Milwaukee Cordless Power Tools

[gmach10]

Morning. I need to replace my cordless drill. Had a Hitachi but she finally died and parts are no longer available. Question is aside from the "Fuel" line are all their tools the same? Translation; are the tools they market at say Home Depot the same as they would sell from their website? I know most big box stores want the best deal and manufactures will sometimes make a lower quality item "Brand specific" for them. I've seen this with printers, TV's and so on. Anyone have feed back or first hand knowledge?

 

[richard newman]

I'd look at the model numbers, if they're the same you're probably safe

 

[gmach10]

I'd look at the model numbers, if they're the same you're probably safe

That's what I came across with the Hitachi I got from Menards. It's not going to be a shop tool, home use only but I don't want to get something that's not going to live up to it's reputation and fail after a few years.

 

[rons]

Out here at Home Depot or Lowes the Milwaukee cordless drill is no problem. Wait to you see what batteries cost.

 

[sfriedberg]

gmach10, Milwaukee constantly updates their product lines. At any one time, they may have three or four models of "cordless compact 18V drill/driver". Even within the M18 Fuel line, they often have multiple models of basically the same tool. However, all of the current models are sold through all of their outlets. Big box stores, internet stores, and Milwaukee's own store sell the same models. They absolutely do not "cheat" on the model numbers.
Having said that, they do occasionally upgrade a product without changing the model number. This is reflected in the serial number, usually with a new alphanumeric prefix for each design revision. Usually this works out fine for everybody, but sometimes there's a goof. Last year, they made a bad internal design change to a heavy cordless impact wrench. They ended up recalling and replacing all the wrenches with the "upgrade" serial numbers and returning production to the original design. But this is very rare.

 

[gustafson]

Milwaukee is now owned by Ryobi.
As much as I denigrate Home Depot, The Despot, the Borg, I buy the Ryobi cordless, because they make everything you can think of with one battery, and they actually seem to last, at least so far. First big set I bought was in about 2005. So far[knock wood] I have not lost a lithium battery, although went through plenty of the nicad ones.
I did used to see Milwaukee corded models at HD that I never saw elsewhere, and they were not[are not] the same quality as my 1986 0234 1/2 VSR

 

[jaguar36]

The Milwaukee tools sold by HD are the same as sold everywhere else if they are the same model. They do have different models though and they won't have every single model in store although they are all available online. For Milwaukee model numbers the first 4 digits are the model. The first two digits are basically the revision level, so the 29XX are newer than the 28XX and so on. The digits after the dash indicate if it comes with batteries or not. XXXX-20 is a bare tool, -21 is one battery, -22 is two batteries.

Here are the different standard pistol style M18 (18 volt) drills that Milwaukee makes with the bare tool price:

Fuel with Onekey:
2704 - Hammer (discontinued)
2706 - Hammer (discontinued)
2805 - $210
2806 - Hammer

Fuel:
2803 - (discontinued)
2804 - Hammer
2903 - $160
2904 - Hammer

Non Fuel:
2601 - (discontinued)
2602 - Hammer - (discontinued)
2606 - $120
2607 - Hammer
2702 - Hammer - (discontinued)
2801 - $130
2902 - Hammer

Its confusing because there are so many different models and each one has different kits and combos. However you can see there are really only 4 different regular models, each and slightly different prices.

That being said, if its for home use, I would highly recommend getting the M12 (12 volt) instead. They have plenty of power and are alot smaller, lighter and easier to use. The 3403 is a really nice drill.

One last thing, Milwaukee is was bought by a Chinese company (Techtronic Industries) in 2005. They still do at least some of the engineering in Wisconsin though. If that matters to you, you might want to consider Bosch or Dewalt instead.

 

[DDoug]

Allot of the Amish pole barn crews use Dewalt.

 

[rons]

Whatever there is out there, the key-less chuck has not been kind to my drill bits.
The stores are all geared for the home construction guy. Real easy to change spade bits when doing roughing holes for wires.
Get me a three flat drill bit shank in a keyed chuck.

