When you say “drywall”, I get a chill down my spine. I’ve done the job several times, and none of those times were any fun. It’s messy, it’s heavy, there’s a lot of cutting, mudding, sanding, scraping. It’s comparable to a root canal. But thanks to the new Festool DWC 18-4500 Cordless Screw Gun, it at least makes part of the drywall job a little less painful. The Festool DWC 18-4500 gives you cordless, auto-trigger and a fast collated magazine in a compact tool, and might I say, it’s one of a carpenter’s must-haves.
Festool DWC 18-4500 Features
All Festool products are super high-quality, so when we got our hands on the 18-4500, we knew it wouldn’t disappoint. The Festool DWC 18-4500 Cordless Screw Gun comes with two 18V batteries, a charger, a regular chuck that can be interchanged with the collated fastener magazine, and several long bits.
As we already mentioned, drywall work sucks, and if you’re doing a ceiling, you can triple the anxiety. Traditionally, it takes two hands to sink a screw, which leaves no hands to hold up the Drywall board. So when the Festool DWC 18-4500 is advertised with an auto-trigger and a screw magazine, it had me at “auto”.
The Festool DWC 18-4500 Cordless Screw Gun allows you to load the magazine with a 50-screw collated strip. Switch it into automatic mode, and you can sink a screw simply by pressing the nose against the board and pushing.
It’s so damn easy. You don’t need to hold the screw in place since the collated strip holds it for you, and you don’t need to pull the trigger, (although if you like triggers, you can always switch to manual mode.) The next screw is automatically fed and ready to be sunk, making it a one-handed operation that’s much faster and simpler than a two-handed operation. In fact, you could complete the job in a 1/4th of the time with the Festool that it would take you using two hands, a corded power tool and a box full of screws.
Festool calls their new screwgun “the most refined and capable drywall gun yet.” This is because it’s extremely ergonomic. The grip is super comfortable, the weight is right on the money, and for the type of product that it is, it’s pretty compact. The dual hooks, which include a ladder hook and a belt hook, are other nice touches to the package.
Use
The Festool DWC 18-4500 uses a bit engagement system that pushes the bit forward to engage the fastener when you push against the wall. And unlike other tools with similar systems, the Festool is designed for their system to turn the motor on when it senses the forward pressure. Otherwise, it turns off extending battery life significantly.
The Festool is also super easy to load another fastener strip. You simply feed it through the magazine and line up the screw with the nose. If you want to countersink the screw, you can remove the magazine to reveal the long bit beneath, and then simply use it as a driver like you would any other drill. There is also a depth adjustment controlled by a green dial.
Battery-wise, we get great run time thanks to a battery that stuffs 93.6 watt hours of capacity to drive the brushless motor. All-in-all, using the Festool DWC 18-4500 is a joy to use, and cuts job time in a major way.
Bottom Line
If you haven’t guessed yet, we loved the Festool DWC 18-4500 Cordless Screw Gun. It takes the drywall screwgun to another level. The auto-trigger with collated screws eliminates holding each screw in place for sinking, and the technology that senses forward pressure so the motor isn’t constantly running allows you to actually drive screws faster. Add to that the terrific battery life, the built-in ergonomics, and the incredible design, and you have a serious winner on your hands.
You can purchase the Festool DWC 18-4500 Cordless Screw Gun starting at around $300 here.
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