65refinyellow

I am a battery Milwaukee and Makita person in my work life, but having bought some DeWalt as gifts I am impressed! 20 v Max 6.5” circular saw has everything you need and nothing you don’t. It’s the Ford F-150 or Toyota Tundra of saws. Perfect for what it should do. Atomic multitool with moderate speed not throwing blade off a line due to too much power and it has fastest blade changes. Atomic impact driver truly unites big power and small size. My Milwaukee has more power and my Makita Subcompact is thinner but the DeWalt Atomic hits the sweet spot. And just when you think my choices are all about maximizing versatility, they make the XR line for those who want to favor size or torque or a specific feature.

They’re great for their size. The regular brushless Makita LXT impact driver is much more powerful. But with the 3ah battery that came with it I would say it’s too heavy for overhead work. Its a good workout but the worlds most decorated weight lifter most liked about the weight of said 3ah battery and big-ish impact driver. I am not here to define my muscles so smallest drills possible is fine by me.

Today I used hammer, sledge, cats paw, crow bar and flat bar to remove shelves and cabinets. For power tools I took out the Makita Subcompact impact driver to remove screws and drill large holes with a large 1 1/4” Irwin bit, and the Milwaukee M12 FUEL hacksaw to reduce cabinets and shelves into smaller pieces.

There were a few times you guys ruled the sports headlines like the Blackhawks, White Sox, Cubs, Bears, and especially the Bulls.

I like my M12 tools even more than my M18 tools. But I am not a fan of how tight the batteries are on either platform. I much prefer the overall experience with Makita LXT and to me there’s no comparison. I got my brother started in DeWalt mostly because they’re as good as the other two main pro companies but in my very rural area, they’re the most accessible in small hardware stores. They don’t push huge purchases like Milwaukee does on their vendors thus why I see Milwaukee most at Home Depot.

I love things to be versatile and flexvolt is almost perfect but the whole company would do better imho if 20v batteries worked in flexvolt tools. In my lineup I am glad that I have a few dual M12/M18 chargers but I wished they were one battery with maybe a 12 v option and 18 v option. Yes I understand that a M12 battery in the same form and plug factor wouldn’t run my bigger M18 tools to their capacity but having multiple voltages in a single battery housing would make Milwaukee perfect.

I think taxpayers subsidizing stuff is a double edged sword. There was a bit of it during my college years in the 80s-90s but it saved our three major car companies. I think in hindsight it was worth it. At the time people were freaking out.

...And do the common 20v Max/atomic/XR DW batteries work in DW 60 Max tools like big saws?

Tesla quietly does solar roofing, too but the media attention is in other Elon Musk businesses. I just have never seen a construction crew be set up in very nice digs. Musk has endless cash and spares no expense. I have never seen anything like it. He’s the second richest man in the world behind makeup king Bernard Arnaud whom some say is one his way to 300 billion using an unregulated free reign and owning 100 makeup and skincare companies (among other monopolies) in a way that would run afoul in the USA.

I have never seen California baseball like 2021 where regular season Dodgers went 106 and their rival Giants went 107. Both teams have more talented free agents like Guasman and Kershaw and my Giants lost Gausman to Toronto!! This all looks bad fir these two teams in ‘22. But to that the highly anticipated move of brilliant A’s skipper to San Diego. And don’t forget the best player from Japan (Ohtani) since Ichiro on the Angels. I think California is going to see a techtonic shift in the sport as I also predict a less than stellar San Jose Sharks and supercharged Brooklyn putting the skids on a rejuvenated Warriors. I think California had their sports dynasty in the sun with LAD and Kershaw and Cy Youngs, LeBron and Lakers, the record smashing three point splash brothers at the Golden State Warriors and five consecutive Finals trips, and Madbum and his three rings with the Giants. That’s eight rings and eight parades crowing up California streets in a fairly short period.

Amazing crew. They all stayed in nicest hotels and vacation homes in our resort town and came down from Silicon Valley in suspiciously nice cars and Sprinters but oddly none were Tesla. They appeared to have retrofitted a house to be green. I want to work for them.

I see the M12 drain tools prominently at HD but the pros I see use much heavier and more expensive plug in units.

Are the M12 drain tools effective?

When I had to secure a four story house on a hill then I had to drill massive 1/2” and 5/8” steel bolts through 2x4” and 4x4” wood into the concrete foundation quickly and a combi drill, impact driver, or hammer drill wouldn’t be able to do these drill duties so it was this, an SDS Plus rotary hammer. You can buy any Home Depot Makita, Milwaukee, or DeWalt impact driver and drill combo set to cover wood, cabinetry, or electrical work and get at least a 1/2” inch SDS Plus rotary hammer to cover concrete and you’re pretty much set for all hole making needs. https://www.homedepot.com/p/Milwaukee-8-Amp-Corded-1-in-SDS-D-Handle-Rotary-Hammer-5262-21/203000510

