Milwaukee recently announced a new M12 cordless LED worklight (2126) that’s specifically designed for hands-free illumination especially when working under or around vehicles.
Despite being designated as an underbody worklight, the new Milwaukee cordless light looks to have broader appeal as a shop or jobsite light.
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Indeed, this is how Milwaukee describes it (emphasis is my own):
The M12 Underbody Light delivers 1200 Lumens of TRUEVIEW High-Definition Output* for complete coverage in the shop or on the jobsite.
Do you know what this reminds me of? A super-duty desk light but with more degrees of freedom.
The new Milwaukee Underbody worklight features a magnetic base that allows it to be mounted on magnetic surfaces for hands-free lighting.
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The worklight features dual joints that swivel 300° horizontally and up to 180° vertically, to help users position and direct the light exactly where it’s needed.
There’s a 12″ magnetic storage tray built into the arm, providing easy storage and access for loose sockets and hardware.
There are 3 power modes, delivering up to 1200 lumens of “TrueView” illumination.
See Also: What is Milwaukee TrueView?
When powered by a 4.0Ah battery, the Underbody worklight can run for up to 15 hours on low (600 lumens) or 5 hours on high (1200 lumens). There is also a 800 lumen setting.
The new Milwaukee worklight is water and dustproof to IP54 standards and can withstand drops of up to 6 feet. It was also designed to be corrosion-resistant in the presence of common automotive shop chemicals.
A handle build into the light head helps with adjustments.
The user control interface is simple – there’s an on/off power button, a mode selection button, and a battery fuel gauge indicator.
Milwaukee Underbody Light Features & Specs
- Magnetic mounting base
- 3 lighting modes
- Low: 600 lumens
- Medium: 800 lumens
- High: 1200 lumens
- Runtime with XC 4.0Ah battery
- Low: 15 hours
- High: 5 hours
- IP54 water- and dust-resistance
- Resistant to common auto shop chemicals
- 12″ magnetic parts tray
- Swivel points on both ends
- 300° horizontal rotation
- 180° vertical rotation
The kit comes with a charger and 4.0Ah XC battery. There is also a bare tool option.
Pricing
Bare Tool (2126-20): $179
Kit (2126-21XC): $259
ETA: December 2021
Buy Now: Bare Tool via Acme Tools
Buy Now: Kit via Acme Tools
Buy Now: Kit via Tool Nut
Discussion
Although I know that this light is designed specifically as an automotive worklight, I can see it being useful in all kinds of other usage environments.
The beauty of the light is that it can adjust at the base or at the light head, which means it’s going to be much more versatile than lights you have to physically move around. You can mount this to a magnetic surface where it’s convenient, and simply swing the light head to provide a convenient illumination angle.
And, more fabrication-savvy users can fashion other types of mounting accessories for it. Consider, for instance, a steel plate with hooks for hanging the light off of rafters or joists, or a simple steel plate that can be mounted to the side of a plastic tool box.
Or, ignoring the potential for DIY mounting accessories, what about simply sticking this to the side of a tool cart or workbench?
In the MRO (maintenance, repair, operations) space, fasten a steel plate to a resin cart, and you’ve got a light that can be aimed anywhere you need it to be.
Maybe the ergonomics or stability of the swivel joints won’t allow for improvised use in the way I’m envisioning, but I like to be optimistic.
I’ve looked around, and I can’t find any other automotive LED worklight quite like this one. Many worklights offer some adjustability, but nothing like this.
As a final thought, is it just me, or doesn’t the new worklight look like a desk lamp?
Peter Fox
Flipping it upside down and using it as a desk lamp was my first thought as well
Nathan
need a metal table top but sure. As I bet it’s tippy otherwise. though the battery is on that side.
meanwhile nifty idea – love the mag storage tray.
and as usually I have to have extra ask – make the arm telescoping a bit. not saying it needs to go 3 times length but say an extra few inches incase you need that range
still nifty as all get out
Wayne R.
I’d imagine the telescoping arm would be useful to shorten it, too. I’m sure they thought of that too, and figured it was too much trouble though.
dandlyons
I really like this concept. I have used a number of work lights when doing repairs on my truck and most have some short comings. I sometimes find myself using the Milwaukee M12 LED Stick Light (Model #2351-20) . But it is only 220 lumen. I never got around to buying the magnetic puck they sell for it. It has an integral hook but in practice there are few places to hang it. I tend to put the larger capacity battery in and stand it on that as a base. This isn’t the greatest approach since I can end up knocking it over when rolling around under the truck or I knock down into the engine compartment.
