Archived from the Tools In Action forum (Milwaukee). This thread is read-only.
As the title says I am thinking about switching to Milwaukee. I currently run makita. I love my makita stuff. Never had any issues with it. But i tried the gen 3 drill and impact and I gotta say i like the grips better and how compact the drill was. Now I have been kinda eyeing up Milwaukee for a while. It is hard for me to find a place to actually go look at makita stuff. The nearest place I buy my stuff from is 2 hours away. That is one of my reasons on possibility switching. I have 3 Milwaukee dealers and Home Depot within 15 minutes of me. I’m basically looking for pros and cons to switching from makita to Milwaukee. Is it worth it? I know milwaukee is more powerful on most tools but i heard that makita date more reliable (aka less warranty claims) and last longer. Not sure if that’s true or not. I currently have and would be replacing all of the ope stuff and and then your standard cordless equipment (drill, impact, sawzall, circular saw, angle grinder. All of which I currently have in makita.
Out of curiosity, why replace everything you already have? Why not just supplement with, or gradually transition to, Milwaukee? I have both and for most tools, either brand would be fine for 90% of my needs. I personally lean toward Makita; to me, Makita tools often have a higher quality feel, better design (with many notable exceptions), and I’ve had fewer issues with the tools. Also, X2 is a wonderful system. Unless you are in a particular trade, I doubt you could go wrong with either, but I also don’t see how it could be necessary, practical, or economical to switch entirely from one to the other.
Milwaukee is a great marketing company. They’ve put money into making an impressive drill and impact because that’s often what people start with. After that things get more trade-specific. If you’re more about woodworking they aren’t that great. Plumbing and automotive are often touted as their strong-points. I don’t see any point in replacing an entire line of cordless tools with another entire line of cordless tools unless you just have money to burn. Milwaukee is a great company for that, as they’ll have a new “generation” every year or so for you to replace your old one with assuming it’s lasted that long. Just listening to word-of-mouth, it just feels like they’re moving their business model in that direction. Making tools that perform really well for a bit and who cares if it doesn’t last when they can constantly woo you into the next model only a year later.
ToolBane wrote:
37 minutes ago, ToolBane said:Milwaukee is a great marketing company. They’ve put money into making an impressive drill and impact because that’s often what people start with. After that things get more trade-specific. If you’re more about woodworking they aren’t that great. Plumbing and automotive are often touted as their strong-points. I don’t see any point in replacing an entire line of cordless tools with another entire line of cordless tools unless you just have money to burn. Milwaukee is a great company for that, as they’ll have a new “generation” every year or so for you to replace your old one with assuming it’s lasted that long. Just listening to word-of-mouth, it just feels like they’re moving their business model in that direction. Making tools that perform really well for a bit and who cares if it doesn’t last when they can constantly woo you into the next model only a year later.
Milwaukee = Apple in the tool world. 🙃
I have plenty of Milwaukee tools, but what you say is true. I picked up my Gen 2 Fuel drill and impact driver kit for $125 or so last year, after the Gen 3 made it “obsolete”. In retrospect I wish I’d have picked up more…found a cart full of them and only grabbed one for my brother and one for me.
At least around me Makita is more expensive and as mentioned since my trade is more electrical and mechanical oriented, Makita is very limited in those areas. So it’s no different than say Porter Cable to me…good drill and impact and maybe a saw. After that not much good. I used Makita back in the NiCd days and I wouldn’t say it is any more professional than any others.
I’d agree with the statement that Milwaukee has issues to a point. First issue is their chucks suck. Every manufacturer except Milwaukee uses the same chucks. If you replace it with the popular brand, problem solved. So right up front the most basic and common tool is a piece of crap in terms of a key component but the rest of the line is very reliable. They are pretty well known for the best demolition tools for a reason,
Second problem is this. If you under power the tool, you can’t tear it up. So Consumer Reports gives crazy insane rave and highly biased reviews of Toyota pickups but ignores the fact that they have low performance across the board except their ability to suck gas. So sure it’s more reliable because you can’t really do anything with it.
