Milwaukee is unveiling lots of new tools today, at their 2016 New Product Symposium (NPS16) media event.
Benjamen is covering the event for ToolGuyd, and you can find his and other media outlets’ live coverage by searching for the tag #NPS16 on various social media platforms.
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I couldn’t help but get the conversation started, so here are a few teasers of what Milwaukee is debuting today. It’s too early to know much in the way of specs and details, but that’s what makes this a sneak peek.
Which of these new tools are you must excited about?
We knew that a Milwaukee M18 Fuel sliding miter saw was coming, here’s what it looks like:
M18 Fuel Miter saw. Full 10". 2×12 capacity. $549 bare tool. #nps16 pic.twitter.com/HZtMseVgxq
— Benjamen Johnson (@benjamenjohnson) June 8, 2016
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Nice – a sturdy-looking top handle, plus side handles.
Looks like the sliding rails move in and out of the base for greater portability!
And…
Shadow line marking cut. Visible in daylight #nps16 pic.twitter.com/StsccjVx7p
— Benjamen Johnson (@benjamenjohnson) June 8, 2016
Yessss! Shadow cut line guidance! I LOVE this feature on Dewalt’s premium corded and their cordless miter saw. It’ll be interesting to see how Milwaukee pulled it off.
Paddle for changing bevel angle on miter saw #nps16 pic.twitter.com/9vCyk8agKE
— Benjamen Johnson (@benjamenjohnson) June 8, 2016
Bevel angle changes are done via paddle control. Looks more user-friendly than knobs.
The M18 FUEL™ Sliding Miter Saw slices through an oak 4×4 like a hot knife through butter. #nps16 – @DerdIsTheWord pic.twitter.com/fCqgIa3Yk4
— Milwaukee Tool (@MilwaukeeTool) June 8, 2016
Last night a reader emailed in, asking if Milwaukee’s EDC pocket knives will ever be released. Does this answer your question?
The new knives will be under Milwaukee Hardline branding.
Here’s another look at the prototypes from last year:
New heated gear for 2016!
It’s great to see Milwaukee continually working to improved their heated workwear.
This is Milwaukee’s M18 Radius 360° 4400 lumen area worklight. It looks to have a standard male outlet inlet port (thanks for the technical correction John M!), for connecting an extension cord for AC power.
Ryan and RX9, here’s a look at the new M18 Fuel automotive polisher you asked for in the predictions and wishlist post!
Milwaukee Tool’s Bobby Shaw is proud of their soft tool storage products:
Most durable and versatile rolling storage bags in the industry! #nps16 pic.twitter.com/z8wFNytNgg
— Bobby Shaw (@BS_Tools) June 8, 2016
Tool Skool shared a look at a new M18 Fuel string trimmer. I guess Milwaukee’s coming out wth outdoor power tools after all:
Look who has cordless outdoor tools @MilwaukeeTool #nps16 pic.twitter.com/2Z0X7oItx5
— Tool Skool (@toolskool) June 8, 2016
Here’s Ben’s preview of the new M18 Fuel hedge trimmer. ETA: Spring 2017.
Spring 2017 variable speed trigger, two speed,14-16" capacity. #nps16 pic.twitter.com/n0AEd5lp3u
— Benjamen Johnson (@benjamenjohnson) June 8, 2016
Brad’s got some video footage of the new hedge trimmer decimating wood dowels:
Here's the impressive part – those are dowels it's cutting! @MilwaukeeTool #nps16 @toolskool pic.twitter.com/eWIGcZIL08
— Patriot Brad Staggs (@realBradStaggs) June 8, 2016
And a new blower tool!
Spring 2017 #nps16 pic.twitter.com/eVeNTL5hyN
— Benjamen Johnson (@benjamenjohnson) June 8, 2016
Interesting-looking design.
Updates:
Nice, updates to their [already awesome] magnetic tape measures.
Interesting, they went with what looks to be a smaller hook.
Here’s some tape measure drop-testing footage from EBMag:
Drop-testing @MilwaukeeTool #tapemeasure at #nps16 https://t.co/21AJrfblfW
— Electrical Business Magazine (@EBMag) June 8, 2016
One-Key Sawzall!
