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The Milwaukee addiction thread! :)

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paulsomlo

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Joined
Jul 16, 2013
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3,852
Location
Northern Colorado
I had a chance to compare the two side by side at Home Depot. The display model was a 2654, while they were actually selling the 2754, one of which was lying on the shelf, as someone had ripped the box open. The 2754, I think, was a little slimmer, and the reverse button was smaller and positioned differently, so as not to be so easily bumped. They were slightly different in shape, but very similar. I wonder if there will be any discounts on the 2654 as they discontinue them? Or if HD ever sells the display models?
 

Frontierajl

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Joined
Oct 31, 2015
Messages
292
Location
Northern California
I had a chance to compare the two side by side at Home Depot. The display model was a 2654, while they were actually selling the 2754, one of which was lying on the shelf, as someone had ripped the box open. The 2754, I think, was a little slimmer, and the reverse button was smaller and positioned differently, so as not to be so easily bumped. They were slightly different in shape, but very similar. I wonder if there will be any discounts on the 2654 as they discontinue them? Or if HD ever sells the display models?


The insides are setup differently too. 8a80b80e3cd68af822a090c19052dc5d.jpg 1st gen on left, 2nd gen on right.


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chrisexv6

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Joined
Jun 1, 2005
Messages
2,290
Location
CT
There is no bad choice - just a matter of how much you want to spend.. The gen 1 stuff (that's what I have) is still more powerful than anything you have ever used a few years ago. If you can't do what you need to with those, something is wrong. If you have the money to splurge on the newest than go for it. If you'd rather save a few bucks and put that money towards another new tool instead then that's another option.. You should watch Woodstockva's video comparing the drills to each other.


Here - watch this guys video.. He's a member here too, but he also makes the best video reviews on YouTube..

Thanks for that link.

To me it looks like the bigger improvements from Gen 1 to Gen 2 actually come in the impact drivers/wrenches, not the drill. I have an SDS drill if I want to really drill through masonry. The Fuel drill serves as a...drill...most of the time.

I will consider upgrading my impact driver/wrench, though. I did just use the 2763 for the first time yesterday....that thing is a beast and doesnt really need upgrading! But the 3/8" impact and the 1/4" impact driver would be handier with the 4th mode (I drive a lot of self tapping sheet metal screws)
 

ngk22r

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Joined
May 28, 2010
Messages
1,589
Location
AZ
I can say having both the gen 1 and the gen 2 3/8 impact that if your looking to buy one go for the gen 2. Slightly smaller grip and the mode 4 option is nice. Mode 4 runs at mode 2 speed and will impact for a second and then shut off. Great for zipping lug nuts on for most cars.

I just ordered the M12 1/4 ratchet and fuel drill under the Milwaukee promo going on for this month.. The collection keeps building!! I will need to do an updated picture when these arrive.
 

chrisexv6

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Joined
Jun 1, 2005
Messages
2,290
Location
CT
I can say having both the gen 1 and the gen 2 3/8 impact that if your looking to buy one go for the gen 2. Slightly smaller grip and the mode 4 option is nice. Mode 4 runs at mode 2 speed and will impact for a second and then shut off. Great for zipping lug nuts on for most cars.

I just ordered the M12 1/4 ratchet and fuel drill under the Milwaukee promo going on for this month.. The collection keeps building!! I will need to do an updated picture when these arrive.

Already have the Gen 1 hammer drill, 1/4" impact driver and 3/8" impact wrench.

In no rush to replace them but considering the idea because the promo is still in place (although ending soon). Seeing as how I have plenty of batteries, though, I could just wait and get the bare tool(s) at some point.
 

dacan23

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Apr 15, 2014
Messages
2,804
Location
RI
My complaint with the impact boots is similar to my complaint of no case w/ bare 2731. Why doesnt the tool come with it and why are they so pricey.
 

Ign

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Joined
Jul 7, 2006
Messages
12,769
Location
Butte Peak ND
Just did a clutch on a Tacoma and was amazed at how much I used my 2654 3/8" impact. It did 90% of what I needed. I really only needed bigger when using crazy combos of extensions that **** so much power.
 

chrisexv6

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Joined
Jun 1, 2005
Messages
2,290
Location
CT
Looks like Im doing a caliper replacement on my Frontier tomorrow. Maybe I can use my Milwaukee tools even though it probably wont be necessary.

