Milwaukee or Dewalt

[Dig Doug]

I don’t care for Dewalt in years past thought they were kinda cheap feeling.

I’ve had all kinds! Been staying w/ red lately m12 and m18 are good and they have a huge line of cordless stuff to choose from

I still use my ridgid tools bought in 2008 w/ new batteries


i do have a Dewalt corded roto hammer and it kicks ****
‘oh and a palm sander bought in 2001 - I had to re paint the bathroom vanity before we got married in 2001

 

[JeepYJ]

And DeWalt isn't? You haven't fallen for their assembled in USA with gobally sourced parts ******** have you?

Depends if you care that Dewalt is a US based company, Milwaukee is not.

 

[Renegade1LI]

I say buy them as you need them, does it really matter how many battery platforms you have. In the end they're all the same.

 

[neophyte]

And so what? Do you really think it matters whether you've got a lot of poorly paid unskilled labor with screwdrivers bolting parts made in China together somewhere in America that big of a deal. Stanley Black and Decker is every bit as bad as Milwaukee and as to Finn's argument Milwaukee has been owned by foreign companies for at least 40 years. Before TTI it was Atlas Copco out of Sweden. Did anybody ***** about that? Yet they still have a big domestic Engineering Center in Milwaukee and Customer Service in Mississippi. And they have the best warrantee by far. I don't care who makes what or who owns what just whether the tool is any good or not. The biggest manufacturer of cordless tools in America is Makita. Toyota's have more American made content than Chevrolet. As Bush the 1st correctly stated: "It's a new World Order." You don't have to like it. It is what it is.

Atlas Copco was a major manufacturer of heavy duty tools for industrial manufacture and mining.
If Atlas Copco purchased Milwaukee (and AEG Tools) then it was a seal of approval that the tools were well enough built for continuous use in manufacturing plants or the severe conditions mining entails.

TTI on the other hand made Dirt Devil vacuums, which were nowhere near the top of the heap as far as vacuums went, let alone as far as tools go.

That said;

Most people were and are unaware what corporation owns the tool brands they like, let alone who controls those corporations, and where those corporations are based.
If people complain about a tools “Country of Origin” they complain about what is printed on the tool.
And “Yes”, people complained about imported tools sold by Milwaukee three decades ago.
They complained about some “overpriced” tools made in Japan (probably by Panasonic).
They complained about the Mexican cordless batteries (this is a few generations of battery design ago, and the batteries sort of sucked).
They complained about the German Made drills in some cases, since the USA made equivalent drill models were generally somewhat better in comparison, although not always.
The above is all concerning Milwaukee tools.

People also complain about Makita tools that aren’t made in Japan ( particularly if made in China).
They probably complained about Dewalt tools that were made in Germany or Switzerland, until they got to know the tools.
Etc.

 

[WWheeler]

And DeWalt isn't? You haven't fallen for their assembled in USA with gobally sourced parts ******** have you?

That "assembled in USA with gobally sourced parts ********" means thousands of good paying manufacturing jobs in USA that Milwaukee sure as hell can't claim. Dewalt has assembly plants with hundreds of employees each in Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Connecticut. That's not a small-potatoes contribution to the local economies in those areas.

 

[logical]

Once you buy a few of any brand/platform most people stick with it unless something awful happens. I have Dewalt 20V and have for quite a while. Along with the typical impacts and drills I have a leaf blower, chain saw and line trimmer. I think Milwaukee does yard tools as well but they don't seem too common. I have some previous gen Dewalt 12v drills and work lights that I have fitted with adapters to use the 20V batteries. With a few of those things only used a few times a year it just makes sense to stick to a single battery platform.

I haven't had an issue with any of them and haven't yet had a battery brick on me. There are hundreds of YouTube comparisons out there for anyone who is starting from, or close to, scratch.

 

[housewolf]

I believe it’s a cointoss unless you’re talking about specific tools. I’m M18 because 10 or 15 (or more?) years ago when cordless tools really became an effective alternative in the construction industry Milwaukee batteries were head and shoulders above their competitors. Today I believe all the major players have a solid battery platform

 

[jayemm]

I am switching my 1/2 impact to dewalt soon after being blown away by new 3/8 dewalt that outperformed my stubby Milwaukee. I’ve always had some of each, and try to get the best for the money from whoever makes it. I have a ryobi polesaw and radio at home along with a very good power broom attachment that works on my husqvarna weed wacker!

