Milwaukee V18 Tools Coming Soon

Our Milwaukee sales rep stopped by yesterday to talk to me about their new V18 tools. He brought in his demo unit of the V18 cordless hammer-drill/driver. It looks like September 1st will see the release of their V18 hammer drill kit (0824-24) and their 4 piece cordless tool kit (0920-29). These will be up for pre-order in the next few days, but I'll go ahead and give you a little preview here.

First off, I'll talk about the battery system since it applies to the entire V18 line. The most exciting feature found in the new V18 lithium ion battery is that it will work with existing Milwaukee 18 volt cordless tools. That's right, it slides right on the same way as the existing 18 volt nicad batteries do. This also means that your existing 18 volt Milwauke power-plus batteries will work on the new V18 tools (they won't last nearly as long, however). The V18 charger will charge either type of battery, but the old charger cannot charge the V18 battery for safety reasons (as well as the fact that they weren't designed to do that). Those of you who have read my blog for a while might remember that I mentioned plans for backwards compatibility for older Milwaukee tools, well this was also the battery I was writing about when I mentioned an adapter to use lithium-ion batteries with other brands of power tools. Stay tuned, as I will post more on that when I can.

The battery will provide up to 50% longer run time compared to the 18 volt ni-cad batteries, consistent power from start to end with no fade, and the battery packs in the power of an 18 volt battery at the weight of a 14.4 volt battery. It also features a LED fuel gauge like the V28 battery and Milwaukee is warranting the battery for 2000 charges or 5 years. On most of their tools, the battery pack is also reversible which is nice for balance reasons as well as clearance issues when working at awkward angles or confined spaces.

It looks like the hammer driver / drill is very similar in design to their V28 model. The main difference being that the V18 is an 18 volt tool, as opposed to their 28 volt V28 line (I know that seems a bit obvious, but better to give too much than too little info). The hammer drill has the following mechanical specifications: a 1/2" chuck, two speed operation (0-450 or 0-1,700 RPM and 0-675 or 0-25,500 BPM), 550 inch-pounds of torque and over 20 clutch settings.

For those who don't know what those specifications mean, I'll explain them a little better. The clutch settings determine how hard the drill will turn before disengaging the drive mechanism. This is really useful when you are driving screws or driving another fastener, to be sure you don't go through the material or drive it too deep. With the 20+ settings, you should be able to find one with just about the right amount of torque. To adjust the clutch setting or to switch to drill only or hammer + drilling mode you simply twist the numbered ring right behind the chuck of the drill.

The two-speeds are important for two reasons. When you are driving a fastener you want higher torque so you can drive it to the depth that you need. When you are drilling you want the bit spinning as faster so the hole is bored quickly with a minimum of work. Speed and torque are inversely tied to each other. As you raise speed you lower torque and as you lower speed you raise torque. That being said, there is a sweet spot for each application. The 450 and the 1700 RPM numbers are generally recognized to be in the range of the sweet spot. There are some tools that offer 3 or even 4 speed settings, which would allow for a more specialized task where you might need an even lower maximum speed but more torque or a top speed more in the middle for drilling through some particularly hard materials. That being said, most people will never miss the 1 or 2 additional speed settings.

I didn't get much information on the four tool combo kit other than the model number is 0920-29 and it will include the above hammer drill, a Sawzall reciprocating saw, a circular saw and the often overlooked flashlight. I will assume that these will also be styled after their larger brothers in the V28 line.

I will post more as I can, thanks for reading!

Matt

Milwaukee's Pneumatic Nailers and Staplers

Please note: I intended to publish this about a month ago, but with our move into our new facility and other issues, that goal obviously slipped. Still good info even though this is no longer a preview of an upcoming tool, but of a tool that should be available now.

I got the opportunity to get a little hands-on preview of Milwaukee Electric Tool Corporation's newest addition to their product line: pneumatic nail guns and a staple gun. Dave N, our Milwaukee rep stopped in with his demo units of almost all of their new tools, and in exchange for our knowledge on air tools, he let me get some photos of many of the nice features on these tools.

