Tool porn

[sae]

Wasn't to happy with the milwaukee cordless drills/battery/charger 10 years ago but it looks like they are doing better now. Really interested in the brushless drill/driver.

I did a comparison with the mikita 7-1/4 and Bosch 7-1/4 saw same blades through a treated 2x6 and the Bosch walked away from the mikita in power, speed and $50 cheaper with better features.

With all that said I either buy Bosch or Festool. Just makes you wanna get up and build something lol

Milwaukee was traded around every decade or so since the 80s, Merrill Lynch bought them first, then Atlas Copco (Swedish industrial tool company), then lately TTI in 2005.

Merrill Lynch probably let them have free reign since they didn't know how to run a tool company, so good products were made, but remained unprofitable. AC probably skewed too far the opposite, and stuff in the late 90s/early 2000s was subpar.

TTI's acquisition seems to have been for the better, they now have extended a generous 5 year warranty w/ free shipping both ways which no other brand can touch, they've "resolved" their initial problems w/ the M18 system (shiesty battery supplier) and they're developing the most brushless tools out of anyone, and have a well rounded 12v line which I've very much come to appreciate for its low weight and portability. I think Makita still rules the roost in terms of volume sales, but Milwaukee has really upped the bar in quality and service.

Bosch's cordless stuff is pretty middle of the road it seems, not the lightest, not the most powerful, ergos are mediocre, and 1 year warranty is pretty pathetic. I did pickup their glide compound miter saw though, since they innovated pretty well and made the saw stand out from the rest of the market, maybe their cordless division isn't funded as well or something.

 

[JLB builders LLC]

Wow that is some good info.

I haven't had any problems with my cordless Bosch stuff but did finally kill the 18v drill, stripped out the gears. 7 years of abuse though.

I think I am going to try the 12v and 18v Milwaukee drill/drivers next. They have some other 12v tools I might add.

The only issue (Milwaukee) besides them being stolen was the charger. If they got bumped they would break and not charge. Batteries back then were not lithium either.

Thanks again for all the info.

 

[sae]

If you haven't tried any of the lithium stuff, it's very capable in almost any brand. Pound for pound, it'll outdo any other battery technology, although NiMH still will dump the most amperage. I've re-purchased almost every tool in cordless, I'd say we've entered the age where cordless can be better than corded technology (won't say all are though).

The M12 stuff is great, they've given it some real focus while others just release one or two 12v tools and call it a platform. I use the impact driver nearly everyday, the 12v brushless drill/driver I feel could be a little smaller, but it has more balls than a lot of 18v drills. Same batteries go into their heated jackets, multi-tool, right angle drill, and also grease guns, ratchets, caulk guns, PEX expander, tubing cutters, hackzalls, jigsaws, die grinders, mini-bandsaws, etc., they're even dropping a 12v brushless circ saw by year's end.

My next purchase will probably be their M12 Hammervac; having bought all this Festool, I've become acutely aware of how important dust collection is. Having a 3 lb. HEPA vac piggybacked on a drill w/ no other cords/hoses will be quite awesome.

 

[wow]

The only issue (Milwaukee) besides them being stolen was the charger. If they got bumped they would break and not charge. Batteries back then were not lithium either.

As I understand it, all of the 18 Volt Fuel tools now come with the dual 12v/18V chargers. They may just entice me into the 18 Volt line yet...

 

[JLB builders LLC]

All my cordless are lithium batteries

 

[rst]

I use Milwaukee 12 and 18V tools and love them!  In 12V, I have the impact and hammer drill, the reciprocating saw, the rotary drill, the right angle and the oscillating tool.  I keep all these in a Tanos five drawer systainer along with their accessories.  I keep my 18V hammer drill, impact driver, 38" socket driver, and grinder in a Tanos midi III.  The 18V metal cutting saw (the older- now discontinued 6 7/8") and jigsaw in a syst IV.  The batteries last and they will do anything i ask them to do.  I also have the cordless vac which not only works great, but uses both the older and newest Li Ion batteries.  My vac would no longer use the older style battery for some reason,  so i took it to my local dealer.  It was two months out of the five year warranty... Milwaukee sent me a brand new replacement.

 

[ear3]

I'm not ashamed to give another thumbs up here for the Milwaukee brushless.  I got the M18 Fuel hammer drill/impact driver set this past summer and it felt like an eternity before I had to switch out the batteries.  And the power on the impact driver was incredible for quickly putting up (and then later taking down) lines of heavy duty theater flats (made with 2x3s) for a movie I was involved with over the summer.  My only complaint was their supposedly redesigned "shockwave" bits.  The impact driver chewed right threw them after driving a few screws.

Where Milwaukee's brushless motor/battery combo really makes a difference for me, though, is with their cordless angle grinder, which runs forever and maintains its power under heavy load.  There's something so cool (and maybe even slightly evil) knowing you could be a hundred miles from the nearest outlet but be able to whip out your grinder, anytime anywhere, and have at it.