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Subject Author Date
Screw Gun Problem Greg Esres 02-07-2007
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Posted by Greg Esres on February 7, 2007, 10:46 am


I bought a Dewalt 257 about a year ago to fix drywall problems, but
the gun never worked well for me. Sometimes the clutch would
disengage with a satisfying pop and the screw would be set at the
correct depth, other times, the bit would spin in the screwhead,
stripping it and leaving it high. I tried a variety of depth settings
and techniques, but rarely got the "pop". In the end, I wasted more
time with this tool than I would have with a drill.

On the advice of Dewalt customer support, I the tool by one of the
support centers yesterday. The technician told me

1) The clutch is not intended to control the depth the screw is set.
It exists only to enable the operator to insert screws into the unit
more rapidly because it stops spinning.

2) The depth of the screw is solely controlled by the nosepiece; when
it encounters the work surface, the operator must release the trigger
to stop drilling.

The technician's statements do not match my understanding of how these
units are supposed to work. Is the technician correct?


Posted by RayV on February 7, 2007, 11:19 am


> I bought a Dewalt 257 about a year ago to fix drywall problems, but
> the gun never worked well for me. Sometimes the clutch would
> disengage with a satisfying pop and the screw would be set at the
> correct depth, other times, the bit would spin in the screwhead,
> stripping it and leaving it high. I tried a variety of depth settings
> and techniques, but rarely got the "pop". In the end, I wasted more
> time with this tool than I would have with a drill.
>
> On the advice of Dewalt customer support, I the tool by one of the
> support centers yesterday. The technician told me
>
> 1) The clutch is not intended to control the depth the screw is set.
> It exists only to enable the operator to insert screws into the unit
> more rapidly because it stops spinning.
>
> 2) The depth of the screw is solely controlled by the nosepiece; when
> it encounters the work surface, the operator must release the trigger
> to stop drilling.
>
> The technician's statements do not match my understanding of how these
> units are supposed to work. Is the technician correct?

I have an old Milwaukee drywall gun with no clutch. The cone on the
nose is what you adjust to set the depth of the screw. With practice
you can screw up a whole sheet of drywall without ever releasing the
trigger. A clutch prevents you from overtigthening or stripping out a
screw.


Posted by Edwin Pawlowski on February 7, 2007, 11:20 am



>
> 1) The clutch is not intended to control the depth the screw is set.
> It exists only to enable the operator to insert screws into the unit
> more rapidly because it stops spinning.
>
> 2) The depth of the screw is solely controlled by the nosepiece; when
> it encounters the work surface, the operator must release the trigger
> to stop drilling.
>
> The technician's statements do not match my understanding of how these
> units are supposed to work. Is the technician correct?

The clutch is to prevent stripping from over tightening. It feels the
resistance of the material the screw in going into. Take a screw, set the
clutch and drive it into a 2 x 4. Then drive it at the same setting into an
oak pallet. See the difference? The density of wood varies along the same
2 x 4 and from stick to stick making the clutch less than ideal for depth
setting.



Posted by Greg Esres on February 7, 2007, 12:43 pm


<<The clutch is to prevent stripping from over tightening. It feels
the
resistance of the material the screw in going into.
>>

I just spoke to the manager of the maintenance facility. Conclusions:

1) Torque plays no role in the clutch disengaging. Depth-based only.

2) Depending on how you look at it, both the nosecone AND the clutch
determine the depth of the screw. The nosecone prevents the tool from
going further into the wall, but the bit keeps driving and eventually
the extension disengages the clutch.

3) The requirement to take your finger off the trigger only applies to
when the nosecone is removed.

4) Where I'm going wrong is probably not putting enough pressure on
the device so that the nosecone puts a dimple into the wall. When I
release pressure, the clutch disengages prematurely.


Posted by Steve B on February 7, 2007, 2:16 pm




> I just spoke to the manager of the maintenance facility. Conclusions:
>
> 1) Torque plays no role in the clutch disengaging. Depth-based only.


Say what?

You got a piece of very soft pine, and a piece of oak. You take a 3"
Robertson deck screw. (I use Robertson because it assumes the square head
will stay engaged.)

You set the clutch at four on a scale of one low, ten high.

You mean to tell me that when the drill encounters the progressively greater
resistance and the clutch kicks out, that both screws will have been driven
to equal depth?

I don't think so, Tim.

Steve



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