Ill at least take them out to the garage and make it LOOK like Im going to get them dirty :)
 

bahcoswed

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Joined
Mar 12, 2013
Messages
570
Location
Sweden
Thanks for that link.

To me it looks like the bigger improvements from Gen 1 to Gen 2 actually come in the impact drivers/wrenches, not the drill. I have an SDS drill if I want to really drill through masonry. The Fuel drill serves as a...drill...most of the time.

My opinion is that the drill has equal improvements like the impacts (if we dont count the new torque mode 4)! I have the 2703 without hammer mode because i use my fuel rotary hammer drill in concrete and stuff like that! Much stronger, the size is in my eyes is pretty big difference compared to gen1! The handle is thinner and feels so much better in my hand! But as I sad before, My DIY work I do at home it will do the job just as good with a tuned screwdriver:) So do I need the gen2? No, absolutely not, but the gen2 really does the job fun and I feel satisfied to use them! Pretty hard to explain to my wife why we need expensive fuel all the time:)
 
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marantzer

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Joined
Jan 14, 2016
Messages
48
Location
ATL
Hi All - My first post here and I wanted to share a project I just completed on my Milwaukee tool chest. After lurking around here, lusting after some of the Snap-on boxes and researching the US General & Masterforce boxes, I settled on the Milwaukee. So far it works well for my needs. I wanted to add some task lighting and had some extra LED tape lights that would add minimal weight to the lid and allow a installation with no modification to the box. The tape lights are Armacost brand, both the 120 and 60 led per meter density. The latter was left over from a prior project. The transformer is concealed within the double-wall of the upper box and everything is switched from a magnetic switch you can see in the back right corner of the box. Hope you enjoy and feel free to ask any questions!

Br,

Will
script>


script>


script>
 
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chrisexv6

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Jun 1, 2005
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My opinion is that the drill has equal improvements like the impacts (if we dont count the new torque mode 4)! I have the 2703 without hammer mode because i use my fuel rotary hammer drill in concrete and stuff like that! Much stronger, the size is in my eyes is pretty big difference compared to gen1! The handle is thinner and feels so much better in my hand! But as I sad before, My DIY work I do at home it will do the job just as good with a tuned screwdriver:) So do I need the gen2? No, absolutely not, but the gen2 really does the job fun and I feel satisfied to use them! Pretty hard to explain to my wife why we need expensive fuel all the time:)

I scored a Milwaukee corded SDS drill for a penny from HD.

While its nice having an "all in one" cordless drill/hammer drill, the SDS drill makes even the Fuel hammer drill look like a toy IMHO.

Now, get me a good deal on a cordless SDS drill and even better! They are actually going on clearance around me, not exactly cheap (and really not a necessary tool for me) but Ill keep an eye on them.
 

Frontierajl

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 31, 2015
Messages
292
Location
Northern California
Hi All - My first post here and I wanted to share a project I just completed on my Milwaukee tool chest. After lurking around here, lusting after some of the Snap-on boxes and researching the US General & Masterforce boxes, I settled on the Milwaukee. So far it works well for my needs. I wanted to add some task lighting and had some extra LED tape lights that would add minimal weight to the lid and allow a installation with no modification to the box. The tape lights are Armacost brand, both the 120 and 60 led per meter density. The latter was left over from a prior project. The transformer is concealed within the double-wall of the upper box and everything is switched from a magnetic switch you can see in the back right corner of the box. Hope you enjoy and feel free to ask any questions!



Br,



Will


That looks awesome!


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ngk22r

Well-known member
Joined
May 28, 2010
Messages
1,589
Location
AZ
Hi All - My first post here and I wanted to share a project I just completed on my Milwaukee tool chest. After lurking around here, lusting after some of the Snap-on boxes and researching the US General & Masterforce boxes, I settled on the Milwaukee. So far it works well for my needs. I wanted to add some task lighting and had some extra LED tape lights that would add minimal weight to the lid and allow a installation with no modification to the box. The tape lights are Armacost brand, both the 120 and 60 led per meter density. The latter was left over from a prior project. The transformer is concealed within the double-wall of the upper box and everything is switched from a magnetic switch you can see in the back right corner of the box. Hope you enjoy and feel free to ask any questions!

