Milwaukee and other drills, latest and greatest

[martin felder]

I have several Makita cordless drills.  Had them for years.  I have a couple of Festool drills also.  I was recently at the shop of someone who had a pneumatic cordless Milwaukee drill where it had a very nice controlled feel to it.  I was mostly interested to see what may be the best  choices out there now for drilling screws.

Any thoughts?

 

[AlexThePalex]

I was recently at the shop of someone who had a pneumatic cordless Milwaukee drill

How do you do pneumatic cordless?

As for drills, for screwing I have not seen any drill yet I like better than my 12 year old Festool T15. The smoothness and controllability of this drill is still unmatched, odly enough. 

 

[mrboult]

Presume you mean the oil pulse impact driver from Milwaukee?

Are we talking drills or impacts? I have no love for impacts, but I know they have their uses so when festool (my primary battery platform) released theirs this year I did buy it. It’s great. Feels like the nice Makita ones to me.

Like Alex I think the festool T & C-series of drills are still the world leader of control, comfort and precision. And I instantly lose respect for anyone who says they’re crap because their big ass Makita/Milwaukee is more powerful

The T-18 is THE reason Festool became my main battery platform. I haven’t used anything that comes even close (pro carpenter 15+ years)

That said, I don’t  tell/recommend these drills to people outside of this place. I totally get that you can do exactly the same job for waaay less cash with other drills. But if you use it all day every day, for both delicate and precise work as well as jogging out some 50mm holes,  you’ll likely thank yourself for buying a T18.

 

[AlexThePalex]

[smile] Oh, I get it now, this guy here demonstrates how you cordless drill a hole with an air pressure of 1 bar:

[attachimg=1]

 

[Michael Kellough]

I have several Makita cordless drills.  Had them for years.  I have a couple of Festool drills also.  I was recently at the shop of someone who had a pneumatic cordless Milwaukee drill where it had a very nice controlled feel to it.  I was mostly interested to see what may be the best  choices out there now for drilling screws.

Any thoughts?

A little too much alcohol?  [poke]

Milwaukee doesn’t make a pneumatic drill. I suppose you mean the Surge oil impact driver (not technically a drill although you can use hex shanked drill bits).

The oil impact feature is a nice improvement but not solely available via Milwaukee.

Within the Milwaukee range you have a choice of 12 volt (max) or 18 volt. I have M12 Surge impact driver and the top M18 regular impact. The M12 Surge is only a little slower than the M18 (setting medium sized screws) but is much less annoying to use and it allows more sensitivity in setting smaller screws. For big screws the bigger driver is the obvious choice. The odd thing is that the smaller tool has a much larger grip. The bigger tool has a grip more similar to the Makita 18 volt drills and drivers.

 

[jaguar36]

Within the Milwaukee range you have a choice of 12 volt (max) or 18 volt.

I've found the M12 tools to be much better to use for almost every tool where there is a M12 and an M18 version.  The smaller size and lighter weight is much more beneficial than the extra power.  I use my M18 drill/drivers so infrequently that I wouldn't mind if they were cheap corded ones.

 

[Cheese]

[smile] Oh, I get it now, this guy here demonstrates how you cordless drill a hole with an air pressure of 1 bar:

Now that's impressive...I hate cords and I hate hoses but this drill is capable of drilling 1/4" diameter holes in ceramic tile at 1 bar...I want one of these.  [wink]

[attachimg=1]

I have & use both Milwaukee and Festool drills. The Milwaukee drills are great for drilling holes in any material you want and they are a genuine bargain if you consider price, capability and tool/battery life.

However for driving screws, there's nothing better than the Festool drills. I love the linear trigger speed control on the CXS & C 15 and the electronic torque limiter on the C 15. Nothing better out there. I also use the Festool drills for chamfering holes free-hand because I can rotate the chamfer/countersink at under 30 RPM for a clean, chatter-free finish in wood or metal.

[attachimg=2]

And here's the Milwaukee drill I use with a 6"/7" auger bit for fence post holes. Milwaukee drills have a lot of power but finesse is not their long suit.

[attachimg=3]

 

[AlexThePalex]

Now that's impressive...I hate cords and I hate hoses but this drill is capable of drilling 1/4" diameter holes in ceramic tile at 1 bar...I want one of these.  [wink]

I can see how you'd like to add this one, that's a rather meagre collection you got there. Even trying to pass that thing on the far right off as a drill and hope nobody would notice, tsk, tsk.  [tongue] 

 

[FestitaMakool]

I have & use both Milwaukee and Festool drills. The Milwaukee drills are great for drilling holes in any material you want and they are a genuine bargain if you consider price, capability and tool/battery life.

However for driving screws, there's nothing better than the Festool drills. I love the linear trigger speed control on the CXS & C 15 and the electronic torque limiter on the C 15. Nothing better out there. I also use the Festool drills for chamfering holes free-hand because I can rotate the chamfer/countersink at under 30 RPM for a clean, chatter-free finish in wood or metal.

You need some teal in there too [cool]
There’s one Milwaukee in every generation?
Even more than impressive enough is the Estwings.. thought my 4 was a bit over, but it’s half what’s resting on your wall [blink] [big grin]

 

[DeformedTree]

Now that's impressive...I hate cords and I hate hoses but this drill is capable of drilling 1/4" diameter holes in ceramic tile at 1 bar...I want one of these.  [wink]

I can see how you'd like to add this one, that's a rather meagre collection you got there. Even trying to pass that thing on the far right off as a drill and hope nobody would notice, tsk, tsk.  [tongue]

It's a drill in the sense it is an anti-drill.  It fills the holes the drill put in the wrong place.

