Power Supplies Reviews

This is an exact duplicate of the cord which came with my Milwaukee Magnum Hole Shooter corded drill when it was new. It was very convenient to just twist off my badly cut cord and then twist on the new replacement. I am told that it fits all other corded Milwaukee power tools interchangably. Then there is a very solid feel to the connection at the base of the drill handle. I couldn't have chosen a better quality drill than Milwaukee. It is one of the better choices I've made for my shop.

this is simply the best grinder on the market it is so far ahead of the makita, dewalt, bosch, metabo there is no comparison.

I have abused this grinder in every possible way for over two years and it performs flawlessly, if you need a grinder and dont get this one you got ripped off!!!!

I've had this grinder for three years now, and have used it for cutting, grinding and sanding metal and masonry - it has been flawless. I've even thrown diamond-cutting wheels on it for wet and dry cutting of tile and concrete (also occasional drywall jobs).

I own three angle grinders - this 5" Milwaukee, a 7" Dewalt, and a 9" Milwaukee. I pull this out over 90% of the time. The balance, weight, and variable speed make this the tool of choice. You will probably be surprised how often you'll make use of the variable speed on this tool. This is one of only a few power tools that I couldn't live without.

The only drawback is the limited selection of 5" wheels, but since it out performs the other 4 1/2 grinders, that's not much of an issue. It isn't the cheapest angle grinder out there, but I'm convinced it is the best.

I have had this saw for 20 years and it is still running great. It will cut through 6x6's with only two passes, one from each side. It will cut 4x4's with a big overlap. I have a Jesada carbide blade in mine now that is a real smooth cutter. I have used lots of other blades over the years, even 7 1/4" in a pinch, but the Jesada is the best.

One caution - make sure you use an extension cord that is rated at or above 13 amps so you won't damage the saw motor. I have always taken this precaution and have never had to rebuild the motor. I use a 10-3 100' cord most of the time. The heavier cord costs less than one overhaul.

I just took delivery of the beauty pictured below. I'm not a professional, I'm just a tool-obsessed DIYer.

I have only used one other reciprocating saw -a Craftsman 2-speed unit. This Sawzall is, to say the least, a world apart from the Craftsman. First of all, some things I really like about it:

1. SMOOTH. The counterbalance on this thing is amazing. There is very little vibration when it's running free. In orbital mode you can feel a slight vibration owing to the fact that the vertical component of motion is not counterbalanced. Nevertheless, even in orbital mode this saw transmits less vibration into my hands than my truck does at 65 MPH on the highway.

2. The "Cord Lock" feature. I didn't really think this would be worth much, but it turns out its quite convenient. You insert and remove the cord by twisting it to lock/unlock it. Plus it comes with a 10' cord; much longer than most power tools.

3. 13 amps of destruction. That's a ton of power. Note that Makita makes a 15-amp model now, so it's only a matter of time before Milwaukee upgrades to 15 amp (probably about a month after I've had the one I just bought :rolleyes.

4. Clutch protection for the drivetrain. If you suddenly lock up the blade the clutch protects the innards from grenading.

Things I don't like (so far):
1. The plastic shoe adjustment lock (noted in the second picture). This is very thin plastic. Fortunately it's also very flexible, so it's not brittle at all. But I feel this part would be better in aluminum. I've written Milwaukee to suggest this.

Things I'm neutral about:

1. Extensive use of plastic. This thing only weighs about 10 lb, which is great. Unfortunately this weight savings is achieved mostly using plastic. The entire rotating handle is plastic. Don't get me wrong, this tool is metal in the most important parts (motor and gear case), but I'd like to see a nice aluminum or magnesium handle. I don't fault Milwaukee for this, because everyone's making their tools this way now. I don't think there are any all-metal tools left on the market.

2. The 360 degree rotating handle. This thing has the potential to be really convenient, but I haven't used the saw enough yet to form a worthwhile opinion on whether this feature is worth the additional cost (about $10 extra).

I'd like to note that when I first took it out the orbital selector was very difficult to operate. So difficult, in fact, I thought it was defective. It wouldn't be so bad if there was more than just a tiny nub to grab onto. After using the saw for a bit, it did loosen up and it's much easier to slide now.

Also, the saw is built very "tight" from the factory, and the speed variation through the trigger was a little "clunky" for the first 25% of trigger pull. I'm happy to report after using it for a bit that it breaks in nicely and things operate smoother now. It makes sense that it needs to be broken in; I don't think they run them very long at the factory.

Nowhere on this tool is it indicated where it's made. I did finally locate, in small text at the bottom of the cardboard packaging, a line that read "Made in USA". I discovered that Milwaukee was recently (2005) bought by a Chinese company, TTI (Techtronic Industries Co. Ltd.) This brought on intense fear that my beloved Milwaukee might be [gulp] Made in China! I called Milwaukee and asked and they assured me the tool was made in Jackson, MI. It's amazing how rare it is for a power tool to be made in the US anymore.

