Careful with Milwaukee Tools

[jmellc]

I have used various Milwaukee power tools since the 1970's. They have always been good performers, could handle any task. But I am irritated with some of the other tools they have brought out. I bought 2 of their hole saw arbors that used Allen set screws. None of my Allen wrenches, standard or metric would fit well. I bought a Milwaukee 1/2 inch (7/8) KO punch last week to replace one I had lost from my Greenlee set. No one had a Greenlee punch at the time. This punch was labeled as "compatible with most knockout tools" but my Greenlee bolt was too small. I took it back to Eck and the guy there offered me a Milwaukee bolt for a good price. He got one out and it did not fit either. If you have to buy any Milwaukee parts, take your sets with you and be sure things fit right. Don't get stuck out in the boondocks with tools you can't use.

In this day of high costs for everything, it does not make sense that a manufacturer wouldn't make its tools at least compatible within its own brand. Has anyone else see this with Milwaukee or other brands?

I have not seen such problems with Lennox hole saws, the other common brand in this area. I have a partial set of Disston hole saws I bought mail order that have been good performers. I used to see a few Starret brand around, that were good too.

 

[norcal]

Remember that most Milwaukee tools are made by the ChiComs now. :thumbsdown: Think Chinese Standard Thread, CST like what they ship with lighting fixtures. :lol:

 

[jmellc]

Remember that most Milwaukee tools are made by the ChiComs now. :thumbsdown: Think Chinese Standard Thread, CST like what they ship with lighting fixtures. :lol:

True, but Milwaukee parts should at least fit within their own brand, I would think.

 

[bullheimer]

yes you would. but along with the Chinese owner came Chinese QC.:rant:

 

[templdl]

The manufacttures are dumbing down of the sales, marketing and design engineers.most of which probably never had a tool in their hand nor do they know what they are.actualy for and how they use thern.
Do you think that they have any ideas of how important they are for your work?
Same thing with distributors and the manufactures of electrical products which many of you avaid calling for product and applicastions support.. The manufacturers have been going to a knowledge base on their computers where the support staff enters your question and it then ressponds with the answer. They don't have to think.

 

[jmellc]

That's a lot of dumbing down, to make a punch and bolt that don't go together. Common sense would go a long way........

 

[electrofelon]

I have quite a few Milwaukee tools and accessories: Their new M18 punch kit, M18 hole hawg, lots of other cordless stuff. I am very happy with everything. They replaced two M18 hackzalls that I thought were way out of warranty so I had just sent them in for a pay repair. No complaints here FWIW.

 

[kwired]

I have quite a few Milwaukee tools and accessories: Their new M18 punch kit, M18 hole hawg, lots of other cordless stuff. I am very happy with everything. They replaced two M18 hackzalls that I thought were way out of warranty so I had just sent them in for a pay repair. No complaints here FWIW.

Pretty good luck myself with most anything Milwaukee I have had. The M18 line is pretty impressive and has a lot of specialty tools for various trades. I haven't broke down an gotten any such specialty tools, I figured as soon as I do that they will find something to replace the M18 line and I will be stuck with an expensive tool that has little support because it isn't the latest line.

 

[electrofelon]

... I figured as soon as I do that they will find something to replace the M18 line and I will be stuck with an expensive tool that has little support because it isn't the latest line.

That is about my only compliant is when they dropped in the V line for the M line. That seemed pointless and annoying. I assume the M is here for quite a while with all the tools they have, but you never know.

 

[templdl]

Pretty good luck myself with most anything Milwaukee I have had. The M18 line is pretty impressive and has a lot of specialty tools for various trades. I haven't broke down an gotten any such specialty tools, I figured as soon as I do that they will find something to replace the M18 line and I will be stuck with an expensive tool that has little support because it isn't the latest line.

