New Milwaukee MiUSA screwdrivers

[merkyworks]

Maybe this is "old news" but Milwaukee has released new MiUSA screwdrivers and they are loaded with some great features.
- USA materials/made
- Laser tip
- knurled shaft
- strike cap on some sizes
- hex flats on some sizes
HD is selling 4 piece set for $45, roughly $11 a screwdriver which is right in line with Wera, Felo, PB Swiss and other quality brands. Time will tell if the quality/materials is on par with other brands but if they are then that’s a great win for USA tools.

6PC Cushion Grip Screwdriver Set (USA) | Milwaukee Tool

The Milwaukee® 6-Piece Cushion Grip Screwdriver Set is manufactured to give the professional the best-fitting screwdriver with max grip.

www.milwaukeetool.com

 

[1982fxr]

If the quality is there that's a great deal. I don't think I'd like those handles though.

 

[Jtels85]

Maybe this is "old news" but Milwaukee has released new MiUSA screwdrivers and they are loaded with some great features.
- USA materials/made
- Laser tip
- knurled shaft
- strike cap on some sizes
- hex flats on some sizes
HD is selling 4 piece set for $45, roughly $11 a screwdriver which is right in line with Wera, Felo, PB Swiss and other quality brands. Time will tell if the quality/materials is on par with other brands but if they are then that’s a great win for USA tools.

6PC Cushion Grip Screwdriver Set (USA) | Milwaukee Tool

The Milwaukee® 6-Piece Cushion Grip Screwdriver Set is manufactured to give the professional the best-fitting screwdriver with max grip.

www.milwaukeetool.com

Absolutely! I picked up a set over the weekend. These are super high quality.

Stanley Black & Decker can't figure out how to make sockets in the United States. Meanwhile, Milwaukee is making screwdrivers and pliers here, and promising more.

 

[GeoBruin]

Absolutely! I picked up a set over the weekend. These are super high quality.

Stanley Black & Decker can't figure out how to make sockets in the United States. Meanwhile, Milwaukee is making screwdrivers and pliers here, and promising more.

SBD makes plenty of sockets, pliers, screwdrivers, and many other things in the United States.

Home Industrial Tools Official Site | PROTO

Proto Industrial Tools - Safety Obsessed

www.protoindustrial.com

 

[JeepYJ]

Stanley Black & Decker can't figure out how to make sockets in the United States. Meanwhile, Milwaukee is making screwdrivers and pliers here, and promising more.

Like S-K Tools, Milwaukee is another “USA” brand owned by a foreign company making products in the USA.

 

[1982fxr]

What is the new SK making here?

 

[jimbee]

Like S-K Tools, Milwaukee is another “USA” brand owned by a foreign company making products in the USA.

Like Jeep?

 

[Wamsutta]

Probably a decent screwdriver but the hole in the handle kills the comfort I'm sure.

 

[Jtels85]

SBD makes plenty of sockets, pliers, screwdrivers, and many other things in the United States.

Home Industrial Tools Official Site | PROTO

Proto Industrial Tools - Safety Obsessed

www.protoindustrial.com

Where? I jump on the MAC truck (brand owned by SBD) every Wednesday. Their current screwdriver offerings are made in France and Taiwan. Their plier sets are made in Taiwan or China. The few “USA” MAC socket sets he has are covered in dust and have been on that truck going on a year or more… 98% of the tools on our MAC dealers truck are made overseas. He doesn’t even carry USA made Knuckle Buster wrench sets because he can’t sell them. I wouldn’t call that “plenty”.

Where can you even buy Proto? An industrial store that has one location in each state? My former company bought Proto for the maitenance techs from the very beginning (2007-08), then switched to Westward. Proto distribution is a joke. Westward is easier to source from Grainger and typically arrived next day.

Regardless, Milwaukee is more of a direct competitor with Craftsman in regards to power tools and hand tools. Both brands are sold in major brick and mortar retailers across the country. Why is it that the worlds largest tool manufacturer (SBD) can’t make a screwdriver or plier in the USA, but Milwaukee can?

As far as Proto is concerned, I give it 3 years at best from todays date and revisit this thread to tell me I was either right or wrong. SBD will dissolve the entire Proto brand or offshore it. Their unpatriotic shareholders love cheap, commie made tools. It’s coming. You don’t know when or where, but Proto will be primarily made in China. It’s coming and you’re going to like it and you’re going to be happy about it.

