Over the last decade, my company has acquired and used collated fastening tools from every major manufacturer (and several of the smaller ones), so my team has experience running everything from dedicated stand-up screw guns to pneumatic fastening systems. As a result, they’re very opinionated about what works and what they want to use. For the past few months, we’ve been putting Camo’s new Drive deck fastening tool to use, with mostly positive results.
One feature of the tool that the team especially appreciates is that they can use their own drill/driver with it, rather than having to use one supplied by the tool manufacturer. This allows them to continue working with a tool that they are already familiar with and like, rather than risk grumbling about (or worse, not using!) the fastener because they didn’t like the brand of the gun that is included with the tool. The Drive tool simply chucks into the drill/driver (impact drivers are not recommended), like any other hex bit.
Another feature we like is the wide variety of fasteners, materials, and manufacturers that the tool is compatible with. We install a lot of different types of decking, from PT to high-end composites, and being able to switch it up between fasteners for different jobs is money-making versatility. It just takes a few seconds to switch between the three different guides and swap out the fasteners needed to install face screws, edge screws, or the company’s new EdgeClip hidden fasteners for grooved decking.
Besides being easy to figure out, set up, and work with, the tool performed well without jamming or going out of alignment. The Camo Drive simply “works.” For example, the tool does a good job of keeping the small plastic “leftovers” from the collated fasteners out of the way, so you don’t have to worry about tripping on them, and it reduces the risk of them scuffing the deck’s surface. It’s designed to collect the plastic debris, which is then cleaned out with the installation of the next clip of fasteners. And when installing face screws for PT decking, we were able to place the screws accurately and sink them to a consistent depth, all without bending over. At about $175 (for the tool only), we’ll definitely be purchasing more of them for all of our team members to have on hand.
This article originally appeared in Professional Deck Builder