I have an M12 ratchet w/ a 1/4" sq drive and I love it. I even got a compatible rotory grinder as similar to a dremel tool that have been excellent and very good battery life.
I have a supper sazall with a 3/4" stroke which is too long for close work as I bent many blades, a 1/2" corded Magnum that will break your arm a most awesome tool not to be messed with as using the sde handle accessory p is a must to control it, a small and handy 2 speed 3v cordless screw driver which I can slip in my tool belt which is great for installing electrical device screws, and an older 12v 3/8" cordless drill that is heavy that is build similar to the 3/8" corded drill but the batteries took a crap on it though it is a very well built and solid drill.
I haven't had enough of an assortment to experience incompatibility of tools and acessories though.
Milwaukee has good through some cheepened down designs for a while but they appear to have picked up their game again though with their latest tools.

 

[norcal]

I have a bunch of M12, and some M18 tools & like them a lot, the M12 are my go too tools, the cordless bandsaw is great, never use my corded deep cut saw anymore, got the band saw for dirt cheap, at a scrap yard, was part of a tool trade in & just had to buy blades & a charger, the 4X4X4 bin was full of mostly DeWalt (Black & Decker) stuff which is where it belonged.:lol:


One of these days going to buy a M18 impact, impressive tool.

What is bad about all tool brands, is when the supplied batteries take a dump, better off buying a new kit due to high battery prices.


Back to the original subject,Milwaukee or other OEM parts should fit their tools, if it was aftermarket "will fit" parts that would have been a whole 'nuther story.

 

[Fulthrotl]

Back to the original subject,Milwaukee or other OEM parts should fit their tools, if it was aftermarket "will fit" parts that would have been a whole 'nuther story.

my experience has been that "quality control" in china does not seem
to extend to purchasing thread gauges. or many other types of reference
tools, it would seem.

there are allen head screws that show up with socket heads that are
able to be tightened by neither US or Metric allen head wrenches.

tapered pipe threads, lets not even talk about. they don't do well
enough on the straight stuff.

and when they do a "knock off" of something like a honda 450 4 stroke
motorcycle engine, "clone" means it'll fit in place of a honda engine.
don't expect any of the internal parts to even come close, even from
identical appearing engines made from the same factory, at slightly
different times.

some stuff sourced in china is excellent, world class. that has to do
with the company bringing the product to market, it seems.

Chinese manufacturing, left to seek its own level, usually isn't very good.

 

[templdl]

There could be hope Milwaukee Tools:
BROOKFIELD, Wis. -
An iconic Wisconsin company is slated for a major upgrade.

Milwaukee Tool is expanding its headquarters in Brookfield. The expansion plan includes adding hundreds of jobs.

With a turn of the dirt, Gov. Scott Walker helped Milwaukee Tool break ground on a new facility.

"Well, simply put, this is about more jobs and higher wages," Walker said.

The company is adding a $35 million, 200,000-square-foot office building next to its current facility. Milwaukee Tool said it needs the space to add nearly 600 new jobs over the next five years.

"Anyone who wants to join Milwaukee, we need more people. We need talented people to join us," Milwaukee Tool President Steve Richman said.

"And the beautiful thing about this is not just adding new jobs, but as I understand it, a majority of those jobs are in engineering and marketing where the average annual salary is $75,000 a year," Walker said.

The power tool-producing company has seen some serious growth. The Brookfield campus had about 200 employees in 2008. Today, there are almost 800.
BROOKFIELD -- Ground was broken Monday, April 11th on a $35 million expansion to Milwaukee Tool's headquarters, located at 13135 W. Lisbon Road, near 124th and Capitol Drive in Brookfield. The headquarters building will be home to 300 to 500 new employees over the next three to five years.

The tossing of dirt on Monday morning marked the beginning of a new chapter for Milwaukee Tool.
"We`re excited about continuing to grow," Steven Richman, president of Milwaukee Tool said.

The iconic company known for durability, quality and performance has grown exponentially.

Work has begun on a 200,000 square foot, four-story expansion of its current headquarters.

So there is hope.

 

[ggunn]

my experience has been that "quality control" in china does not seem
to extend to purchasing thread gauges. or many other types of reference
tools, it would seem.

there are allen head screws that show up with socket heads that are
able to be tightened by neither US or Metric allen head wrenches.

I heard that the Chinese made mortars for the NVR during the Viet Nam war that were just barely larger than what the US was using. The difference was small enough that captured US shells would fit and fire in their mortars but large enough that their shells wouldn't fit into the US mortars.