mike_dave Posted November 29, 2018 Report Share Posted November 29, 2018 Hey guys. Lately I've been having serious thoughts about getting rid of my Milwaukee and investing in some dewalt cordless. As a carpenter dewalt really has a ton of tools out There, while Milwaukee lacks. (I was an electrician when I bought my Milwaukee set). Dewalt and Milwaukee pricing are night and day different. Dewalt is much cheaper in Canada. I feel as though a few of my tools still owe me since they're relatively new. I spoke wi a Dewalt rep at a trade show and he said they offer a trade up program.. Basically im torn.. Do I keep plugging away with the Milwaukee? Really what I want is a couple more batteries and I'll be mostly content.. If I switch to Dewalt I'm looking to get the same 6 tools I have in red, plus a few batteries.. But then the list goes on;) should I wait a few years? Or do I make the switch? I don't want to feel like I've "lost" after buying the new tools, and getting rid of them shortly after. Would I have much luck selling any perhaps? I don't know how much a demand there is for used tools.. cheers! Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Demetrio Moreno Posted November 29, 2018 Report Share Posted November 29, 2018 I think the Milwaukee value stays up from what I've seen. So reselling them shouldn't be a problem. I'm on the Dewalt platform and I recently have been going thru some difficulty with the flexvolt batteries but ive used them for three years now but dewalt customer service is so amazing I'm not to worry and I know they'll take care of me. From my experience I've used dewalt seems like forever and they are so amazing to me and my crew . We do carpentry work and remodeling. I say you cant go wrong with dewalt. Milwaukee and makita are amazing as well . But I only say from experience with dewalt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biggie Posted November 29, 2018 Report Share Posted November 29, 2018 My company has both milwaukee and dewalt. For what we do I personally prefer milwaukee as I like some of their metal working tools better. That being said, we have other trucks with matching dewalt tools and they do the job just fine. I think dewalt probably has a slight edge when it comes to wood working though. As far as quality/durability goes they can both be broken but I like milwaukees 5 year warranty better than dewalts 1. For the trade up deal in the US you can trade in any 18v broken tool so I would have a hard time trading in a perfectly good tool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jronman Posted November 29, 2018 Report Share Posted November 29, 2018 @mike_dave What is it that you want to get that Milwaukee doesn't offer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike_dave Posted November 30, 2018 Author Report Share Posted November 30, 2018 @Biggie I have no issues with Milwaukee tools. Actually, I quite like them. They have served me very well, however they're significantly more money here in Canada, which is a motivating factor for me. @Jronman their nail guns, and router.. I'm certain more will come.. Milwaukee doesn't seem to have much drive to look after the carpenters. And the tools that Milwaukee does offer, Dewalt beats them on price Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jronman Posted November 30, 2018 Report Share Posted November 30, 2018 @mike_dave I like my DeWALT stuff. I have both 20v max and Flexvolt. Everything works as expected. I think you will be fine with DeWALT stuff. Out of curiosity is Makita stuff priced any better than Milwaukee in Canada? Makita has a bunch of woodworking stuff too. If the prices are better might be worth looking into? I don't know if the prices are as low as DeWALT though. Makita is priced higher than DeWALT in USA. I don't have much experience with Makita tools but I know they are some of the best tools around. Makita has many good circular saws and the impacts are supposedly pretty good. I also like their ope offerings as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khariV Posted November 30, 2018 Report Share Posted November 30, 2018 To me the obvious answer is get both! I know you probably don't want to diversify to the point where you're carrying around five or six types of batteries, but two isn't so bad. You can get the a nailer or two, a router and anything else you're pining for long with 3-4 batteries and run both platforms happily. Then, when it's time to replace your red tools, you can always replace it with an equivalent / upgraded yellow. Ditching all of your Milwaukee tools just to be on a single platform with a couple of new tools you're looking to get seems like a great way to spend quite a lot of money for questionable return on investment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike_dave Posted December 1, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 1, 2018 @Jronman totally. I have no doubts about the Dewalt tools. I know they'll serve me just