I thought the marketing king by far is Dewalt. They are everywhere. I burned up several drills and saws before I figured out they underpowered them but that was also in the cordless years. I love their corded grinders and a lot of their hand tools, and their tool boxes are awesome. But the power tool line itself not so much.
But you might also want to check into those dealers. Often tool manufacturers have “trade in” deals. As in they will credit you for your old Makita tools traded in for Milwaukee. It can be a very good deal or just reduce the cost a little, and it’s usually only available through a local dealer so the markup might kill the savings do shop wisely.
I’m not out of Makita yet. For instance I have a Greenlee Crimper that uses Makita tools and at 3-5 grand won’t get replaced until it dies.
We kind of made the switch about five years ago from dewalt to milwaukee. We ran dewalt 18v for many years with numerous trigger issues so when the first set of 20v we bought had a grinder and impact trigger go bad after a year we decided to go milwaukee. At that time milwaukee had more brushless tools that we used daily, impact wrenches and grinders were the biggest improvement. Since then we’ve continued to update two work trucks with the latest and greatest tools, one milwaukee and the other dewalt. Each line has tools that might be marginally better than the other but overall they’re very comparable. Milwaukee has a better warranty but then again I’ve had to use it sometimes more than I’d like. Also the original set of 20v dewalt tools is still around and after reparing those two triggers they’ve been pretty reliable.
Long story short the grass isn’t always greener and while I like my milwaukee tools unless there is a specific tool you cant get in the makita I doubt it’s really worth changing out your entire tool set. I’d also agree with toolbane about milwaukee being a marketing machine, they’re always releasing the next gen tool and making you think you need it, which most the time you don’t and most of the time I end up buying it. Its viscous for a tool junkie.
Don’t really understand buying the next gen tool while the one your using works fine.
I ran mostly Dewalt for a good number of years till I ended up burning like 5 cordless drills up all in the same month, I slowly switched to Milwaukee and haven’t had many problems at all. (Carpentry and trim work)
I too agree with what others have said, if you do decide to switch just do it gradually as other tools fail and as the need arises.
The few Makita tools I have and had were damn good tools too.
Again, just because a next gen comes out doesn’t mean you need it.
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reddawg60 wrote:
12 hours ago, reddawg60 said:Don’t really understand buying the next gen tool while the one your using works fine.
…
Again, just because a next gen comes out doesn’t mean you need it.
True, but the marketing pros at tool companies understand how to appeal to those with compulsive/competitive mindsets. I understand this mentality because of my own compulsiveness, only instead of the latest and greatest I tend to buy deeply discounted clearance items. Simply put, marketing (Milwaukee, DeWalt, Makita, and nearly every other manufacturer regardless of product) touts their newest release as “The Best” and people flock to it because they “have to have it” or just due to bragging rights.
I tend to use certain tools over others, even if they are “inferior”. For example, I own both the M12 and M18 Gen 2 Fuel hammer drills, but I use the standard M12 and the M18 brushless (non-Fuel) drills almost exclusively. With M18 Gen 3 out and my most-used drill being woefully under-powered when compared to Fuel versions, you’d think that I’d have tossed my lesser tools, but in truth they just plain work.
In short, I agree with you despite being able to understand what compels some people to continually upgrade. If Porter Cable had continued to support their 10-year-old 18v system, I might have never moved on from that brand. Some trades demand performance, though, and with the constant improvements in technology closing the gap between cordless and corded power I can see perhaps moving to, say, FlexVolt grinders to replace older 18v models. People don’t necessarily need the latest, but Milwaukee knows how to make them think they do.
The reason I was looking at replacing all is I’m looking at going from my brushed stuff to brushless. I’m liking the longer run times, and all that there is to like about brushless stuff. When I started looking at upgrading I saw that I could get the same about of Milwaukee as makita. In the past year my fire department bought all Milwaukee and I have really started to like it. Plus I love their lighting options as well. Not a deal breaker though. I just don’t know if Milwaukee is any better or More reliable than makita. That’s why I had asked you all.