I'm going to write up articles on each major family of these tools, i.e. roofing nailer, framing nailers, finish nailers and brad nailer. The article on Milwaukee's coil roofing nailer, the 7120-21 is already up. I will link to them all here and at the end of this entry. In the mean time, this article will cover common features to all the tools and otherwise be a reference about what Milwaukee hopes to achieve with these air guns. They have issued a press release about the tools, which I will comment on here as well.

Milwaukee Tool is promising that the tools are going to be tough, or as every tool company under the sun likes to say "heavy-duty." The also promise that the pneumatics are going to meet the needs of the contractors that use them, whether they are roofers, framers, finish carpenters or remodelers. Of course, I'm guessing that we'll see a fair share end up in the hands of the high-end do-it-yourself crowd, after all why should professionals have all the fun?

All the tools features some common features and traits. A quick rundown of those features are magnesium housings, tool-free depth-of-drive adjustment, selectable triggers providing contact actuation or single sequential actuation modes, built-in self-cleaning air filter, tool-free adjustable exhaust with muffler, internal piston catch to keep the piston at optimum firing power, and rubber over-molded handle and trigger. One other feature to mentions is they are all covered under Milwaukee's 5 Year Warranty. I'll have more specifics on these features in some of the write ups I do.

The tools in the line up are:

Coil Roofing Nailer, Milwaukee's model 7120-21 • Hands On Review • ToolBarn product page
3-1/2" Clipped Head Framing Nailer, Milwaukee's model 7110-20
• ToolBarn product page
3-1/2" Round Head Framing Nailer, Milwaukee's model 7100-20
• ToolBarn product page
18 gauge Brad Nailer, Milwaukee's model 7150-21
• ToolBarn product page
16 gauge Straight Finish Nailer, Milwaukee's model 7145-21
• ToolBarn product page
15 gauge Angled Finish Nailer, Milwaukee's model 7140-21
• ToolBarn product page
18 gauge Narrow Crown Stapler, Milwaukee's model 7155-21
• ToolBarn product page

Hands on: New roofing nailer from Milwaukee Tools

I got the chance to get my hands on most of the new Milwaukee nailers (and one stapler) this week. Dave, our Milwaukee Rep, brought in his demo units and it looks like Milwaukee's decision to spend some time looking at the current market for nailers may have paid some dividends to the people who will be using them. The tools will be out in the early part of April, and Milwaukee is promising they have learned better ways of doing a product launch than last year's V28 tools (meaning there shouldn't be widespread shortages).

These entries will have quite a few photos, since I had my spiffy new Kodak Z740 camera with me and got some nice shots of some of the cool features of the tools. It looks like I'll probably do a tool a day, or every other day, so this should last about a week. As always, feel free to ask any questions.

I'll start off with the roofing nailer, the 7120-21.

The picture on the left shows the anti-skid design of the bumper guard for the nailer. The raised, three tooth design should help prevent the gun from sliding off the roof when you set it down. Obviously, no matter how you design it, the tool can still take that tumble, but every little bit helps. It should also help a little to keep the tool from getting beat up too much by keeping the body off the shingles.

The picture on the right shows a couple of nice features, the first being the contact / sequential switch, the black switch directly above the trigger. This allows the user, without replacing the entire trigger like in some models, to make the decision on the fly whether they want bump fire (contact mode) or single shot (sequential mode). For those of you who do not know, bump fire is a mode where multiple nails can be fired. By holding down the trigger, the user can fire the tool simply by pushing the nose against the work piece. Sequential mode requires the user to remove the nose from the work surface and release the trigger between shots. The trade-off there is speed for safety.

