Milwaukee vs Dewalt vs Harbor Freight Bandfile

[Renegade1LI]

I had originally bought a bauer bandfile on clearence from hf, works great, no issues. Always preferring to go cordless i bought the dewalt 20v, works great but a little bulky, same as the Bauer. Not a tool i use much but when I saw the milwaukee at HD today I knew it was the winner.

Nice slim profile, plenty of power with 12v and no bulky guard like dewalt or Bauer. Of course as a professional tool *****, I'll keep all of them, but honestly the milwaukee will be the go to. Also like how the sander detaches, haven't looked but I'm wondering if there's any other attachments?

 

[GeoBruin]

The Milwaukee is an awesome tool. I had a milwaukee cut off tool I converted using a HF pneumatic bandfile. Then I got the Milwaukee 1/2 x 18 when it came out. Then, I got the dewalt when it came out.

The dewalt has a more intrusive guard similar to the bauer but the handle is more comfortable and it has more power and better battery life. I use both with equal frequency as I keep different grit bands on them. Coarse grit on the dewalt for hogging and finer grit on the Milwaukee for finer work.

Honestly some of my favorite tools.

 

[bwringer]

Nice! I had always heard these called "finger sanders", so now I know Milwaukee calls it a "bandfile".

There are some real gems in the M12 lineup (and some real turds), and the small form factor can be incredibly useful.

Thanks for the review.

 

[pbon]

I chose Milwaukee mostly because I have plenty of batteries and chargers and like the simplicity of one battery platform. And it seems to work well enough. I need more sandpaper.

 

[scooterbum46]

I've got the Dewalt - does Milwaukee have an offset arm option available? Ridiculous price (around 70 bucks) for it , but it does come in handy working on round stuff..

 

[SouthernIllinois]

Good timing with the post - I am in the market for a cordless band file for spot weld removal on the Crusty Corvair.

I have a Baxter pneumatic one from HF but I would like a cordless one.

 

[Twisted Sid]

I had a milwaukee cut off tool I converted using a HF pneumatic bandfile.

Got any pictures of this conversion?

 

[GeoBruin]

Got any pictures of this conversion?

Just the finished product. I used this for years before the factory version came out. It works great except there is no speed adjustment (either with a selector switch or the trigger). It's just full bore or nothing.

 

[Renegade1LI]

I've got the Dewalt - does Milwaukee have an offset arm option available? Ridiculous price (around 70 bucks) for it , but it does come in handy working on round stuff..

This was one reason I originally bought the dewalt, though I haven't used the offset arm yet. I really don't use them much but I like GeoBruin said, keep a different grit on each.

 

[4xdog]

I love my Milwaukee M12 13” bandfile. I use it almost every day.

Yesterday’s project was lightly kissing the edge of freshly-cut glass for some posters I’m framing to knock down the very sharp fracture edges. It’s a perfect tool for that.

I highly recommend this one.

 

[GeoBruin]

I've got the Dewalt - does Milwaukee have an offset arm option available? Ridiculous price (around 70 bucks) for it , but it does come in handy working on round stuff..

You can pick up the identical part for the craftsman model for a lot less.

PNA323587 | ServiceNet https://share.google/Xx1sN1A0ej3QQdULL

Or, you know, just buy the Craftsman version that comes with the arm for less than just the dewalt arm.

CRAFTSMAN V20 20 Volts Variable Belt Cordless Sander with Dust Management (Battery Not Included) CMCW211B at Lowes.com https://share.google/ZZ3WvGeUTySV8OMLd

 

[MOS3522]

I have the Dewalt. I can't tell you it's better or worse than the competitors' versions, but I can tell you it works great and I use it all the time.