Br,

Will
script>


script>


script>

Welcome and nice set up!
 

dacan23

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 15, 2014
Messages
2,804
Location
RI
I was thinking yesterday about Fuel Gen 1 & 2. Is it possible the reason for Gen 2s is that there were mistakes in the Gen 1s that they wanted to correct. Perhaps from feedback or issues with tool reliability or performance. It seems unusual to release an update so quickly especially with One Key coming out. I'm not expecting all other Gen 1 models to get a release of Gen 2. I think they will be moving to 2 models; Brushless (replacing all Brushed models) and a Fuel model as a professional model with or without OK.
 

Frontierajl

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Joined
Oct 31, 2015
Messages
292
Location
Northern California
I was thinking yesterday about Fuel Gen 1 & 2. Is it possible the reason for Gen 2s is that there were mistakes in the Gen 1s that they wanted to correct. Perhaps from feedback or issues with tool reliability or performance. It seems unusual to release an update so quickly especially with One Key coming out. I'm not expecting all other Gen 1 models to get a release of Gen 2. I think they will be moving to 2 models; Brushless (replacing all Brushed models) and a Fuel model as a professional model with or without OK.


I think it's more the way Milwaukees business model is going. Innovation is their big push. Upgrades are part of that. Plus you have all the poor saps like a lot of us in this thread that upgrade in a heart beat lol. In reality it wouldn't surprise me if the one key tools are the reason. They could have been designing them then finished the actual redesign of the physical tools for the one key models and decided to release them without one key while they polished up the one key software and everything. In reality who knows, it seems Milwaukee has been listening to its followers more than other company's though. Actually paying attention to what people want and need.


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bahcoswed

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Joined
Mar 12, 2013
Messages
570
Location
Sweden
I scored a Milwaukee corded SDS drill for a penny from HD.

While its nice having an "all in one" cordless drill/hammer drill, the SDS drill makes even the Fuel hammer drill look like a toy IMHO.

Now, get me a good deal on a cordless SDS drill and even better! They are actually going on clearance around me, not exactly cheap (and really not a necessary tool for me) but Ill keep an eye on them.

I have the m12 fuel sds plus rotary hammer drill and I must say its badass! I have never thought a the tiny little 12v tool has the power like an 18v! Almost anyway...really happy with it, works great! I will never use the hammer mode on a drill/driver when I have a sds plus drill! The sound is so dentist anoying.
 

Caparris

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Joined
Nov 27, 2011
Messages
939
Location
Greensboro, NC
Caparris, would you take apart the battery for the rest of us? The battery cells themselves should have markings on them and we can determine manufacturer, chemistry, and capacity.

Better late than never.. this is a cheapo battery I got off Amazon. I just wanted one that had a larger/flat bottom so my impact driver would stand up instead of falling over, so I got the cheapest one I could find.

Here are some pictures.. I can't find any info or markings on the cells themselves but maybe this helps anyways somehow?
 
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MikeF2316

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Dec 29, 2012
Messages
9,605
Location
Thornhill, ON
Better late than never.. this is a cheapo battery I got off Amazon. I just wanted one that had a larger/flat bottom so my impact driver would stand up instead of falling over, so I got the cheapest one I could find.

Here are some pictures.. I can't find any info or markings on the cells themselves but maybe this helps anyways somehow?

Fascinating. Thanks for that.
 

kctyphoon

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Joined
Jun 9, 2014
Messages
9,102
Location
Jersey/Staten Island
My hd online order came in today. I got the milwaukee nipping, fencing and oil filter pliers.. Ill take a few pics when i get home.. (Currently doing snow removal down by newark airport ~ well as much as i can do now that the front end loader i normally use was stolen apparently, which means.for now ~ sitting in my car and.getting paid is "work") the fencing pliers are Really nice. Heavy and seem very well made. The nipping ones seem a little light, but i guess theres no reason for them to be heavy anyway. Oil filters are pretty decent, similar to the channellock model sold at hd. Kinda wish the grips were a little longer on those, but overall they all seem good for normal use.. Im not buying the iron worker(?) version of their pliers since the linemans are already very similar.. Overall i **** them all, but like people have pointed out ~ you can buy channellock at the same price if youd rather go with the blue stuff..