Pic to come when available, but in the meantime, it should look like this, but with added One-Key branding and connection button:
Batería 9.0 sólo Milwaukee podía hacerlo. #soloindustrial #NPS16 pic.twitter.com/UwEkKgsHZ5
— Milwaukee Tool LA (@MilwaukeeToolLA) June 8, 2016
Our friends at Tools in Action are live streaming throughout the day:
LIVE on #Periscope: #nps16 Milwaukee tool media event https://t.co/g1fiKspccT
— Tools In Action (@ToolsInAction) June 8, 2016
More M18 Tools:
M18 Drywall cutout tool (via Coptool)
M18 Fuel Drywall Screwgun (via Coptool)
M18 Fluid Transfer Pump:
M18 self priming transfer pump. Auto shutoff after 1 min of dry pumping #nps16 pic.twitter.com/N4ZoLFfLJc
— Benjamen Johnson (@benjamenjohnson) June 8, 2016
New measuring tape wheels, via PnM Mag:
The new @MilwaukeeTool long tape features a patent pending debris wiper. #NPS16 #tools pic.twitter.com/eEiybBUmqp
— Plumbing&Mechanical (@PnMmag) June 8, 2016
Work wear, including gloves:
Looks comfortable.
And fingerless gloves:
There are some new WorkSkin base layers coming out too:
It sounds weird when I say it out loud, but it looks like they put some serious thought into the stitching and design.
Toolaholic shared a secret about the new WorkSkin workwear:
Tool Skool shows off a new clamping and magnetic M12 flood light:
12v @MilwaukeeTool flood light. Clamps, sticks with magnets. And it's bright! #NPS16 pic.twitter.com/PsyN2M4BTp
— Tool Skool (@toolskool) June 8, 2016
I called it!
EC&M caught a glimpse of new Milwaukee box levels:
New super strong box level with metal frame & durable vial. 16 to 96 in. Length. 360 deg torpedo level below.#nps16 pic.twitter.com/5UtQA0zCCD
— EC&M Magazine (@ecmweb) June 8, 2016
More details were added about the miter saw (shadow cut line guidance, paddle bevel angle lock), and outdoor power tools – there’s a new blower too!
Adam
It looks like there will also be an SDS Max cordless rotary hammer. From the brief clip I saw on Periscope, it’s light enough to lift one-handed, which is pretty impressive.
Wilson
Can’t wait for the weed eater. I’d love have a solid battery powered one on hand that lasts more than 3min.
Ron
Ego makes a 56 v Lithium-ion trimmer and it lasts about 45 mins. Tremendous power too.
BonPacific
DeWalt’s brushless trimmer is well made, and the batteries last pretty well 30-45m on the 5.0ah. This milwaukee does have the option of a wider cut at 16″ while the DeWalt is stuck at 13″.
Hoping the new Milwaukee matches up to or beats DeWalt and Makita in power, always good to have competition.
Nathan
unless you want to move to the 40V dewalt trimmer at 17 and longer runtime. If the rating is to be believed.
jtr165
I own the Dewalt 20v brushless trimmer. Run time is around 30 minutes w/ the 5.0ah battery and the ‘hi’ setting (it’s not an on/off ryobi like thing, the hi/lo setting just limits max rpm).
I’m guessing the Milwaukee will fall in similar to that. Probably a bit more power, as they generally have more advanced brushless motors, but will also sneak over $200 w/ battery i’d imagine. But either way, for bigger yards, or sections of uncut grass that needs to be dealt with…no 18v trimmer is going to be that great for it, i’d recommend some of the higher volt’d options for that kind of work.
Ari
I am not sure what all the hype is about these products. I am a milwaukee guy and have over 50 m12 and m18 tools, but as far as lawn tools, I have core tools and they have better run times. They have been out for years. My core tools use a 18v (20v) they say which is max at only a 6.5 ah. I get 1 hr run time on the string trimmer and 1 hr run time on the hedge trimmer. They are as powerful as a high torque echo I had and the hedge trimmer cuts through 1/4 inch or thicker branches like it was nothing. Of course they are using a patented pcb board motor that is the size of your hand and is mounted at the head on the line trimmer so there is no shaft or vibration.
BigDan
My dewalt 40v string trimmer is amazing and I enjoy using it every time.
High power mode takes out major weeds and low power mode isn’t that low. I use low for the whole yard and high for the empty lot weeds encroaching next door. Use it for my sidewalk and driveway edging too.
I barely use 1/3 battery per session on my 4ah can’t imagine the 6ah.