Since you have a 3/8" (DCF923 Atomic I presume?), have you checked out the 1/2" DCF891. Looks almost identical to the DCF894 but twice the power. Torque test channel did tests on both. The DCF891 would be at the top of my list if I was in the market for a more powerful impact. I currently have the 1/2" 12V Xtreme DCF901.

 

[Snapped-off]

What about the other yellow?

 

[WWheeler]

What about the other yellow?

Though they are a product from the same parent company I don't suspect 'the other yellow' tools will still be alive and kicking after 2-3 decades of use like Dewalts routinely do, like they sure have for me going back to early nineties. Never touched a Stanley power tool, corded or cordless, but my gut tells me they will be more like their Craftsman cousins, which I have used a fair bit and though they may look a lot like Dewalt, put to use aint even close.



The only red tools I've had were or have been good too, an 80s Sawzall™ that I bought used and ran it to it's death sometime in the early 2000s and a handful of 12v tools, a screwdriver and several ratchets, but the cordless ratchets don't get used so much now that they share a drawer with a couple yellow ones that just work better in every way.


.

 

[mrvm]

Battery adapters allows me to choose the power tool I want regardless of color. Adapters used correctly allows me to own multiple brands.

 

[seber]

I started using Milwaukee when Dewalt was a radial arm saw company. When the name was sold to used for Black and Decker upmarket, I just kept thinking how bad the B&D had gotten, so I kept buying Milwaukee. I've never had a reason to look at any other.

 

[oilslick]

Since you have a 3/8" (DCF923 Atomic I presume?), have you checked out the 1/2" DCF891. Looks almost identical to the DCF894 but twice the power. Torque test channel did tests on both. The DCF891 would be at the top of my list if I was in the market for a more powerful impact. I currently have the 1/2" 12V Xtreme DCF901.

Correct on the dcf923, it’s very impressive.I am getting the dcf900. As of now I don’t see a lot of need for a mid tq. 1/2”. My work tends to be large and heavy but there might be some instances when a lighter tool would be handy.

 

[oilslick]

Though they are a product from the same parent company I don't suspect 'the other yellow' tools will still be alive and kicking after 2-3 decades of use like Dewalts routinely do, like they sure have for me going back to early nineties. Never touched a Stanley power tool, corded or cordless, but my gut tells me they will be more like their Craftsman cousins, which I have used a fair bit and though they may look a lot like Dewalt, put to use aint even close.



The only red tools I've had were or have been good too, an 80s Sawzall™ that I bought used and ran it to it's death sometime in the early 2000s and a handful of 12v tools, a screwdriver and several ratchets, but the cordless ratchets don't get used so much now that they share a drawer with a couple yellow ones that just work better in every way.


.

I wish they had a 20v ext length 3/8. I’m trying to avoid another platform of batteries! Does that dewalt have some power?

 

[WWheeler]

I wish they had a 20v ext length 3/8. I’m trying to avoid another platform of batteries! Does that dewalt have some power?

The 12v Dewalt has slightly more torque than any other cordless ratchet Torque Test Channel has tested so far including a bit more than the 20V. Both have slightly more than Milwaukee's high torque. BUT TBH more torque isn't really much of a benefit IMHO. I do wish it didn't like to so easily take it to ~70ftlbs as I prefer to let it do its thing and finish torquing with the cordless ratchet by hand so I have a better feel of what got put on the fastener. At least the Dewalt's triggers/switches are a lot better than the Milwaukees so it's a little easier to feather off of it. I don't typically try to use a cordless ratchet on fasteners that need to be torqued all that high. If and when I do I'm opting instead for an impacting ratchet or just an impact and those are different animals altogether.

And FWIW Dewalt's 12v batteries don't cost all that much and charge in the same chargers as 20V/60V. I paid $55 shipped for a pair of 2ah 'New - removed from kit'.

 

[BlakeTheCarGuy]

I’m not bias towards any brand but I can say from experience typically Milwaukee blows Dewalt out of the water. I know my 1/2 impact will kick the underpowered Dewalt’s tail. Same with my 3/8 cordless ratchet. Maybe I’ve just gotten used to the Milwaukee but the Dewalt feels sorry for what it is. I use my coworkers stuff just for the heck of it sometimes and I’m just not impressed. My impact was able to take off some really seized lug nuts that had been on for years that his dewalt could not touch brought my Milwaukee over and zipped all 20 of them off his Dewalt was still impacting away on one. Both had fully charged batteries. That said until I have problems with my Milwaukee I’ll never switch and if I do it certainly won’t be to Dewalt it would most likely be Makita. I’m sorry but I don’t really trust power tools made by SB&D but like I said I try not to be bias. If it was the only thing available then I’d use it.

