MikeInCtown

You said "Table saw now! " That isn't asking, it's just being rude. And just because they make some woodworking tools, doesn't mean they need to make a "damn table saw" There actually needs to be enough demand to do so, which their marketing department would know a lot more about than you would.

I'm sure adding a few more !!! might make them jump faster. There is only so much demand for the products you mention and at a price point for which you want features, there is less demand. I'm sure if their router line was selling like gangbusters then they would introduce more. Why not just ask for an M18 bicycle with a tool case on the handlebars?

Exactly. I used my DeWalt cutout tool a couple months back while I was cutting hole after hole for can lights in drywall ceiling tiles in a commercial kitchen. Dust flying everywhere and getting sucked into the fan and even that never looked as bad as the photos. I've also done demo work and never had a tool get messed up so much. I use my impact driver for something almost every day. Admittedly not all day every day, but it gets use nonetheless. The only thing wrong with it is that it is scraped up. I can't imagine the mess I would have to make to have it look that bad.

I'm sorry but things just aren't adding up here. In the OP's original post there was a photo posted of the various tools that no longer work and bashing the company for the issues he is having. Isn't one of the tools an impact driver? the entire bottom is caked with what looks like drywall dust. How the F do you somehow cake an area in drywall dust between the tool and battery on a tool not designed to do anything with drywall except put screws into it? I'd say some of the problem does not appear to be with milwaukee but with the careless abuse of the tools by the OP. Then an HD repair tech chimed in claiming that if the tools looked as dirty as ones pictures they had a response for that. of course... It is called saving money. Why repair a failed product if you could just blame it on the user. So what if the product was being used as intended and it has a design flaw. If I buy a saw and the fan sucks in the material being cut, that is not on me. BTW, I've had dozens and dozens of contractors work for me over the years and not one ever made a mess like what would be needed to make the tools look like they do in a few of those photos. Might be worth investigating into keeping the area a bit cleaner to save money in the long run.

Various HVAC motors on rooftop A/C units, exhaust fans, dumpster doors, my cars, and the occasional helping someone else out with their projects. No heavy equipment and not daily use. I think the decision is so hard because the cary case with the M18. the grease gun I have now has to be wrapped back in a plastic garbage bag after every use because the grease eventually drips out somewhere. At least a plastic case works better. On eBay they go for like $50, so it makes no sense to buy a bare tool and then pick up the case. With the other bare tools I got, I toss stuff in a canvas bag that may cost $15-$20, but no way I'm putting a grease gun in a cloth bag. So basically, I need the M12 gun, but desire all the accessories that the M18 ships with.

I have the OneKey impact driver, hammer drill, and 1/2" compact impact. On the drill I've set some different speeds, but that was about it. On the impact driver I have different speed settings for small and medium sized fasteners and if I am removing or installing screws, I just make a quick button press. The Compact impact gets the most use with the features as I have different settings so I never overtorque a fastener yet I get pretty close. I'd like to see a one key high torque impact. In fact All tools should be one key, even if it was just for tracking your tools. As soon as you open the One Key app, the tools pop up with their current location, as long as there is a battery. Should they ever get stolen, this would be a very valuable tool in tracking them down. I also understand the premium and wish it was more like a $25 premium vs the $50.

Trying to decide on which grease gun to get, and then beyond that if I want a M12 bare tool or to buy a kit with compact battery if choosing the M18. The M12 is cheap, I already have batteries, but it doesn't come with a case, two speeds, or a grease counter dial. the hose is also shorter. the M18 obviously costs more but has a case (not about to store a grease gun in a canvas milwaukee bag) and a compact battery which I could use with my impact driver. It also has two speeds, a longer hose, shoulder strap and the charger. Looking at Recon, so the cost at the moment for the M18 recon hit is $190 shipped or the M12 bare tool is about $130 shipped. For the extra $60 would you go for the bigger tool, compact battery, charger and case, or would you just get the cheaper one? (note, I do not use a grease gun every single day)

Exactly. I have no idea why anyone is worried about a Carfax report. The insurance company has zero to do with this. You file a report with WalMart, you take your car to a body shop and get an estimate. Walmart pays out on the estimate and you go get your car fixed. No insurance company needs to be dealt with, no police report, no anything that Carfax would know about. Hell, if that worried, tell the body shop you don't want it reported and have that written in the paperwork.