K2
My wife really likes her Stihl trimmer and chainsaw. The blower is unusual, as the battery is on your belt, making the tool very light. They work very well.
Dacan
That 360 worklight I am labeling the Milwaukee Pumpkin.
Fuel M18 Polisher! Please be under $200 bare tool….
M18 Outdoor power tools nice, but 18v is underpowered compared to the 40-80v alternatives.
BonPacific
Yes and no, 18v brushed tools are pretty weak. But the 18/20v brushless tools have more power than the 40v Ryobi/B+D/Greenworks stuff. Not sure about the 56v Ego or 36v Makita stuff, but I don’t think the gulf is *that* big.
jtr165
Well, there is a very significant difference between the brushless 40v and 20v Dewalt trimmers. My local Lowes demo’d both lines of outdoor equipment about a year ago. I ended up buying the 20v trimmer, but more because I wanted the big battery for the rest of my tools and I only have a 3/4 acre yard to worry about. I was tired of dealing with mix and starting my gas one just for 8 minutes of trimming.
The 40v was an animal in comparison, though. It was odd because I didn’t find the 40v blower that much more powerful than the 20v (both were acceptable for dry stuff, worthless for wet), but the trimmers were night and day. They didn’t have the 20v hedge trimmer available yet, so can’t comment on that one.
Phi Nguyen
You’ll have to excuse me if I’m wrong about this, but during the Tools in Action periscope, there was an explanation about the technology behind the M18 9.0 High Demand Battery. Essentially, when connected to certain pieces of equipment (such as the Outdoor Power Equipment), it can deliver more than 18-volts to the tool (40v or 54v, I can’t remember). Milwaukee stated that they didn’t want to fragment their customer base, so they used the same 18-volt interface so that end commercial users could purchase and maintain a fleet of one (or two if you count M12) battery type. Who knows if this strategy will bite them in the butt (can you imagine all the “my 40-volt tools are so much better than your 18-volt ones” arguments that will ensue… just think of all the confusion that 20v MAX has caused in the industry… “My 20-volt drill has 2 more volts than yours”… *sigh*
Benjamen
No, the battery delivers 18 volts period. What Milwaukee explained is that thinking about more voltage meaning more power is an outdated way of thinking. When batteries were NiCads and motors were brushed can motors you ordered from a cookie cutter supplier, the only way to add more power to an 14.4 volt tool was to add more cells, you couldn’t double the number of cells to make a 14.4 volt battery with more Amp hours because the battery pack would be enormous.
Milwaukee 18V batteries are either 5, 10 , or 15 Lithium cells. Every five cells is wired in series to make 18V then those assemblies are wired in parallel to increase the amperage.
What may be confusing is that they were explaining that you COULD wire 15 cells to produce 54V or 18V, but the total number of Watt hours (total energy in the pack is still the same). At 18V the rated charge capacity (Ah) of 15 cells would be 3X greater than if configured for 54V.
Brushless motors can be designed to run on lower voltage and higher current and still deliver the same power output as a higher voltage lower current motor.
The huge advantage is that your new higher Ah battery works in your old tools and your older 18V packs work in the new tools, but just don’t give the performace in high draw situations.
Diplomatic Immunity
It’s funny because after seeing all these teasers of what Milwaukee is releasing in the near future it made me think of the other tool companies’ lineups. Milwaukee, Makita, and Dewalt all have extensive tool and accessory offerings. It made me thnk what the hell is Bosch doing? They seem rather lackadaisical in their releasing of new products in comparison to the other three.
BikerDad
What is Bosch doing?
Given that Bosch is massively larger than TTI (Milwaukee’s parent company) and Stanley Black & Decker (DeWalt’s parent) put together, I’d venture they’re doing a helluva lot.
Just not a whole lot in the tool realm at the moment.
RKA
That’s why I didn’t consider them when I changed 18V tools earlier this year. Brushless and better batteries are ushering in a cord cutting revolution. Tools we never considered using cordless are now a possibility depending on your needs. It seems like Bosch is resistant to jump on this bandwagon to produce everything for everybody in cordless. Time will tell whether that was a wise decision.
My 12V Bosch are getting lonely and outnumbered in a world of Fuel’s (12 & 18V).
John S
Bosch has some interesting new cordless stuff, but it is still only available in Europe. But I definitely agree – I wish I was not so committed to Bosch’s 12v and 18v lines….
