Dear all,

I will be doing some plastering soon and I 've always admired the guys who use those screw guns to drive plasterboard screws home. I found out that one plaster supplier sells them for around $700. Can you use a cordless drill with a low clutch setting to do the same job? Are there more budget priced models that you can use?

Tiger

You should be able to get a Tek screw gun cheaper than that otherwise it would be cheaper to hire one. Makita make a reasonable one that will do the job. I have two of them and have lasted me about 20 years.

Try here http://www.justtools.com.au/prod58.htm

A drill is not very good for plaster screws even with the clutch. A screw gun has a nose cone on it to set the screws at a presice depth to put the head just below the surface but not tear the cardboard surface on the plaster board. This is very difficult to achieve with out the screw gun.

You also need to use special screws called bugle head screws. These come with two points, an "S" point or Type 17 for timber and a drill point for steel.

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Regards Bazza

Skype Username: bazzabushy

"Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterwards."
-Vernon Sanders Law

The views expressed by the poster are general in nature and any advice should be taken in this vein. The poster accepts no responsibility if this advice is used. When undertaking any work personal professional advice should be sought from suitably qualified persons in the field of work being undertaken.

You can do it with your cordless,but need to be careful to get the screws at the right depth.If you go to your plaster supplier,you can buy a screwdriver bit with a depth gauge on it.Adjustable ones are about $15,and the non adjustable are around half that.

Tools

Here is a pic of the non adjustable one.It is really all you need for occasional plastering.

Tools

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Sheeze talk about experience teaching the lesson after the test. I did some plasterboarding over Xmas and did the whole lot with screws that I picked up at Mitre 10. Used a battery drill I hired from Kennards which was easy just ran the screws in until they met the surface and stopped manually.

I had no idea about all this other stuff. Anyway the mud went on well and sanded back without a hassle just time etc.

Studley

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Aussie Hardwood gives me goosebumps
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We used some screws the plasterers left behind to do one room, using a battery drill. It worked pretty well, as long as you drove them slowly (and didn't mind patching the odd extra hole).
Cheers, Justine

I've just recently finished re plastering the kitchen and a bedroom. I was lucky enough to be able to borrow one of the makita drivers that takes the strips of screws. It does make the job faster, but it takes a while to get the knack of using it. I was also using my Milwaukie cordless drill, and found it could do the same job, if not a bit slower.
I think the trick of using a cordless drill is to have one that has enough low speed grunt. You want to be able to drive the screw in below the level of the paper, without actually breaking through the paper.

Grinner

You can also buy an attatchment that fits over most cordless drills that replicates the tek guns.. You can get strip screws and that feed straight thru the attatchment.. Got mine from tradetools for about $30.. Isnt perfect but does the job. You can adjust the depth of drive as well.
regards stef

Studley

I like this quote because it is so true.

"Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterwards."

I spent 25 years in the building trade and when I first started I was reluctent to spend money on expensive tools and tried to make do with what I had or puchased cheap tools to do the job.

I was contracting installing shop fronts at the time and I had 2 men working for me and we had to install 200mm x 100mm x 3600mm RHS columns in the Bushells Coffee factory. I had to drill 4 x 16mm holes in 32mpa concrete for each column to take the bolts. I had a Bosch 1/2" percussion drill and it was taking two men all day to install two columns. To drill these 16mm holes in the concrete I had to start with a 6mm drill bit and work my way up to 16mm because the concrete was so hard.

There was a carpenter on the site and he said to me "The Hilti rep is downstairs do you want me to send him up" I said why and he said "because he sells drills" and I said I have a drill and he said "not like the ones he sells" so I said OK.

Up comes the smart alec rep and I said how much are your drills "he says $360.00" now you have to remember this was 35 years ago so $360.00 was a lot of money for a drill that only took a 20mm drill bit. I said thats crazy no one pays that much for a drill. All he said to me was "what size hole are you drilling" and I said 16mm.

He said nothing and handed me his rotary percussion drilling machine with a 16mm bit it. I guessed he wanted me to try it out. I put the drill to the concrete which was over head and pulled the trigger. Well the bit took off and drilled a hole like it was in butter and I said "I'll have it." He then had the hide to charge me another $90.00 for the 16mm drill bit on the top of the cost of the drill.

I said cost but it wasn't a cost it was an investment in time and money. Over the years that drill has earnt me thousands of dollars and saved me hundreds of hours.

After that I went out looking for tools that would do the same for me and today the tools that are available at such low prices if I could have got hold of when I was contracting would have saved me more.

I apologise if I come on a bit heavy about having the right tool for the job but I am looking at jobs from aspect of tradesperson and will always buy the best tool for the job to be done but I am not saying any job can't be done cheaper with "get by" tools because I did it for a long time myself.

Like I said experience is a HARD teacher.

The handyman now has the opportunity to buy tools to do jobs with tools made by the likes of GMC, Ryobi and Ozitso and be able to do a professional job.

__________________
Regards Bazza

Skype Username: bazzabushy

"Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterwards."
-Vernon Sanders Law

The views expressed by the poster are general in nature and any advice should be taken in this vein. The poster accepts no responsibility if this advice is used. When undertaking any work personal professional advice should be sought from suitably qualified persons in the field of work being undertaken.

Cheers Barry
Didn't seem to heavy to me. Actually I was taking a step up in a way as the first half of the reno I did with a hammer and clouts! It was a step up doing it with screws. Of course I didn't have any knowledge more than I had. I think what the list here is talking about is a flash powered driver that has a magazine to hold the screws. Big Big plus. I can imagine how quickly and easily you could run along a wall popping the screws in with that.

You are right on the money so far as getting the good tools goes. I have never regretted spending a bit more on something better, but have been let down at other times getting cheaper stuff that didn't last or even do the job.

Actually I have a quote that is good

SOUND THE CLARION FILL THE FIFE AND THROUGHOUT THE SENSUAL WORLD PROCLAIM, THAT ONE CROWDED HOUR OF GLORIOUS LIFE IS WORTH AN AGE WITHOUT A NAME

Studley

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Aussie Hardwood gives me goosebumps
www.bellaphoto.com.au

i'd rather make do than turn up on site with an ozito or gmc or anything else you get from toys r us!

Tiger, not a problem to use a cordless, I currently supervise in the construction industry and the Job im on right now the contractors have only used cordless drills (Hilti) to fix there gyprock. and im talking a $4 million dollar building, I must admit I would have prefered that they used a faster method for the sake of time but there you go.

Tools is on the money for that depth stop they are brilliant

Cheers Ian

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