Can I Use My Impact Driver as a Drill? What I Learned From My Makita Tool Checklist

I'm the purchasing manager for a four-crew remodeling company. I've been handling tool and repair parts orders for nine years. I've personally made—and documented—23 significant mistakes, totaling roughly $14,000 in wasted budget. Most were stupid simple. Now I maintain our team's checklist so the next person doesn't repeat my errors.

This article is part of that checklist. It's also my honest answer to a question I get from nearly every new hire:

Can I use my impact driver as a drill?

I think you can. I also think that's the wrong question. The better question is what are you drilling, through what material, and how much do you care about the result?

The spec sheet will not save you

Everything I'd read about impact drivers said they were one-trick screw guns. In practice, a good impact driver with a hex-shank spade bit will chew through a stack of 2x4s without complaint. That surprised me. The surprise wasn't that it made a hole. It was how well it drilled when I gave it the right bit.

If you compare published specs, an impact driver looks like a stronger drill. So why don't we all just carry one? Because specs measure torque, not control. The Makita Tools USA page for the 18V LXT impact driver XDT16 lists max torque at 1,590 in-lb. The drill/driver XFD131 lists 440 in-lb. I checked those numbers in early 2026, and I still check them before every equipment order. Model numbers change.

I do not mean 440 in-lb is weak. I mean the two tools hold bits differently and deliver power differently. That difference changes every job.

Honestly, I'm not sure why torque specs get all the attention and chuck design gets ignored. My best guess is that a big number is easier to market than a good feel. But feel is what saves you from the expensive mistake.

It's not the bit. It's the motion.

An impact driver's chuck is actually a collet. It accepts 1/4-inch hex bits. A drill/driver uses a three-jaw chuck. You can tighten a round-shank twist bit in a drill. You can't do that in most impact drivers without an adapter, and an adapter adds wobble. That's not a small detail. That's the whole game.

Take metal drilling. A twist bit needs continuous, steady rotation to cut. An impact driver delivers rotational pulses. On steel, those pulses make a hole rough and they can dull a generic twist bit fast. That doesn't make the impact driver a bad tool. It makes it the wrong tool for that task.

Use the work, not the rumors, to decide

Here's the practical answer I give crews:

• Framing lumber, floor joists, and OSB: yes, use the impact driver with a sharp hex-shank spade bit.
• Long screws and self-tapping screws: yes, the impact driver is the right Makita tool.
• Metal, tile, concrete, and finish wood: no, use a drill/driver or hammer drill.
• Any hole where placement matters: no, use a drill/driver.

That's not a compromise. It's matching the tool to the material. If a crew member asks, 'Can I use my impact driver as a drill?' my answer is: 'For the holes we drill in wood, yes. For the holes we drill in metal, no, and here's the adapter I keep in the truck if you're tempted.'

Where I draw the honest line

I recommend the impact driver for about 80 percent of the drilling my crews do. That sounds like a strong endorsement, and it is. But the other 20 percent is where expensive mistakes live. I'm not going to tell you to drill pilot holes in a steel beam with an impact driver, because I've done the wrong thing and paid for it.

In my first year—2018—I ordered one high-torque impact wrench and told the crew to use it for everything. Around the same time, we noticed an air compressor leaking air in the shop. I blamed the pump. It wasn't the pump; it was a loose quick coupler. I spent $350 on a service call and lost a day. The lesson wasn't about specs. It was about checking the simple things before assuming the tool is failing.

Since then, I keep a simple rule: if it seems like the tool suddenly cannot do what it used to do, look at the accessory, the air line, or the battery first. Most of the time, that's where the problem is.

The reversible ratchet wrench set that changed my mind

While we're being honest, the most useful item in my personal bag isn't a power tool. It's a reversible ratchet wrench set. When an impact driver head is too wide to fit between a bracket and a frame, that manual ratchet finishes the job. It's slow. It's simple. It works.

The surprise wasn't how often the ratchet set came out. It was how many 'power tool solves everything' instincts turned out to be wrong. Same principle as the impact-driver question: choose the tool for the geometry and the material, not for the hype.

The counterargument I hear from other contractors

'I've used an impact driver as a drill for 20 years and never had a problem.' I believe you. I used to say the same thing. Then I kept a tally for a year and realized the problem wasn't the holes that failed. It was the pilot holes that were too small, the cabinet holes that got wallowed out, and the one time I snapped a bit in a customer's door. It didn't happen every day. It happened when the situation didn't match the tool.

The useful question is not 'Can it?' It's 'What does it cost when it fails?'

So, yes, you can use an impact driver as a drill. Just know what that means.

Use it for framing lumber, rough wood, and fasteners. Don't use it for metal, tile, concrete, or a hole placement you can't afford to miss. The label on the tool matters less than the job, and your own checklist matters more than any internet forum.

That's the part I repeat to our crew: know what the tool is for, know what it can't do, and buy the right Makita tool for the work you actually do. We've caught 47 potential tool-mismatch problems with our pre-check list in the past 18 months. That's 47 delays we didn't have to explain to a client.

If a search brought you here because you're worried about an air compressor leaking air, check the fittings first. If you're shopping for something to get into tight spaces, a reversible ratchet wrench set is worth its weight. And if you're still wondering about using an impact driver as a drill, ask yourself one more question: is this the tool that gives you the best chance of doing the job right the first time?

That's the whole checklist.