Author Topic: Anyone try the Milwaukee M18 nailers yet? (Read 13225 times)

ear3 · « **on:** July 30, 2016, 04:16 PM »

Haven't had occasion to walk down the nail gun aisle at Home Depot in a couple of months, but lo and behold, as I was going to get some 16 gauge nails yesterday, I saw that Milwaukee has now entered the cordless nailer sweepstakes. This would be a perfect solution for me, as thus far I've held off on getting a cordless nailer because I don't want to invest in another battery platform. But when I checked online at Amazon to compare prices and browse reviews, I saw that as of yesterday the 16gauge straight cordless nailer had only 2 reviews, and both horrible, complaining that it did a poor job sinking the nails in hardwood. So I'm just wondering if anyone has tried these out yet, whether the 16 gauge straight nailer, the 16 gauge angled nailer, or the 18 gauge one.

bionicus · « **Reply #1 on:** July 30, 2016, 04:33 PM »

Wait for the 2nd gen versions. I think they rushed these to market without enough field testing. Nails sitting proud if fired at a slight angle is total bullbird.

RKA · « **Reply #2 on:** July 30, 2016, 05:00 PM »

Skip them Edward. I picked up an 18 ga, and it couldn't sink 2" nails into pine 2x4's. I sent it back and got another that manages to get 80% of them flush, but a few are still proud. What's more, like the first one, the drive pin made was marking up the surface of the wood and deforming the head of the nail. I kept it, because sometimes it's handy to have a cordless option, but I can't recommend these.

And just for kicks, I used my Grex air nailer, a porter cable cordless and a Ryobi cordless, and they all drove the nails just under the surface cleanly without marking up the wood. I think I still have the scrap I tested on if you want to see the pics. Milwaukee should be ashamed, especially when they come out at 2x the price of the other cordless options.

live4ever · « **Reply #3 on:** July 30, 2016, 05:30 PM »

I got the 16g angled. I've only used it on a few small projects here and there, mainly got it to do a bunch of exterior trim. The biggest design flaw on these as others have mentioned is the inability to sink nails when shot at an angle to the surface. That to me would be a deal killer on a 18g. The 16g I'm less likely to use that way (not a pro though) so it has been fine for me. The Ryobi 18g seems by all accounts to be a better 18g cordless (there is a good head-to-head test on YouTube), though durability may be a concern for all-day everyday use. I haven't had problems with the 16g angled sinking nails when firing flat, but I've only been using it on cedar, doug fir, and ply so far.

The YouTube reviews of these nailers are interesting. Rob (Concord Carpenter) gives them glowing reviews, though some would say to take his reviews with a grain of salt.

RKA · « **Reply #4 on:** July 30, 2016, 06:17 PM »

I should have clarified, in my testing I was only shooting perpendicular to the work piece.

ear3 · « **Reply #5 on:** July 30, 2016, 08:00 PM »

Wow, this sounds like a catastrophe. What on earth were they thinking? Short-sighted me-too-ism I guess.

EDIT: Mr. Toolguyd certainly enjoyed them -- wonder if they made sure to test fire his model before he got it?

http://toolguyd.com/milwaukee-cordless-nailers-hands-on/

Mort · « **Reply #6 on:** July 30, 2016, 10:11 PM »

Only thing I have to go from is YouTube reviews and I wasn't impressed. Plus, I held one at Home Depot and they weighed a ton. I guess I'll just have to drag out air hoses for the time being.

glass1 · « **Reply #7 on:** July 31, 2016, 08:21 AM »

any reason you do not want the paslode 16 gauge guns, they make both straight and angled ? Take a look at the grx 18 gauge gas gun. I like the paslode 16 gauge gun but the nose on the 18 gauge I find the nose to be to hard to depress.