Toolfreak
My personal theory is that Bosch has persons who are intentionally sandbagging their product lineup instead of expanding it. I don’t think Bosch will be doing much aside from continuing to produce the tools they have presently with minor improvements over the next few years, and maybe a few of the new tools we’ve seen will actually get released, but that’s it. Until the sandbaggers are gone from the company, Bosch will remain stagnant and only stay afloat because it’s such a big company and the stuff they already make sells fine as is.
mikedt
Have no use for some of these, but others make me glad I accidentally standardized on the Milwaukee line.
Pete
I love the lawn tools, the drywall gun, the m12 light, the m18 360′ light, the cordless miter saw, the fluid transferpump is AWESOME! Curious what they say about gasoline or diesel on the guy.
Also the base layer shirt looks cool, more details would be nice
Stuart
An industry mag Tweeted that gas/fuel is a no-go for the fluid transfer pump.
Dacan
Then they should just call it a water pump lol
BikerDad
Some of it looks good, some other stuff? meh.
I don’t go to Hanes, UnderArmour or NorthFace looking for a reciprocating saw, I’m not going to go to Milwaukee looking for a base layer. Nor, frankly, do I think getting into gardening tools is a good idea for Milwaukee, although I can see why they’re doing it.
The proprietary nature of cordless systems appears to open the window into new market areas that wouldn’t make any sense to do as corded tools since they would be viewed as WAY outside of the brand’s core competency. It would, I think, make more sense to establish/elevate/repurpose a brand to handle these types of tools utilizing a common battery formfactor. As an example, SB&D could move all of the gardening stuff to Black & Decker, focus the automotive stuff with Mac, construction with DeWalt, woodworking and stationary tools with Porter-Cable, etc, yet make sure that the batteries work across ALL of the brands. Only one brand has ever managed to cover all the tool bases, at least at the non-commercial/industrial level, and that’s Craftsman.
Given that I’m not a tool company marketing executive, ’tis unlikely that what I think about it will have much effect.
BikerDad
It should be noted that in Milwaukee’s case, they would likely need to spin up a new brand to handle the “outside of construction/trades” tools. While us TOOL junkies know that TTI is the parent of both Milwaukee and Ryobi, tying those two brands together under a common battery platform would only hurt Milwaukee, at least in this country. Makita will have a similar challenge.
Stuart
Milwaukee and Ryobi aren’t related in the same way as Dewalt and other SBD power tool brands.
While I have seen some evidence of high level communication or coincidences between brands, such as the timing of their distinct jobsite fans, it’s not quite the same.
Benjamen
I asked several Milwaukee employees and they say Milwaukee and the other TTI brands are completely separate, they don’t share designs.
FishStick
In the long run I really think it would be more confusing to a consumer in that sense. I own a Milwaukee M18 for site tools but need to purchase a Wisconsin string trimmer because it’s a yard tool. Keeping it all under the same brand makes the brand recognition stronger which is partially why Craftsman did so well for awhile. You didn’t have to question it, just Craftsman had it and it was usually a pretty good product. Let’s face it, as a consumer most people bought one tool and then stuck with the line because of a battery (or that they bought an extra battery and now it’s too expensive to transition). It’s no longer in most cases about the tool, rather the entire battery platform. And really, most of these products are very easy to create because they all revolve around a battery, the controls, a motor and some plastic molds which all of the brands excel at so stretching into yard tools or even indoor items isn’t a giant leap. Who wants to see the first Milwaukee cordless blender or hand held mixer?
mike aka Fazzman
That 360 light is cool,id own that Since i dont own any milwaukee cordless stuff. Put that thing in the backyard for eating outside and such.
Benjamen
The 360 light also has One-key (or a version has one-key, I’d have to dig through a lot of notes) You can turn it off and on and control brightness and set it on and off on a schedule. It’s one of the first real uses for One-Key I really thought was practical.
Say you have 12 of these lights in a work area hanging from the ceiling , you can control them all right on the ground. They have both plug and outlet so you can chain them together,
JC
Do you have brightness specs for the light? Can all three heads be positioned to face one direction? Finally msrp and release date?
I will most likely be returning my stand light as my biggest complaint was no hybrid power. Milwaukee listened to the people and fixed that so I’m in for at least two if the brightness has been upped over stnad light.
Benjamen
I’m not sure we are all talking about the same light. I’m talking about the Radius the new compact site light. That’s what I thought mike aka Fazzman was talking about. The tower with the three heads is the Rocket.