 

[neophyte]

Where? I jump on the MAC truck (brand owned by SBD) every Wednesday. Their current screwdriver offerings are made in France and Taiwan. Their plier sets are made in Taiwan or China. The few “USA” MAC socket sets he has are covered in dust and have been on that truck going on a year or more… 98% of the tools on our MAC dealers truck are made overseas. He doesn’t even carry USA made Knuckle Buster wrench sets because he can’t sell them. I wouldn’t call that “plenty”.

Where can you even buy Proto? An industrial store that has one location in each state? My former company bought Proto for the maitenance techs from the very beginning (2007-08), then switched to Westward. Proto distribution is a joke. Westward is easier to source from Grainger and typically arrived next day.

Regardless, Milwaukee is more of a direct competitor with Craftsman in regards to power tools and hand tools. Both brands are sold in major brick and mortar retailers across the country. Why is it that the worlds largest tool manufacturer (SBD) can’t make a screwdriver or plier in the USA, but Milwaukee can?

As far as Proto is concerned, I give it 3 years at best from todays date and revisit this thread to tell me I was either right or wrong. SBD will dissolve the entire Proto brand or offshore it. Their unpatriotic shareholders love cheap, commie made tools. It’s coming. You don’t know when or where, but Proto will be primarily made in China. It’s coming and you’re going to like it and you’re going to be happy about it.

Proto should be readily available from Grainger.
Grainger has more than 300 locations in the USA.
Usually, stuff that isn’t in stock at the Grainger store arrives next day, although maybe some items or locations take longer.
The website seems to indicate delivery on the 15th for a Proto wrench set (it’s currently the 11th at close to midnight), but that might be because it’s a Friday.
The 15th would be the next Tuesday, which would likely mean the wrench set would go on the truck on Monday to get dropped off at the Grainger location for Tuesday pickup.
Most major Industrial Supply companies carry Proto.

 

[JeepYJ]

Where can you even buy Proto?

Amazon has quite a few Proto tools for one place to buy them.

Regardless, Milwaukee is more of a direct competitor with Craftsman in regards to power tools and hand tools.

I think Milwaukees main competitor is Dewalt in the power tools line. Hand tools is too wide open for having just one competitor.

Their unpatriotic shareholders love cheap, commie made tools.

So who are the Milwaukee (TTI) shareholders beholden to? You do know that Milwaukee is owned by a Taiwanese company?

 

[JeepYJ]

Like Jeep?

Yes. Along with Ram trucks, Chrysler, Dodge and New Holland and CaseIH tractor companies that they also own. Notable difference is that Fiat/Stellantis/whatever is based in a friendly EU country.

 

[Samuel D]

On the screwdrivers themselves: the handles look quite bulky.

Many modern screwdrivers are like this, so clearly it’s what the market wants.

I usually prefer a slender handle with a mostly round shape. Hard to beat the Classic handle by PB Swiss. That’s less suitable for high torque but better for light spinning. I spend far more time spinning screws than breaking them loose or final tightening, so I prefer to optimise the handle for the bulk of the work.

I make an exception for ratcheting screwdrivers, since there the ratchet mechanism does the spinning work. So I like those handles to be more optimised for high torque (which they usually are).

I have a few Facom Protwist screwdrivers, made in France to a high quality, and somehow cheap too, but just too clumsy for fast operation. But at least the Protwists taper to a long narrow section with parallel sides. And Facom changes the handle shape with the intended torque, with the smaller models having a lot less bulge and a longer narrow section for twirling between forefinger and thumb. See picture here. So Facom gave some thought to these problems. From the pictures I’ve seen, it looks like these Milwaukee handles are all the same shape, just sized differently.

YMMV, and I’d like to give these a go (unlikely to happen here in Europe) before making any final judgment.

 

[Kuma601]

Will be watching them. These look interesting with flat sides so they don't roll:

(13PC) 1/4" & 3/8" Drive Torx Bit Socket Set | Milwaukee Tool

The MILWAUKEE® Torx Bit Sockets feature FOUR FLAT™ SIDES that deter rolling and are wrench-ready. Slim profile sockets provide the best access in tight spaces.

www.milwaukeetool.com

 

[Jtels85]

So who are the Milwaukee (TTI) shareholders beholden to? You do know that Milwaukee is owned by a Taiwanese company?

I didn’t know that. Milwaukee has been more committed to USA manufacturing in recent years than Stanley Black & Decker has. Milwaukee talks the talk and walks the walk.

It’s good to know that the friendly Taiwanese folks at TTI in Taiwan believe more in the United States than the folks at Black & Decker.