RKA · « **Reply #8 on:** July 31, 2016, 08:25 AM »

You have to be careful reading toolguyd's reviews. Sometimes there is more hypothetical discussion than real world experience behind them. In this case he didn't have a chance to fully test it, it was a "quick hands on review". Most of the article picks through the published specs and other less critical aspects. He fired 2 nails out of that gun, one was proud. He later talks about the cycle times and it does indeed fire the nail faster than the other cordless models, but it enters the thermal cut off far quicker than you would think based on Milwaukee's statements. In testing a dozen or so nails I went into overload. I was probably at 1 nail per second or less. Speed wasn't a factor for me, I simply wasn't expecting to encounter this limit based on my usage and their specs. Both of my samples were consistent in this respect. But Stuart talks about a theoretical limit or capacity of 3 nails per second based and parrots mailwaukee's suggestion that we should never hit overload if we're not using bump fire. In my view, there is a huge gap between what Stuart reports and actual use. Technically what Stuart reported may have been correct, however he couldn't/didn't capture another key issue because he really didn't have an opportunity to test it.

T. Ernsberger · « **Reply #9 on:** July 31, 2016, 09:54 AM »

I have had a 16ga Paslode Impulse for 8 years and it amazing. Many days it gets used all day long. I just wore it out and I'm going to get the newer 16ga.

sae · « **Reply #10 on:** July 31, 2016, 02:56 PM »

Quote from: RKA on July 31, 2016, 08:25 AM

You have to be careful reading toolguyd's reviews. Sometimes there is more hypothetical discussion than real world experience behind them. In this case he didn't have a chance to fully test it, it was a "quick hands on review". Most of the article picks through the published specs and other less critical aspects. He fired 2 nails out of that gun, one was proud. He later talks about the cycle times and it does indeed fire the nail faster than the other cordless models, but it enters the thermal cut off far quicker than you would think based on Milwaukee's statements. In testing a dozen or so nails I went into overload. I was probably at 1 nail per second or less. Speed wasn't a factor for me, I simply wasn't expecting to encounter this limit based on my usage and their specs. Both of my samples were consistent in this respect. But Stuart talks about a theoretical limit or capacity of 3 nails per second based and parrots mailwaukee's suggestion that we should never hit overload if we're not using bump fire. In my view, there is a huge gap between what Stuart reports and actual use. Technically what Stuart reported may have been correct, however he couldn't/didn't capture another key issue because he really didn't have an opportunity to test it.

This is a good observation, and one of my pet peeves reading his blog. There's very little experience and tons of speculation.

And he lost all his credibility right when he posted "I just bought my first house, how do I install a dryer duct" blog. Not sure how he skated by as a blog for this long having not used any of the tools he's reviewed, but it all makes sense now.

ear3 · « **Reply #11 on:** August 01, 2016, 12:24 PM »

Yeah, I've subsequently gone through some of his other reviews, and was sort of surprised to find that many of them were simply regurgitating the factory/manual specs. Not sure what the deal is with that (maybe it's just about driving traffic?) but I will not use him as a standard in the future.

As far as the Paslode guns go -- yeah, in a perfect world. But I simply don't want to add another battery platform at the moment, so for now I'll wait for gen 2 of the Milwaukee and remain content with my PC compressor and guns. I'm still really disappointed though that Milwaukee would rush a sub-par product to market after all the good will they had been building up with the Fuel line.

Quote from: sae on July 31, 2016, 02:56 PM

Quote from: RKA on July 31, 2016, 08:25 AM
You have to be careful reading toolguyd's reviews. Sometimes there is more hypothetical discussion than real world experience behind them. In this case he didn't have a chance to fully test it, it was a "quick hands on review". Most of the article picks through the published specs and other less critical aspects. He fired 2 nails out of that gun, one was proud. He later talks about the cycle times and it does indeed fire the nail faster than the other cordless models, but it enters the thermal cut off far quicker than you would think based on Milwaukee's statements. In testing a dozen or so nails I went into overload. I was probably at 1 nail per second or less. Speed wasn't a factor for me, I simply wasn't expecting to encounter this limit based on my usage and their specs. Both of my samples were consistent in this respect. But Stuart talks about a theoretical limit or capacity of 3 nails per second based and parrots mailwaukee's suggestion that we should never hit overload if we're not using bump fire. In my view, there is a huge gap between what Stuart reports and actual use. Technically what Stuart reported may have been correct, however he couldn't/didn't capture another key issue because he really didn't have an opportunity to test it.

This is a good observation, and one of my pet peeves reading his blog. There's very little experience and tons of speculation.

