Other Milwaukee M18 - Now the Milwaukee Tool thread

[Jcary85]

I just made the switch to Milwaukee. Got the 1/2” high torque impact, fuel drill, fuel 1/4 impact, fuel grinder, wet dry vac and 3x5.0 batteries. Also grabbed 10 new (open box) 2.0 batteries on eBay for like $160! Love everything so far.
Anyone tried the m12 soldering iron or m12 3/8” ratchet? I think those are next on my list followed by the string trimmer and circular saw.

 

[Sanoman]

I have the m12 3/8” drive ratchet.Use it for work.lt has its limitations,but for what l use it for,it’s perfect.Light and medium duty

 

[OCD Solutions]

Most of our sites and contractors use Milwaukee so I get to demo quite a few tools before I buy them.

I tried both the M18 portable heat gun and M12 soldering iron at one of our facilities. The mill has to repair damaged cable ends all the time and so they put together a nice little kit that doesn’t require a hot work permit to utilize. We manufacture wood so all flame sources are managed very tightly to prevent fires.

Both are battery hogs but very handy if you need a portable option. Having really good corded versions of each, I wouldn’t have bothered with either but I found the heat gun for a really good deal so I jumped on it and find I use it way more than I ever thought I would.

I have a couple of the Weller Portasol butane soldering irons for portable work that work really well and the M12 version is as good or better than them. I would much rather pack a spare battery than butane any day. If I used one more than once every 6 years, I’d have one of the M12’s.

 

[OCD Solutions]

Demoed the M18 Blower at work the other day and just had to have one!
I found a reman unit for $86 on CPO outlets. The wife always complained that the Stihl BG55 was too hard to start so she's pretty happy with the new unit.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Milwauk...s-Handheld-Blower-Tool-Only-2724-20/302752040

Anyone try out the 2 Gallon compressor yet?
I don't use my little pancake compressor often enough to justify the upgrade but it sure looks pretty handy.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Milwauk...-Quiet-Compressor-Tool-Only-2840-20/312244443

 

[SteveC]

Milwaukee m18 fuel 2804-20 hammer drill... for those of you with it, have you noticed any of these:

1) overheats quickly drilling lots of holes
2) the chuck has waaayyy too much wobble

I read about (1) on their website, so haven’t hit that myself yet.

I just encountered (2) for the first time because I was drilling holes I cared about for the first time since getting the drill. A 7/64 bit about 2-2.5” long will trace about a 1/16” circle with the tip as it rotates. Same bit in drill press has less wobble than my eyes can even detect. That test was repeatable, too, so it’s not the bit.

I’m going to pursue warranty because it makes any fine working almost impossible. But if there’s a “how to” fix out there in case the deny the warranty, I’m eager to hear it.

 

[OCD Solutions]

I haven’t had the issue but my M18 stuff is all pretty new. The chucks are replaceable if you think it’s just in the clutch.

Now I will say that they do heat up under hard use, to a point where it’s probably uncomfortable to hold with a bare hand. I’ve never had it be an issue though where it actually shuts off unless the battery is getting low.

 

[shockwave538]

Just stumbled upon this sweet deal. Today only, 9/24/20. 15-50% off Milwaukee power tools, most are 30+%

Home Depot:

Special Buy Of The Day: Find The Deal Of The Day at The Home Depot

Find the deal of the day and save on select appliances, décor, and home improvement items with Home Depot’s Special Buy Of The Day.

www.homedepot.com

 

[OCD Solutions]

I was in Northern Tool this weekend and was checking out a couple tools in person, particularly that impact drive that Sanoman posted.

The 1/2” impact I have is the huge one compared to the more compact versions now available. They offer the compact version in both 1/2” and 3/8” even though the compact 1/2” has a much lesser torque rating than the full size version.

The full size is 600ft-lbs, the compact is only 220ft-lbs.

I really like the compact 3/8” version though and will likely order one later today.