 

[merkyworks]

Will be watching them. These look interesting with flat sides so they don't roll:

(13PC) 1/4" & 3/8" Drive Torx Bit Socket Set | Milwaukee Tool

The MILWAUKEE® Torx Bit Sockets feature FOUR FLAT™ SIDES that deter rolling and are wrench-ready. Slim profile sockets provide the best access in tight spaces.

www.milwaukeetool.com

Those do look interesting

 

[Callelle]

Honestly, the bit sockets are the first time I haven't thought the square shape is just stupid. Makes it easier to use them in the hand and you're less worried about the increased size the square takes up using a bit.

 

[zendriver]

I didn’t know that. Milwaukee has been more committed to USA manufacturing in recent years than Stanley Black & Decker has. Milwaukee talks the talk and walks the walk.

It’s good to know that the friendly Taiwanese folks at TTI in Taiwan believe more in the United States than the folks at Black & Decker.

You must have missed the saga, where SBD spent a billion+ dollar$ to buy the Craftsman name, build a US manufacturing plant using state-of-the-art human-less technology and selling the products at inexpensive prices.

Of course it ****-the-bed (as expected), but it seems they believed it would work, at least some. Would folks pay $45 for 4 Craftsman screwdrivers now days.

 

[Jtels85]

You must have missed the saga, where SBD spent a billion+ dollar$ to buy the Craftsman name, build a US manufacturing plant using state-of-the-art human-less technology and selling the products at inexpensive prices.

Of course it ****-the-bed (as expected), but it seems they believed it would work, at least some. Would folks pay $45 for 4 Craftsman screwdrivers now days.

Oh, I was around for the whole saga from the beginning. I was there for the initial announcement, the years of unanswered inquiries and finally the ToolGuyd article informing everyone that the worlds wealthiest and largest tool manufacturer threw in the towel and gave up.

Meanwhile, Milwaukee began developing and manufacturing screwdrivers and pliers in the United States, all while keeping interested consumers informed of their progress.

I would hate to see SBD attempt to make simple screwdrivers stateside. It would likely turn into a 7 year debacle where they would ultimately give up due to their incompetence.

Seriously, China and Taiwan can churn out tools using state-of-the-art technology, but the great people of Texas can’t?

After years of false promises and deception, I don’t believe a word SBD says about shutting down that factory. They couldn’t even release a statement themselves. We had to find out from secondary sources. Cowards.

All of the SBD top brass involved in this nearly decade long debacle will walk away from it like nothing ever happened, still collecting their large, unnecessary salaries. Meanwhile, the hard working employees of that factory will be left wondering how to put food on the table.

I’m very critical of SBD because as far as I’m concerned, they’re run by incompetent, dishonest people who couldn’t execute a good idea if it smacked them upside their heads.

 

[American Locomotive]

As much of a disdain as I have for Milwaukee and their marketin - they have really proven that people are willing to pay for a product that has (perceived, at least) high quality.

A company I worked for in the U.S. actually made Milwaukee drill bits until they could get their own MiUSA production line operational. The company I worked for used top-of-the-line CNC equipment from Germany, and Milwaukee was also outfitting their own facility with the same brand of equipment. So at the very least, I know they are investing in the best machines.

I do wonder if Milwaukee is making the blades though? It's one thing to buy CNC machines to cut things out of solid bar (drill bits), but a completely different thing to wind up a forging line.

 

[GTO]

Grips look a little fat for me.

 

[neophyte]

Oh, I was around for the whole saga from the beginning. I was there for the initial announcement, the years of unanswered inquiries and finally the ToolGuyd article informing everyone that the worlds wealthiest and largest tool manufacturer threw in the towel and gave up.

Meanwhile, Milwaukee began developing and manufacturing screwdrivers and pliers in the United States, all while keeping interested consumers informed of their progress.

I would hate to see SBD attempt to make simple screwdrivers stateside. It would likely turn into a 7 year debacle where they would ultimately give up due to their incompetence.

Seriously, China and Taiwan can churn out tools using state-of-the-art technology, but the great people of Texas can’t?

After years of false promises and deception, I don’t believe a word SBD says about shutting down that factory. They couldn’t even release a statement themselves. We had to find out from secondary sources. Cowards.

All of the SBD top brass involved in this nearly decade long debacle will walk away from it like nothing ever happened, still collecting their large, unnecessary salaries. Meanwhile, the hard working employees of that factory will be left wondering how to put food on the table.

I’m very critical of SBD because as far as I’m concerned, they’re run by incompetent, dishonest people who couldn’t execute a good idea if it smacked them upside their heads.

Milwaukee threw in the towel on one or more manufacturing facilities as well.

