What I wasn’t planning on doing when I started these home projects was buying a new 18v drill, but when my old cordless drill started smoking under load, it seemed like a good time for an upgrade. As it turns out, that old hammer drill/driver I had was manufactured around 2013 — quite some time ago in battery-powered tool years — and it lasted a long time. So I needed to find a good drill, and I had already decided on Milwaukee as the move (that’s a different article).
Since getting this drill, I’ve used it a lot — starting with demo, then construction, and so on and so forth. I feel confident that I have enough use on this to back up my impressions of it. And my impressions are almost entirely positive — this is a very good drill.
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Specs and Such
Really quick highlights — most of the standard stuff is on this:
- Compact 6.9″ length
- AutoStop™ Control Mode — protects from over-rotation during bind-ups
- All-metal 1/2″ ratcheting chuck with carbide teeth
- Mechanical clutch
- Hammer drill mode
- 1,400 in-lbs of torque
- Up to 2,100 RPM
- 18v from the M18 platform
If you’ve owned a hammer drill/driver before, a lot of this is standard stuff. So I’ll note a few things on the specs side:
- Can take any M18 battery, which means you can have a massive pack or a slim pack on it.
- Two drill speeds.
- Smaller than you think it will be.
The build quality is good on this — I don’t see any reason to question it. In fact, a contractor who was working with me has had the same drill for a long time, and at one point he left it out in the rain for several days. He reported no issues.
In Use
I can only report on what I found, and since so much of the Milwaukee content out there is borderline (or outright) fanboy-level, I’ll start with the issues I have with this:
- The compact form factor broke my muscle memory with a drill like this, which shows up the most when you are trying to put a lot of even pressure on the screw/bit/whatever that you are driving. Which means you can get off-center on your pressure, strip a screw, or snap a drill bit. It’s just a smaller tool, and you need to get used to positioning your hands. I sometimes found it hard to get the pressure I wanted when driving with just one hand, and it took well over a month to get the feel for it. That’s too long for something most tool people use constantly, and I think it’s odd.
- While the power ramp is smooth, I would love a longer throw in the trigger so that it’s easier to feather the speed. It’s not a sudden jerk, but you have a very small range on it. It’s the difference between the gas pedal in a sports car and an off-road vehicle: in one you want it to react at the twitch of your foot; in the other you don’t want a bump in the road to cause sudden acceleration. I’d like more intentional movement in the first 1/3 of the trigger here.
- The clutch is a little too strong for my liking. Even at the lowest settings, I was still snapping off some screws (should have pre-drilled), and I find it doesn’t release as quickly as I would like down there.
That’s the sum of my issues, which for the most part aren’t a huge deal day to day once you’ve adjusted. The one big thing is the clutch, which makes using this to set screws in drywall (properly) a bit of a trick.
There are some serious upsides on this tool:
- It runs on the M18 battery platform, where you can snap on a slim and light High Output CP3.0 battery and have a decently nimble drill. Or you can strap on the High Output 6.0 and fasten an entire wall of drywall with power to spare. Which you select is more about how much weight you want hanging off the drill.
- This thing has tremendous power. I needed to run LedgerLOKs (fancy lag bolts) into studs, so I hit them with the hammer drill setting and they flew into the wall. But on the other side of the wall was my newly finished tiled shower, and I was worried about the vibration. So I switched over to standard drill mode, no hammer, and the bolt still flew into the stud. I have yet to find anything it didn’t have the power for.
- The run time is fantastic, and I typically use this with CP3.0 batteries. They are lightweight, and the drill seems to never run out of juice before my day is up anyways. I imagine in the field that might be a different story, but I’ve yet to run a battery dead while using it. And I don’t even charge them daily. But I do use this daily.
- As stated above, there’s an anti-roll lock. Which means the drill cuts off if a bit grabs and snaps the drill handle around on you. Anyone who uses drills a lot has experienced this, and I did have it engage a couple of times when using a Forstner bit — it’s a super nice feature. A lot (most?) of the higher-end drills have this now, so it’s not the reason to get this one, but it’s nice that it’s here and that it works well.
- There’s an attachable handle if you want a steadier hold on this. It looks absurd with it on there. But it was included. So there’s that.
- The speed and clutch adjustments are insanely smooth. There’s no binding on these switches, and they’re easy to move. Maybe it’s because I haven’t had a new drill in a while, but I really notice how smooth it is to change those settings.
I have only run this drill with the High Output batteries, as that’s all I own. The difference from the standard packs (as I understand it) is at the top end: when you are pushing the drill, the motor can get more current from the High Output packs, which also perform better in the cold. Outside of that, there’s not a ton of difference, from what I’ve read. (Note: Milwaukee has a range of older batteries that are not “High Output,” and I do not own those. If you are new to the platform, don’t bother with them. Forge is the newest battery tech from the brand, and I do not own any of those either.)
I bought this drill at the start of my projects. It’s seen demo, electrical, plumbing, framing, cabinetry, assembly, and so much more. I’ve had zero regrets with this, and the price feels pretty solid, especially if you wait for a bundle deal on it.
Overall
I highly recommend this drill. The battery options are fantastic, the power feels endless (I’ve yet to hit the limit), and the battery life is impressive. Given that you can typically find a great deal on this, with or without batteries, it’s a very good buy.
Buy here, $229 MSRP (I suggest the CP3.0 batteries with it)