The Milwaukee RedLithium USB Rover Pocket Flood Light (445 lumens) is really handy as it has a built-in magnetic base and is relatively small in size so it can be stuck just about anywhere on the truck. But all you can do then is rotate it 360 within the plane of the surface it is attached to. You cannot always get the light pointed right at what you’re working on.
This new design seems like it solves the issue of getting the light on the work both in terms of the adjustability w/ multiple degrees of freedom for optimal pointing & in terms of throwing a lot more lumens on the work.
I also work on a sailboat diesel engine and the space is pretty cramped. Knocking a light down into the bilge is not fun. This looks like it could be magnetically attached/secured atop the engine and then just rotated around to throw light practically anywhere I need it.
I have to agree w/ Nathan. The magnetic tool storage area seems like it would be pretty useful.
I will likely buy one but may wait a bit to see what black Friday deals look like this year.
Lance
Agreed on the M12 stick light – it’s great for working in tight places like under a car dashboard. It would be more useful with the magnet, but I could never convince myself it was worth $20… this stick light is expensive enough without the magnet, and I have the M12 Underhood Light anyway which is a far better solution instead of using the magnet on the stick light underhood.
This underbody light looks fantastic, but like all Milwaukee lighting gear (and most cordless lighting gear) it’s overpriced; it’s a $40 light on the end of a $140 articulated plastic arm. Big margins for TTI on these things – a lot of bare-tool power tools cost less than this and are infinitely more complex from an Engineering and manufacturing standpoint.
If I see one of these on a clearance rack I’ll probably get it, but I won’t be paying full price any time soon.
JoeM
I don’t see a problem with using it as a desk lamp… Sometimes you just gotta think something out, or sketch something down, or even fill out a little paper work before you can continue what you’re doing. Maybe it’s late, it’s darker than you’d like to be writing or drawing stuff, and you need a make-shift desk to do that paper work on. I see no conflict in using this light as a desk lamp. You can probably get away with turning it down to its low setting for that, and it’ll do the job just fine.
I don’t see what actually stops people from using tools outside the advertised function of those tools. This light as a desk lamp? Why not? An old cordless drill as the motor for a kid’s building toy creation… would that really be so bad? I mean… if a tool box is sturdy enough to sit on… then in a pinch where you need to sit down… it’s a seat…
Halloween is coming up soon… How many of us would be willing to carve some pumpkins with our power tools? I know my hand would be raised. If you’re into baking or something on the side (Makers make all sorts of things, after all.) and you want to make a batch of something that is too big to fit a normal mixing bowl, or stand mixer… or even food processor for that matter!… Is it so wrong to chuck the mixing head off your mixer into a pro-grade Drill, even Hammerdrill, empty your needed ingredients into a clean bucket, and then mix like the world is ending?
Stuart, honestly, if you can afford this light, I think it might make a rather lovely desk lamp in your shop, regardless of how you use it otherwise. We never innovate if we never attempt the possible alternative uses we see in a product!
P.S. Send pictures to this article if you ever end up doing this… Just… This as a desk lamp…
Tom D
You’d like our baby changing table – a Milwaukee 48-22-8522 52” workbench just there in the bathroom.
Not much more expensive and infinitely more durable.
JoeM
I most certainly do love that! It might not be as “Pretty” as you might get at the usual furniture store, but there’s a ton of storage for supplies, it’s nice and sturdy, you can put plenty of comfortable padding for the baby up top…
Seriously, that’s brilliant Tom! And if the wife, family, or others say it’s somehow not really “Baby Friendly” or “biases gender stereotypes” just… Paint it… There’s a ton more storage space in a tool chest than there is in the typical change table for sale out there. We, as tool users, are rather spoiled for utilitarian design. When people go out and buy the expected baby products, they’re often more form over function. They have a bare minimum amount of usage, and limit people to only using them either in the master bedroom with the parents, or in some sort of nursery.
