he most uses (and led to a “re-gifting” of much less powerful power screwdriver). I’ve never been disappointed with the driver, I don’t think you will be either!

Specifications

• 1/4″ Hex shank
• No Load RPM: 0-2,300
• Impacts/Min.(IPM): 0-3,200
• Torque (in.-lbs.): 1,280
• Watt Hours: 54.0
• Battery (Ah): 3.0 (Li-Ion)
• Length: 5-3/4″
• Net Weight (lbs. w/battery):3.3
• You can read the manual here.

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Tags: impact driver, Lithium-Ion, Makita Review