 

[SeeFair]

So far[knock wood] I have not lost a lithium battery, although went through plenty of the nicad ones.

I second the ryobi recommendation. I spent 15 years working with high school kids who beat the dickens out of the hand drills and impact drivers. Never managed to break one, despite some serious effort (wish I could say the same about drill bits or riveters). We even ran the older Ni-Cad drills on the new lithium batteries.

So I also standardized on ryobi in my home and shop. Only one of the batteries has completely died so far. As I recall, they have a 3(?) year warranty on the battery. I never registered the tools, nor kept the receipts. Called them up; they asked for the serial # on the battery (which I suppose gives them a date), asked about its behavior in the charger, agreed that it failed within warranty, sent me a new one within about a week.

We used cordless drill motors for a lot of mechanisms. Those motors are pretty spectacular. Power density per dollar is hard to beat.

 

[eKretz]

I have DeWalt, I always buy the hammer drill just to get the keyless chuck that they come with. Those suckers are tenacious. I've chewed marks into drill shanks with one before but never had one come loose while using it. I have had them come loose on rapid stops with the stupid instant brakes they use, but I learned to slowly release the trigger so I don't have that happen any more.

 

[Bondo]

I have never had a bad Milwaukee tool, except for 1 f the 1/2" impacts that they botched the design on and quietly recalled.

I have a dozen 1/2" drill and impact sets, 5 Sawzall, 7 porta bands, the portable threader, the pex A tools, Progresso tool, the tubing cutter and more. Never had 1 issue besides stated. I also run 4 trucks and the shop.

I changed from makita to Milwaukee years ago when makita decided that the new 4 amp batteries and tools weren't compatable with all the 3 amp tools and batteries so I switched and I'm glad I did.

I also haven't burnt up any Milwaukee drills like I use to with the makita. I drilled 24 4.5" holes, carbide tipped hole saw in 1/8 steel, in steel and the drill just kept on going, little hot, but way better then the makita.

 

[sfriedberg]

I did used to see Milwaukee corded models at HD that I never saw elsewhere, and they were not[are not] the same quality as my 1986 0234 1/2 VSR

This is kind of life as it is today. For years I had a consumer grade Black&Decker corded drill, probably purchased sometime around 1982 or possibly a few years earlier. But at that time, a "consumer grade" B&D drill had a heavy metal gearbox and would (and did) last decades of occasional (not production) use. When I finally decided to get new corded drills(s) in the early 2010s, I ended up getting Dewalt commercial grade, which in some ways aren't as heavy-duty as the 1980s' consumer grade.
On the other hand, I had some (old) Hitachi nicad cordless gear, which was pathetic in comparison to today's brushless motor and Li-ion battery technology (from all the major makers). Like cameras (anyone remember real cameras with real lenses?), you sort of buy into a system when you pick your first one. In this case M18 Milwaukee for me, mostly Fuel, with a scattering of M12 tools. And I was pretty reluctant to get into a 2nd battery system, but they have some nice M12 tools...

I've chewed marks into drill shanks with one before but never had one come loose while using it.

The highschool robot team I help mentor has students with all sorts of backgrounds, including no mechanical experience at all. They do a real quick "this is how to use a screwdriver, etc." training at the beginning of the season, and I am supposed to extend and enhance their training on the machine tools. I see so many chewed up drill shanks. The team has mostly Dewalt cordless drills with keyless chucks, and there are some students who just do not tighten the chucks sufficiently. (I put some of the blame on the clutches in the drill/driver models.) When I get a spare moment, I rummage through the drill cabinets, pull out a half dozen drills with those little "tabs" (raised galls from chuck jaws ripping pieces of drill shank off), and just offhand grind the raised areas off. This is sort of pathetic, but the students will try to chuck on top of the galled crap, just making things worse.
In fact, we have a nice keyless chuck on the 13x40 lathe tailstock, and I saw a student unable to get a drill chucked straight in it. I ended up fishing out a 1/2" long chunk of drill shank out of the chuck, where it had been broken off by some previous user. I have never seen that before, and if asked I would have said it's not possible/plausible.