He needs to upgrade to the M18 hole hawg too.

 

[DeformedTree]

[smile] Oh, I get it now, this guy here demonstrates how you cordless drill a hole with an air pressure of 1 bar:

Now that's impressive...I hate cords and I hate hoses but this drill is capable of drilling 1/4" diameter holes in ceramic tile at 1 bar...I want one of these.  [wink]

[attachimg=1]

You guys are forgetting the other impressive part. A drill bit that will go into tile at extreme angles with no fixture, just a bit of tape to give it grip. I'm guessing the 1 bar supply reduces how much dust gets blown around.

 

[martin felder]

I am not familiar with the Milwaukee impact and non impact drills.  I thought I was being told the cordless drill was pneumatic.  I understood it was not connected to an air line, but thought maybe that word was used for some reason.  Today, I was told it was hydraulic.  Since hydraulic is defined as liquid in motion and it was not connected to a water line, I made sure to take a picture of it and look up the model.  It was 2760-20.
https://www.milwaukeetool.com/Products/Power-Tools/Fastening/Impact-Drivers/2760-20

Well... I do see hydraulic!  Not sure how that technology compares to other manufacturers.

For my drills, I have 3 Makita LXFD01 cordless drills.  Had them for quite a few years, pre-Festool.  I see they are discontinued and sell used for $55.  Try first Festool drill was aT15+3 to have the right angle attachment.  I then got rid of my impact drill to ge the Festool PDC 18/4.  That is it.

I used that hydraulic drill today.  For me, no big deal, but the owner liked that it had the ability to have good torque going through substances harder than hardwood (for me, hardwood and plywood mostly).

It got me to thinking, it has been so many years since I purchased my drills, I was just wondering how the newer models, Festool or others evolved.  The same, more powerful with longer battery life and lighter all at the same time?  I was wondering if anything is better than Festool.

Just wondering.

 

[Alanbach]

I love my Milwaukee M12 surge (hydraulic) impact. It is not a drill but an impact driver. Compared to traditional impacts that use a mechanical action to create the impact these hydraulic impacts are much quieter, have less vibration that transmits into your hand and drive screws much more smoothly. I did a project recently where I used that driver to install about 300 3” screws into yellow pine. It did it on one or two battery charges and without virtually any fatigue to my hand and wrist. Frankly I was sort of amazed. I also own their relatively new installers 4 in 1 drill driver which is sort of a CSX knock off only with a brushless motor and an extra accessory or two. I think that your suspicion is correct in that the cordless tool market in general is improving at a rapid pace. In my Milwaukee’s at least the newer the model is, the better it is. They are improving at an impressive pace.

 

[AlexThePalex]

You guys are forgetting the other impressive part. A drill bit that will go into tile at extreme angles with no fixture, just a bit of tape to give it grip. I'm guessing the 1 bar supply reduces how much dust gets blown around.

I noticed but didn't mention it. Whole picture is shopped together.

 

[DeformedTree]

You guys are forgetting the other impressive part. A drill bit that will go into tile at extreme angles with no fixture, just a bit of tape to give it grip. I'm guessing the 1 bar supply reduces how much dust gets blown around.

I noticed but didn't mention it. Whole picture is shopped together.

Just looking at how it is "engaged" in the chuck hurts my brain.

The question becomes, did the person who made it do it under distress and have their soul die the whole time making it. Or were they really proud of their work.

 

[ear3]

All the companies have added the brushless technology and even the interchangeable chucks, so Festool does not have the edge on drills it once had, though the Festool battery life is still holds up well I think (opinion, rather than scientific statement).  But the precision of something like the T18, which I measure in terms of the dead on chuck and trigger sensitivity, still makes it my favored drill.  Plus I really like the convenience of the Centrotec system.

 

[martin felder]

Today I was able so spend time with the Milwaukee 2115-20.  It was used to screw baltic birch into other plywood with 1 1/4 inch flat head screws.  Light and I was very nicely able to control the depth of the insertion.  No need to countersink separately.  Very nice feel.  very impressed.  Excellent control so the head went just below the surface with a single effort every time.  I know it is an impact driver rather than a cordless drill, but for screwing things together, it was a good way to go.

Not sure if Festool has a similar offering. 

 

[CeeJay]

Not sure about a cordless pneumatic drill, but here’s a cordless pneumatic nailer for you.

Zero recoil....
https://www.airbowsystems.com/airbow-framer/

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[martin felder]

My error. 2551-20 SURGE hydraulic driver with M12 batteries.

I would like to avoid mixing brands and have a lot of different batteries, but not sure Festool has a product quite like this at this time.

 

[Cheese]

Not sure about a cordless pneumatic drill, but here’s a cordless pneumatic nailer for you.

Zero recoil....
https://www.airbowsystems.com/airbow-framer/

An interesting item but I doubt it's zero recoil.  [smile]

You can shoot 300 nails per charge, but the on-board air canister is not removable so you also need to purchase the Airbow high pressure compressor.

I remember another gun similar to this that was offered 2-3 years ago. The Gotcha for that system was the high pressure air compressor. It was $1200 or $1500.

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