@Fireguy116 one reason to stick with Makita is reliability/thermals. I have heard the Gen 3 Milwaukee drill and impact tend to overheat quite easily. I haven’t used them personally. Also you should be able to get Makita at Home Depot since you have one nearby. Also online retailers like Acme tools, Toolnut, etc. sell Makita and you tend to find pretty good deals on pretty much any of the major brands and new deals tend to arrive at the beginning of the month. I don’t know if you like online shopping but it may be something to consider.
Jronman wrote:
@Fireguy116 one reason to stick with Makita is reliability/thermals. I have heard the Gen 3 Milwaukee drill and impact tend to overheat quite easily. I haven’t used them personally. Also you should be able to get Makita at Home Depot since you have one nearby. Also online retailers like Acme tools, Toolnut, etc. sell Makita and you tend to find pretty good deals on pretty much any of the major brands and new deals tend to arrive at the beginning of the month. I don’t know if you like online shopping but it may be something to consider.
The tool itself does not overheat but there is a subtle difference in the Milwaukee 18V battery line. There are actually 3 battery series: the smaller XC series (2-3 Ah), the larger XC (5 Ah and another size or two), and the monster 8 and 12 Ah. It’s not just Ah that is changing though. There are more contacts used and more cells in parallel. You CAN use the cordless full size Super Sawzall with a 2.0 Ah XC battery for about 10 seconds before it overheats or the correct (8 or 12 Ah) battery for a long time with no overheating unless you stall out the tool. I see lots of guys trying to use the high torque impact guns with 2.0 batteries instead of 5.0 size batteries, then complain that the tool sucks when it’s just using the wrong battery. Unfortunately Milwaukee doesn’t help things by color coding or something to make it clear which battery goes with which tool. It was less of a problem when you had brushed tools but as the torque and current draws have gone up the battery limitations are a lot more obvious. If you buy batteries for the Milwaukee 18V line today don’t bother with anything under 5.0 Ah unless you are only going to use them with low torque/demand tools, if you are going to use heavy demand tools at all (Sawzall, circular saws, table saw, grinders for more than about 10 minutes) the 8 and 12 Ah batteries are a must. The lights are really good but if you want any time at all on them 5 Ah is a must. Probably the only big lighting issue is that the rockers only last 8 hours on the lowest light setting but the slot won’t accept a 12 Ah battery.
As an example with the grinder on a 2.0 Ah battery using a flapper wheel I get about 5 minutes. If I switch to a cutoff or sanding wheel and load up the tool at all it stalls and overheats in seconds This is a Gen 1 or 2 grinder mind you. With the 5 Ah battery I can go until the battery is dead in about 15 minutes and no issues with overheating even if I repeatedly overload it. It just stalls. Bigger batteries just last longer. Save issues with a super Sawzall on a 5 Ah battery but stepping up to the 8 eliminates the stalling and overheating,
Of course the manuals that you read with 15 pages of safety warnings and 1 page of poor instructions on useless things explains all this. Yeah I threw those away too.
@paulengr I was talking specifically the gen 3 drill and impact. Their thermal issues are more than just a wrong battery in my opinion.
Jronman wrote:
16 hours ago, Jronman said:@paulengr I was talking specifically the gen 3 drill and impact. Their thermal issues are more than just a wrong battery in my opinion.
I have both the 2nd and 3rd generation Milwaukee Hammer drills and have used them both extensively drilling aged 60 year old concrete foundations/floors and they have both performed fantastically. No doubt the Gen 3 runs hotter in the motor area when doing the same work as my Gen 2 but absolutely zero issues with battery overheat on either unit and there is no impact on performance just a hotter environment. The obvious thing to anyone that has actually used both Gen hammer drills is that the drastic reduction in size from Gen 2 to Gen 3 is the biggest reason for the increased heat discharge of the newer smaller Gen 3 drills. Simply no heat sink area left so it gets discharged hotter. It is a compromise to getting a smaller, lighter, more agile, HD Hammer Drill that has all the power of the older Gen in a smaller lighter package.
