Toolbox: Tools With an Impact

Twenty-five years ago I was on a job that required bolting several thousand running feet of 2×4 plates to the tops of steel truss joists in preparation for laying subfloor. The work was overhead, and the socket wrenches I used were real knuckle-busters. At the time, I’d have sold my soul for a tool to ease my task, but it never occurred to me to use an impact wrench. Unless you work on engines or change a lot of tires, the pneumatic impact wrenches your local auto mechanic uses aren’t always a good fit for a construction job site. But an electric impact wrench may be a good investment for those of us who bolt together massive