# Why do I need a impact driver to drive screws into wood?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-need-a-impact-driver-to-drive-screws-into-wood/940721>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [April 25, 2021, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-need-a-impact-driver-to-drive-screws-into-wood/940721 "2021-04-25T00:55:13Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 18

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**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\
**Post date:** [April 26, 2021, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-need-a-impact-driver-to-drive-screws-into-wood/940721/18 "2021-04-26T15:47:03Z")

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> [@friedo](#):
>
> If I may add a nitpick, impact _wrench_ is generally what one calls the pneumatic version used by car mechanics. An impact _driver_ is the battery-driven one more appropriate for household DIY tasks. They work basically the same way, though.

Though an impact wrench used to be almost always pneumatic and what we used to think of them, an impact wrench has an anvil (typically 1/4, 3/8, 1/2 or 3/4 inch square) that goes into sockets, an impact driver has a hex bit to accept bits. It is now common to mean a/c plug in electric, battery or pneumatic when talking about impact wrenches.

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