So in summary it’s simple thermal dynamics, same motor doing the same work in a smaller package is going to release more heat.
ToolBane wrote:
On 12/11/2019 at 4:59 PM, ToolBane said:Milwaukee is a great marketing company. They’ve put money into making an impressive drill and impact because that’s often what people start with. After that things get more trade-specific. If you’re more about woodworking they aren’t that great. Plumbing and automotive are often touted as their strong-points. I don’t see any point in replacing an entire line of cordless tools with another entire line of cordless tools unless you just have money to burn. Milwaukee is a great company for that, as they’ll have a new “generation” every year or so for you to replace your old one with assuming it’s lasted that long. Just listening to word-of-mouth, it just feels like they’re moving their business model in that direction. Making tools that perform really well for a bit and who cares if it doesn’t last when they can constantly woo you into the next model only a year later.
Milwaukee no doubt started in the plumbing and demo trades but they now have nearly everything you could want or need for woodworking in their cordless lines. The new M18 Router, 7-1/4, 10 and 12″ miter saws, table saw, 18, 16, 15 gauge and framing nailers, Their new installation tool for cabinet installs and tight areas is excellent. Their new line of framing squares, speed squares and solid tape measure line up are no slouch either. They also have cordless planer, jig saws, orbital sander, staple guns, oscillating tools and not to mention their awesome circular saw line. Of course their Super Sawzall is bad to the bone. Seems to me they pretty much got woodworkers covered as well as any other cordless brand and blow away the others in plumbing, linemen support, lighting solutions by a long way. Their one shortfall, which I believe they’re quickly remedying, are their OPE, they need a lawn mower but already have a great chainsaw, trimmer, edger, blower and their latest quick connect line ups the game again.
Funny how Milwaukee beats all the main cordless companies warranty of 5 years, doesn’t seem like they’re making anything not intended to last. They do have a fast generational timeline which most think is a positive. Who wants to wait 5-10 years for a update to a particular tool? I don’t.
Just sayin’!
ToolBane wrote:
On 12/11/2019 at 4:59 PM, ToolBane said:Milwaukee is a great marketing company. They’ve put money into making an impressive drill and impact because that’s often what people start with. After that things get more trade-specific. If you’re more about woodworking they aren’t that great. Plumbing and automotive are often touted as their strong-points. I don’t see any point in replacing an entire line of cordless tools with another entire line of cordless tools unless you just have money to burn. Milwaukee is a great company for that, as they’ll have a new “generation” every year or so for you to replace your old one with assuming it’s lasted that long. Just listening to word-of-mouth, it just feels like they’re moving their business model in that direction. Making tools that perform really well for a bit and who cares if it doesn’t last when they can constantly woo you into the next model only a year later.
Milwaukee no doubt started in the plumbing and demo trades but they now have nearly everything you could want or need for woodworking in their cordless lines. The new M18 Router, 7-1/4, 10 and 12″ miter saws, table saw, 18, 16, 15 gauge and framing nailers, Their new installation tool for cabinet installs and tight areas is excellent. Their new line of framing squares, speed squares and solid tape measure line up are no slouch either. They also have cordless planer, jig saws, orbital sander, staple guns, oscillating tools and not to mention their awesome circular saw line. Of course their Super Sawzall is bad to the bone. Seems to me they pretty much got woodworkers covered as well as any other cordless brand and blow away the others in plumbing, linemen support, lighting solutions by a long way. Their one shortfall, which I believe they’re quickly remedying, are their OPE, they need a lawn mower but already have a great chainsaw, trimmer, edger, blower and their latest quick connect line ups the game again.
Funny how Milwaukee beats all the main cordless companies warranty of 5 years, doesn’t seem like they’re making anything not intended to last. They do have a fast generational timeline which most think is a positive. Who wants to wait 5-10 years for a update to a particular tool? I don’t.
Just sayin’!
I’m on the fence about Milwaukees warranty. 5 years is more than most, but the catch is it is only a limited warranty.
