Milwaukee recently showcased a new sub-compact cordless M12 1/2″ SDS Plus rotary hammer at their 2012 New Product Symposium event.
Milwaukee engineers are definitely ambitious with some of their M12 cordless tool designs – this became clear back in 2010 when they first released a 12V hammer drill. While I would never use the M12 hammer drill for extended masonry-drilling sessions, it works great for occasional holes. Thew new rotary hammer looks to be a perfect complement for extended or larger-bore drilling applications.
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While the M12 rotary hammer is so small it seems almost toy-like, it can definitely hold its own against beefier tools.
There was a testing station at the media event, where we were encouraged to test out the M12 rotary hammer alongside an 18V hammer drill and an 18V rotary hammer. Although we’ll still need to test out the rotary hammer under our own conditions as well, the experience showed that the M12 is no weakling despite its smaller size and lesser weight.
The M12 rotary hammer is designed to handle SDS Plus drill bits up to 1/2″, but it could probably go past that although with greatly dimished performance. According to a handy reference chart, 4 out of every 5 holes drilled in masonry are with 1/2″ or smaller bits, meaning that the new compact model could handle up to 80% of all masonry-drilling tasks.
Technical Specifications:
- 0-800 RPM
- 0-5350 BPM
- 1/2″ max capacity
- 9″ length
- 3.9 lb weight
The rotary hammer is available as part of a 2x M12 XC battery kit (model 2412-22XC), or as a bare-tool (model 2412-20).
Buy Now(Kit via Home Depot)
Buy Now(Bare tool via Home Depot)
jeff_williams says
This is a tool I really want to get my hands on. Light but very capable.
Jay k. says
When i get bored of not drooling over anything new… Milwaukee never seems to disappoint. Way to keep an edge on the tool market! They even have new jackets coming out
with m12/m18 capacities… Truly awesome!!!
OhioHead says
Very impressive innovation coming out of the MKE cordless folks.
I still have not invested in the 10.8/12 volt battery platform but if I was I would have to take a very hard look the MKE products because of number of tools in their system! They may have outfoxed DeWalt on this one (quick time to market & release more tools).
Tom P says
I wonder how this rotary hammer will function drilling into hard stone such as quartzite or granite. A small light weight tool such as this could be usefull for rock climbing.
PlattC says
The tool is not the issue, battery life will be diminished greatly with the 12V platform. There are 18V tools in this same category and I would guess the battery life would be much more useful on a job site. If you have the M12 system maybe this would come in handy, but otherwise I would step up to 18V.
Stuart says
I can’t find it in my notes, but I remember seeing or being told that the hammer can bore up to 60 holes on a single charge, which doesn’t seem bad.
Yes, a typical 18V rotary hammer will deliver more power when using larger bits, and might drill more holes when using smaller bits. But if you’re not making full use of an 18V hammer’s increased power or runtime, then a smaller, lighter, and less expensive 12V version makes more sense.
I wouldn’t say that an 18V version would be more useful, as it really depends on users’ different needs.
Lewis says
Hey… It’s a quick questions but could some one please tell me what the diffrence is between the m12 3amp batteries and the m12 CX battiers??
Stuart says
You mean M12 XC?
Milwaukee has 2 battery sizes, regular M12 and M12 XC. The regulars are currently 1.5Ah and the XCs 3.0Ah. Starting around January the regular batteries will be 2.0Ah and the XC ones 4.0Ah.
Both battery types are shown in our post on the M12 Fuel drills and drivers. The standard/compact batteries are straight, the XC extended capacity ones have an added base.
M12 3.0Ah and M12 XC mean the same thing.
James says
A question: this M12 rotary hammer drill has the brushless technology?
Stuart says
The M12 rotary hammer does not feature Milwaukee’s brushless technology, at least to my knowledge. Otherwise it would have been marketed as part of the Fuel lineup.
Javier says
How many ft/lbs pounds of impact force does this thing have? I’m in the market for a rotary hammer and would like to know before I make a purchase, the m18 rotary hammer has 1.8 ft/lbs impact force
Stuart says
That’s something Milwaukee has not specified yet. Whatever the value is, it’s definitely lower than that of 18V rotary hammers. The M18 rotary hammer has a 7/8″ hole capacity, the M12 1/2″.