And he lost all his credibility right when he posted "I just bought my first house, how do I install a dryer duct" blog. Not sure how he skated by as a blog for this long having not used any of the tools he's reviewed, but it all makes sense now.

Michael Kellough · « **Reply #12 on:** August 01, 2016, 12:57 PM »

Quote from: Edward A Reno III on August 01, 2016, 12:24 PM

Yeah, I've subsequently gone through some of his other reviews, and was sort of surprised to find that many of them were simply regurgitating the factory/manual specs. Not sure what the deal is with that (maybe it's just about driving traffic?) but I will not use him as a standard in the future.

As far as the Paslode guns go -- yeah, in a perfect world. But I simply don't want to add another battery platform at the moment, so for now I'll wait for gen 2 of the Milwaukee and remain content with my PC compressor and guns. I'm still really disappointed though that Milwaukee would rush a sub-par product to market after all the good will they had been building up with the Fuel line.

Quote from: sae on July 31, 2016, 02:56 PM

I don't think you'll find a worse jigsaw than the one Milwaukee sells as part of the M12/18 range.

live4ever · « **Reply #13 on:** August 01, 2016, 01:37 PM »

Here's the very glowing review I mentioned. Actually put the nailer through extensive testing, but given the results people are actually getting, obviously was given a carefully pretested tool.

I found this one to be informative as well...again with actual testing.

ear3 · « **Reply #14 on:** June 18, 2017, 09:19 AM »

While I was waiting for my Dewalt cordless nailer to arrive (it was on backorder), I found a really sweet deal on a 15 ga. Milwaukee on ebay, so I went ahead and bought it, thinking I could always resell it for basically the same price and not lose anything on the deal.

I put it to work over the past week driving 1 1/2" -- 2 1/2" nails into softwood framing materials (not hardwood). So far I'm pleasantly surprised. It has a beastly kickback, but that seems like a minor issue given how it fires immediately on pulling the trigger, with no ramp up time. After sinking perhaps 1000 nails, I've had no issues so far with nails not sinking all the way (though again, I still have to see how it performs in hardwood), and it was able to sink them even when I held the tool at an angle to the material. No jams yet either. So....so far, so good.

KFirestone · « **Reply #15 on:** June 18, 2017, 10:27 AM »

New to FOG, and this is my first post, so hope it works

I have the Milwaukee 18g Brad and the 16g angle nailer. I purchased them as soon as they were available
I switched from the Paslode, wanting to get away from the gas.
The 16g nailer works great. Not one jamb yet. I have shot into poplar, oak, maple, cedar, PVC,etc. I have had some nails not sink in all the way,but it has usually been operator error. You must keep the safety pressed in and firmly against the material. Line of sight is pretty good on this as well.
The 18g Brad is really fussy. Tool must be perfectly perpendicular to the wood for it to shoot. No issues with sinking the nails. Line of sight takes some getting used to, but awkward.
On both nailers, I keep the depth of drive at maximum regardless of what material I am shooting thru.
I am curious how the next gen will be.

rst · « **Reply #16 on:** June 18, 2017, 10:59 AM »

I bought the 15ga Milwaukee and the first thing I did was shoot through 1" aged oak that I use for stop at my shop saw,
nail went right thru and was a bugger to extract. First job was refastening old 1 1/8" mahogany stops on 18 large, 48 x 54" insulated units in local a ice skating rink. So much easier than dragging out my compressor, hose, and nailer, especially up on scaffolding.

ear3 · « **Reply #17 on:** June 18, 2017, 12:18 PM »

Speaking of Ryobi vs. other brands, last week my Ryobi 23 ga. pneumatic pin nailer crapped out. It was less than two years old. It had started to jam more frequently over the past month, and the nail length setting kept on getting stuck. It finally reached a point last week where it would only fire one nail before jamming up again, and no amount of cleaning or fiddling with the disassembled unit seemed to work. I needed a pin nailer right away, so I had to plop down some $ for a Porter Cable model. I don't know what the Ryobi service policy is, but my last experience with Home Depot tool repair (of a Ridgid router) was a joke, as it took them almost two months to perform a simple repair under Ridgid's Lifetime Service Agreement. So I don't know if I will even bother to get it serviced. God willing this will have been my last Ryobi tool.

