Milwaukee Tool launched their M4 cordless screwdriver in 2012, nearly 10 years ago. This is still an active product that’s listed on Milwaukee website, and it’s in-stock at retailers and suppliers.
What’s interesting is that this remains the only tool on Milwaukee’s M4 platform.
When the M4 screwdriver first launched, I believed that M4 would be a system. But, that didn’t happen.
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I also wrote:
What do you think will come out with next? We’re thinking an LED worklight is most probable.
There weren’t any M4 worklights, but Milwaukee did launch RedLithium USB years later, with the new battery powering an entire line of LED worklights, flashlights, and personal lighting accessories.
There are some RedLithium USB tools and accessories as well, such as digital levels and green laser levels, but still no cordless screwdriver.
Ryobi now has a line of USB Lithium cordless power tools, including a screwdriver. But for whatever reason, Milwaukee isn’t there yet.
Frankly, I don’t blame them – there have been several 3.6V/4V Max cordless power tool systems, and things didn’t work out well.
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Ryobi had a Tek4 line that was around for several years. Back in 2011, Sears launched a line of Craftsman V4 compact cordless power tools, and it didn’t even last 2 months. The tools launched in October and were on clearance by December.
Milwaukee launched the M4 cordless screwdriver for users who need to quickly perform the same tasks hundreds of times a day. This explains why I’ve seen it promoted in industrial supplier catalogs.
It’s a feature-rich tool too, with 44 in-lbs max torque, two speeds (200 and 600 RPM), and a 21-position adjustable torque clutch. The M4 charger is a standard benchtop-type unit, allowing for quick swapping and near-continued tool use.
I can see why the M4 might be preferred in certain work environments over a RedLithium USB model.
But still, the M4 must sell well to still be available 10 years later, right? Or maybe not, sometimes such assumptions are logical but unfounded.
Could a RedLithium USB screwdriver and battery charging dock replace the M4 model?
I posted about the prospect for a RedLithiu, USB cordless screwdriver nearly 4 years ago. We’re going to see new RedLithium USB products soon, as Milwaukee will be shifting over to USB-C in 2023. But what about more non-lighting tools?
There are reasons behind every tool omission.
Does anyone here use and Dewalt 8V Max cordless power tools? There are reasons why Dewalt hasn’t expanded their 8V Max lineup in 9 years.
And so, while I’m surprised and maybe a little disappointed that we haven’t seen a RedLithium USB cordless screwdriver yet, maybe it’s for the best.
Milwaukee first launched RedLithium USB 5 years ago, starting with personal lighting products. Personal lighting seems to remain their focus.
Given this length of time, either Milwaukee is working on a RedLithium USB cordless screwdriver and is simply waiting for opportune circumstances, or they’ve decided against it for whatever reasons.
It remains a possibility, with my question being when or why not?
If you want a 4V-class cordless screwdriver from Milwaukee, there’s still the M4.
Jared
The specs and features make this look like a viable tool, even ten years later – the only caveat is the price. Compare it with Ryobi, Dremel or that new Kobalt you just posted about and this looks obnoxiously expensive.
Price aside, I think there’s reasons why some might prefer this style over an M12 screwdriver or similar. Having a clutch, two speeds and a pivot handle seem like good upgrades over most 4v class tools.
I certainly think it would make more sense as part of a “system” – especially since buying into a system is like a hook to keep you buying more compatible products. Maybe it’s just not worth a redesign though – too few users willing to pay a premium for a product like this in the face of a $25 Kobalt option.
Matthew
It was just on sale yesterday for the special buy of the day but still a $99 purchase for charger, one battery, m4 screwdriver. Just still way too high for my liking to purchase. The m12 drill driver is not much bigger, cheaper, and accepts m12 batteries. Really disappointed they haven’t come out with a red lithium battery screwdriver.
Tim B.
This style driver is much more akin to the ‘assembly drivers’ you often find on production floors…. and is definitely my personal preference, vs. a drill/driver type pistol grip. I personally have the previous (non-M4) Milwaukee driver on my electronics workbench at home (the one that used NiCd / NiMh batteries), and still use it quite frequently…
Though not as good as a true dedicated assembly driver (like a Hios, which I also have..), these are very convenient as you *can* just put it in your tool bag or take it somewhere else in the house / business easily, if needed, instead of being tethered to your workbench.
@Jared – as a side-note, when you look at it through the lens of comparing it to assembly drivers, these things are downright cheap =)
DT
THIS.
