DIYers often become curious for variety of drills and drill bits. The impact bits, and the regular drill bits are great example of it. Before drilling process, ask yourself, can I use impact bits in a regular drill? Will it be a safe combo or bring serious troubles? If you have got a little idea, let’s take the rest and appropriate information from the article.
Today we have briefly discussed whether can you use impact bit in a regular bit or not and the potential effect. Even the guide mentioned the effect of using a regular bit in an impact driver. So, once you will read the guide, taking the right decision for the safety and better productivity won’t be an issue for you.
Can you use Impact Bits in Regular Drills?
It’s pretty safe to use impact bits in a regular drill. The reason is that an impacted bit is designed to withstand a higher level of torque. It won’t cause any difficulties attached to a regular drill. But make sure the chuck of your regular bit accepts the impact drill, as most impact drills come with a hex headed shaft. Let’s dig it deeply and start with the differences between an impact bit and a regular drill bit.
Impact Driver Bits vs Regular Drill Bits
The key difference between a regular drill and an impact driver is in torque. Impact drivers usually produce more power compared to the regular drill to fasten the screws. Thus, both the power tools need to use different types of bits. The impact driver uses more ductile compared to the standard drill bit.
Confused about ductility? It’s a characteristic of metal that lets it change its shape frequently. During fastening screws, the bit of the impact driver rotates at full speed and creates massive pressure and the specification lets it withstand the situation.
Conversely, if the regular bit faces this situation in place of impact driver bits, it will break easily due to the lower ductility. Despite, due to the higher ductility, the impact driver bit can twist easily without creaking, resulting in an ideal fit for those jobs.
Impact drill bits have a thin shaft
Comparing both the impact driver bit and the regular bit placed side by side, you will find the first type has a narrower shaft than the second. Because of this narrow shape, the impact driver bit can remove the excess stress easily from the tip of the bit and release it through the shaft. The shaft surface of the impact driver is also much larger while greatly helping dissipate the stress. Combining these features, an impact driver bit gets larger torsional power compared to the standard drill bit.
Another advantage of having torsional strength is that it lets the impact driver bit rotate without snapping during extreme pressure applied to the bit. Conversely, a typical drill bit comes with a thicker shaft that doesn’t let it remove the stress from the tip of the bit due to the less torsional power. Therefore, it boosts the possibility of breaking the typical drill bit if used on solid materials.
Different ends point
Another huge difference between the typical and impact driver’s bits is the end part. Regular bits mostly come with a rounded head that prevents them from being attached to the impact driver since this tool only accepts hex ends. But some regular bits are designed with hex end, which makes them compatible with an impact driver. Does it mean can I use regular bits in an impact drill? Still no.
The reason is that the regular bit can’t endure the extreme stress that the impact driver produces. So, if you use a hex-ended regular bit in an impact driver, the bit will snap easily, causing damage to both the bit and the power tool. Therefore, manufacturers design a special type of bit called an impact driver bit that has a hexagonal end. So, it will both fit in the hexagonal shanks of the impact driver and withstand extreme stress.
Can I use Impact Driver Bits in a Regular Drill?
A wide variety of drill bits often confuses DIYers about choosing the right type for certain power tools. But when it comes to whether you can use an impact driver bit in a regular drill or not, you can do so. Even the combination will be pretty safe. Let me discuss this briefly: A regular drill has a chuck to clamp different types of bits. Due to the chuck, the regular drill accepts both rounded-ended bits and hex bits. Since the impact driver bit comes with a hex end, the standard drill will accept the bit perfectly.
Is it safe?
As we have mentioned, regular drills considerably produce lower torque compared to impact drivers. You can safely use the impact-driver bit in regular mixing drills. Another impressive thing is that, since the impact driver bit is designed to handle higher levels of pressure, it will be much safer to use with a regular drill.
But you will face difficulties if you use a regular bit on an impact driver. Due to the material and design, using a regular bit with higher-torque impact drivers can cause damage to both the bit and power drill.
Why Do Impact Bits still can break?
You may wonder why an impact driver bit can break due to use with a regular drill. Well, it could be because of two reasons.
Metal fatigue
As discussed, the impact driver bit comes with more ductility compared to the regular bit. This feature allows the impact driver bit to be more flexible and endure more pressure during working with a higher-torque impact driver. But the flexibility of this impact driver bit isn’t infinite and its limitation is known as metal fatigue.
This metal fatigue occurs due to continuously reshaping metal, and once it reaches its extreme point, it breaks. This is also true for the impact driver bit. Using the impact driver bit constantly for fastening hundreds of screws slowly damages its tip, and reaching the point, the bit loses its effectiveness. Unfortunately, there is no tip that can prevent metal fatigue and it is an unavoidable effect of using a drill bit.
Bit slips
It causes during fastening the screw and the drill bit to go away from the head of the fastener. If it happens frequently, then the quality of the fastening task won’t be good and can damage the project as well.
Even the bit slip can damage the drill bit too, though slowly but does. So whatever it impacts driver’s bit or regular bit, if you can’t properly place the bit tip on the head of the fastener, it will damage the bit. Thus, it is recommended to use the right size bit for a certain fastener head and apply enough force to avoid slippage.
FAQs on Can I use impact bits in a regular drill
Can I use a hammer drill bit on a regular drill?
No, the drill must have hammer mode to work through. Otherwise, it will only spin, bit won’t drill through the concrete as it requires impact action. Luckily, the hammer drill comes with a drill mode that will let you use the tool as a regular drill to drill through different surfaces.
Can you use a concrete bit in a regular drill?
Drilling through concrete can be done using regular drills and concrete bits. However, you should use a hammer drill and hardened drill bits to make the task efficient and quick.
Can a masonry bit drill through the wood?
The masonry bit is suitable for drilling through the timber. But it can leave a rougher hole and the process can be time-consuming. The reason is that a masonry bit will only drill chips while drilling through wood. Thus, it is recommended to use a tungsten carbide bit to create a better quality hole through wood.
Final words
Still wondering can I use impact driver bits in a regular drill or not? Of course, you can confidently go ahead with this combination. If you chuck accept the hex headed impact driver bit, you won’t face any problem using the impact driver bit on your regular drill.
In fact, the impact driver bit will be safer and let you apply a higher level of pressure while drilling through. But if you are considering a regular bit on an impact driver, keep those safety measurements in mind.
