Is it true Milwaukee are known for poor quality tools?

Since Milwaukee is part of TTI (Tech Tronic Industries). The same company that manufactures Ryobi. Does Milwaukee lack in quality in comparison to the big brands (Makita,Dewalt and Bosch)?

Quality has nothing to do with that.  Dewalt is owned by Stanley Black & Decker which also manufacturers Porter Cable and Black and Decker tools.  Bosch is a bit tricky because the actually owning company is also Bosch but they also manufacture Skil and I think some others.  Makita is just Makita to the best of my knowledge but they instead put out the low end tools under the same name and battery line and leave it up to users to distinguish the quality tools.

In general a lot of tool brands are owned by large conglomerates and in some cases many even under different ownership will market rebranded tools from a single manufacturer.  You really have the judge the tools individually.

jeffmcmillan wrote:

8 minutes ago, jeffmcmillan said:

Quality has nothing to do with that.  Dewalt is owned by Stanley Black & Decker which also manufacturers Porter Cable and Black and Decker tools.  Bosch is a bit tricky because the actually owning company is also Bosch but they also manufacture Skil and I think some others.  Makita is just Makita to the best of my knowledge but they instead put out the low end tools under the same name and battery line and leave it up to users to distinguish the quality tools.

 

In general a lot of tool brands are owned by large conglomerates and in some cases many even under different ownership will market rebranded tools from a single manufacturer.  You really have the judge the tools individually.

 

Thx for the comment. Yea you are right it’s just I heard that Milwaukee tools are always being repaired that’s what led to my assumption

JC welcome to the forum by the way.

I agree with Jeff. There are parent companies that own some lower quality brands. Milwaukee is great quality, top notch in my book. 

You are setting yourself up.  Milwaukee has a die hard following.

I would say the Milwaukee tools I bought 25 years ago, were not very good quality.  Most lasted less than a year or two.  I think they are better now, than then.  In fact, I don’t think I have a single Milwaukee tool from then.  

I think all tools have their fair share of repairs.

builditguy wrote:

1 hour ago, builditguy said:

You are setting yourself up.  Milwaukee has a die hard following.

 

I would say the Milwaukee tools I bought 25 years ago, were not very good quality.  Most lasted less than a year or two.  I think they are better now, than then.  In fact, I don’t think I have a single Milwaukee tool from then.  

 

I think all tools have their fair share of repairs.

and yet back a little further in the late 70’s and thru the 80’s Milwaukee was untouchable along with Porter Cable….those tools were on top of their game…..in the industrial shop I worked at Makita was always getting sent out for repairs……..

I thought Milwaukee is owned by a Chinese company called TTI?

TTI is the parent company of Milwaukee and (AEG) or RIDGID along with special licence agreement with Ryobi, Hoover, Dirt Devil …..

That is the exact opposite of Milwaukee’s reputation. One of those things where a tool company’s fanboy has to make up an excuse because Milwaukee’s tool out performs the tool he owns.

JcDino wrote:

Thx for the comment. Yea you are right it’s just I heard that Milwaukee tools are always being repaired that’s what led to my assumption

Well you know what they say when you assume, makes an a** out of you and me, but mainly you right now. No personal experience on your part? Doesnt give you much credibility…. just saying. Ok ok sorry I’m just giving you a hard time, welcome aboard! ?

As you.might have guessed, I am partial to Milwaukee but I would say that about any brand.

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Funny to see this post. In the shop i work in the boys swear by snap on power tool and clown on my Milwaukee gear, but seems to me that tti makes SO tools as well. They both have a lot of similarities. Here’s an example. So in my opinion, Milwaukee has great quality and they back it up with the best warranty on the market.[External image (uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com), not copied][External image (uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com), not copied]

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comp56 wrote:

TTI is the parent company of Milwaukee and (AEG) or RIDGID along with special licence agreement with Ryobi, Hoover, Dirt Devil …..

I believe you may have a few mixed up.