Yet… Look what happens when you import something from our Tool world, into a far more convenient place in the child-rearing and family-raising world. When changing a baby, you’re really taking them to the bathroom. So, it’s rather brilliant that you put a heavy duty storage chest in, funny enough, the Bathroom. It probably has more uses where it is than just a change table as well, doesn’t it? You toss a few extra rolls of toilet paper in a drawer maybe, or someone in the house (I don’t want to presume the composition of your family) may have a hairdryer or maybe some makeup or skin care products in a drawer there… You may well have quadrupled the storage solutions in your bathroom by using that tool chest. 52″ you say? Yeah, one of the big ones. So, no issues with the drawers, because they’re heavy duty slides, no one getting hit or harmed by drawer pulls, because they’re slightly recessed grab rails at the top of each drawer, flush with the body of the whole thing…
Seriously, that was absolutely brilliant Tom! It’s exactly what I’m talking about when it comes to re-using or using tools and their products for alternative uses. This Milwaukee undercarriage lamp… if it looks like a desk lamp… maybe it’s more expensive than a normal desk lamp, but the upside to that would be that if you need it for an inspection light underneath something, you just grab the desk lamp and use it for the original use!
That’s Awesome, Tom D… Thank you for that happy thought in my day… I love hearing stuff like that… when Tool Users have actively gone out of their way to utilize our tools outside the usual cases, for the sake of solving a common issue in daily life. I live for that kind of stuff!
JoeM
*Oh… WORK TABLE… Same happy thoughts, I apologize for getting it wrong… I’ll have to look it up online, I don’t know Milwaukee products very well at all… I know DeWALT better, as I’ve never figured out the model numbering scheme for Milwaukee… And I’m more invested in DeWALT and have a low budget, so can’t really span the two systems.
But I still absolutely love that solution Tom!
Daniel
Where are you people normally buying changing tables!??
I keep seeing posts like this; people using $1,000 workbenches for changing tables because the price is comparable.
The average cost for a new changing table is about $150-$200, unless you’re looking for crib/changing table combo, but then a workbench is no longer comparable.
New babies already cost so much I could not imagine spending an extra $800 unnecessarily. Can’t really even use the argument of “I’ll have the workbench after the kid is out of diapers” argument, because that could be several years down the line, and most people don’t anticipate needing a workbench 3-5 years in the future. So much can change in that time.
Like if you can afford it then more power to you, but geez. Just own it. Say you didn’t want to buy a changing table and you thought that using a workbench instead would be cool.
Serendipity
I have a couple of m12 lights and really like them, very thought out. However, Milwaukee is very generous with battery life expectations.
Plain grainy
Price seems about 45% too high. About the same cost as the 3000 lumen Dewalt tripod light.
MM
The price of LED worklights is getting insane. I doubt these cost more than $10 to build, there’s hardly anything inside them: a little wire, a switch, an LED module, and a receptacle for the battery.
Now I’m not saying that people might not get a lot of value out of them, but it’s outrageous what these cost given what is inside them.
Peter Fox
While the material cost per unit is probably not a large percentage of the overall cost, that doesn’t mean that something like this is inexpensive to make.
looking at it there are at least 10 different part made of injection molded polymer. Each part needs its own precision machined mold.
Additionally as a higher end tool they are likely using a tougher polymer such as a glass fiber filled nylon. This means that the molds will need to be made from very tough and wear resistant tool steel. Just the raw metal one of the molds is made from likely costs thousands to tens of thousands of dollars. Once you add engineering and machine time to make the molds for a tool like this you are easily in the hundreds of thousands if not possibly over a million dollars just in tooling costs.
As a somewhat niche tool what will not likely sell in the same volume as a drill/driver or impact driver the cost has to be spread over fewer unit resulting in a higher price.
Plastic may be inexpensive but making high quality parts in volume with it is not.
MM
Most of the things you mention are negligible in the end. Even very high end engineering polymers like Ultem cost under $5/lb, and there’s far less than a pound of material in that light housing, not to mention it’s not made of anything near as fancy as Ultem.
Yes, injection molds can cost a lot of money up front, but this is something that China does very well. Even something as simple as a child’s plastic robot toy requires a high degree of precision–something they have been making inexpensively for decades. Sure there were tens of thousands in up-front costs to make molds, but that’s amortized over many tools being made in those molds.