The other nice feature is the grey knob in front of and above the trigger is the depth setting for the tool. Again, a tool free way of determining how far into the material your nails are fired. This allows the roofer to adjust his tool to match the shingle and backing wood into which they are shooting, after all a nail doesn't hold too well if it goes all the way through the shingle.

The picture on the left shows the adjustable exhaust and the bumper protection that Milwaukee added to their roofer. The exhaust deflector can be turned 360 degrees, which means you don't have to have it blowing in your face. It is also muffled, so it should be a little quieter when firing.

The bumper protection is a heavy, hard rubber guard. This should give the tool a little protection from drops (if it lands on the where it needs to) and should also protect the body of the tool from excessive scratches and the like caused by the shingles. The rubber bumper should also help prevent sliding.

On the right, you see a detail of the nose of the tool. What you may not notice at first is the lever directly under the tip of the nose. That lever actually opens the barrel of the nail gun, and for the first time that I am aware, a manufacturer has added easy jam clearing for a roofing tool.

Speaking of the nose tip, it is replaceable and has carbide inserts in it. This should make it last longer and be less expensive to replace when that time comes. Also visible to those of you who were looking for it, the tool is indeed a side load model. Some people like the ease of a bottom loader, but most people hate it when they accidentally come open. So I think that was probably the right move by Milwaukee. That brings me to the final picture that I took of this tool.

The adjustable, removable shingle guide is pictured to the left. It's the little contraption on front of the magazine (that's where the nails are held for those who might not know). This guide allows the roofer to follow the bottom edge of the shingles with this guide to keep their nails above the tar line on the shingles. In other words, it is a little cheat to know that they are nailing the shingles at the right height. If you shoot below the tar line, water could make its way down into the house. So, it is vitally important to keep your staples going in at the right place. I believe the guide can also be used to align to certain types of siding. Regardless, if you don't need it, just take it off. There are no tools required to do so and the track it leaves behind shouldn't cause you any issues either.

There were a couple of things I couldn't get any photos of, mainly because of the difficulty of doing so, that I wanted to mention. First of all, all the Milwaukee pneumatics they have shown us thus far have a self-cleaning air intake filter on the tool. Basically, it is a fine mesh that captures grit and dirt and keeps it out of the internal workings of the tool. The Max line of nailers also has this nice extra, and in my estimation that should help keep the o-rings and seals working longer. When you remove the air line, the pressure of air in the tool will actually clean the filter by shooting out the debris with the pressurized air. That's probably also part of the reason they are offering their 5 year warranty on the air tools.

For all the people who have wanted a case for your roofing nailer, Milwaukee is listening. It will come with a red, high-impact plastic case just like they make for their power tools. In fact all of their air tools, except the framing nailers, will come with a case. Besides the case, it looks like the roofing nailer will have safety glasses, some oil and a 4mm hex wrench.

And just for completeness sake here are the basic specs. The tool is designed to be used with between 70 and 120 PSI. It uses the standard 15 degree coil roofing nails. Air usage is .08 ft^3/cycle at 100 PSI. The air inlet is 3/8" NPT. The magazine holds a coil of 120 nails. The bare tool weights in at just over 5 pounds.

Milwaukee expects this tool to excel for people laying asphalt or fiberglass shingles, tar paper and roofing felt, gypsum board, house wrap, cement board, insulation board, metal drip edges, siding, vapor barrier or even upholstry trim panels. That seems like a fairly thorough list to me. Next time, I'll cover the framing guns and then it will be the finish nailers and brad nailers turn to shine.

Milwaukee is Seeing Stars (on their schematics)

I called a customer today about an order on ToolPartsDirect.com on an obsolete part (yeah, I was helping out our support team... but don't worry, I still did a bunch of IT stuff, too). Milwaukee listed the part, the field, as obsolete with no direct replacement. After speaking with the customer for a few moments, I realized the heavy-duty drill he was fixing was still in production, even under the same model number, 2404-1. So I took it upon myself to call Milwaukee to find out what was going on, after all, the field is a very major component to any electric power tool.