I use this thing on the lowest torque setting for computer work constantly. It’s the best out there because
1) It can be used straight, like an assembly driver
2) 600 rpms which is very high and invaluable for removing a multitude of case screws quickly
3) Battery holds out for eight hours of repairing;
4) Milwaukee reliability that the random China special Amazon electronic screwdrivers just don’t offer. 5 year warranty on the tool!
When I need it for something a little more beefy I just up the torque!
Marc
I’ve owned one of these for many years and use it all the time. The clutch works really well and the pivoting handle is a definite plus. I use it for assembly/disassembly of anything that doesn’t require the power of my 20V DeWalt driver. From Cabinet knobs to opening computers.
Mine does not have M4 anywhere on the body, it has the grey upper handle and the red lower handle, but it’s powered by 4v 3.0 Ah Lithium Batteries. Don’t know if mine was a transition between the NiCd powered ones and the M4. It’s not an M4 as the M4 batteries have the little lock nubs in the wrong place.
If it died today (and I’ve certainly gotten my money’s worth out of it) I would buy another one immediately.
-Marc
Ruslan C.
I have 4 different small factor 4v-8v screwdrivers but using this one when I need to tighten some delicate things. This Milwaukee screwdriver with it’s torque settings is just perfect for working on electrical components.
TomD
The fact it is really hard to overtorque is the main selling point tbh.
Matt
I’m keeping the DeWalt 8v alive. They’re are dozens of us.
I’ve had the gyroscopic screwdriver since 2013 & it’s my go-to for nearly all my mid to low duty work…outlets, small appliances, electronics, toys…list goes on. I keep a second for ‘clean’ work on computers and r/c. I’ve bought them as gifts for a bunch of my friends and only hear good things.
The gyro has a great range of sensitivity so i don’t have to worry about stripping or cross-threading.
The adjustable clutch is great for doing flat pack furniture…take a minute to dial in the first screw and then it’s rapid fire.
The battery packs are easy-ish to upgrade too…i get a couple Panasonic cells & spot weld the tabs with a portable battery welder i found on the ‘rainforest’ website.
Pablo
I love my DeWalt 8v tools too. Started with the rotating handled driver, bought the flashlight, and then found one of the fixed handled drivers at a price I couldn’t pass up. Perfectly sized tool for assembly projects.
Art
I had an AEG screwdriver that looked like this (except for battery handle). I wonder if Milwaukee took it over after TTI acquired AEG?
J. Newell
These are a niche product but incredibly useful within that niche. I have two and this post is reminding me that I should think about replacing them with the one that I think would check all my boxes here.
I have a very old Milwaukee with the 1990s-era stick batteries. It has a two-speed motor, a clutch and a folding grip. Semi-miraculously, I can still find decent replacements online. It was great in its day but today it feels slow, underpowered and having only two speeds with a manual switch feels like bad egos.
I also have one of the non-folding 8v Dewalt gyroscopic screwdrivers (DCF682). I bought it on sale at HD mostly because the gyroscopic control fascinated me. I really like this one and use it a lot (well, “a lot” is relative here – a lot for its product type). I know some people strongly disagree, but I find the gyro control works really well.
The gyro gives you seamless and very intuitive control over speed (which is continuously variable) and drive/reverse. I think it’s an incredible UI.
The only disadvantage on paper that isn’t a huge problem in real life is that the DCF682 has no clutch. In real life, the speed control is so sensitive, and let’s face it, the torque is low enough, that if you’re moderately careful you won’t be cracking switchplates or the like, but a clutch would totally eliminate that – just set it for 1 or 2 and it should be foolproof.
I may see if I can find one of the DCF680 models, which adds a clutch to the variable speed gyroscopic control. I bought the DCF682 because it was cheap and I wanted to see if the gyro really worked or was just gimmick. I really like it so the uncharge for the DCF680 would probably be reasonable, for me. YMMV.
Collin
I purchased a DeWalt gyro screwdriver and was very impressed by it, but it burned up after just a month of use.
I purchased a second one which then got confiscated by TSA. That was my fault.
I liked the gyro screwdriver but not enough to get a third one.
Dennis
I’ve had one for years, and I love it. As already stated it’s useful for repetitive task. Hands down the best tool for installing outlets or assembling Swedish furniture products. The form factory makes it pretty easy to carry too.
But I’m a fan of being able to use one battery/charger for multiple tools, so I vote they make a red lithium version. We should get a petition going!
Tator
I gave up on my m4 after it’s been broke down 2 times now, wires in the handle get pinched. Bought the makita 7.2v screwdriver and haven’t looked back!
