Chicago PneumaticCP7748 1/2 Inch Air Impact Wrench, Red, Metal

This is by far the best 1/2 inch impact gun out there. I have used snap-on, blue point, campbell hausfeld, ingersoll rand you name it and was dissapointed. Snap on is expensive and loud, blue point is also expensive but weak. IR is quite but still doesnt meet my expectation when it comes to torque figures and CH its cheap and loud actually not too bad for the price. But CP 7748 IS WHAT IM TALKING ABOUT! Quiet, not too heavy, compact, looks sexy, cheap and most of all its the most POWERFUL impact gun I've used. Im a mechanic by trade and been doing it for 10 years, see the boys and I always have comps about whos got the strongest gun in the workshop. The previous champion was a Sidchrome gun which smashes all the big names until my CP 7748 came in the mail. Centre Hub bolt on a VW jetta 2007 (rusty and nasty) thats when my gun defeated the sidchrome, none of these zap forward then backward crap, hold it in reverse for 3secs the bolt came right out! And ever since my impact gun is the reigning champion. I highly convinced anyone that needs a powerful gun at the right price think Chicago pneumatic 7748.

I've been using the CP7748 for over a year now in my engine shop and I gotta say it hasn't let me down. It hasn't met a bolt it can't loosen yet and that's pretty impressive in my view. The last impact I had from another company had some issues with rusty bolts, but the CP7748 zips them off with ease. I'd definitely buy another one and for the price you just can't beat it. I've compared this impact to a few different very expensive impacts and the Chicago Pneumatic beat them all. You definitely want to get a CP7748 if you use impacts all day. I give it 100 stars.Update:Its been roughly 5 years and this impact is still my favorite. I even tried other impact wrenches that were supposedly better but they still couldn't handle what the CP7748 can handle. I haven't had to replace any parts on it yet and its still blasting bolts off like the day I got it. This particular impact wrench has amazed me for how tough it is and how long its lasted and it shows no signs of giving up anytime soon.

No point in rating it really until I've used it for a couple of years and on some tough jobs. It's lightweight; seems to work well. I have 2 other CPs - one 20+ years old; one almost 20. Controls are sticky but otherwise work well.

Overall great tool, had it for 4 years, used pretty much daily still going strong, comparing the price to other brands definitely best bang for buck.

Ideal

It was reported back to me that it had the amount of torque advertised, very smooth and easy to operate.

Plenty of power. It replaced another CP I have had for 25 years or more that the anvil finally broke and wont hold the tools any more. I love it for the power it has, and also it is much quieter then the other CP or Snap-on models I use. Has every bit as much torque as my 1/2 Snap-on which is less then a year old. Maybe even more. Its not as light as I though it might be. The weight is not an issue or detractor in my opinion. For the Money, you cant beat it, not even with a higher priced off the truck brand. Mechanics will know what I mean. If I have a concern about this unit, it would have to be the phenolic selector mechanism. It might not hold up as well as the old style steel forward and backward slide button.

Out of the box felt solid the majority of the housing IS constructed of a metal alloy housing with composite material wrap. The impact wrench's directional dial cliked between the settings with solid precison and when I finally put air through it, the gun was amazingly quite and smooth. I used to use an old school craftsman before this that I enjoyed and lasted a long time but there is no contest between them as far as, weight, power, size. Quality. Simply put i couldn't have asked for a better impact wrench. My use has been limited to mechanical frame peices and large connector bolts. BUT ...I talked to a group of steel girder workers that switched to this make and model, having used a 3/4 inch Ingersoll Rand before they were happy with the power of this 1/2. Working high up the gun made several 20 foot drops back to the concrete earth and despite the height the housing stayed intact and the gun continued functioning perfectly throughout long 10 hr days of non stop use.