It is a limited warranty yes and I’ve had tools that were 2 years old get turned down by my local authorized service center as wear and tear. But I’ve never so much as been questioned when I send something into milwaukees e-service. I’ve also found that if I take something to my local service center, if it’s not something simple they send it off to a different place and they only ship tools once a week. So sometimes it would be over a month before getting the tool back. With e-service shippings free and they usually only have the tool for a day or two. Shipping times vary depending on how far you are from the e-service location but for me I usually get the tool back in under 2 weeks total from when I shipped it.
Hi any ideas on using American bought Milwaukee 18 gauge Brad nail gun with a UK Milwaukee 5ah battery. Will it work or are they configured differently
fm2176 wrote:
Milwaukee = Apple in the tool world. [emoji854]
I have plenty of Milwaukee tools, but what you say is true. I picked up my Gen 2 Fuel drill and impact driver kit for $125 or so last year, after the Gen 3 made it “obsolete”. In retrospect I wish I’d have picked up more…found a cart full of them and only grabbed one for my brother and one for me.
Always considered Festool to be the Apple of the tool world, minimalistic looking tools, clean lines, the I’m better than you attitude. And this is coming from a Festool and Apple owner LOL for some reason I just picture Darth Vader running Milwaukee tools, it’s the evil empire, still not complaining plenty of red in my shop
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@OldDominionDIYer..m18 sucks for framing,remodeling…no where near the power of flexvolt. Not even close. Yes they made tools but they are not good….Milwaukee for plumbing,auto, hvac,,yes..great tools
Framer joe wrote:
20 hours ago, Framer joe said:@OldDominionDIYer..m18 sucks for framing,remodeling…no where near the power of flexvolt. Not even close. Yes they made tools but they are not good….Milwaukee for plumbing,auto, hvac,,yes..great tools
You seem so convinced and I am not questioning your experience but if there is a difference, it’s not significant. Their table saw is fantastic, and offers some real benefits, and every test by unbiased groups indicate a marginal difference at best. The new M18 Framing nailer will out perform the Dewalt versions, preliminary testing supports this. It is disingenuous to make ridiculous claims about tools because your biased. The fact is there is no significant difference at all and it really boils down to a decision on which battery platform you want to invest in. The three within Dewalt or the one M18 from Milwaukee. I admit both Dewalt and Milwaukee excel in different areas and in particular tools but in reality its a back and forth occurrence as each MFR updates and improves on previous generations to meet or exceed the current best option. I hope3 you enjoy the new year!
Milwaukee covered woodworkers? 😂
Yeah,right!
DeWALT miter saw – the best on the market,Milwaukee miter saws horrible in every way!
DeWALT table saw – the best! Milwaukee just copy already existing DeWALT design.
DeWALT FlexVolt circular saw,MUCH! better ergonomic and POWER! Milwaukee … horrible ergonomic,OK power.
DeWALT router much better,especially micro adjustment. Milwaukee…just a copy from another design.
DeWALT FlexVolt grinder….ERGONOMIC! POWER!Milwaukee … do they make grinders? I don’t now…
DeWALT oscillating tool,MUCH! better ergonomic,tool free blade change.Milwaukee – nothing special…
Milwaukee new installation tool for cabinet installs…trying to copy already,long time existing Festool CXS!
No chance,because Milwaukee make a horrible design and ergonomic,fit and finish,design not even compatible to the Festool,not even close! 😆
But Milwaukee 2746 Brad Nailer looks like very great gun: fast and powerful! I like it!
I tried all the drill drivers: Makita/Milwaukee/DeWALT…the most comfortable is DeWALT,Milwaukee not far behind.
D U R A M A X wrote:
20 hours ago, D U R A M A X said:Milwaukee covered woodworkers? 😂
Yeah,right!
DeWALT miter saw – the best on the market,Milwaukee miter saws horrible in every way!
DeWALT table saw – the best! Milwaukee just copy already existing DeWALT design.
DeWALT FlexVolt circular saw,MUCH! better ergonomic and POWER! Milwaukee … horrible ergonomic,OK power.