It is my understanding that TTi owns Milwaukee and Ryobi but manufacturers certain tools under a license agreement with RIDGID as RIDGID is its own wholly owned company.

jrsalas wrote:

Funny to see this post. In the shop i work in the boys swear by snap on power tool and clown on my Milwaukee gear, but seems to me that tti makes SO tools as well. They both have a lot of similarities. Here’s an example. So in my opinion, Milwaukee has great quality and they back it up with the best warranty on the market.[External image (uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com), not copied][External image (uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com), not copied]

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Nah dont see many similarities…. if you put that Milwaukee and a bosch hackzall side by side you would think they were identical!

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KnarlyCarl wrote:

9 minutes ago, KnarlyCarl said:

Nah dont see many similarities…. if you put that Milwaukee and a bosch hackzall side by side you would think they were identical!

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I do, one is about $150 the other about 6 grand……

to help with who owns what 

http://toolguyd.com/tool-brands-corporate-affiliations/

KnarlyCarl wrote:

Nah dont see many similarities…. if you put that Milwaukee and a bosch hackzall side by side you would think they were identical!

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They both have same lock switch, triger, motor housing dome, handle, battery incert(different pattern of course), and to top it off red. Maybe just me. Ill look up that Bosch.

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[External image (uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com), not copied]i see what your talking about…. That’s scarry same.

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my fuel m12 impact is not top of the line build quality if you ask me, housing split in 2 in the bottom side of the grip. 

pull the battery out and look for yourself 

jrsalas wrote:

[External image (uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com), not copied]i see what your talking about…. That’s scarry same.

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Exactly! It’s crazy

rikheem wrote:

my fuel m12 impact is not top of the line build quality if you ask me, housing split in 2 in the bottom side of the grip. 

 

pull the battery out and look for yourself 

That sucks, is there a metal clip that slips in the groove inside the battery housing? Now THAT is one flaw I was disappointed in, a few of mine fell out, so I had to give it an extra bend so it would stay in, hope that makes sense

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Correct me if I’m wrong but I thought ridgid has the best warranty with lifetime tool and battery. As long as you register them

From a fan of tools with lots of assistance from Siri #TIACREW

JcDino wrote:

9 hours ago, JcDino said:

Since Milwaukee is part of TTI (Tech Tronic Industries). The same company that manufactures Ryobi. Does Milwaukee lack in quality in comparison to the big brands (Makita,Dewalt and Bosch)?

Milwaukee is one of the more popular brands among forum members here, but you really can’t go wrong with any of the brands mentioned. I have a mixture of makita and dewalt and I’m delighted with both. Haven’t had to use a repair centre as of yet

tonylandin wrote:

Correct me if I’m wrong but I thought ridgid has the best warranty with lifetime tool and battery. As long as you register them

From a fan of tools with lots of assistance from Siri #TIACREW

That is correct but it seems you have to jump through a lot of Hoops in order to get your battery replaced or your tool repaired with Rigid.

tonylandin wrote:

Correct me if I’m wrong but I thought ridgid has the best warranty with lifetime tool and battery. As long as you register them

From a fan of tools with lots of assistance from Siri #TIACREW

Sometimes ridgid though helps a reputation for jumping through hoops to get a tool replaced.

another thing to consider is who and how the person using the tool is using it and why it needed repair, I know one of my buddies can destroy a perfectly new working tool in about 10 minutes…regardless the brand.

I have worked with Milwaukee tools most of my career 25+ yrs and also have a shop of my own full of Milwaukee.

these tools are mass produced there are bound to be issues here and there with any brand. But until Milwaukee goes south on me I will stick to the brand.

tonylandin wrote:

54 minutes ago, tonylandin said:

Correct me if I’m wrong but I thought ridgid has the best warranty with lifetime tool and battery. As long as you register them

From a fan of tools with lots of assistance from Siri #TIACREW

don’t kid yourself, RIDGID life time warranty is a gimmick too a marketing trick to say the least. 

comp56 wrote:

don’t kid yourself, RIDGID life time warranty is a gimmick too a marketing trick to say the least. 

That’s why they use the word warrenty sparingly in their tools and call it a lifetime service agreement (LSA)

As mentioned above, the kind of work done, makes a huge difference in their life span.  In my opinion.

Yesterday my belt sander died.  It’s had a hard life.  From truck to jobsite for years.  Dropped who knows how many times.  Rained on more than once.  Fell off the tailgate yesterday.  If it lived in a shop it would have had an easier life.

