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The Milwaukee addiction thread! :)

Shaners256

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Nov 5, 2011
Messages
110
Location
Milwaukee
The M18 Hackzall I have is the fuel version, which is why I use it first for anything up to three inches (assuming there's not a ton of repetitions anticipated) because it's just lighter. If there's a bunch of 1-3" cuts to make, then I grab the Hatchet - but for one offs, the "handiness" of the M18 Fuel Hackzall (no oil, lighter weight) is what makes it a first-grab tool.

I just went and weighed the M12 Hatchet and the M18 Fuel Hackzall, and while they are very close in weight, the M18 Fuel Hackzall definitely weighs more than the hatchet, even if you try to use a M18 2.0 battery and compare to a M12 4.0 battery.
 
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1320

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Jan 3, 2018
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Location
Arizona


I have an M18 Fuel Sawzall that I use with a pruning blade for most of my tree trimming work. Lately, it seems like I find myself trying to dig up creosote and palo verde, deciding that's too much effort and just cutting the roots off below ground. Sometimes, the sawzall is too large or too long to fit in the hole I've dug or in the area I'm in against the fence or whatever, so I decided to pick up an M12 Fuel Hackzall for the maneuverability and weight aspects. Having now used the Hackzall a few times, I'm not very pleased with it in terms of cutting tree branches and cutting roots underground. It seems like the Hackzall doesn't weigh enough to be stable while it's reciprocating and since it violently dances around so much, the battery falls out from time to time. It also seems like it doesn't have the power to do what I want, but perhaps I'm just used to the M18 sawzall.

I still want something smaller than the sawzall, would the M18 Fuel Hackzall do what I'm asking of it?

I like the idea of the M12 hatchet, but I can't imagine that cutting roots in dirt would be any good for it.

 

danny_barkley

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Joined
May 17, 2013
Messages
800
Location
FL


I have an M18 Fuel Sawzall that I use with a pruning blade for most of my tree trimming work. Lately, it seems like I find myself trying to dig up creosote and palo verde, deciding that's too much effort and just cutting the roots off below ground. Sometimes, the sawzall is too large or too long to fit in the hole I've dug or in the area I'm in against the fence or whatever, so I decided to pick up an M12 Fuel Hackzall for the maneuverability and weight aspects. Having now used the Hackzall a few times, I'm not very pleased with it in terms of cutting tree branches and cutting roots underground. It seems like the Hackzall doesn't weigh enough to be stable while it's reciprocating and since it violently dances around so much, the battery falls out from time to time. It also seems like it doesn't have the power to do what I want, but perhaps I'm just used to the M18 sawzall.

I still want something smaller than the sawzall, would the M18 Fuel Hackzall do what I'm asking of it?

I like the idea of the M12 hatchet, but I can't imagine that cutting roots in dirt would be any good for it.


I didn't touch the M12 Hackzall because most that had used the M12 and M18 decided the M12 just didn't cut the mustard, but were very happy with the M18. I have the M18 Hackzall and would use it like you are describing.
 

javyLSU

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Location
New Haven, CT
The Milwaukee addiction thread! 😊

I just went and weighed the M12 Hatchet and the M18 Fuel Hackzall, and while they are very close in weight, the M18 Fuel Hackzall definitely weighs more than the hatchet, even if you try to use a M18 2.0 battery and compare to a M12 4.0 battery.

That’s interesting, I never thought to weight them because in hand my hackzall feels lighter. Maybe it’s where the weight is distributed, with the bulk of the weight of the Hatchet being extended out instead of over the hand like the hackzall.

Speaking of weighing things, I got the new M12 Fuel multi-tool in today, and it’s probably going back. When I picked it up the package I immediately noticed the weight - I thought I might have been sent the kit instead of tool only, but it was indeed the tool-only box.

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It feels noticeably bigger and heavier than its predecessor, so I broke out the scale to verify:

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Sure enough, it’s just about a pound heavier than the old version I got for free and have used a TON. The new Fuel version vibrates much, much less than the old one - the difference is truly dramatic. Having said that, I’m probably going to return it for the M18 version - if I’m going to have a bigger, heavier tool, I might as well have the 18 volt version.
 

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Black300zx

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Elkton, Md
It seems like the Hackzall doesn't weigh enough to be stable while it's reciprocating and since it violently dances around so much, the battery falls out from time to time.