DeWALT router much better,especially micro adjustment. Milwaukee…just a copy from another design.
DeWALT FlexVolt grinder….ERGONOMIC! POWER!Milwaukee … do they make grinders? I don’t now…
DeWALT oscillating tool,MUCH! better ergonomic,tool free blade change.Milwaukee – nothing special…
Milwaukee new installation tool for cabinet installs…trying to copy already,long time existing Festool CXS!
No chance,because Milwaukee make a horrible design and ergonomic,fit and finish,design not even compatible to the Festool,not even close! 😆
But Milwaukee 2746 Brad Nailer looks like very great gun: fast and powerful! I like it!
I tried all the drill drivers: Makita/Milwaukee/DeWALT…the most comfortable is DeWALT,Milwaukee not far behind.
Unfortunately it appears your comments are filled with unsubstantiated opinion NOT facts. If you actually knew the facts your argument would fall apart.
The Milwaukee Table saw has many features that provide the user a much better experience, such as positioning the blade further back in the table to allow for more stability of the work piece during cutting, thus making in inherently safer. Milwaukee provides two (2) miter slots for versatility something not available in the DeWalt. The raise/lower gearing operates on only half the turns of the DeWalt saving a lot of time cranking and cranking. Milwaukee’s On/Off switch is functional and effective, Lots of complaints about the system used on the DeWalt, again a plus for safety. Milwaukee One-Key is standard on ALL their table saws allowing the user to lock it out and track the unit.
The Milwaukee compares or exceeds the DeWalt 12 inch miter saw, and again offers One-key lockout and Geofencing security standard.
Since most of your justification for one brand over the other is attributed to ergonomics, and that is wholly subjective it seems like a weak if not personally driven opinion not based on actual facts.
The DeWalt router repeatedly failed during testing because the micro-adjustment would not stay put, unlike the rock-solid Milwaukee.
Milwaukee makes several grinders, many not available from DeWalt, clearly you have a beef against Milwaukee.
OldDominionDIYer wrote:
3 hours ago, OldDominionDIYer said:Unfortunately it appears your comments are filled with unsubstantiated opinion NOT facts. If you actually knew the facts your argument would fall apart.
The Milwaukee Table saw has many features that provide the user a much better experience, such as positioning the blade further back in the table to allow for more stability of the work piece during cutting, thus making in inherently safer. Milwaukee provides two (2) miter slots for versatility something not available in the DeWalt. The raise/lower gearing operates on only half the turns of the DeWalt saving a lot of time cranking and cranking. Milwaukee’s On/Off switch is functional and effective, Lots of complaints about the system used on the DeWalt, again a plus for safety. Milwaukee One-Key is standard on ALL their table saws allowing the user to lock it out and track the unit.
The Milwaukee compares or exceeds the DeWalt 12 inch miter saw, and again offers One-key lockout and Geofencing security standard.
Since most of your justification for one brand over the other is attributed to ergonomics, and that is wholly subjective it seems like a weak if not personally driven opinion not based on actual facts.
The DeWalt router repeatedly failed during testing because the micro-adjustment would not stay put, unlike the rock-solid Milwaukee.
Milwaukee makes several grinders, many not available from DeWalt, clearly you have a beef against Milwaukee.
It’s just your unsubstantiated opinion NOT facts!
Milwaukee just copy tables saw from DeWALT: rack and pinion fence is a DeWALT design – it is a fact!
Milwaukee new installation tool for cabinet installs just another copy from the Festool CXS – it is a fact!
It’s easier to take an existing design and make some improvements.
That’s what Milwaukee does!
They didn’t come up with anything innovative, they just copied it.
Ask anyone and they tell you that this is a DeWALT’s design: rack and pinion fence!
Ask anyone and they tell you that this is a Festool’s design: Festool CXS with all removable attachments,body shape etc.
But! What is more important: precision and accuracy of DeWALT’s table saw over Milwaukee.