 

[dnschmidt]

Though they are a product from the same parent company I don't suspect 'the other yellow' tools will still be alive and kicking after 2-3 decades of use like Dewalts routinely do, like they sure have for me going back to early nineties. Never touched a Stanley power tool, corded or cordless, but my gut tells me they will be more like their Craftsman cousins, which I have used a fair bit and though they may look a lot like Dewalt, put to use aint even close.



The only red tools I've had were or have been good too, an 80s Sawzall™ that I bought used and ran it to it's death sometime in the early 2000s and a handful of 12v tools, a screwdriver and several ratchets, but the cordless ratchets don't get used so much now that they share a drawer with a couple yellow ones that just work better in every way.


.

Two things I don't like about the DeWalt ratchets: 1) Their size is too big 2) I don't like the open head design that's similar to most air ratchets. One thing I do like is the solid button like trigger which is better than the Milwaukee lever design that seems to get hung up on stuff.

 

[WWheeler]

I know my 1/2 impact will kick the underpowered Dewalt’s tail.

That aint true any more

Same goes for Mid-Torques

 

[finn]

I’m not bias towards any brand but I can say from experience typically Milwaukee blows Dewalt out of the water. I know my 1/2 impact will kick the underpowered Dewalt’s tail. Same with my 3/8 cordless ratchet. Maybe I’ve just gotten used to the Milwaukee but the Dewalt feels sorry for what it is. I use my coworkers stuff just for the heck of it sometimes and I’m just not impressed. My impact was able to take off some really seized lug nuts that had been on for years that his dewalt could not touch brought my Milwaukee over and zipped all 20 of them off his Dewalt was still impacting away on one. Both had fully charged batteries. That said until I have problems with my Milwaukee I’ll never switch and if I do it certainly won’t be to Dewalt it would most likely be Makita. I’m sorry but I don’t really trust power tools made by SB&D but like I said I try not to be bias. If it was the only thing available then I’d use it.

You obviously haven’t tried the newer Dewalt ratchets released in the past year or so. They blow away the equivalent Milwauke tools.

I have both, and I agree, the older Dewalt came up short. Not anymore, though. Milwaukee is now behind the curve.

 

[BlakeTheCarGuy]

You obviously haven’t tried the newer Dewalt ratchets released in the past year or so. They blow away the equivalent Milwauke tools.

I have both, and I agree, the older Dewalt came up short. Not anymore, though. Milwaukee is now behind the curve.

The ratchet I tried was just bought about 2 months ago. The thing struggled taking loose a battery terminal and other things. Not impressed but maybe it was just old stock from the Mac truck where it was purchased by my coworker. My Milwaukee I bought about a year ago.

 

[rsanter]

Dewalt

 

[dnschmidt]

It's all good. Competition is the driver of improvements. After the high-torque debacle/snafu/**** up (pick your favorite description) Milwaukee is going to have to dig deep to reclaim the throne. I still maintain that torque and ratchets don’t mix. I don’t want a high torque ratchet as my air ratchets have jarred my wrists to many times in the past. NOW AN IMPACTING CORDLESS RATCHET would get my attention similar to the SPAir that I have and love. Also, Milwaukee needs to add more beans to the right angle impact which would move it from a good tool to a great tool.

 

[setfocus]

I didn't vote, it's hard to judge an entire lineup when you've only used a handful of tools in each

I've got Milwaukee but I'm an auto tech and was looking to upgrade from older platforms and dewalt hadn't come out with the newest impacts or had ratchets (with the exception of the Mac ratchet, and back then the dewalt 12v line was lacking)

I have the m12 fuel impactdriver, hammerdrill, 1/4 highspeed ratchet, and 3/8 stubby. I've thought about adding the high-speed ratchet in 3/8 and extended reach in 1/4. Maybe the midtorque in 1/2 for when I'm not near an air line, or it's being used for something else. Othwise I find all hightorque cordless impacts to be inferior to air due to size and weight, and have yet to convert

Overall they both have good and full lineups, as does makita. They each have specific tools that edge out the other or battle back and forth as top dog on a specific tool.