Davethetool
I have 2 of the Dewalt DW920 7.2v NiCad Screwdriver kits that I acquired second hand and nearly new. These were popular at one time and are still resold on eBay for decent prices. Pivoting handle like the Milwaukee but single speed. They also have a clutch which is excellent. Kind of bulky and I really don’t use them as I have a few different battery powered screwdrivers that are much lighter. The pivoting Dewalt was cool in its day however especially as a assembly type tool! I had a similar Ridgid NiCad battery powered screwdriver but once the battery went bad I ended up selling it to another. I may be mistaken but I believe Dewalt still manufactures the battery for the Dewalt DW920? If not since it is a NiCad the cells can easily be switched out. Even more incredible is the battery packs still work fine!
Ball_bearing
Why does it seems like a lot of companies launch the same type of product almost simultaneously?
Stuart
Coincidence?
JoeM
I have the original DCF680 Gyro from DeWALT. I also have its companion light, the DCL023. I entirely understand when tool companies somewhat anger their install base by leaving a system “On The Table” so to speak. No new additions, no updates, no new types, just… Done. I thought the 8V Max system had potential for more types of lighting, personally. Perhaps a lightweight engraver based on a scaled down Die Grinder or Rotary Tool? Perhaps a Glue Gun, if they could get the 8V system a higher Ah battery or two, that is.
But something tells me Milwaukee might have dropped the ball a little bit for the M4 Screwdriver. With all they’ve been doing lately, the creation of entirely new systems, no less, devoting a team to figuring out how to bring the M4 up to snuff as a RedLithium USB model might not be all that important to them, even though they still want to do it. First off… Will RedLithium switch over to USB-C for all the batteries? If so, that’s a big step for the already-invested users. Secondly… How do they make the M4 Screwdriver in RedLithium form, without Milwaukee users just calling foul on the redesign? How do they make a RedLithium version of that tried-and-true screwdriver different enough, withut losing what makes it so useful and necessary in the first place?
And… I think Milwaukee is falling behind on bringing a lot of their tools forward into the current state of their recent tool lines. No, no, I don’t mean they’re failing, or that they’re doing bad. I mean they literally have more on their plate than they can handle in the timeframe we’re expecting. And that they keep charging forward (No pun intended, considering we’re talking battery systems right now.) is something that really endears them to me, even though I’m a DeWALT user. Something about this makes me… I dunno… Have Faith in their ability to do this eventually? I am still going to stick to buying DeWALT, despite them leaving 8V Max on the table the way they did… I see no reason to think that Milwaukee won’t come around to the M4 to RedLithium USB conversions eventually.
Collin
Completely agree:
>And… I think Milwaukee is falling behind on bringing a lot of their tools forward into the current state of their recent tool lines
The fact that the Milwaukee flagship drill/driver didn’t have standard anti-kickback control until last week with the release of a new drill/driver is appalling.
I wonder just how many people hurt themselves thanks to thinking that Milwaukee = the best and ended up experiencing severe kickback.
Also the M12 Fuel drill/driver electronic clutch is very imprecise. I thought that was true of all e-clutches until I saw a review and a side-by-side demo of the Makita XGT drill with 62 e-clutch settings and a conventional Makita with a mech clutch. Damn near indistinguishable in terms of precision.
Stuart
Their One-Key drill has customizable anti-kickback.
Many brands still don’t have anti-kickback protection at all. Do any Makita 18V drills offer this? Nope. I’ll have to check about Dewalt, but I know their premium 20V Max models don’t offer this either.
I have to wonder if this is because brands don’t want to offer this, or they polled end users and found users wouldn’t pay more for such a feature. It can also be a nuisance to regular operation when there’s a false positive, but I’m not sure that’s a major reason for brands avoiding this feature.
Collin
Yes–the “standard” M18 does not have the kickback control. Until the new model came out last week. The upgraded OK one, yes, I’m aware it has that option.
Even the M12 should have kickback control. Or at least a side handle. I still remember putting the clutch on my M12 on “1” to drive a screw into a pre-drilled and pre-threaded hole in plastic. The screw went all the way in, slowly I might add, given how long the M12 likes to take to ramp up, and then the e-clutch took its sweet time to shut off, twisting my wrist surprisingly hard. And that’s a 12-volt drill on clutch setting 1.
After getting my wrist twisted hard several times even when using the clutch settings, I’ve given up on using the M12 Fuel gen 2 drill/driver to do any driving tasks. Fortunately the drill didn’t have enough power to actually injure me and I wasn’t standing on a ladder, but it is quite an annoying problem.
I ended up picking up a Flex Turbo drill/driver display model for $30 and that thing actually has a clutch that works as expected. It’s supposed to have kickback control but I haven’t tried testing that yet.