Rack and pinion has been used in all sorts of applications for decades. Actually without specifically googling it I would even expect centuries. It seems like a nice convenience and probably easier to keep fairly accurate for most purposes. Mostly just easier. Dewalt can get credit for being the first to use it on table saws, and it’s nice someone finally thought to try implementing it and before long everyone will be doing it. But to be fair, anyone using rack and pinion for anything is ultimately copying it off of someone else.
Just as an end user I prefer the Dewalt corded grinders for the combination of power and ergonomics. They have a cheap crappy 4-5” but their midrange 4-5” and 7” are top notch. That’s why a lot of welders use them.
The Flexvolt idea is all wet on small hand tools. The larger batteries are 10 or 15 cell. They are adding extra contacts so you can run say 2 or 3 strings of 5 in parallel or one string of 10 or 15 cells. It is a simple modification to a standard battery pack. If we start with an 18 V motor and we want more power out as we
increase current we get more power but heat scales with the square of current so we quickly lose that battle. If we increase the voltage we can add windings to the existing coils making the motors fatter especially as we go to higher voltage insulation so the gain is not as much as you’d expect and definitely not linear. The alternative is more coils…double stacked rotor for instance. Same diameter motor but twice the length, twice the power, and twice the current with no voltage increase and beating the voltage game. Milwaukee has been down this road before with a 28 V line. Dewalt here is following Milwaukee but with their 28 V vs at the time 14.4 V experience obviously they figured out stacking beats voltage at these sizes. So far Flexvolt seems like a waste of money over 20V Max. In outdoor power tools where space is less of an issue this is where 60 V tools make sense but 5 Ah Flexvolt batteries are just way too small over say the Ego batteries,
When it comes to cordless 4-5” the M18 Fuel is equal to corded in power but cordless. I’m not going to attempt to strip paint on a large area or grind welds all day but for a cutoff tool or knocking out sheet metal cutouts or cleaning up rough edges, it’s so much easier than messing with cords and wins the power race.
As to drill/drivers in low gear I have bruised my wrist with a M18 drill jammed in a piece of steel on a Gen 3 Fuel drill. I have no doubts if I clutch the drill with my thumb wrapped around it I will break it. Done that before on a corded Milwaukee D handle 20 years ago. It’s a common mechanic injury. In high speed gear it beats out the Dewalt drill driver my buddy has in both speed and torque. The only thing I didn’t like about them was the poor chucks but now they buy Rohm just like Dewalt and others. You could accuse them of copying but Rohm is used by just about everybody. I’m partial to Morse from doing machinist work but I don’t think Morse has a decent keyless design.
The only complaint I’ve heard about the Gen 3s is poor battery life but if you have more power you should expect less battery life on a 5 cell. They’re coming out with the larger Panasonic batteries (HO) though that fixes this albeit there are some packaging issues because the form factor has grown and for instance it doesn’t fit the M18 Rover as well.
ToolBane wrote:
9 hours ago, ToolBane said:Rack and pinion has been used in all sorts of applications for decades. Actually without specifically googling it I would even expect centuries.
It’s even older than I expected
Lmao!!! Good god… I swear some of these posters are 10 years old!!!
Dewalt came out with this first…. Smh… Who gives a RATS ASS who came out with what first??? I don’t get it… We all benefit from it… Buy whatever the hell tool you want… For the life of me I never understood the big deal on who did what or I bought this or that… Do you really think I give a shit…
Buy what you like best and can afford and gets the job done for you… I’m sorry… I can’t help but think about the ppl that argue this shit are the same pin heads that drive home with their hard hats on!!!!
Smfh!!
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D U R A M A X wrote:
On 2/7/2020 at 3:09 PM, D U R A M A X said:
It’s just your unsubstantiated opinion NOT facts!
Milwaukee just copy tables saw from DeWALT: rack and pinion fence is a DeWALT design – it is a fact!
Milwaukee new installation tool for cabinet installs just another copy from the Festool CXS – it is a fact!
It’s easier to take an existing design and make some improvements.
That’s what Milwaukee does!
They didn’t come up with anything innovative, they just copied it.
Ask anyone and they tell you that this is a DeWALT’s design: rack and pinion fence!