After bouncing around through a couple departments, I had my answer. Milwaukee breaks down their schematics by serial number ranges. As you get to each new generation, you can actually retrofit the tools by using the the next newest schematic. All you need to do is replace every item on the newer version's schematic that has a star next to it. In this case, the upgrade would end up costing more than buying the new tool, obviously this is not always the case.

The mystery of the star in the parts list had bounced through my head once or twice before, but I had never really taken the time to find out what it was all about. Now that I know, I figure I'll spread the wealth. A simple little character on the schematic which lets the end user know what is different between the tool you have and the next newer version. It's one more of those little touches that make Milwaukee a company that I feel goes a just little bit farther than many of their competitors when it comes to customer service.

The Milwaukee Theorem: V28 - 28 = V Series . V Series + 18 = V18.

Milwaukee V18 Power
Nope, that's not a manufacturing error, that's what the new V18 series battery is going to look like. This 3.0 amp-hour, lithium-ion battery will slide right on to your existing Milwaukee 18 volt tools, like one of the Hatchet sawzalls or a SDS rotary hammer.

The new products they are introducing as Milwaukee V18 tools are a 1/2" hammer-drill, a 1/2" driver-drill, a 6-1/2" circular saw, a 6-7/8" metal cutting saw, a 1/2" impact wrench, an impact driver, a Sawzall recip saw, a rotary hammer, a job-site radio and, or course, a work light. At this point, I do not know if any of these will be redesigned beyond adding a V18 logo... but chances are they'll add a bell or whistle here or there (the Clip-Lok belt clip for the flashlight). They are expected to ship out mid-summer of this year. I hope they'll be smart enough to offer a battery & charger pack, since you will not be able to charge lithium ion batteries on your existing Milwaukee charger.

Milwaukee has said that the V18 batteries are 25% lighter than their current 18 volt ni-cad tools while packing in 40% more power. The charger will charge both the lithium ion V18 and previous Milwaukee nickel cadmium batteries. The charge time for their 3.0 Ah Li-ion battery is 60 minutes while the Ni-cd batteries will charge in 30 minutes.

So what does this mean for the V28 line?

According to Milwaukee, not too much. The V28 line will focus on bringing "corded tool power" to cordless tools. This year we will see a V28 version of their popular job site radio, a 1" SDS+ rotary hammer, a right-angle drill that can cut 2-9/16" holes in 2x material and a metal cutting saw that can cut 2" black pipe in a single pass. They also partnered up with Monster Garage to make a V28 powered 1962 Chevy Belair (I still think I'm going with a Prius, I don't have the organizational skills to charge 384 V28 batteries between trips).

It's time to put your favorite tools on Lithium (ion)

Brian posted a while ago about the Makita LXT cordless tools, and in that post he talked specifically about the difference in philosophy between Makita and their 18 volt Lithium Ion and some other manufacturers and their decision to go bigger. Today, it seems I have come across a few interesting pieces of information that could set things on their ear, a bit. I have to be a little more vague than what I normally am, mainly because this has not been officially announced or even hinted at by the company in question.

One company will be offering 18 volt lithium ion batteries to power their existing 18 volt tool line in the United States this summer. It is one of the players who have already invested in a higher than 24 volt system of lithium ion. If you step back and think about this for a moment, you can realize how huge this could be. You already have an 18 volt drill, flashlight, impact driver, circular saw and a host of other tools. Now, you can extend their run time greatly with the simple purchase of a new battery and a new charger (sorry, the old chargers simply won't work with lithium ion batteries, which requires a whole different technique for optimal charges and lifetime extension). From the information I saw, it looks like they will also introduce tool kits designed specifically for the new Li-Ion batteries as well.

Imagine if you could take those new batteries and safely hook them up to a competitor's tool. What's that? You don't like pretending? Well, maybe you won't have to. I will post more on all of this when I can do so without risking bodily harm.