What Stanley was trying to do, was use a new manufacturing technology,
that could forge an almost complete finished wrench forging,
that would require way less extra finishing than with previous techniques,
and which was manufactured in an automated line which took bar stock on one end,
and delivered that almost finished wrench blank at the end.

Manufacturing a screwdriver really depends on what type.
Standard round shank screwdriver blades could likely be manufactured continuously from round, or maybe even coiled steel wire, with a finished blade dropping into a bin at the end for plating.

 

[cbracer]

To each their own. I prefer the bigger handles for torque than the smaller PB Swiss classic handles. I have both and the classic are simply too small to get a good grip on, and eventually start hurting. Their santoprene and multicraft grips are newer, larger and far more comfortable even if they aren't as pretty. Sure you may spend more time spinning loose screws with a smaller handle, but when you need to finish the job, or start the job, without enough grip size to torque the fastener then you have to reach for something else.....

I have a lot of Proto tools and got most from Zoro with good discounts and always in stock with 1 day shipping to Los Angeles area. They have one of the best chrome finishes and US made. Just more expensive than what SBD wanted to make the Craftsman line from. Proto has out lasted all the other industrial tools (think Armstrong) so they will be around for a long time.

It will be interesting to see if their screwdriver line grows to handle more sizes and styles, or if Milwaukee keeps it simple for basic Home Depot users only. People in China know they make junk and prefer to buy stuff made elsewhere. Porsche sells more cars, and has more Porsche Design stores in China than any other country or the EU entirely. The money we've given China has created a wealth of rich people that only buy non-China items, at the disgrace of the government. It's our fault for buying their cheap ****.

 

[mikebaker1129]

Where? I jump on the MAC truck (brand owned by SBD) every Wednesday. Their current screwdriver offerings are made in France and Taiwan. Their plier sets are made in Taiwan or China. The few “USA” MAC socket sets he has are covered in dust and have been on that truck going on a year or more… 98% of the tools on our MAC dealers truck are made overseas. He doesn’t even carry USA made Knuckle Buster wrench sets because he can’t sell them. I wouldn’t call that “plenty”.

Where can you even buy Proto? An industrial store that has one location in each state? My former company bought Proto for the maitenance techs from the very beginning (2007-08), then switched to Westward. Proto distribution is a joke. Westward is easier to source from Grainger and typically arrived next day.

Regardless, Milwaukee is more of a direct competitor with Craftsman in regards to power tools and hand tools. Both brands are sold in major brick and mortar retailers across the country. Why is it that the worlds largest tool manufacturer (SBD) can’t make a screwdriver or plier in the USA, but Milwaukee can?

As far as Proto is concerned, I give it 3 years at best from todays date and revisit this thread to tell me I was either right or wrong. SBD will dissolve the entire Proto brand or offshore it. Their unpatriotic shareholders love cheap, commie made tools. It’s coming. You don’t know when or where, but Proto will be primarily made in China. It’s coming and you’re going to like it and you’re going to be happy about it.

The handles for both the Mac and the Proto Duratek are USA made , the blades are made in France in the Bost factory,acquired by SBD when they purchased Facom.

 

[merkyworks]

The handle do look a little large/fat for my liking but I don’t wear gloves regularly. If I wore gloves or was required to wear gloves I would 100% want a large/fat handle, small/narrow handles don’t work as well when wearing gloves. I think Milwaukee knows the crowed they are going after.

edit: by “gloves” I mean cut resistant style that a lot of manufacturing floors/construction sites are requiring to wear. Not nitrile/latex style.

 

[Wamsutta]

Where can you even buy Proto?

Get the part number and enter it into Google.

 

[Sanny81]

Grabbed the 4 piece set today at Home Depot. To be honest I don’t use regular screwdrivers much anymore but made in USA sold in Home Depot I had to show some support. They feel just fine imo.

 

[dclark2171]

Im picking up a set.

 

[lardy1]

Let us know your thoughts after you've used them a bit?

 

[dclark2171]

Let us know your thoughts after you've used them a bit?

I will

 

[Wamsutta]

Whoever came up with the idea to put a hole in a screwdriver handle is a damn idiot.

 

[GeoBruin]

Whoever came up with the idea to put a hole in a screwdriver handle is a damn idiot.

No way. Shove another screwdriver through there and bam! Instant t-handle.

 

[scooby074]

I have a multibit Milwaukee screwdriver (rip off of a Picquc) and its ****. Bits are **** and the handle is horrible. Im hoping these are better because I like Milwaukee, but im not in the market for new drivers at this time

As to SBD. Probably one of the worst companies I deal with on the wholesale side. The fact they screwed up the Texas factory doesnt surprise me in the least.