 

[smokeysevin]

If you are already bought into the m12 system, they have a m12 equivalent to the smaller 3/8" version.

https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200725809_200725809

I plan on picking one up at some point.

Sean

 

[CD155MX]

If you are already bought into the m12 system, they have a m12 equivalent to the smaller 3/8" version.

https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200725809_200725809

I plan on picking one up at some point.

Sean

I have one. It has been the best compact, portable, handy little helper. Highly recommend it.

 

[OCD Solutions]

Before I buy an impact, let me first ask this of those who use one regularly;
How much stuff do you F*ck up by using one?

I ask because I have never used one and never really felt like I was missing out on anything.
Like most, I over torqued and broke a lot of bolts when I was first learning to wrench and therefore adopted a more tactile approach to assembly and torque.
For the last 3 decades, I have used an adapter in my 1/2" Hammer drill with the clutch settings to "tune" my torque.
I start everything by hand or with a ratchet and only use the hammer drill for disassembly, or to run in longer bolts.
I am well known for executing jobs in a fraction of the time with little to no call backs so I don't believe I'm missing out on any lost productivity either.
I can also count on one hand how many bolts I have snapped off or cross threaded in the last 30 years using this method.

My brother in law swears by impact and that's almost all he ever uses. He f*cks up everything he works on and is the king of turning an oil change into a three week ordeal with stripped bolts and all kinds of BS and repairs that have no relation to the original task. I believe he's just a chitty mechanic but I can't help but think that his love of tools he doesn't know how to use properly isn't helping him either.

 

[smokeysevin]

I have broken stuff with the non-fuel m12 ratchet, it 100% comes down to how you use the tool.

On the other hand, I drove some 12" long 1" concrete lag screws with the big 1/2" m18 impact and I was completely happy to have that tool rather than trying it by hand.

Most of the time I use the basic brushless m18 1/4" hex impact and its plenty for what I do. It does get annoying to keep breaking the 1/4" hex to 3/8" adapters though.

The other tool I am excited to try is the new 90 degree 3/8" impact, I don't know if it will end up being as useful as I think it will but I am happy it exists.


Sean

 

[Roseand]

Before I buy an impact, let me first ask this of those who use one regularly;
How much stuff do you F*ck up by using one?

I ask because I have never used one and never really felt like I was missing out on anything.
Like most, I over torqued and broke a lot of bolts when I was first learning to wrench and therefore adopted a more tactile approach to assembly and torque.
For the last 3 decades, I have used an adapter in my 1/2" Hammer drill with the clutch settings to "tune" my torque.
I start everything by hand or with a ratchet and only use the hammer drill for disassembly, or to run in longer bolts.
I am well known for executing jobs in a fraction of the time with little to no call backs so I don't believe I'm missing out on any lost productivity either.
I can also count on one hand how many bolts I have snapped off or cross threaded in the last 30 years using this method.

My brother in law swears by impact and that's almost all he ever uses. He f*cks up everything he works on and is the king of turning an oil change into a three week ordeal with stripped bolts and all kinds of BS and repairs that have no relation to the original task. I believe he's just a chitty mechanic but I can't help but think that his love of tools he doesn't know how to use properly isn't helping him either.

I grew up using impacts since I was like 10, but those 6-9v makitas didn't have enough to power to do much damage!
Besides the 1/4(absolute all time favorite tool. I use it all the time for work and for skis)and 3/8 drive ratchets, the 3/8 and 1/2 fuel impacts are what I use at work on the daily. I try to use the 3/8 fuel impact as much as I can because it's size, weight, and power is amazing(it's as powerful as the old style 1/2 impact we had). You can find me sneaking an adapter on it so I can use bigger sockets on it sometimes... Lol
I have never stripped a bolt with either of the fuel impacts. The 1/2 is mostly used for m12-m14 and above hardware which is pretty difficult to strip. This also mostly on all new equipment.
I use the the 3/8 for almost anything m8—m10, which is alot and some of that is threaded into aluminum. I'm almost always using it in max torque setting and never have an issue. It's also about just getting a feel for your tool.. The adjustable torque settings can be useful, but I rarely find a need. By now it's just about going by feel. As long as you're not an idiot and don't crank it full throttle and hold it long after the bolt snugs up, you're fine. It's pretty easy to get used to. Pretty sure if you're used to working on skis with bolts threaded into brass and aluminum you're going to be just fine.

