Re: Milwaukee Batteries

[Bob La Londe <none@none.com99>]

On 10/1/2020 7:02 PM, Jim Davis wrote:
> On Thursday, October 1, 2020 at 9:11:10 PM UTC-4, Bob La Londe wrote:
>> On 10/1/2020 10:10 AM, Jim Davis wrote:
>>   > On Wednesday, September 30, 2020 at 8:16:53 PM UTC-4, Bob La Londe wrote:
>>   >> I've got a couple Milwaukee 18V Fuel cordless drills that were long
>>   >> serving great lasting tools as a contractor.  One is from the very first
>>   >> release of the M18 Milwaukee tools, and the other is only a year or 2
>>   >> newer.  I did finally have to replace the brushes in one of them, but
>>   >> both are going strong... but not at the same time.  Out of the several
>>   >> batteries I had for them only one still takes enough charge to be
>>   >> useful.  I can still buy the batteries, but they are still expensive.
>>   >>
>>   >> Who has the best price on these batteries?
>>   >>
>>   >> I like the drills, but (I hate to admit this...) I bought a pair of
>>   >> Harbor Freight Bauer cordless 20V drills and several batteries for the
>>   >> shop.  I could get a drill and battery with a charger for less than the
>>   >> lowest AH Milwaukee battery.  They work great for shop use.  I don't
>>   >> know if they would hold up bouncing around in a tool box on my truck,
>>   >> but in the shop at a year old they still look like brand new and they
>>   >> get used all the time.  I also picked up a few other Bauer cordless
>>   >> tools and service lights to use the same batteries.
>>   >>
>>   >> I'm not trying to be a commercial for Bauer drills.  What I want is to
>>   >> find the best price for some M18 Fuel Milwaukee batteries.  There are
>>   >> times when more than 2 cordless drills would be handy and my wife throws
>>   >> a temper tantrum if I borrow her Makitas from the house.  Also on the
>>   >> front assembly bench in the shop (where all 4 drills and their chargers
>>   >> live when not in use) it would be really handy to leave each one with a
>>   >> different commonly used tool in the chuck.
>>   >>
>>   >> So far the only places I've found even a hint of a discount is from MSC,
>>   >> but you have to buy six batteries at once.  There is an after market
>>   >> battery substitute, but I read a couple reviews indicating they may not
>>   >> hold up.  Could also be tool dealers posting trash reviews.
>>   >> Unfortunately a lot of that happens.
>>   >>
>>   >> So anyway, who has the best price on the Milwaukee M18 batteries?
>>   >>
>>   >> I have also considered just going down to Harbor Freight and buying two
>>   >> more Bauer drills.  They hold up fine (so far) for shop use.  The
>>   >> Bauer's feel ok in the hand, but not as nice as the Milwaukee.  They
>>   >> have plenty of torque, and the larger batteries have decent battery
>>   >> life.  The only thing I actually dislike about the Bauer's is the smell.
>>   >>    It doesn't give me a headache or anything, but its noticeable.  Like
>>   >> it has an aromatic mold release they didn't wash off the injection mold
>>   >> parts before assembly.
>>   >>
>>   >> So again, who has the best price on the Milwaukee M18 batteries?
>>   >
>>   > I never had need for heavy duty tools like Milwaukee and have used De
>> Walt for years. About a year ago the 20 volt batteries started to get
>> weak and I almost flipped when I saw the  price. $79,00 (if I remember
>> right). I didn't buy them but a good thing I didn't. About a week or so
>> later I see an add in a mail flyer from True Value Hardware down in town
>> for a new drill and two batteries for $99.00 with a trade in of old
>> batteries. So ---- now I have TWO drills and a new set of batteries for
>> close to half the cost of two batteries. If this continues I could wind
>> up with lots of extra drills !
>>   >
>>
>> Well, my heavy duty drill is probably the 1" spline drive rotary hammer
>> I bought to drill through several feet of reinforced structural
>> concrete.  Those M18 Milwaukees are nice, but I only picked them over
>> DeWalt because I had helped with warranty issues and some non standard
>> chuck issues with DeWalt when I worked at Tool & Supply.
>>
>> As a contractor I always tried to buy the best tools when I could afford
>> them so I wouldn't be left high and dry when I didn't have the cash to
>> buy a replacement.
>
> Yeah --- that was then
>
> Now I think that Cargo Freight has prompted the age of throw away tools.
>
> I've got a Bosh heavy duty hammer drill With the spline chuck and bits that I spent a lot of money on when I really couldn't afford it many years ago. I don't think I've used it more than 10 / 20 times. I could have bought half a dozen cargo freight hammer drills
> Yeah, I know, the inconvenience of having it break down when you really need it but ---- for the few times that's going to happen I could have put the money to better use. And now the Bosh sits in it's metal box, I don't even carry it in the van anymore and it's in perfectly good shape and I doubt if I could get parts for it now it's so old.
>
> Which reminds me --- back in 1985, Hurricane Gloria hit New York. In anticipation I went out and bought a Craftsman chain saw. I didn't have a problem and haven't since, and that brand spankin new shiney chain saw sits down in the basement to this day.
> I doubt I could get parts for it any more.
>


That's probably true today, but up until as recently as maybe 8-9 years
ago Sears had an insanely good parts department.  In the late 90s I was
able to get parts for a Sears outboard made in 1950.  That being said
there are third party parts sellers that will surprise yo for parts.

On one of my early jobs in 1994 I need a reciprosaw.  I didn't have the
cash for a Milwaukee Sawszall, but I had a Sears Credit card.  I went
over to Sears and bought a Craftsman that was on sale for $88 dollars.
It allowed me to get the job done and get paid.  I used that saw for
atleast 15 years.  Not all the time, but sometimes a lot.  One day I was
working on something and the little rectangular steel part that holds
the blade in place broke.  I had the money so I just went out and bought
a Milwaukee Super Sawzall.  I didn't throw the Sears saw away.  I just
put it on the shelf.  A couple years ago my son and I were doing some
work that would have benefited from us both swinging saws.  I was going
to go in the shop and make the part, but just for the heck of it I did a
search on-line and found a source that had the part for just a few
dollars.  I don't think it was eReplacmentParts, but it was somebody
like them.  They had tons of parts for all kinds of things.  Not just
Sears stuff.

Just because the awesome Sears Parts Department isn't as close as the
mall to look up and get your part any more doesn't mean you can't get
the part you need, and atleast in my case I could probably make most
parts if I had to.