Here’s a link to the Milwaukee page with most of their lights. I’m not sure if the Rocket tower lights are the new ones or the old.
The only thing I know for sure is that the new Rockets can recharge batteries too.
Lighting is the area that I’m the most confused about. They ran us in presented and pushed us out of that section. It was dark to show off the lights and they had a fog machine going, so I don’t really have any good pictures (hard to take pictures of something giving off light in the dark) and only a few good notes from the section.
Sorry I don’t have more. I need to dig into the press kit and ask some questions, but ToolGuyd will have more in depth coverage at some point.
Benjamen
Maybe I should actually put in the link: https://www.milwaukeetool.com/lighting?product+types=S
JC
I found more on the rocket 3 head light. It will have 3000 lumens and a cost of $399 (it and radius $299 are already on home depot website just not available for sale).
On that note I think milwaukee took the pricing a bit far. I was thinking more around the $299 mark for the rocker 3 head light. $399 is ludicrous. At that price I may be stuck with my stand light after all 🙁
Nate818
Hey Milwaukee! Make that 360 degree light that’s corded an 18 volt battery charger!
John S
The levels look a lot like rebranded Stabila…. are there any relations between Empire and Stabila?
The one thing Milwaukee still needs to expand on is their modular tool storage system… That is the one Bosch thing I am glad to have in lieu of Milwaukee at this point.
Benjamen
Milwaukee or Empire levels? The Milwaukee levels are designed at a much higher price point to compete directly with a certain company Milwaukee wouldn’t name.
John S
The Milwaukee levels you included in the pictures above look like Stabila in design… Almost identical at first glance…
Jacob Edmond
Quite the odd pose that glove model is striking……
Stuart
There were a few images, I chose that one for its strangeness. I guess it’s meant to show off the wrist comfort, as some gloves can restrict hand and wrist motion.
Steve
LOL….I didn’t know if it was a political statement, or what….but it does make an interesting picture 🙂
Chris
Hmm lots of “me too” tools from Milwaukee… Thought they were proud of the fact they weren’t that kinda company
The miter saw looks Little big, bulky and heavy to lug around… Not to mention way to expensive
Lawn tools… Must be afraid of Dewalt success’s in the category… Everything else, nothing special this year
Joel
Yeah, if you only ever need to cut through 2×8 the Dewalt is the better choice. Nice to have something cordless available for those who need 2×12 or are already tied into the Milwaukee system, though.
Actually, that’s why I’m happy about the me-too products. They’re nothing special, but it lets people who are already Milwaukee users buy a bare tool instead of a more expensive tool+battery that will only work with that one tool.
I live for tools
Yeah, I agree.
Seems like they are becoming purely a marketing company now instead of an innovative company. Stick a battery on it and call it innovation. Then come up with a cool demo and marketing pitch.
Is it due to them losing some of their most innovative people?
Is it due to the competition pressure?
They are still feeding off the buzz of past years so it will be interesting in the years to follow.
Chris
I find that’s all Milwaukee is, they claim ” disruptive innovation” and people buy into i… All pure marketing BS….
Like the saw, fine if your framing a house or something bigger in the middle of no where with no power… But it’s a little big for anything else and heavy. The price though, they are crazy…549 fora bare tool. I’ll buy a 780 dewalt for that and still save cash lol
JC
Amen to that. When the photos of the miter saw were first leaked I commented the price would drive some away and sure enough I was within $50. For $50-100 more I can get a dewalt, bosch axial glide, or milwaukee 12 corded slider and know that the power source won’t one day change. If this saw was hybrid I’d probably buy it, especially if it had corded power/specs when plugged into ac. $549 for a “throw away” saw when m18 goes away, no thanks I’ll pass.
Nathan
while I agree I wouldn’t normally look to a tool company for a under shirt – I did like they at least made the shirts in the USA
that surprises me for Milwaukee since they can’t make much else here.
the mitre saw only slightly surprises me, figure there will be a slight bit of one upmanship there in the next year. where’s the nailers? shocked they only now have a cordless drywall screw gun.
cordless polisher intrigues me. I see that, like a sander and an angle grinder as being something I use with so much duration per job that I wouldn’t want battery power – not to mention sure let’s put the 9Ah pack on there but it now weighs so much.
alan
I’d be interested to see how the Red OPE tools are. A lil late to the party though….