 

[shockwave538]

Agreed with the above. They can be useful for extraction, and for running in longer or numerous fasteners. You just have to know when to stop to avoid damage. Just like use my impact driver to run in ebox screws and finish them by hand, no problem as long as you take it easy. I cringe when I see people tighten lug nuts with a big impact and call it good, it’s most likely overtorqued. You may not use it a ton, but you’ll be glad you have it at times.

 

[Chad24384]

You won't regret an impact... Just be smart on what you use it for. You can snap a bolt off, but you can also twist one off with a ratchet or a wrench. Crap happens.... Adapters in my opinion are junk, and make the tool worthless, they break, or take torque away... Buy the right tool for the job, that's why they make them.

 

[Zero Client]

For 1/2" drive impact, I generally put a 65ft/lb torque stick on before the 1/2" socket. That way I get an extension which I usually need, plus it limits the output of the tool. When that fails to extract, I remove the torque stick and let her rip on extractions only. Its never failed to remove what I told it to. IMO for assembly if you need more torque than about 65ft/lb then use a real torque wrench on those big fasteners.

Also I want to express the 'good' I get out of my 3/8" M12 ratchet non-fuel version. I bought it over the fuel because it was part of a kit that cost I think 199$ with 5 tools. Even in non-fuel, that tool is a beast and gets a TON of use. Its my most used tool out of about 20 or so Milwaukee tools. I've had it about 18 months and its awesome. IMO you don't need the Fuel version of this tool; because first you use the tool as a standard manual swing ratchet to break a bolt loose (Or for final tighten), and just let the tool rip on loose nuts/bolts. Its a lot more convenient than my 3/8" impacts. Trigger speed control. Does wonders for all bolts/nuts less than about 17mm.

https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200498739_200498739

 

[Zero Client]

Also I had my M12 portable tire air compressor fail on me about a week ago. I over-ran it, it over heated and blew a diaphragm I guess. It would not pressure up anymore. All Milwaukee tools have a 3 or 5 year warrantee. All you have to do it bring the tool to HomeDepot's rental department (They fix the tools in-house).

Unfortunately due to Covid19 it was told to me that parts for M tools are on about 8~12 week backorder? So the manager of the tool rental department told me to ask Customer Service to get an RTV exchange going on a brand new tool-only. I didn't even need a receipt - they swapped out the bad tool for one brand new in the box. Nice!

 

[OCD Solutions]

I was killing time at Home Depot yesterday morning and ran into the Milwaukee rep who just happened to have an M18 Compact 3/8" Impact Wrench in his hands.

He let me demo both the Gen 1 and 2 units side by side and I ended up bringing home the newest version. I'm not 100% sold on the shape of the head but I believe it will be a washout between times when the head will be in the way vs how many times the tool is just too long to fit in a tight space. An extension solves the first problem and the shorter head of the new model reduces the latter so it's an easy choice.

So, after obsessing over that purchase ever since you guys planted that seed a few moths back, I am once again all caught up on my Milwaukee wish list....

@Sanoman

 

[mikidymac]

Damn you all!!!
So was definitely a Milwaukee Christmas and the family actually got me stuff on my list which was awesome instead of more sweaters, lol.
Milwaukee M12 Jacket, Fuel 3/8 stubby impact, Fuel hackzall,, 3/8 ratchet. M18 high torque impact and oscillating tool. Should be pretty fun.

 

[OCD Solutions]

They were blowing those M12 jackets out for $49 but only in ladies plus sizes like 2 and 3XL.

The only gift I received this year was $10 cash from my 8yr old nephew.

Good thing I treat myself to whatever I want the rest of the year.