I Bought some more channellock hand tools to keep in that husky tool apron/organizer hd sells, that i bolted into the side of.the bucket on my bucket truck at work. Its too tight to wear my tool belt that has its pouches filled with my knipex stuff in the winter once extra clothes go on.. I dont find alot of channellock's stuff overly impressive but they all work well. I even picked up ANOTHER set of 338 cutters to give those another shot. Will see how long the edges last on this set.
 
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Caparris

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Nov 27, 2011
Messages
939
Location
Greensboro, NC
Scored the m18 flood light from a pawn shop for $40:rocker:

View attachment 519056

Nice! I've been thinking about one of the new ones. I really wish they had made it so it would charge the battery when connected to an AC outlet though..

For the old ones I wish they had made it so you could switch the ends.. for me the buttons feel like they are on the wrong side.. I tried to swap the top/bottom black cover things to fix it but there are some slight differences that make it not practical.

Ah well.
 

OSULemon

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Joined
Apr 12, 2013
Messages
237
I have a suspicion my M18 Fuel hammer drill has an unacceptable amount of chuck runout. I don't have another drill to test it against or a drill I know is straight. I think I'll end up taking it to Home Depot to test it.

Is this a problem that crops up semi-occasionally with Milwaukee's?
 

Frontierajl

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Joined
Oct 31, 2015
Messages
292
Location
Northern California
I have a suspicion my M18 Fuel hammer drill has an unacceptable amount of chuck runout. I don't have another drill to test it against or a drill I know is straight. I think I'll end up taking it to Home Depot to test it.

Is this a problem that crops up semi-occasionally with Milwaukee's?


A bunch of the gen 2's I've had had wobbly looking chucks, especially when the chuck was closed all the way. But almost all of them still appeared to keep the bits straight. The end of the chuck looks like they did a crappy job on some of them too. I've probably gone through 30+ of them and very few actually look good but all pretty munch performed well.


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OSULemon

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Joined
Apr 12, 2013
Messages
237
A bunch of the gen 2's I've had had wobbly looking chucks, especially when the chuck was closed all the way. But almost all of them still appeared to keep the bits straight. The end of the chuck looks like they did a crappy job on some of them too. I've probably gone through 30+ of them and very few actually look good but all pretty munch performed well.


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Couldn't care less what the chuck looks like! :D My drill bit ends aren't wanting to spin straight. We'll see what customer service says.
 

firworks

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Jun 29, 2015
Messages
4,079
Location
IL
A hammer drill I would expect to have a lot more runout than a non hammer drill due to the different construction. If you need precision rotary motion, you probably don't want an extra degree of freedom to chowder things up. Not to mention a less solid connection to the chassis of the drill.

Is the runout causing a problem or are you just nitpicking? ;)
 

Ruahrc

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Joined
May 17, 2015
Messages
69
So I am unsure whether or not to exchange my M12 Fuel 3/8 impact for a new one.

I got it last month around Xmas when HD was having their buy the M12 kit and get free M12 ratchet deal. The impact "works fine" so far as I can tell but there is a very noticeable change in sound and vibration when you spin it pointing up vs pointing down.

For reference, my M12 Fuel impact driver sounds exactly the same no matter what orientation the tool is used in. Same goes for my M12 hammer drill. But not for my 3/8 impact. The best I can describe it is a "growling" sound. You can also feel more vibration in the tool when it is making the noise. It's kind of like the bearing of the spinning mechanism on the rear of the tool is bad? I don't know exactly how everything is fit together inside but it seems like pointing it up vs down is putting different load on some bearing and that is causing the noise and vibration. It is easily noticeable on speed setting 1 and is more apparent at speed setting 2.

Now I haven't had a chance to really test it under load to see if it is impacting performance, this is mainly just spinning it under no load condition. Like I said I only used it so far to spin off some already loosened lug nuts off my car and I saw no problems, but I figure if this is some kind of manufacturing defect I would rather exchange it through HD now while I am in the return window rather than having to deal with Milwaukee warranty later on if it really fails?

What do you all think?
 
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