Doresoom
I think factory assembly use is what’s keeping this M4 screwdriver in production and at its relatively high price point. It has an swappable battery that can be charged separately, unlike a lot of other 4V screwdrivers.
Plus, industrial users probably don’t care about having an M4 “ecosytstem.” That and with the Redlithium USB being slightly harder to swap out batteries for, is probably why they haven’t discontinued it and jumped battery platforms.
King duck
For the price I rather use a cheaper version by another manufacturer or get the M12 screw driver which is what I did 8 years ago and love it for finish electrical work. but the surge is probably a good alternative now too when on sale.
Olegk
I didn’t know it existed, why would anyone buy a 4 volt screwdriver? I have a gyroscopic 8 volt Dewalt and it’s not very good in terms of power… Can’t imagine a 4 volt being any better. Milwaukee’s 28 volt tools are going the same way.
Mopar4wd
As others mentioned these are mostly for industrial users. I work for a manufacturing company that makes low volume electrical equipment for powerplants and ships. We have a number of these M4 drivers along with the Dewalt 8v in the shop. They are great when you have to put on a cover held in place with 60 flat head thumb screws. One guy who uses his M4 a lot has adapters to use it to run thread chasers in it which it does very well.
We used to have some higher volume production lines with a bunch of calibrated pneumatic drivers which are great but even pricier and not as flexible.
Drew
I am an electrician. I have used this power screw driver for I believe over 10 years. The first version had a smaller collet. I am on my 2nd one. I also have the Makita version of their power screw drive. The Makita version is chunkier but has a light on it. The Milwaukee screw driver is well worth the price. It holds a charge very well. It can drive screws in wood if your in a pinch. The slim design is great for getting it on and out of a tool pouch or bag. It is my go to tool. I don’t do a job without it
J. Newell
-> Amazon in-stock and price alert <-
I'd been interested in buying a DCF682 (because of the clutch) but it was out of stock or being offered at scalpers' prices, but this morning Amazon threw the DCF680N2 at me. The price is $119, which is great, because the N2 kit includes two batteries, a charger and a (probably useless) bag. It's being sold and shipped by Amazon, so there should be very little risk on this. Here's a link (this is not an affiliate link):
https://www.amazon.com/DEWALT-DCF680N2-Gyroscopic-Screwdriver-Battery/dp/B00DL7QDS2/?th=1
Greg
Small drivers like this are great for detail work and small jobs. I own three different units; two Makita’s and one of the Dewalt 8v gyroscopic ones (local Lowes put all of the stock they had on clearance with an eventual price of $30 a piece which I couldn’t pass up). The two Makita’s I have are below both bought off eBay. One is an impact the other is a normal screwdriver. To be honest I’ve tried the various other 4v ones and they just don’t have enough umph for me to justify them over just staying with my Milwaukee M12 tools. For me and my usages I need these small tools to be closer to the 12v side of power vs lower. This will probably be different for others.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/384934909930
https://www.ebay.com/itm/255502540831
Scott ALKB
Your article on the Black & Decker 4V gyro screwdriver was the first article I read on the site, and inspired me to buy one for myself, then after I’d used it, 4-5 more for family and friends. Sadly it was not a well-made product, and they died quick deaths — just stopped turning at all.
I really liked the gyro screwdriver concept though, and found the Dewalt 8V version at a Home Depot and have been using it ever since (several years). I’m a DIY homeowner, so it hasn’t seen heavy use, but it hasn’t died from the same use as the B&D did.
If Milwaukee made a USB chargeable gyro screwdriver at a similar price point to the Dewalt, I’d probably buy it, since I’m interested in a backup unit, and I’m a Milwaukee fan.
Stuart
I didn’t have any problems with the B&D, but I also gave it away due to not using it as much anymore. The Dewalt 8V drivers are great. Some complained about them being underpowered, but these are compact tools for light duty use.
There’s a bit of a gimmicky aspect to gyroscopic controls, and so I don’t think Milwaukee or other brands would adopt it for tools that might be targeted at industrial users.
J. Newell
Gimicky, yes, probably…I bought it not sure I wouldn’t return it or something like that, but I kept it and just bought the one with the clutch (DCF680N2, $120 with the charger, two batteries and a bag) because (1) it’s incredibly intuitive and (2) it’s really sensitive – I don’t feel like I’m giving up any of the feel that I’d have if I were turning the screws manually. I doubt sales are very high, but it’s the king of this niche, in my opinion at least. 😉
BTW/FWIW, I have one of those old B&D screwdrivers sitting in a drawer. A few years ago I bought a new battery for it and amazingly it still works. I can’t say it’s ever gotten a whole lot of use, though, or if it did, it was so long ago I don’t remember.