 

[anndel]

I have all 3: DeWalt, Makita and Milwaukee plus Snap-on. All have features I ilke.

 

[Tiny Jackson]

The decision between Milwaukee and Dewalt was so tough I chose to get battery platforms in 6V 12V 24V etc in Milwaukee, Dewalt, Bosch, Makita, Festool,Mac Metabo, Delta, Hitachi and Hilti. Im really trying to decide if I want to invest in Snap-On cordless next.

 

[Bubba Fett]

The decision between Milwaukee and Dewalt was so tough I chose to get battery platforms in 6V 12V 24V etc in Milwaukee, Dewalt, Bosch, Makita, Festool,Mac Metabo, Delta, Hitachi and Hilti. Im really trying to decide if I want to invest in Snap-On cordless next.

Don't.

 

[Jim greengo]

Yes, my personal tools get taken care of better than crew tools, for sure. Crew tools get way more use and abuse than my personal tools. However, I’ve had several drill/drivers and 1/4” impact wrenches fail after a few weeks on a job site, when the tool still looks new. Drive clutches and switches seem to go pretty quick. Saws-alls quit as well. IMO, DeWalt batteries don’t last at all, don’t hold a charge at all after a couple months. At the end of a year and a half school project, we had about 10 dead DeWalt tools in the shed. We have some old Milwaukee and Skil saws that have been around for 5 years or better, still going strong. Most companies seem to buy DeWalt, most tradesman have Milwaukee or Makita for their personal tools. The cordless DeWalt roto-hammers seem to hold up OK, but for bigger roto- hammer; Bosch or Hilti are the way to go. The corded DeWalt miter saws hold up well. My 2 cents.

I've always had good luck with Dewalt 20v batteries,it's the Dewalt hammer drill chucks I tend to beat to death.
I've never had good luck getting Milwaukee 18v batteries to hold a charge on the other hand.

 

[Jasmith801]

DeWalt for me, sold all my Milwaukee stuff. Nothing but Chinese trash IMO

Isn’t Dewalt made there as well?

 

[d.mcfarland]

Isn’t Dewalt made there as well?

Some in the lineup are assembled in the USA with global materials/components.

 

[tarbellb]

Easy!

Would you rather have a Ford or Chevy

the answer is so obvious!!

 

[finn]

Some in the lineup are assembled in the USA with global materials/components.

And most, if not all of the Milwaukee cordless products have come from China, or, more recently, Vietnam, with only warehousing of completed tools in the USA.

I still have both…

 

[d.mcfarland]

And most, if not all of the Milwaukee cordless products have come from China, or, more recently, Vietnam, with only warehousing of completed tools in the USA.

Right. They don't claim any USA made portion.

 

[SteadyC]

At the time of my decision to get into battery powered stuff Milwaukee had more automotive related tools than Dewalt (maybe still do?). Wanted to get some "new" automotive battery tools to complement/replace air tools. I still prefer Makita stuff, although I don't have any of their new products. I have almost all the M12 and M18 fuel automotive tools from Milwaukee. Some are obviously better than others.

 

[Handyandy23]

I have DeWalt 20v and Milwaukee 12v at home. Like others have said, they both make good tools so you can't really go wrong. I started with DeWalt 20v and then expanded into Milwaukee 12v because I liked their variety of automotive tools and smaller impacts, where at the time DeWalt hadn't invested as much in their 12v lineup.

I use some Milwaukee 18v at work too, and I must say the yellow tools feel a little more "well made" in my hand. The buttons and battery latches are all just more precise and consistent. It's not a huge difference, but to me they feel a little nicer.

You can also get a wide range of performance within each brand, so a lot depends on buying the "right" tools rather than just the right brand. The cheap brushed home store version of a drill is going to feel junky in either brand compared to the top end brushless XR or Fuel versions. So you have to make sure you're comparing apples to apples there too.

DeWalt has been kicking **** lately too with their new models. Milwaukee impacts used to be the top of the heap, but the newest yellow ones are a step above the red now. I'm sure Milwaukee will go through their own new design cycle and come out with something that tops the new yellow ones though. The innovation cycle goes back and forth with a competitive market. But right now the most torque in an impact dollar for dollar is DeWalt.