I own all red. Most recent buy was the Forcelogic kit,
I do own yellow tools, to be specific, their OPE lineup.It’s amazing…and batteries just keep on going due to the large capacity.
Phi Nguyen
Sad to see that there still isn’t a new oscillating multi-tool… 🙁
B
Any specs released on that Drywall gun. RPMs ? Got a brand new Dewalt I just picked up 3 weeks ago going to return it most likely now wasn’t sure but had a feeling that would put one out. Awesome they got a Rotozip as well was going to buy the Dewalt before the $20 off deal ended. I can wait a few more month’s and use corded til then.
That 10″ miter saw is sweet.
Benjamen
Fine I’ll dig out my notes instead of going to bed :>)
Drywall gun is 4500 rpm. Can be set to start driving when you push the screw against the wall.
Rotozip didn’t stand out to me, but I’m not familiar with the competition.
Yes the miter saw is sweet. Dust bag doesn’t work worth a damn though. But what miter saw bag does?
B
HAHA… hope you got some rest. Thanks for that info. The rotozip doesn’t need to be fancy would love some kind of dust collection like the newer Rotozip has not sure how well it work’s but I’d pay for it to keep the drywall dust down when possible. I’m just glad they made one to go with the drywall gun. Will be nice to be cordless when hanging drywall. Even better when hanging ceiling’s or working from a lift not to have cords always in the way.
I agree with the miter saw dust bags. Usually I don’t care much unless I’m cutting in a finished room and need to keep dust down ill just run a shop vac when cutting.
Good to see Milwaukee get into more Carpentery tools. Would love to see them make a 7.25″ Wormdrive saw and some Laser’s to compete with Dewalt’s.
John
Is this not a typo:
“M18 Fuel Miter saw. Full 10”. 2×12 capacity. $549 bare tool. #nps16″
Right below there is another tweet:
“The M18 FUEL™ Sliding Miter Saw slices through an oak 4×4 like a hot knife through butter. #nps16 – @DerdIsTheWord ”
So which exactly is its capacity? I’d imagine it’s better than 2×12 if it’s a 10 inch blade.
Benjamen
It can cut up to 6″ against the fence. Can cut a 2×12. That’s the two specs they gave. I saw the saw do both. I cut a 2×10. Pretty smooth power, decent cut. Didn’t try the 4×4 oak. Was a 40 tooth blade, will probably ship with 60T. Can work with 5Ah battery too. Milwaukee guy said you shouldn’t notice too much difference.
Adam
No new oscillating tool, and they didn’t even expand on their storage system. What the hell. I am still plenty stoked about much of the new releases, but damn. Can it not be incredibly clear to Milwaukee that these two categories are still a little lackluster, if not borderline disheartening. But why should I be concerned, at least they are staying up to date on their undergarment line.
On a side note though, I wouldn’t of expected a transfer pump in a million years. I feel like I can’t live without it already.
KL
Woulda much rather seen an inflator than a water pump!!!
glenn
Same here!
Benjamen
Which storage system? Steel cabinets? Sortismo type bins?
Adam
Sortismo for sure. I would love to see them expand their storage bins into a system like the Dewalt tough system.
I also agree that they should make an inflator, and I kinda assumed they might of mentioned a new one at NPS. Something that could actually handle something substantial. I am looking forward to the day that I don’t have to pull a compressor and extension cord out just to test my wall rough in.
JC
I feel the same way, and commented several times about the lack of a new oscillating multi tool. Milwaukee has the worst one on the market of the major brands. Team yellow was able to sneak in to my otherwise red tool chest. When can I get the jigsaw I’ve been wanting for 4 years? It’s about time for a refresh Milwaukee.
glenn
Happy to see some garden tools. I have been trying to decide which alternative brand to buy into for OPE and had near made the decision to go with Makita.
Will just wait now.
Richard G.
Any words on a chainsaw? That would be awesome
Benjamen
In the Q&A after the sessions they said they were seriously looking at one.
alan
I’ve got no ~gripes~ about what was released or what as consumers we want ~released~. They have sooooo much already in their lineup, that I’m primarily cordless on alot of things
drills/impacts
sawzall, grinder, SDS+
Portaband, circular, Forcelogic KO
Adhesive Gun, Pex Kit, M18 Lanterns
Who else can complete my list and let me use the 16 or so M18 batteries all in one shot. 9.0AH is nice but capacity aside, I’ve got enough ~reserve~ with the amt of batteries on hand
Kevin
I saw an early post that said over 30 new Fuel tools… was wondering if anyone had a list.