If you're using an aggressive blade and it grabs, the lighter M12 fuel hackzall definitely gets shaken around nicely. I've found it's key to keep the thing you're cutting tight against the shoe.
 

Ign

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Joined
Jul 7, 2006
Messages
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Location
Butte Peak ND
Re: The Milwaukee addiction thread! 😊

That’s interesting, I never thought to weight them because in hand my hackzall feels lighter. Maybe it’s where the weight is distributed, with the bulk of the weight of the Hatchet being extended out instead of over the hand like the hackzall.

Speaking of weighing things, I got the new M12 Fuel multi-tool in today, and it’s probably going back. When I picked it up the package I immediately noticed the weight - I thought I might have been sent the kit instead of tool only, but it was indeed the tool-only box.

ee666f660e18aa91bc66c7c193f8d815.jpg

It feels noticeably bigger and heavier than its predecessor, so I broke out the scale to verify:

308a94ea3be3ce034d4b8433d3fc5d7d.jpg

975bef176d3bd43b2d6708a650e0c926.jpg

Sure enough, it’s just about a pound heavier than the old version I got for free and have used a TON. The new Fuel version vibrates much, much less than the old one - the difference is truly dramatic. Having said that, I’m probably going to return it for the M18 version - if I’m going to have a bigger, heavier tool, I might as well have the 18 volt version.

Good to know, thanks. I'll stick with my old M12 which has done everything I've ever wanted
 

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Bighead38

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Rockland County NY
Convinced the company to get me one.

attachment.php
 

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polexican23

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burbs-Illinois
for root cutting, a plug-in harbor freight is the one to use. Cheap enough to throw around and the has the power to get you past some of those pesky snags. I under stand the plug ins create maneuverability issues in some holes, but i just dig a bigger hole.
 

scooternut

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The Milwaukee addiction thread! 😊

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Trying out some organizing of my new Milwaukee drawer. Never found much use for that drawer, been holding red rags for years... Until i discovered Scott's blue towels.



Sent from my iPhone using Garage Journal
 

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danny_barkley

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Re: The Milwaukee addiction thread! 😊

Trying out some organizing of my new Milwaukee drawer. Never found much use for that drawer, been holding red rags for years... Until i discovered Scott's blue towels.


Not sure what I am suppose to be seeing here.

1) Lot of stuff thrown in a drawer
2) Some cut up aluminum
3) Some stuff in a drawer that looks like it is standing up

Can you describe how these pix relate to each other?
 

DerekV

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Re: The Milwaukee addiction thread! 😊

Not sure what I am suppose to be seeing here.

1) Lot of stuff thrown in a drawer
2) Some cut up aluminum
3) Some stuff in a drawer that looks like it is standing up

Can you describe how these pix relate to each other?


1st pic = “before”
3rd pic = “after”
2nd pic = shows what was performed to better explain the “after” pic
 

Rusty67

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Re: The Milwaukee addiction thread! 😊

1st pic = “before”
3rd pic = “after”
2nd pic = shows what was performed to better explain the “after” pic

Did you bolt that aluminum stock to the board at the bottom of the drawer and then put the tool's battery sockets onto the bars to keep everything organized?
 

techieman33

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Re: The Milwaukee addiction thread! 😊

Did you bolt that aluminum stock to the board at the bottom of the drawer and then put the tool's battery sockets onto the bars to keep everything organized?

Looks like wood dowel rod that was painted silver. But yeah looks like they were attached to the board on the bottom, then just drop the tools on.
 

Rusty67

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On closer inspection it does look like wood.

I'm going to need to drill into the concrete floor of my garage to install a lift in November. It looks like I'll need to drill 5/8" pilot holes followed by a 7/8" hold down to a 4 1/2" depth for the anchors. Which model SDS drill should I be looking at for this? It looks like the 2712-20 goes up to a 1" bit where as the 2715-20 goes up to a 1 1/8" sized bit. I was thinking of just going with the 2715-20 since 7/8" is getting close to the max size for the 2712-20. What do you guys think?
 

scooternut

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The Milwaukee addiction thread! 😊

Sorry to all, i thought it was self explanatory.
1 pic = mess in a drawer
2 pic = built solution, which is all wood.
3 pic = solution in drawer

Aluminum? Silver? Sorry, looked more clear on my end. Wood dowel as someone else pointed out.

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Sent from my iPhone using Garage Journal
 

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DerekV

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On closer inspection it does look like wood.

