tyyost
Well-known member
Ok, I read many posts here and around about cordless impacts. To self disclose I am not a paid wrench by any stretch of the imagination. I am a serious do it yourselfer who has formal training as a shop teacher. While I don't use power tools anymore everyday, I know tools.
That out of the way, I have no real shop here at my house currently. I work in the driveway, the grass, etc. It *****. I have plenty of tools that do the job, but all have drawbacks. Pulling the compressor and hoses from the shed, the extension cord from the cellar and the air tools out of my box to do a five minute job is painful, I have an older B&D/Craftsman electric impact that has served me well but struggles on real work. The design predates the newer hard hitting impacts by some time.
I wanted a cordless impact in the worst way. Snap On was the way to go everywhere I read. The new wrench looks tough, but it was beyond my price range heading into the holidays. I bought a Milwaukee 1/2" Set with 2 batteries and the 3/8" bare tool for right under $500. Only down side with this way was that I didn't get the light that comes in the set. I have a Makita 18V set a few years back, so i will use that light or my LED Rechargeable and save the $50 for the kids at Christmas. If you are jumping in and want both buy the kit, I imagine the light would be handy.
I did some tire swaps the first week, and both guns worked well. I pulled lugs from 3 cars with the 1/2" and did a focus tire swap with the 3/8" gun. I was impressed. But, as we all know, tires and lugs are easy. This weekend I did front wheel bearings on the Focus. Pulled tires, tie rods, strut bolts, Ball joints with the 3/8". No problems and the car is a 2002 and has 80,000 miles and a several PA winters full of salt on it. Then I used the 1/2" to pull the axle nuts, and they were a little rusty, so I wire brushed the threads and this just motored them right off. My electric struggled with axle nuts and I often would use a grinder to wire brush the threads, oil, and break loose by hand before the electric would help.
I am impressed. I am going to look for some tough things to break loose in the next few weeks, but I am satisfied this will do the job for me. Did I mention I am still on the first charge. The battery indicator makes this so nice to use, the 3/8 is at 3 of 4 bars and the half is at 2/4 bars. Time to keep on wrenching. This is definitely a why didn't I buy this sooner tool and I highly recommend it.
That out of the way, I have no real shop here at my house currently. I work in the driveway, the grass, etc. It *****. I have plenty of tools that do the job, but all have drawbacks. Pulling the compressor and hoses from the shed, the extension cord from the cellar and the air tools out of my box to do a five minute job is painful, I have an older B&D/Craftsman electric impact that has served me well but struggles on real work. The design predates the newer hard hitting impacts by some time.
I wanted a cordless impact in the worst way. Snap On was the way to go everywhere I read. The new wrench looks tough, but it was beyond my price range heading into the holidays. I bought a Milwaukee 1/2" Set with 2 batteries and the 3/8" bare tool for right under $500. Only down side with this way was that I didn't get the light that comes in the set. I have a Makita 18V set a few years back, so i will use that light or my LED Rechargeable and save the $50 for the kids at Christmas. If you are jumping in and want both buy the kit, I imagine the light would be handy.
I did some tire swaps the first week, and both guns worked well. I pulled lugs from 3 cars with the 1/2" and did a focus tire swap with the 3/8" gun. I was impressed. But, as we all know, tires and lugs are easy. This weekend I did front wheel bearings on the Focus. Pulled tires, tie rods, strut bolts, Ball joints with the 3/8". No problems and the car is a 2002 and has 80,000 miles and a several PA winters full of salt on it. Then I used the 1/2" to pull the axle nuts, and they were a little rusty, so I wire brushed the threads and this just motored them right off. My electric struggled with axle nuts and I often would use a grinder to wire brush the threads, oil, and break loose by hand before the electric would help.
I am impressed. I am going to look for some tough things to break loose in the next few weeks, but I am satisfied this will do the job for me. Did I mention I am still on the first charge. The battery indicator makes this so nice to use, the 3/8 is at 3 of 4 bars and the half is at 2/4 bars. Time to keep on wrenching. This is definitely a why didn't I buy this sooner tool and I highly recommend it.