I have tons and tons of milwaukee cordless tools. I made the switch back in the day because of their cordless metal shears. Dewalt sucked and makita was $500, been team milwaukee since.
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I converted from Makita to Milwaukee. The cordless Makitas i owned were robust tools, but I had to replace the switches on both of my drills several times. My Makitas were nicad devices and I found the price of replacement batteries quite high.I have been full circle on this topic myself. Decades back I bought an 18v Makita drill / driver when they were fairly new to the market. I have abused it many times doing things it really shouldn’t like hole saws and concrete drilling yet it has never faltered.
These days I no longer use tools to make money, more the opposite. Working on things is something I enjoy and I do appreciate the feel of a quality tool. A few years back I decided to start investing in cordless as I replaced air or 120v corded tools.
I did some research at the time, and team Red looked more affordable and available, so I bought a couple of Milwaukee pieces. Didn’t think they were as well built as the blue, so when some thieving ****** stole most of those, I gave away the remainder and started fresh with DeWalt. Which have served OK so far, emphasis on “okay”. Under heavy use -beyond their reasonable use to be fair- they don’t push through like the old Makita does.
A while back while on the road I needed a drill for a lightweight task, so I picked up the cheapest thing I could find, a Ryobi. Got the job done, and it’s well worth the price paid. However it’s a grade below the red and yellow in my opinion.
So, this week I decided to spend some more money on blue. When I started the cordless conversion I expected to eventually toss out the old Makita. But it’s still reliable, and the best quality of the bunch I feel. Got a compact 1/2” impact on the way to see of the new stuff is as well built as the old.
If you read this far, I salute you as a fellow tool nut. But isn’t tool use what separates us from the animals? So, what’s your favorite and why?
I bought my first yellow set back when 18V came out. I would say I abused them. The original batteries seemed the best of the 18Vs. I broke the handle on my 18V circular saw last fall and decided to go 20V brushless in yellow. If they last half as long as the 18s they will outlast me!I hear ya! Once you have tons of batteries for whatever brand you are stuck with them.
Ive broken every brand of tool in 25y of construction work. Same goes for batteries. They all suck after a while.
This is exactly why I started swapping over to Ryobi. I've got a couple Milwaukee tools from my racing days but now that I don't make a living with them, I can't justify the price. I LOVE my red electric ratchet but when/if it dies, it too will be replaced with a green oneI love red but I have alot of ryobi for the stuff that doesn't get put away hot and wet. You can't beat the cost and versatility of ryobi at the price point. Their cordless brad nailers are built pretty good (AVe Approved them). The tools that get used the most are Milwaukee, 1/2" impact, drills and 1/4 impacts, 3/8" rachets, die grinders etc. Most of my automotive stuff is red basically. I don't do a ton of wood working so I cheap out (router, air nailers blah blah) and the ryobi batteries are cheappppp compared to Milwaukee and the ryobi bleeds over to my 18v lawn tools. I only have 1 dewalt tool and its a corded shorty reciporating saw since Milwaukee didn't offer one. I'm not a fan of Makita but the Rigid brand are really nice actually for the price. If your going to beat on it and use it regularly go with Milwaukee but don't waste your money if your not going to abuse it.
The Craftsman C3 19.2V are a completely different breed.From what I understand from the Utubes the 18-20v Craftsman and DeWalt will use the same batteries. Both are made by Stanley Black & Decker.