I'm going to need to drill into the concrete floor of my garage to install a lift in November. It looks like I'll need to drill 5/8" pilot holes followed by a 7/8" hold down to a 4 1/2" depth for the anchors. Which model SDS drill should I be looking at for this? It looks like the 2712-20 goes up to a 1" bit where as the 2715-20 goes up to a 1 1/8" sized bit. I was thinking of just going with the 2715-20 since 7/8" is getting close to the max size for the 2712-20. What do you guys think?


Both will work. You should ask yourself what kinda SDS drilling you’ll be doing in the future. The 2712 is really versatile, I have it and it’s awesome. If it had any more power it’d be unwieldy with smaller holes (1/4” and below, aka Tapcon territory).
 

Rusty67

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Both will work. You should ask yourself what kinda SDS drilling you’ll be doing in the future. The 2712 is really versatile, I have it and it’s awesome. If it had any more power it’d be unwieldy with smaller holes (1/4” and below, aka Tapcon territory).

I don't know how much drilling I'll be doing in the future. I have a fuel hammer drill which i have used to do smaller holes and it as worked OK up to a 1/4" so far. This would be for drilling larger holes up to at least 7/8". I will be doing this once here and at least one more time when I move. I'm not sure how much other stuff I'd do with this SDS.
 

darkzero

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SoCal
Turned my blower into a stubby, well to try out.

My thoughts? I wouldn't recommend it & I definitely would not buy them again unless they improved them. Good idea, quality not so good. They're 3D printed out of PETG, they're really thin & flimsy. That's what I mainly don't like about em. Feels like it would crack easily if dropped.

I bought the flare nozzle cause I felt like the stubby tube was too short. Makes the fan much louder & bothers me enough not to use the nozzle. Just with the stubby tube it sounds about the same as stock. The stubby tube would come in handy for me, just wish it was a bit longer. I'm not using this for yard work. With a 12.0 battery the blower can easily be knocked backwards when sitting on a flat surface. With a 9.0 it's ok.

Oh well, was willing to take the risk.

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jshillin

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I used the Hatchet on Saturday for a while. My buddy took down some Cedar trees that I wanted in lengths. I used the little saw to trim off a lot of limbs up to about 3 - 3 1/2" easily. It made short work of the cleanup and was convenient as could be. It's exactly what I wanted it for.
 

starquestMM

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Jan 7, 2013
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1,072
Location
JC, Missouri
Its a "High Demand 9.0" version. Those reviews are telling!

I have a authorized service center here in town, so I'll just drop it off and hope the replacement does a little better.

Thanks all, and that pin nailer is tempting :)

Just a FYI, it took about two weeks on replacing my battery from when I dropped it off to when i could pick up its replacement. They might be getting caught up on warranty stuff.
 

b.well

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May 13, 2020
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391
Location
NY
My first Milwaukee M18 product died last night. My first Milwaukee purchase actually. M18 2606 1/2" Compact drill. The motor is fine, the chuck is frozen. Bit stuck in the end of it.

I watched some videos; I put oil down the chuck, I hit it with a hammer. I still can't get the thing open. It's got a March 2015 serial number. I know we bought it later in the year(maybe labor day weekend) but have moved a couple times since 2015 and don't have the receipt. I didn't start getting the receipts emailed until 2018.

Any other ideas how to get this thing open?

Thanks!

I found the credit card statement. Bought it around Memorial Day not Labor Day. So it is out of Warranty. Customer Support said if it's close they "might" still warranty it. If not they will charge me $65 for the new chuck. I need to open the jaws to change the chuck. So I am sending it in with hopes for warranty grace. I can deny the repair and they will ship it back for no charge. For $65 I can buy a newer one of the same model or a newer brushless model that is still under warranty. I'd still like to keep a brush model around that works. I do already have a newer brushless set. Don't want to see this one go to waste though.

Some recommend buying a better chuck. One in particular is this german made one on amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DD7KS5O?

Has anyone replaced the chuck with this one or another one with good results?

I just received a Milwaukee box from Fedex!!!

This took some time(~1 month). My warranty claim was originally denied as the date stamp on the tool was a few months out of warranty. I explained to Milwaukee cust serv it was a birthday gift(true), my birthday is later in the year(Nov), so the tool should still be in warranty. They sent a message to the warranty dept. This 2nd attempt was a couple weeks ago.

Tuesday I received an email saying "Your Tool, Service Order #SVxxxxx has been shipped back to your shipping address."

