ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade General Discussion Area Cordless tools Q

I am thinking of purchasing one of the 4 or 5 pack of cordless tools. I was thinking Milwaukee lok-tor set with the hatchet, or the new M-force Makita set. I am not into dewalt. Have had lemons from them. Any other suggestions would be great Am specifically looking for reviews from owners of these tools. Thanx! Brian

Sparkeee24:

I have been using Milwaukee corded & cordless tools now for about six years. The only issue I have had with them is the batteries last only about two years. Other than that, they are just awesome. I have the 18v Lok-Tor hammer drill kit w/the Hatchet and light. I also have a 14.4v drill, then a corded hammer drill, right angle drill, and sawzall. I have dropped both cordless drills from several times anywhere between eight and ten feet and they both still work perfectly. I also highly recommend Hilti tools, too.

I got the Milwaukee set about a year ago and its one of the best tool purchases I have made. I already had one cordless drill, so now I have five batteries, so I can usually find at least one that is charged. But I think the most used part of the kit is the radio, its the envy of all the other techs in my company, just have to watch it on big job sites as everybody else is eyeing it up too...

I really like the Milwaukee 18v set. The hacksaw rules and drill has been great exceept for the keyless chuck. Mine is 3 or 4 years old so maybe its been updated. If not, the chuck is a piece of crap. It won't hold a drill bit in hammer mode and it won't hold a bit very well drilling. I have had no problems with the batteries and I have a half dozen or so.

We have 2 DeWalt kits and 1 Milwaukee kit. Both makes are 18Volts, here is our experience...

Drill - Both are very good. But we feel the DeWalt drill has the edge.

Sawzall - Mil is much better. Love the way the handle swivels.

Circular Saw - Mil is built better and stronger. Looks and cuts wood more like a corded saw. The DeWalt looks like a toy.

Flashlight - Dewalt is nicer with the funtional snake-style handle. You can hang, wrap and position this thing almost anywhere.

Radio - Mil has better sound and neat digital tuning. BUT the dewalt has onboard battery recharging and has proved to be extremely handy.

Battery - For some reason, the Mil needs more frequent recharging. Also, I don't know if its a problem with just our kit, but to take the battery off of any of the Mil tools can be quite challenging sometimes. For whatever reason, the thing jams into place and sometimes need two guys to remove the thing. Very frustrating. The DeWalts batterys remove much easier and seem to need less frequent recharging.

Overall, I don't think you can go wrong with either one, pretty much a matter of preference.

Personally, I favour the DeWalt line only because I have had very good experience with them. I still have my 5 year old 18V Dewalt Hammerdrill still in service with original batteries and still going strong. The thing has been throughly used, dropped and abused. Just last year I replaced the brushes and the thing still runs like brand new.

A little off the subject,
Ever used Bosch's in-line jig saw model 3294EVS.
What a great tool. Cuts in old work boxes without marking up walls and makes it much easier to watch you cutout lines. Only about $120

I have milwaukee 18v and am happy with it. The first hammer drill is 2 years old the chuck is junk because it allways loosened up. It quit hammering a bit ago too. The newer onn has a much better chuck. Some say the sawsall is smother then dewalt. Don't get your fingers caught on the blade plunger (seen it happen a few times). I have the strait sawsall. Someone told me they were not happy with the flexing hachet one (no grab on or something). The flashlight are great (I hate those flex dewalt ones). I don't know if I like the radio. It takes up too much space and does not charge the batteries. We got the metal circular saw a few weeks ago. It is unbelievable. 1 battery cuts 1/2 pipe in half a second most of the day. It will cut 1 1/2 ridgid in a single pass and bigger in 2 cuts. I think it is faster than a band saw or sawsall. It is great for demo too.

If your from Chicagoland please disregaurd the part about the circular saw.

Tom

[This message has been edited by Active 1 (edited 05-08-2004).]

I have used Milwakee stuff some, but DeWalt is all we have on our vans... all 18v, have had great luck with them. Drills are strong and durable, no problems with the sawzalls. Thoes are the things we use the most. I have found used and new stuff on Ebay at really good prices... Drills if used, offten need brushes. Easy fix, parts cost about 7 bucks.
One way or the other, find one you like and stick with it. Then your batterys will interchange. Good luck!
Greg

I have the DeWalt kit, as well. The only real problem I had was one battery pack that crapped out after a month of use, but DeWalt replaced it under warranty with no complaints. Been using the tools for about 4 years now, and they are holding up fine. The circular saw is quite small/underpowered for serious cutting, but the most wood cutting I do on a regular basis is a plywood backboard for a service panel. Works just fine for that or trimming the occasional 2x4.

The lemon of a Dewalt I had was the model 988 18 volt, 3 speed hammer drill. In all the gears, it acts like the clutch is toast, but it doesn't have the same kind of clutch as the older types did. It has a plastic transmission housing, that the gears are in, and an oval shaft, that deformed the slot within the plastic housing. This shaft is what selects the torque settings and the hammer function. I have noticed on the newer models (also made at a different facility) that the tranny housing is of a different casting. Perhaps the have corrected the issue I have had. They fixed it 3 times for me for free, and the same damn thing keeps happening, using 3/4" paddle bits through a 2X4. and definately not abuse for this tool. thanks for your replies, think I'll get it fixed one last time, and sell the whole set on ebay for what I can get for it, and buy a milwaukee.