Of course it wouldn’t have had any cool scars to tell it’s friends about.

I usually feel like a manufacturer’s confidence in their product is represented by their warranty. Milwaukee’s being 5 years gives me confidence. Red isn’t the most common color going out for repair from our company. I will say that I prefer the way M18 packs are built and installed to the M12, but the M12 tools I own and have used are just as good as the M18 (and obviously better than a lot of other stuff I’ve used or I would have invested in a different color).

i have not had an issue with ridgid’s warranty. they replaced 2 battery packs with no problem. it helps having a service center a mile away.

as far as milwaukee, the brand has cheapened since being bought out. i have multiple USA miwaukee, no problems. new sawzall, busted a yoke (internal mechanism), with not alot of time on the tool.

porter cable is also not what they used to be.

I can tell from my experience that not all tools are bad from Milwaukee, but for example angle grinders are very weak, cordless drills can`t work in cold weathers. Comparing prices for example with Dewalt in my country is same price, but Dewalt is 5 times better then Milwaukee 

Andrius wrote:

12 minutes ago, Andrius said:

I can tell from my experience that not all tools are bad from Milwaukee, but for example angle grinders are very weak, cordless drills can`t work in cold weathers. Comparing prices for example with Dewalt in my country is same price, but Dewalt is 5 times better then Milwaukee 

can’t really comment on cold weather as I don’t do to much outdoor work, but I will say I’m not sure how well the dewalt angle grinders are but it better be phenomenal because the Milwaukee Fuel grinder I have is far from weak….5 times better than Milwaukee is a bit of a stretch…….

To piggy back what comp said I’ve done some work with both my m18 and m12 tools and have had no issues with the tool or the packs, pretty sure someone here left a bunch of m12 packs in the car overnight in sub freezing temps and they still worked.

Jimbo

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I’ve been thru a few brands over the years. I started with ryobi then I went to Dewalt and over the last 2 years I’ve had Milwaukee and I couldn’t be happier. They have stepped there tool game up a lot and I don’t think I will go anywhere else 

Jspeed wrote:

I’ve been thru a few brands over the years. I started with ryobi then I went to Dewalt and over the last 2 years I’ve had Milwaukee and I couldn’t be happier. They have stepped there tool game up a lot and I don’t think I will go anywhere else 

Sounds like my progression of tool brands

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This is our impact from work that just died earlier this spring after 3.5 or 4 years. It’s not extremely beat up but it’s been thrown in lots of mud, rained on, and bounced around in truck tool box it’s whole life. We’re pretty hard on tools and they’ve held up well for us so haven’t needed to change.

Honestly I’m not sure any brand is leaps and bounds above the competition for the most part. Now different brands belong in different categories but if your picking a brand from same category I don’t think there’s much of a difference in quality.

I would say if possible to form your own opinion, everything is junk when it’s broke or your having problems with it. So you’ll get ppl that have been burnt hating something and you’ll get ppl that have never had problems with same tool saying it’s the best. But it is hard on the wallet to keep trying things until find what you like.

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if a tool doesn’t live up to it’s name, or doesn’t preform properly then it comes down to the other side of the company and would be the service end. If a tool breaks or malfunctions prematurely does the company service department look after it with no questions asked or do you get a zillion excuses why it broke with the main focus toward you. 

Let’s face it, these tools are mass produced there are bound to be issues with every brand. The first couple of steps when this happens can make or break a company.

Yes, Milwaukee makes awful tools….send me all you have and I will take care of them for you!

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JimboS1ice wrote:

15 hours ago, JimboS1ice said:

Sounds like my progression of tool brands

I love Milwaukee 

Jspeed wrote:

I love Milwaukee 

Cool what are we looking at? Its very blurry. You buy all those?

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KnarlyCarl wrote:

3 minutes ago, KnarlyCarl said:

Cool what are we looking at? Its very blurry. You buy all those?

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Yea I just bought all of them. Hole hawg, sds plus fuel, pvc cutter, full kit knockout tool, and the pro pex 12v also picked up a husky socket set,.klien linemen pliers and the plumbers self feed bits for hole hawg. Knockout set alone was 1900$