Biggie

Just curious when you say they need to fix the size, weight, and balance on most drills and impacts are you talking m12 platform?

Like I said I have zero personal experience with ryobi but you don't have to scroll too far over on the ryobi page to find a topic talking about battery issues. Is it really a widespread issue? I don't know but it's enough to make me not want to start up another battery platform with them. But I'm pretty well invested in milwaukee and dewalt so having a lot of those batteries makes spending a little more on a bare tool from them more advantageous to me.

Yea I work with steel so that would be fine by me. I was actually a little disappointed after watching the video.

Rob from concord carpenter just put up a little nsp2017 preview video on youtube. I don't know how much insider info he has but sounds like milwaukee is going to keep focusing on woodworking.

Which is an advantage, making switching over easier because you can make the switch gradually using your current 20v tools. But aren't those tools that as you wear them out and replace them, you'll replace them with 60v tools which will eventually leave you with small batteries for your 20v tools and large batteries for your 60v tools. I know there are some exceptions such as lighting which dewalt is somewhat lacking in right now, but I'm just saying in general.

I know I wasn't on board with flexvolt when it first came out because to me it's another battery platform. But after seeing the advantages of having more power I think they are alright with big tools. So my question is do people actually try to use the flexvolt battery across both the 20v and 60v lines. Meaning is there a real world advantage to having it be flexible or was it just a way of making people more open to the switch. To me I want the big batteries on the big tools and the small batteries on the small tools which pretty much means two battery platforms with compatible chargers.

I think the 4 way chuck makes sense on all recip saws. I ran dewalts for a number of years and switched to fuel a couple years ago. I really miss the 4 way, it allows you to get closer cuts and I would say I used to use the side way position more than the standard. It also gives you two more ways to position the battery in tight spots.

Is internet connectivity really an issue? I feel like if you're a person that needs to be connected to your emails, you're probably going to have a phone plan to accommodate it. I guess its alright to see tools evolv with technology but it seems a bit gimmicky at this point.

I would guess using it in the home garage for a project you'll go all day without having to worry about the battery. I'm using it in production where I'm tightening hundreds to thousands of bolts at a time. I have impact sockets and I know people say it's a big no no to use a chrome socket but at work we have guys grab chrome sockets all the time and I've never actually seen one shatter. I have seen them crack but I would say you'll probably get away with some occasional use.

Yea brushes are pretty easy to change but I doubt you would ever wear them out. To me the biggest advantage of brushless is runtime but with the 4.0 batteries that won't be an issue for you either. The one downside to the 2663 is that it does have some weight to it.

Yep that's the one I was looking at. I have one and it's not the latest and greatest but it's still a lot of impact for diy/home auto.

I'm not real familiar with Canadian tool prices but I just went to ebay Canada and it looks like for around $170 you could pick up a m18 2663 bare tool. Its a brushed model and has about 450 ft/lbs of torque. For $215 you could have the new brushless m18 2860 which has 450ft/lbs of torque as well but it's much smaller in size. I would say both of these are superior to the ryobi and really in the same price range.

I have a 2703 and 2704 and just grabbing them off the truck you would never know the difference between the two. We rarely use the hammer drill mode because we have cordless sds drills. The 2704 came in a combo kit and the 2703 was bought on its own so why not save $20.

I don't want to keep the story going if it isn't true, but I know in the past I've heard of ryobi batteries having some issues. I have no personal experience with them and I also know they've been making improvements in their battery technology. I've actually considered ryobi as a cheap way to fill some holes in my line up but never done it because its another battery line and if they don't last there goes your savings.

There was a time back in the 18v xrp days that I said a cordless grinder couldn't replace a corded. Then came the m18 fuel grinder and while it's not a true corded replacement, I no longer carry a corded model on my truck as it has enough power and runtime. I've recently bought a 60v grinder and I would say it's every bit as capable as a corded 4.5"-6". Even with just 2- 2.0ah batteries and a fast charger I haven't had issues with running out of battery. That's not to say there aren't jobs where a corded model isn't a better choice but for 85% of the population there is a cordless grinder solution. Where my problem lies is we have two work trucks running on the 20v platform and I don't want to upgrade both trucks to 60v batteries just for a grinder. But I would like to upgrade to brushless and get similar performance to the m18 fuel grinder.

There was a post on the forum about a possible new mid torque impact wrench and when I asked my tool guy about a compact 1/2" brushless he said his source said something was coming in June. So I guess my question is has anyone else heard of any impact wrenches coming out in this next tool release?

I know the high torque impacts have their place and I guess if I was dealing with large fastners all the time it would be my go to. But I have 3 compacts and 1 2763 on my truck and none of the crew touch the 2763 unless it's absolutely neccesary. For me the mid torque will almost completely replace the high torque, but 90% of our fastners are 5/16"-1/2" and it's extremely rare to deal with anything over 1".

Not sure which one you're talking about but I have a bosch 18v compact ids181 impact. Yes it's small but I think it's very under powered with only 1150ft/lbs of torque. It'll drive a 3" deck screw but even that seems to be a challenge for it and it is noticeably slower than my old dewalt 18v impact driver. I don't have any makitas but I want to say it was similar in size to the first gen m18 fuel impact.

I was just playing around with my new impact and thought I would give a first impression review. Its very impressive just how much power it has for its size and weight. I used a 3/4" structural bolt to do a little comparing with a dewalt dcf889, m18 fuel high torque 2763, m18 2662, m18 fuel compact 2755 and the new m18 fuel mid torque 2860. There was nothing scientific about it just tightening with one impact wrench and seeing if the other could remove it and vise versa. Like you would imagine the fuel high torque 2763 is still the top dog. The 2755 while being strong for a compact it just doesn't compete with the other impacts wrenches in my test I just included it more for a visual size comparison. Both the dcf889 and the m18 2662 are older high torque brushed models and I found them very comparable in torque to the mid torque 2860. But if you let it hammer on the bolt for 5 seconds or so the mid torque was able tighten the bolt to the point where the other two couldn't remove it. With a 2-3 second impact, which is all the longer I would typically hit a bolt for, the other two were able to remove the nut.

It was a long couple of months waiting for my regular tool guy to get it in but I finally got my 2860.

It just kills me to have to support the sale of this tool, but I held out as long as I could. I just don't understand why this still isn't available in a brushless version.

Picked up this little addition to my collection this week to make a job easier. It didn't work quite like I hoped it would but I'm sure it'll come in handy other places. I really needed a second right angle impact wrench but I bought this for half the price and to have a different tool with a little different capabilities it was worth it.

Maybe it's just because it's that ugly but to me it looks like it would be bulky for fitting into tight locations.

We had 3 of those xrp drills that we got free with some buy a tool kit get a drill. All 3 of them had clutch issues. After about a month of use they acted like they were on the lowest torque setting. Sent them back in for service and a month later the same thing. Only thing they were good for was stirring paint, anything else and they clutch out. Not sure why those 3 were duds but being that they were free we never really pushed the issue.