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For most of my woodworking applications, an impact driver is ideal.
In 2002 I was working for a construction company (Old Towne Construction, Poughkeepsie, NY) and using a drill/driver exclusively to both predrill and drive screws into timber. The drill (particularly the cordless drill) was the go-to tool for drilling, driving, and fastening. We didn’t have impact drivers and impact wrenches were strictly reserved for automotive purposes.
Then the impact driver came into existence. I bought my first cordless impact driver back in 2011 and I would never think of using a drill for driving screws, but I would from time-to-time need to do automotive work, in which case I would use my impact drive to loosen nuts and bolts. Generally speaking, an impact wrench is heavier, bulkier, and produces a lot more power (torque) than an impact driver. An Impact wrench uses a square drive (usually 1/2”) and are made for loosening and fastening sockets. Impact drivers usually have a 1/4” hex drive socket to accept various driver bits (square, star, philips head) but can be converted to a 1/2” with an adapter to accept socket wrenches and impact sockets. Also, impact wrenches are on average 6x more powerful than impact drivers.
Impact drivers are great for situations where standard drills just don’t have enough power, but impact wrenches are overkill. The impact driver and impact wrench both function similarly by using concussive rotational blows to the driver, whereas a drill would just spin.
Over the years impact drivers have become smaller and smaller delivering more torque than your standard drill, and were much more convenient then changing out the bit on your drill. Take for instance the Milwaukee SURGE 12-Volt Lithium-Ion Brushless Cordless 1/4 in. Hex Impact Driver Compact Kit Milwaukee SURGE 12-Volt Lithium-Ion Brushless Cordless 1/4 in. Hex Impact Driver Compact Kit. This little impact driver offers 50 in-lbs of torque, 3400 blows per minute, and smaller than any other 12v equivalent at 7.8” tall and 5.2” wide. What’s even more impressive is that it uses a brushless motor and a hydraulic powertrain. That results in longer sustained torque (longer battery life) that 2 times quieter with smoother an faster drive speeds than standard impact drivers.
The M12 SURGE impact driver used to fasten toggle clamps to a support block
However, impact wrenches have also become significantly smaller and are even offered in 12v versions. Hard to believe that the only available impact wrenches were pneumatic and reserved only for those who had a big enough air compressor to sustain longer periods of use. The Milwaukee FUEL12-Volt Lithium-Ion Brushless Cordless Stubby 3/8 in. Impact Wrench is extremely compact measuring 4.8” wide and 7.8” tall, while still being able to deliver 250 ft-lbs of torque. That's right, ft-lbs, not in-lbs.
Significant difference in size between full size pneumatic impact wrench vs. the M12 FUEL impact wrench
The M12 impact wrench is much more compact than pneumatic impact wrenches
So if both of these are so compact, why not just get and adapter and use the impact driver for everything? Well for most home owners, an impact driver is more than enough for things around the house and light automotive work. However, if you’re an avid DIY mechanic or consistently doing automotive work, a compact impact wrench will likely serve you well, where the extra toque is going to be needed to break those seized nuts and bolts.