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ToolGuyd > Power Tools > Cordless > New Milwaukee M12 Rotary Hammer

New Milwaukee M12 Rotary Hammer

Jun 20, 2012 Stuart 12 Comments

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Milwaukee M12 Rotary Hammer

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.

Milwaukee M12 Rotary Hammer Size Comparison
Rough size comparison vs. 18V hammer drill and 18V rotary hammer

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)

Related posts:

Milwaukee M12 Fuel Multi-Head DrillMilwaukee M12 Fuel Multi-Head Drill Milwaukee M12 Fuel Second Generation Drill and Impact Driver Combo KitHands-On: Milwaukee M12 Fuel 2nd Gen Drill and Impact Driver Combo Kit Milwaukee M18 Fuel 2804 Brushless Hammer DrillMilwaukee M18 Fuel Gen 3 Drill Overheating? Nope!, Not Mine

Sections: Cordless, Drills & Drivers, New Tools Tags: Milwaukee 2412, Milwaukee 2412-20, Milwaukee 2412-22XC, Milwaukee M12More from: Milwaukee

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12 Comments

  1. jeff_williams says

    Jun 20, 2012 at 2:36 pm

    This is a tool I really want to get my hands on. Light but very capable.

    Reply
  2. Jay k. says

    Jun 21, 2012 at 2:10 am

    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!!!

    Reply
  3. OhioHead says

    Jun 21, 2012 at 3:31 pm

    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).

    Reply
  4. Tom P says

    Jun 21, 2012 at 6:30 pm

    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.

    Reply
  5. PlattC says

    Jun 25, 2012 at 12:58 pm

    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.

    Reply
    • Stuart says

      Jun 25, 2012 at 1:09 pm

      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.

      Reply
  6. Lewis says

    Sep 3, 2012 at 2:18 am

    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??

    Reply
    • Stuart says

      Sep 3, 2012 at 2:27 am

      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.

      Reply
  7. James says

    Sep 6, 2012 at 12:47 pm

    A question: this M12 rotary hammer drill has the brushless technology?

    Reply
    • Stuart says

      Sep 6, 2012 at 5:13 pm

      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.

      Reply
  8. Javier says

    Oct 26, 2012 at 11:21 pm

    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

    Reply
    • Stuart says

      Oct 27, 2012 at 11:11 am

      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″.

      Reply

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