 

[eKretz]

No surprise there. The chuck jaws on the hammer drills are carbide IIRC. They'd probably literally machine down a drill shank if they spun on it. Mine are more accurately described as "impressions" I guess, they just bite in and leave 3 straight lines. Only happens for me if a drill catches on breakthrough now and again. And FYI the keyless chucks should be tightened by hand, not with the chuck powered. They get way tighter when tightened by hand rather than under power, and that is specifically called out in the instructions IIRC. Your mention of the clutch brought that to mind.

I used to have to do the same as you in most of the *working* machine shops I've been in. I generally just used a hand file to work down the raised "boogers" real quick.

 

[sfriedberg]

I generally just used a hand file to work down the raised "boogers" real quick.

LOL! That's what I do in my own shop (where I do it maybe a couple times a year), but decent files are getting harder to come by than decent drills.

 

[sfriedberg]

And FYI the keyless chucks should be tightened by hand, not with the chuck powered.

Oh yes. I mentioned the chucks because if they are set to a "soft" driver setting, the chuck disengages before the shell of the keyless chuck is tightened enough. And of course, none of them know what the numbers and the drill symbol on the clutch are supposed to represent, or what position it should be turned to...

 

[DDoug]

I see so many chewed up drill shanks. The team has mostly Dewalt cordless drills with keyless chucks, and there are some students who just do not tighten the chucks sufficiently. (I put some of the blame on the clutches in the drill/driver models.) When I get a spare moment, I rummage through the drill cabinets, pull out a half dozen drills with those little "tabs" (raised galls from chuck jaws ripping pieces of drill shank off), and just offhand grind the raised areas off. This is sort of pathetic, but the students will try to chuck on top of the galled crap, just making things worse.

Have the students repair the drill shanks...
That is teaching, rather than serving.

 

[Cole2534]

Allot of the Amish pole barn crews use Dewalt.

It's been my experience that the wood guys use Yellow tools and the more industrial/metal guys use Red tools.

 

[sfriedberg]

Have the students repair the drill shanks...
That is teaching, rather than serving.

That would be my preference, Digger. It really would. But every year the rules of the annual FIRST competition get released in mid-January, and they have to design, prototype, test, refine, build and program a 125lb robot and run it in competition less than two months later. A fine insanely compressed engineering schedule. The coach/teacher is not happy when I grab some students away from competition-driven activities to grind burrs off drill shanks.
I do have a small crew of "lab resources and manufacturing" students, who are more about supporting the rest of the team in the machine shop and less about the robot itself. Those folks are usually not the ones messing things up, but I do make an attempt to show them how/why to fix up the dings and galls. However, even this crew can be doing critical stuff like running the CNC routers and Tormach to make robot parts on the project critical path, and I can't just grab them all from what they are doing and say "let's clean up the shop".
As an aside, the team had their first district competition last weekend, and they iterated on the kinematic design of a manipulator claw during the competition based on the performance they were getting. Somebody at the competition tweaked the cloud-based CAD files, then someone else back at the school ran CNC routed parts overnight for on-site assembly into a new claw on the 2nd day of competition. After the competition, based on what they were seeing in other teams' robots, they decided to drop their kinematic claw design and go with a completely different powered grabber and add a powered wrist joint at the end of the arm. So this week, they are basically completely reengineering, remanufacturing, reassembling and reprogramming the entire business end of the robot. There just isn't a lot of slack in the schedule.

 

[rons]

Today I compared a DeWalt and a Ryobi wet/dry saw. The funny thing is the base plates look the same and have same X & Y dimensions.
The 4" Ryobi has a larger motor but the 4 3/8" DeWalt is smaller. DeWalt $149 Ryobi $99. I have to go with the green Ryobi. The color is the
same as Grex air brushes made in Taiwan.