Possibly. But I'd rather see it on the actual tool itself rather than spending $100 and then having to spend another $50 for that. Also, I'm still confused as to whether it is actually tool free as you and I know it or tool free in Ridgid terms. They have called their other heads tool free as well because you could swap out the heads without needing a tool, but the actual bits used on the head still needed a tool to change.

Yeah the only people who had anything corded were those with no front yards and only a tree lawn to cut. Anything more and the corded version took way longer than a gas version to use. Professionals will still have gas powered everything because they are using them for hours a day. They already carry around gas cans for all their equipment so it makes no sense to go cordless. For the homeowner, a cordless string trimmer or hedge trimmer is gold because you eliminate those 1 gallon cans that will last you a year and go bad.

Age and use caused the old batteries to get 15 minutes of run time. The Milwaukee batteries will eventually do the same down the road. The charger had nothing to do with it. As batteries age and get use, their performance deteriorates. You can help them along by not storing them in extreme temperatures, or if you don't use them for a long time, store them at 50% full. The other reason the DeWalt batteries gave you 15 minutes.. Well they were DeWalt batteries.

What tools do you currently own? What are your next purchases? Those will guide you in determining what batteries to get. Any high demand tool and I'd get the 5.0 batteries. The thing with batteries is that they are freaking expensive by themselves. Save your dough and get them in a kit or as a freebie with tool purchase. I have 2 of the 5.0 batteries and do not plan on getting more. If I come across a compact for a good price I'd probably pick it up to use on my impact driver as it is a heavy beast with the 5.0 attached. For everything else the 2 batteries will do fine. They charge in an hour and the 5.0 has a good run time. Plus, they only have a 3 year warranty, so it makes no sense for me to buy too many batteries. Better to wait a couple years and maybe get new ones in a kit that way I'm never paying full price for batteries.

Well it was free for one thing (With purchase of the OneKey kit at Home Depot) but it also takes standard sized blades and was brushless. Sawdust and sparks generally don't do well together. I had the choice between the circular saw and the Sawzall and the circular saw would get more use.

I'm very aware of how saw blades work. (as well as masking tape to control any chipping or tearout) I can honestly say that even with the factory framing blade, you weren't going to do better with a blade with more teeth unless you used masking tape. The only time I've seen a better edge on wood without tape is on my old Unisaw with a zero clearance insert. The point of my post was that the saw is amazing, and especially so against the brushless Ridgid model that I used cutting up laminated pressboard and MDF. The Ridgid would bog some as I cut while the Milwaukee cut as fast as I could push the saw. The battery may not last as long in the Milwaukee as in the Ridgid but that extra RPM more than makes up for the loss of battery life. If I hadn't gotten the saw for free, I think it is worth their asking price. (and who knows, maybe they'll offer a free battery promotion or something soon) Oh, and one more thing... The Ridgid threw sawdust EVERYFREAKINGWHERE while the Milwaukee guided the sawdust mostly through the port that was designed to throw the sawdust.

FWIW I used my Fuel 7 1/4 for the first time yesterday. Got it for free when I bought my OneKey kit. Anyway, It tore through the 3/4 and 1/2 Baltic birch plywood that I was cutting. Even with the framing blade that came with it, there was zero tearout. There was a very tiny bit of what I would describe as feathering at the edge, but that would have been gone had I used some masking tape on the exit side of the wood. Anyway, when you start cutting, the saw sounds like a corded model. The blade speed is similar and the saw has plenty of power. I was amazed at just how easy and quick it went through the 3/4" Before I got the Milwaukee Fuel I had the new Ridgid brushless. The Ridgid saw had an RPM of like 4,000 vs the Milwaukee which is like 5,000+. You can tell the difference in cutting as it is like night and day. If I had the balance to use I would keep saving and grab the fuel version of either. The brushless motors really do provide a bunch more power.