I’ve seen
1- blower
2- trimmer
3- hedge trimmer
4- miter saw
5- One Key Sawzall
6- Drywall Screwgun
7- 7″ Polisher
After that…
Benjamen
– Fuel SDS Max Rotary Hammer
– Fuel 18ga Brad Nailer
– Fuel 16ga Straight Finish Nailer
– Fuel 16ga Angled Finish Nailer
– Fuel 15ga Finish Nailer
I can’t find a list in the media kit and they didn’t enumerate them. I made a list of tools they showed us and could only come up with the five additional ones above. I think they must be counting tools like the recently released One-Key tools you can buy now. Or they count things like the bare tool and the kit as separate tools.
JC
Milwaukee may have it up their sleeve but if you are focusing on remodeling then where is the oscillating multi tool? I also feel like they missed a one key opportunity with the high torque impact wrench. Currently two modes leaves a huge gap if you want to work in the 350 ft lb neighborhood and not 100 or 700.at least now I can go ahead and purchase the current wrench. I was a little disappointed with this year’s show compared to last, but on the bright side no pun intended they were smart enough to listen and add ac power to the m18 light tower. This means my stand light will be going back once I get a few more specs.
alan
JC –
The 360 is different than their current tripod light, ac plug aside….in function.
I picked up 2 of the new M18 floods. Still need to play with it, as on paper, it should be 3X brighter. In some rooms where I have used their original M18 flood, it didn’t appear to be ~that much~ brighter even though on paper, it is 3X brighter
JC
I’m thinking that even if the new light tower only puts out what the current stand light does, I would buy it simply for the ac power as long after m18 is dead and gone I’d have a functioning light.
This does however depend on whether or not I can face all three heads in the same direction. I suspect I can from the nps 16 poster. If it does sign me up for 2 maybe 3.
I have the 3k lumen flood and love it. One reason being the ac power which I use more than with battery.
Joe
Great Idea on the M18 Fuel automotive polisher. Problem is the rotary polisher is almost phased out of the automotive detail world. Large orbit polishers have taken over.
Chris
Not to mention the battery placement is real close to the paint… Should of did something different and keep it away from the finish
John
I noticed both of these points too and kinda winced at that. Surely by now too they coulda had both orbital and just rotary on the same tool like the festool sanders. That woulda been revolutionary. As mention above orbitals are much more likely and only for very specific instances a rotary and even the. You finish up with an orbital. Hopefully too Milwaukee didn’t put so,e stupid proprietary spindle size like they did on the m12 polisher. A M9 thread seriously? Not 5/16 or at least 5/8? What were they smoking.
Adam
I have a strong belief that Millwaukee, as a company, has a big problem with saying “man we made an awesome product that will perfectly suite the need of *enter trade name here*” without ever handing it over to a contractor in that trade for long term testing before its release.
Benjamen
That’s not the impression I got. They hammered the point in many times during the show that they go out into the work site and ask the people what they want from a tool. Then they say that they get the tool into the hands of those guys early in the process to get feedback.
I can’t comment on if it’s actually true, but one of the things they can do is go from concept to to prototype in like a week. They have invested tons of money into 5 axis CNCs, EDMs, and high end 3D printing. They even make their own plastic injection molds for protoypes in house.
I don’t think you invest in that kind of infrastructure if you aren’t planning on going through many iterations before you release a product. Or they may just use it to get into the market faster.
They are not shy about trying to get tools into the hands of the media early either.
Dennis N. Schmidt
The polisher is a complete disaster. The battery is in the wrong position. Too easy for it to mar the work. The angle is wrong.
David C.
Yeah, I noticed that as well.
Benjamen
I demoed the polisher and had no issues with the battery being in the way, but I don’t use a polisher very often.
Plus that’s a staged photo in the post, it’s not actually being used. It’s positioned not for use, but to show off the tool.
You could be right, but I wouldn’t judge it on the photo above.
Dennis N. Schmidt
No professional detailer is going to take the chance of the battery marring the work. If the morons that design these tools actually used them they would have picked up on this the first time they used it. All they needed to do was straighten out the handle so there would be a couple of inches between the battery and the work. Amazingly stupid.