Today the box arrived. Brand New 2606 sealed in the red Milwaukee box. The packing slip lists the Resolution as: "Goodwill". Thank you Milwaukee!!!
 

Ign

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Butte Peak ND
Ok received my reamer from India and modified 2 more vacs (reamer visible in background of photo)

One of these vacs is new and is going to my parents. They're at the age where they struggle to sufficiently depress buttons or tabs on batteries, and even if they can then doing this while simultaneously pulling a battery out is difficult for them.

So, I decided to also cut off this little wall around the battery. It's actually surprising how much easier the loss of this ~3/8" makes it to get at the battery tabs. Of course this varies as a 5.0 sits more recessed than the buttons on, say, a 12.0

You can also just make out I still completely remove the big wall between the battery and the hose - makes grabbing the hose connection MUCH easier!! (esp if the battery is also removed)
 

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z1 zonly

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Mar 31, 2016
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Near Charlotte, NC
I was using a corded Milwaukee portaband on a Swag table with a foot switch. That was excellent, but when I got the Fuel portaband I could not use the foot switch. I had an old tractor choke cable and lever lying around, so I made a lever mechanism to pull the trigger. Works great, and can use the variable speed, which is neat.

But it has a big problem. I was able to jam the safety switch on the saw open, but it's on a timer such that it disables the saw after about 30 seconds of being depressed. Aside from safety, the LED is triggered by the safety switch, so maybe that's why they do this. You have to unplug and replug the battery for it to work again. Guh.

I'm thinking of buying a broken M18 tool (probably a drill driver) and dead battery to shell them out and make a remote battery receptacle and run it through a switch. Broken tools are awfully expensive on eBay--the cheapest BIN driver right now is half the price of a brand new one. And it doesn't look like anyone is selling dead batteries. Anybody got anything kicking around to get rid of?
 

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loganb

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Dec 29, 2011
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Omaha, NE
Z1-Question for you...why not dedicate the corded model for the Swag table and use the cordless when the greater benefits of portability are desired?

Genuinely curious as I've got the M12 portaband and realizing how handy it is and likely going to try and find a used corded portaband to dedicate to a stand until I pick up a new bandsaw. I don't use the M18 platform so going to the cordless one isn't something I want to do but curious if you see any big enhancements to the Fuel version vs the tailed version?

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z1 zonly

Member
Joined
Mar 31, 2016
Messages
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Location
Near Charlotte, NC
I rarely use mine off the table, and if I do it comes off pretty easily, so I still consider it practical for remote use. And with the Fuel I can just carry the table to wherever I'm working in the shop without needing to consider a plug.

I will kind of miss just walking up to it and stepping on the pedal, no battery needed, but just not willing to have $600 or however much ******* in two saws for that. Sticking a battery in takes 5 seconds.

As to your question, definitely get a corded one for fixed and dedicated table use. No functional difference to the Fuel.
 

48548

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May 14, 2008
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Location
Phoenix
Or like I did a got a power supply on ebay for my v28... so i can them on ac now for when the batteries go and i used old v28 batteries as the connections with no cells.... it also has a set screw to up the voltage. Nice.... makes me think of real genius, boddie up the voltage.

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jeffmoss26

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May 25, 2011
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Cleveland, Ohio
Got the rest of my bins from Jakeofall.

This goes underneath the 4 compartment bin to hold my long driver bits as well as masonry bits.
 

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Tduby

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Apr 5, 2016
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496
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Da U.P.
Ok I really want the barrel style of jig saw it just feels better to me ergonomically but the damn thing never goes on sale like the D handle style does what is up with that?
 

Ign

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Jul 7, 2006
Messages
12,769
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Butte Peak ND
I just got a set of the 11" locking C-clamps with fixed jaws (as opposed to swivel feet)...the 48-22-3531, from HD

The packaging clearly says made in Taiwan. I thought all the locking clamps used to be China? Has Milwaukee stepped up or am I remembering wrong??
 

Ign

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Jul 7, 2006
Messages
12,769
Location
Butte Peak ND
I just got a set of the 11" locking C-clamps with fixed jaws (as opposed to swivel feet)...the 48-22-3531, from HD

The packaging clearly says made in Taiwan. I thought all the locking clamps used to be China? Has Milwaukee stepped up or am I remembering wrong??

Old (MIC, I think) vs the new Taiwan. Considerable differences in script and handle lines
 

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