Compare an LED light to a more complex tool like a drill/driver. Same high mold cost for the plastic parts, but also much higher costs for the steel gears, the alloy gearbox housing, the motor, the chuck, the adjustable clutch, the much more sophisticated electronics….yet these tools are sold for a similar price. I guarantee you that the big tool companies make far more margin on an LED worklight than they do on a circ saw or a drill.
Plain grainy
I certainly like my Dewalt tripod lights. I picked mine up on sale. Came with a two battery starter kit(4 or 5 AH batteries, I think it was 5.). Plus a bag & regular charger, all at today’s selling price.
KG
You both make very good points, most of which aren’t mutually exclusive, by the way. I think looking just at material and tooling up is a bit myopic though.
First, there is a significant up front R&D cost on anything new. Without worrying about splicing it out too much just consider that it takes a team ranging from industrial engineers to testers to patent lawyers and all the support functions in a corporation just to bring something to market in this scale. We’re a service based economy and labor is not only not free, it is expensive. How much do each of us and the people we work with contribute to the final product/service cost? Not zero – a lot, actually.
These are mostly up front fixed costs that must be amortized over the volume sold in the product’s lifecycle so, as noted, the more niche/low volume the solution is, the higher the human R&D contribution is per unit. Circular saws and drill/drivers probably sell 1000x to something like this.
The other aspect that contributes to that MSRP is the chain of markups, which was traditionally about 2x for retail. TTI isn’t direct to consumer so that’s 2 price bumps over cost before we get access. Straw man numbers but suppose TTI have around $50 in costs, Home Depot pays $90, and in turn offers it to me for $180. We can have opinions on having to go through a reseller and/or the tight price controls they have with their retail partners but these are the current realities.
I don’t disagree there’s likely a lot of room for profit here based on the pricing compared to individual components. I am just offering that it’s a little more complex than that view alone. I think this this is really slick. I’d probably buy one at half the price but I’m not an auto mechanic or in MRO so at $180 it’s off the table for me. If I made my living around an engine bay though, that difference might be negligible over the product’s life compared to the time recouped on fewer drops, trips to grab parts or sockets etc, or just better visibility. TTI is betting on it anyway.
Koko The Talking Ape
When I replaced my muffler years ago, I lay on the ground on a sheet of cardboard (I didn’t have a creeper) and laid a worklight, the caged kind with a cord, on the ground. That got troublesome and it would blind you if you happened to look at it the wrong way, so I started using a headlamp. Far superior. I have several now. A broad even beam (no hotspots) works best.
I’d be open to this guy though, being as adjustable as it is. I do wish it also offered a clamp as well as magnets to attach it to things. Magnets won’t stick well to steel if it is very curved or irregular. Clamps won’t work all the time either, of course, but at least it would be an option.
Travis
I will have to admit, Milwaukee is firing on all cylinders. They are solving problems I didn’t even know I had!
Wayne R.
This thing’s making me think differently about them too.
Plain grainy
I’m happy with all my Milwaukee tools. I’m sure i would probably really like this light also.
Wayne R.
Rather than a steel plate as a base, just some sheet metal fastened to some plywood. Then the opportunities for easy alternative mounts open up. A whole reddit thing would be easy to imagine.
Years ago I had a good tripod with an unlikable head that I removed and had just the “legs” (good tripods are two elements, legs & head). A piece of good plywood with a 3/8-16 t-nut in the middle (to screw down on the legs’ stud) and now it was a fantastic adjustable table.
Sure would be easy to do something similar with this light in mind.
Chris
I’m a tech in a car dealership and I’m sorry but personally I don’t see the use of this light at work… I just don’t. Also the price is insane for what it is.
Plain grainy
Light might work well attached to my tractor roll bar, might add some additional hold down straps/ clamps. Light up the brush hog on the rear of the tractor. Rather than installing permanent lighting. Plus you can move it to other tractors, lighting up engine compartment during a repair.
Eric
It’s an interesting design, and I could see it being useful. But I wouldn’t even consider buying it unless the price was under $80.
OldDominionDIYer
Very nice work light though having a 6 inch telescoping extension arm seems super useful and a missed opportunity. Also incorporating the spring loaded clamp used on their other light would have been really nice as well. I’m going to wait for the revised version before buying I think, too many easy add on improvements they failed to include. I love Milwaukee and their “trueview” lighting but I can wait and use what I already have in the mean time.
Greg
Maybe offer them to boarder patrol for checking cars for drugs and what not b