Chris
Even if the photo is just staged like mentioned earlier, it still looks way too close for comfort…I wouldn’t use it on my car, I’ll stick to corded
rjbpjd
When is Milwaukee going to come out with 18v small air compressor?
Adam
Second this.
Benjamen
That question was asked during the Q&A after all the sessions. All they said was there was a ripe opportunity for cordless.
Sam
The torpedo looks like my stabila lol
Milwaukee tool Steve
When is the Milwaukee drywall screwgun and cut out tool be released Benjamin.
Milwaukee tool Steve
Well this question could also be for everyone it would be nice to have more info on the screwgun.
Benjamen
I couldn’t find it in my notes. It was right after the miter saw presentation, I was still over watching people cut and taking pictures. I might have missed it or they just didn’t say. Sometimes you had to ask, I must have forgot. Miter saw?!?
I found this tweet from Milwaukee though.
https://twitter.com/MilwaukeeTool/status/740669682718543872
They say September. I can’t figure out why they are using Toolaholic’s photo and not their own.
Toolpig’s already got a good instagram vid and info up:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BGfZTMRux2h/?tagged=nps16
Milwaukee tool Steve
thanks Benjamen
Chris Fyfe
Benjaman , I am truly envious , I would kill to go to the media event ! Thank you for your good work , I think I will deffinately get the Miter saw . I know you are sworn to secrecy , but are there a bunch of embargoed products , you can’t talk about ?
Chris
Benjamen
Stuart wants the miter saw post out soon, so a detailed preview will be one of the first things I work on. There’s a lot of features that I haven’t seen covered yet.
The event is a lot of fun. You get to meet a lot of cool people from both Milwaukee Tool and the media. But, it’s also a lot of work — especially trying to live up to Stuarts coverage of past events. Milwaukee really keeps you moving from product to product at a fast pace for about 8 hours. It was a workout both physically and mentally. I can’t even imagine the long hours the Milwaukee employees put in setting up the Symposium.
I’m not even acknowledging you asked that last question :>)
Vaheh
Wait til you see what dewalt is coming out with in a few days.
Dana Campagna
Greenworks has 24, 40, 80 and 82 Commercial grade cordless outdoor power. Love it. Lightweight, easy to use, brushless motor, good runtimes and very fast charger. I have the 40 and 80V systems. The 80V blower is the bomb! I can’t see how an 18V would do much. I thought Milwaukee was more like a prosumer brand.
tcmault
I’d like to know more about the new tape measures. Will they be making a non-magnetic version. I like the fact that they sqaured off the bumper area. Seems everyone complained of the old metal loop being too round letting the case fall over when trying to do layout.
Looks like this one still have the finger recess underneath which I like.
Hope they make it in all the sizes.
Stuart
As of now, the new tapes will be in 3 sizes, all with magnetic tips. 16′, 25′, and I believe 35′.
Sean B
Work in the CCTV field. Just bought the fuel hammer drill 2715. Was going to also get the small m1w portoband but I need a fuel version. Keep asking different milwaukee sources but can’t get an answer. I like the m18 version but way overkill for me and wanted to get in a m12 tool as well. I also have the 1/2″ fuel impact and that thing is so sweet. Mostly I use my fuel drill and impact and must say I wish I had bought a impact years ago.
Milwaukee is my go to brand. I have seen that abuse they can take and will continue to use them. As for yard tools I say good for them.
One thing that I saw and owned in the past was a cheap black and decker set of tools from wallmart. They were a moduler set. Used one battery in small tools and two in the drill and vacuum. Bit the single battery charger had a loop out to chain chargers together. Would really like to see this on milwaukee chargers. Was a neat feature.
Stuart
Have you tried the M12 band saw and found that you need more power that a Fuel version might provide?
John M
“This is Milwaukee’s M18 Radius 360° 4400 lumen area worklight. It looks to have a standard male outlet port, for connecting an extension cord for AC power.”
I sure hope the male port is the inlet, not the outlet.
Benjamen
Thanks for catching that, you are correct it is an inlet.
Frank Binetti
Great lineup from Milwaukee, and DeWalt. The red headed stepchild remains to be Ridgid. Only brand to offer a LSA, and yet they refuse to advance their offerings. Guys like myself want brushless, stand alone tools but Ridgid is silent. Not sure to go with Milwaukee, or DeWalt, but I need better choices and can’t keep waiting.
Walter turjanski
Why doesn’t milwaukee make a cordless framer like Dewalt?