A good “combi” drill that’s pro and home use and about most drilling, driving, and light concrete work it can be this. https://www.homedepot.com/p/Milwaukee-M12-FUEL-12-Volt-Lithium-Ion-Brushless-Cordless-1-2-in-Hammer-Drill-Kit-with-2-0-Ah-Battery-and-Bag-2504-21/311914120?g_store=&source=shoppingads&locale=en-US&&mtc=Shopping-B-F_D25T-G-D25T-025_009_PORT_POWER-Milwaukee-NA-Feed-Smart-NA-NA-PortablePower_Smart&cm_mmc=Shopping-B-F_D25T-G-D25T-025_009_PORT_POWER-Milwaukee-NA-Feed-Smart-NA-NA-PortablePower_Smart-71700000084736776-58700007165824624-92700065193741180&gbraid=0AAAAADq61UeRCxjvJ3unAdKfiw4Dum87l&gbraid=0AAAAADq61UeRCxjvJ3unAdKfiw4Dum87l&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI6NXisOPm9AIVpgaICR2R3w8pEAQYASABEgI_IvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

I notice regular no frills is good enough if not better. While I lust for the M18 Fuel drills, and I have good Fuel branded tools, even with massive overheating complaints that Fuel drills get as indicated in VCG and others, it’s ten to fifteen percent extra kick and added torque and higher price point is not really worth it over my regular brushless M18. My Makita brushless impact driver with single speed and an average weight is more useful than my multi speed extra compact Makita though the latter gets more attention. Whether for price or sheer usefulness, I never hear complaints about any entry level pro DeWalt tools like their table saw, 20 v Max, or similar pro yet price point tools. This is where all three brands are similar. I am yet to see any worker with just only XR, Makita Subcompact, and Fuel on the site. For the jacked up bleeding edge tools, I research the heck out of it before I buy. I only have a few like M12 Fuel hacksaw, Makita Subcompact impact driver and rotary hammer. They excel at narrow specific duties but are not front line all the time.

I have pretty much been Makita and Milwaukee in cordless tools. Makita has excelled in 18 v tools but they have some 12 v tools but it’s not clear whether they belong in he home market (like Black and Decker and Stanley products) or if they’re compact pro tools. Milwaukee on the other hand clearly makes 12 v tools that I effectively use on the job site everyday. Their 18 volt tools are great but their 18 v batteries, their fit, reliability, their charge time, and their capacity are not so good. I have learned to make them work but realize that my front line in my job are the corded tools from demolition to framing. I fill in with hard to reach spaces and small tasks to the batteries. I figure the simple, perhaps outdated 20 v max line are not always compact or up to the minute like an Atomic or XR, but they have a proven track record for getting the job done. I know they’re not elegant like a Festool or even like Makita Subcompact Series, but I have started my brother on DeWalt because it’s what I see on jobs as much as anything out there and in a pinch more types of hardware stores carry yellow.

Very cool to know. I had assumed Atomic was universal anywhere a retail store sold DeWalt.

I was wondering besides a super compact impact driver (got my brother an Atomic), what other tools might he need? Does this (M12 rivet tool below) work? https://www.milwaukeetool.com/Products/Power-Tools/Specialty-Tools/Rivet-Tools/2550-22

What am I missing?

Omg being new to indoor trades, even I see this. As a gardener landscaper full and part time since the 1980s, I pretty much bought what worked but Corona and Echo owned the field with Honda owning mowers. But then you may chance on Fiskars and Stihl and others who own a space best on a specific tool. Nobody pro stuck to just one brand. Oddly names like Milwaukee, DeWalt, and Makita have come in big in the yards. Many traditionalists are wary as they will probably be subservient to Echo, Stihl, and Honda, but being in the indoor trades now, I totally trust them. For now, I will trust team red and blue for low power small battery tools and be team yellow only in my big power plug in tools like compressors, table saws, and miter saws. I do love DeWalt stationary big tools and their sheer power and I wouldn’t be opposed to getting a Flexvolt battery version. I wouldn’t expect it to have real power (like my plug in miter saw) but not all work like in a miter saw lets say cutting small pieces will need that much power.

I will get my brother started soon in the 20v atomic DW universe with their impact driver. I am a Makita and Milwaukee guy, but I like atomic at least on paper. I think for his birthday I am thinking this atomic mini saw as it seems to be a great all around remodeling type tool.

I bought my brother an Atomic impact driver because we will add him to our crew doing remodels. The boss is Makita LXT and I am evenly split between Makita and Milwaukee M12/M18. DeWalt Atomics seem to embody the sheer power of Makita LXT and compactness of Milwaukee M12 FUEL tools!! The Atomic series seem perfect for remodels. What do you like in Atomic?

Battery tools suck when it comes to power in things like Sawzall or Multitool, but makes up for its existence in cases of high ladders and tight spaces. But I wonder if Power Stack can bridge the power gap.

I got the Bosch 9 amp corded mixer. It seems solid and I don’t want to eat up regular drills. We have been using a hole hawg which we have never used over many homes and it has held up as a mixer. The Bosch dedicated mixer drill is better since it is way slower with much more torque