Ask anyone and they tell you that this is a Festool’s design: Festool CXS with all removable attachments,body shape etc.
But! What is more important: precision and accuracy of DeWALT’s table saw over Milwaukee.
Of course you failed to mention that without permission DeWalt wouldn’t have cordless tools since they have to pay royalties to Milwaukee for the privilege! Look it up!
I’m sure glad I don’t go through life angry and antagonistic it’s no way to live, Enjoy!
OldDominionDIYer wrote:
1 hour ago, OldDominionDIYer said:Of course you failed to mention that without permission DeWalt wouldn’t have cordless tools since they have to pay royalties to Milwaukee for the privilege! Look it up!
I’m sure glad I don’t go through life angry and antagonistic it’s no way to live, Enjoy!
Again,as I said:
Milwaukee just copy tables saw from DeWALT!
Milwaukee new installation tool for cabinet installs just another copy from the Festool CXS!
It’s easier to take an existing design and make some improvements.
That’s what Milwaukee does!
They didn’t come up with anything innovative, they just copied it.
Dude just stop… Your making yourself look foolish!!
For gods sake… Do some research into other tools once.. There’s all sorts or features that are copied from all different brands… It’s usually a good thing… If it works use it.
Seriously how old are you?
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D U R A M A X wrote:
On 2/8/2020 at 5:44 PM, D U R A M A X said:
Again,as I said:
Milwaukee just copy tables saw from DeWALT!
Milwaukee new installation tool for cabinet installs just another copy from the Festool CXS!
It’s easier to take an existing design and make some improvements.
That’s what Milwaukee does!
They didn’t come up with anything innovative, they just copied it.
You use rack and pinion every time you get in your car or truck, Dewalt didn’t invent this, but it is one of the best types of fence systems. So why is it that you think Milwaukee should be spanked for offering their customers the best system that’s to be offered? Why is it that your not spanking Bosch or Makita who refuse to upgrade, still using glide rails?
Yea obviously I agree but your pissin in the wind… Some ppl think Dewalt invented the hammer…..DustyBear wrote:
You use rack and pinion every time you get in your car or truck, Dewalt didn’t invent this, but it is one of the best types of fence systems. So why is it that you think Milwaukee should be spanked for offering their customers the best system that’s to be offered? Why is it that your not spanking Bosch or Makita who refuse to upgrade, still using glide rails?
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reddawg60 wrote:
10 hours ago, reddawg60 said:Yea obviously I agree but your pissin in the wind… Some ppl think Dewalt invented the hammer…..
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Are you saying they didn’t?
D U R A M A X wrote:
On 2/8/2020 at 4:44 PM, D U R A M A X said:
Again,as I said:
Milwaukee just copy tables saw from DeWALT!
Milwaukee new installation tool for cabinet installs just another copy from the Festool CXS!
It’s easier to take an existing design and make some improvements.
That’s what Milwaukee does!
They didn’t come up with anything innovative, they just copied it.
Each brand has its own strong points and drawbacks. I own both. Picking which is better boils down to your personal preferences, practices, and needs. Relax dude, it’s the Ford / Chevy debate
I bought all my power tools in 12-13 era. It’s time to upgrade now that i bought another fixer upper. I don’t mind spending more for quality now. I just want something that’s gonna last.
BReal Huge wrote:
8 hours ago, BReal Huge said:I bought all my power tools in 12-13 era. It’s time to upgrade now that i bought another fixer upper. I don’t mind spending more for quality now. I just want something that’s gonna last.
You are certain to find an opinion for whatever you ask, but I have found that doing my own research, touching and testing the tools when and where available is the best path. So much about a tool is personal, the grip, weight and balance, even trigger response and features (some you might use all the time others you might never need) all play into my decision. One thing is for sure though, every major “Pro” brand has great tools so you really can’t go wrong no matter what choice you make. I chose Milwaukee and couldn’t be happier, but I also purchased plumbing tools, and some other cordless tools not available by other MFRs. Good luck in your endeavor to find out what works best for you!