as well. Really almost everyone I work/have worked uses Dewalt cordless. Makita is up there in price too. Economically speaking I think Dewalt is the cheapest, and also most commonly sold in stores too, but you're right makita is definitely a top notch company too. They sure do make a nice track saw! @khariV I thought about that. Those guns and router etc aren't a must have right now.. they can wait. I need some more batteries for my Milwaukee which I'm not sure I want to get with me really leaning towards a switch to Dewalt. So even if I did say buy a gun and router and some batteries sure it would help ease the transition however it wouldn't solve my Milwaukee battery issue. my tools are a big part of how I make my money. I know I couldn't sell the red tools for what I paid, but they've paid me many times over Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulengr Posted December 1, 2018 Report Share Posted December 1, 2018 Switch if it's not too painful. The fact is that Milwaukee targets plumbers and electricians. Dewalt targets carpenters. Mechanics used to be better served by Dewalt but the last generation of tools flipped that.Sent from my SM-T350 using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pouet Posted December 1, 2018 Report Share Posted December 1, 2018 20v dewalt. 12v Milwaukee. Problem solved :-) Just kidding but most of the Milwaukee exclusive stuff is 12v anyway so I prefer the M12 line to the M18 line and since the Dewalt 12v system is dead, it's a good complement. One place where Dewalt sucks thought is in the lighting department and it's probably Milwaukee strongest area. But there are lot of M12 options if you go down that road. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D W Posted December 1, 2018 Report Share Posted December 1, 2018 Milwaukee are also significantly more expensive in Australia. I'd say Dewalt are the lowest priced here, followed closely by Makita. Hitachi/Hikoki are almost as bad as Milwaukee. I'd change just to experience something new. New tools, new platform, and Dewalt ergonomics are hard to beat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jronman Posted December 1, 2018 Report Share Posted December 1, 2018 4 hours ago, paulengr said: Switch if it's not too painful. The fact is that Milwaukee targets plumbers and electricians. Dewalt targets carpenters. Mechanics used to be better served by Dewalt but the last generation of tools flipped that. Sent from my SM-T350 using Tapatalk DeWALT may not have mechanics tools but Mac has them and Mac uses DeWALT batteries so the compatibility is there. 1 hour ago, Pouet said: 20v dewalt. 12v Milwaukee. Problem solved 🙂 Just kidding but most of the Milwaukee exclusive stuff is 12v anyway so I prefer the M12 line to the M18 line and since the Dewalt 12v system is dead, it's a good complement. One place where Dewalt sucks thought is in the lighting department and it's probably Milwaukee strongest area. But there are lot of M12 options if you go down that road. DeWALT is getting better in the dedicated lighting department. One thing they tend to do is add a light on all the things (except the DCS577 and grinders which puzzles me). The drill and a couple other tools have the very bright 3 mode led now. The new inflator and the new heater have lights which I was not expecting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimfish Posted December 1, 2018 Report Share Posted December 1, 2018 I would have a hard time trading in perfectly good tools. From past experience cordless tools have a limited lifespan, (6 to 8 years )We don’t get the same range of tools in Australia that you guys get over there so I use Milwaukee,Dewalt, Hitachi as well as a couple of Paslode framers and will soon add Makita as I want a cordless laminate trimmer and I can’t source one from any of the platforms I already have.Remember he who dies with the most tools wins Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SetBuilder Posted December 1, 2018 Report Share Posted December 1, 2018 I agree with khariV buy both. I'm heavily invested in Milwaukee M18 but also have Fein and Festool cordless tools. There are also adapters to run Milwaukee batteries on Makita and dewalt tools, I have not used them though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisK Posted December 1, 2018 Report Share Posted December 1, 2018 I run both Milwaukee and Dewalt in my shop. I tried like heck to go to one battery platform and now I have like five. I sold off all of my Milwaukee a while back because of a multitude of issues with the tools, great warranty but the way, I’m an expert with it. About two years ago I started to get off ball Milwaukee tools and not I have a 10” cordless miter, transfer pump etc. I love my Dewalt tools and in the USA I think the prices are pretty comparable. Problem is, neither of them make all of the tools I use, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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