Quote from: live4ever on August 01, 2016, 01:37 PM

Here's the very glowing review I mentioned. Actually put the nailer through extensive testing, but given the results people are actually getting, obviously was given a carefully pretested tool.

I found this one to be informative as well...again with actual testing.

glass1 · « **Reply #18 on:** June 19, 2017, 08:36 PM »

Milwaukee fuel nailers = junk. Why. Big cumbersome noses that cannot set nails at an angle. The dewalt cordless nailers are better. The paslodes 16 gauge is better yet. 18 gauge Grex is good. The latest edition of the hitachi 15 gauge gas is good. The hitachi battery guns are strong but heavy. Just my 2 cents.

ear3 · « **Reply #19 on:** June 22, 2017, 09:17 AM »

That seems to be the word on the street, but again, my experience with the 15 gauge thus far has been good. But if anyone from Milwaukee is reading this, you should know that despite the positive results I've gotten from the 15 gauge Fuel, because of all the bad feedback I've made the decision to go with the Dewalt 20V models for the other gauges of cordless nailers over to which I'm in the process of converting. Already have the 16 ga angled, and later today am picking up the 18 ga model.

Quote from: glass1 on June 19, 2017, 08:36 PM

Milwaukee fuel nailers = junk. Why. Big cumbersome noses that cannot set nails at an angle. The dewalt cordless nailers are better. The paslodes 16 gauge is better yet. 18 gauge Grex is good. The latest edition of the hitachi 15 gauge gas is good. The hitachi battery guns are strong but heavy. Just my 2 cents.

bijeshj · « **Reply #20 on:** June 22, 2017, 09:38 AM »

Quote from: live4ever on July 30, 2016, 05:30 PM

I got the 16g angled. I've only used it on a few small projects here and there, mainly got it to do a bunch of exterior trim. The biggest design flaw on these as others have mentioned is the inability to sink nails when shot at an angle to the surface. That to me would be a deal killer on a 18g. The 16g I'm less likely to use that way (not a pro though) so it has been fine for me. The Ryobi 18g seems by all accounts to be a better 18g cordless (there is a good head-to-head test on YouTube), though durability may be a concern for all-day everyday use. I haven't had problems with the 16g angled sinking nails when firing flat, but I've only been using it on cedar, doug fir, and ply so far.

The YouTube reviews of these nailers are interesting. Rob (Concord Carpenter) gives them glowing reviews, though some would say to take his reviews with a grain of salt.

Being a toolsnob

I wasn't too sure when I picked up the Ryobi 18g for nailing trim (and since then a few other projects). I was really surprised about how good the nailer was - worked really well. Maybe I can turn the color to Festool green

.

I am a hobbyist.

Henrik R / Pingvinlakrits · « **Reply #21 on:** June 22, 2017, 12:33 PM »

I've heard some stories about the Milwaukee nailers - enough to keep me from ever getting one. They do seem kind of heavy and from a multi brand dealer the word is that the Milwaukee nailers are getting the most complaints of them all. They might have gotten the 15ga right though.

I have two Ryobi nailers, 16 and 18ga, both work well - though I am not a hard user/abuser and just happy to have two "cheap" battery nailers that work well enough. They both sink the nails on every shot and are light and reasonably compact. They are my only Ryobi machines and I am not planning on any more from that platform. I did have a Senco Fusion before that and it worked well too. I was in need of a larger gauge machine and the prospect of sharing a charger and occasionally a Systainer at a low cost was too good to pass up.

In the shop we have air nailers so it made more sense getting a cheap and somewhat reliable battery nailgun over an expensive somewhat reliable battery nail gun.

antss · « **Reply #22 on:** June 23, 2017, 12:13 AM »

I fondled one at the BORG today and have to say I'd never use one regardless of price, performance, or longevity.

It's just too darn big and heavy for a BRAD NAILER

My paslode impulse 16ga finish nailer weighs nearly half of what these things do and isn't much bigger in size. For brads I'll stick with a trusty senco slp20. And a co2 tank is under $40 if I need to be free of the compressor.

Being able to use a battery platform I already have isn't enough to overcome the weight , size and performance penalty for me.