Cutting performance is, as expected, stellar. Vibration level is very low. I tried the saw out by cutting up an old water heater. Sliced around the circumference with no effort. Then I cut vertically down the entire length of the heater in 2 places. "The Torch" blade that was included was dull 25% through the second vertical run, which really slowed progress. When those Milwaukee blades are sharp, though, look out!

I can't adequately describe how awesome it is to work with such a quality tool. I'm sure the offerings from Makita, Bosch, Dewalt, and Porter-Cable are also great saws, but there's a certain satisfaction in owning one made by the company that invented it.

This product meets all my expectations. Powerful, easy blade changes, and the rotating handle helps releave arm fatigue.

The power is more than adequate - the high speed being just perfect and the low speed providing enough torque to undo all but the most stubborn of screws and bolts.

The clutch is extremely handy because it prevents overtightening and breaking off screw heads.

About my only complaint would be that battery management isn't what I'd like. Not quite enough battery life on a charge - and batteries seem to wear out (as in become unuseable and won't take a charge) relatively quickly. However that is just my personal view - Perhaps my expectations are unreasonable. Conside that my experience is that the B&D Versapak battery system isn't as long lasting as this.

I do not recomend this as an all-day tool for someone who works on an assembly line, for example. But certainly it is a more than excellent device. Beautifully designed and built with real metal gears inside.

Bought this saw last Fall........ Built to last a lifetime! Very Heavy Duty. The work going into the design of this unit is second to none........May cost an weight a little More than the 3/4 horse power units, BUT this Unit has Power to spare, no worry about burning up the motor, and with all the extra's, .......A GREAT Value! This tool will be around for your childrens children to use........ Buy One you will not be sorry.......except for others wanting to use it over the weekend.......HA HA HA.......! No second guessing on this unit....Stores away very easy......

It is perfect for your hand grip. Use it for sharpening your mower blades, and pruning shears.

A heavy, solid, powerful and smooth running grinder right out of the box. You have to attach the dust collection connections, the shield, and the tool rest. A couple of minutes (unless you want to switch it to it's 220 capability) and it's all setup and running. It's a good thing I used it because I almost gave it a 4 for one thing. I couldn't imagine why they didn't spend a couple of more dollars to make the tool rest wider and stronger. It's held on by one bracket and the tool rest is only a couple of inches wide. I thought I'd end up making my own someday...and maybe that's what production shops will do anyway...but after some tough grinding for a few hours...it works without problems. I doubt I'll ever have to change it.

It's a radio. Period. Not a charger. It plays music and has really good sound. I have not tried to max it out, annoy the neighbors or deafen the dogs, but I can play it loud enough and it sounds good. You won't hear it over your circular saw, but you can pound nails and listen. It looks almost bulletproof with a big roll cage.

Tuning is good - holds a stong signal where an older radio I had always drifted. Big knobs make it easy for adjusting volume and tuning, but the tuning knob clicks as you turn it, so you will not surf often by spinng the dial. Does have a seek feature, which is handy. Nice big display for clock and station ID. Weather radio is neat, but volume and quality is lower, so you need to turn it up and deal with some annoying hum - I think from the station. Don't forget to turn it down before going back to the AM/FM radio or they will be LOUD. It has a slight fade-in when it changes preset stations. Nice so you don't get a big blast of sound.

It has color coded EQ settings - off for no bass boost, green for a little, orange and then red for the most. More of a visual check that someone hasn't changed it that it actually giving you any information. Um, ok I'm on orange?

I took one star off for two things - presets only cycle up and pass through power cord. Can't cycle down or go directly to a preset. So you always go "around the horn" to get back to the previous preset. And the pass through power cord only allows non-grounded plugs. So if you put this plug in the outlet first, get your adapter or a tool that doesn't have a grounded plug. You can't cheat it either - it has a molded guard so you can't plug in a three prong plug with only two prongs inserted. I don't have any Milwaukee cordless tools, so I have no info on run time by battery.

This is the new version of Milwaukee's jobsite radio. In addition to AC power and 12-18 volt NiCad batteries, it also runs on Milwaukee's new 28 volt lithium batteries. (Milwaukee plans to market 18v lithium batteries that will work with its already-existing 18v tools. I presume, from the item description, that those batteries will also work with this radio.)

>>>NOTE: This radio, like the previous Milwaukee jobsite radio, does **NOT** charge the cordless tool batteries it runs on. I emailed Milwaukee about this, and was told that they did not incorporate a charger because the focus of this radio is sound quality and radio reception.

I run my radio on Milwaukee's v28 lithium batteries. I would expect the same performance from Milwaukee's other batteries, with the exception that Milwaukee states that this radio will run longer per charge cycle on the v28 batteries. I'll edit this post to include the average run time for a v28 battery after I've used it several times.

Both the reception and sound quality on this radio are fantastic. The sound quality is so good (and loud, if you want it loud) that you'll be glad to listen to this radio anywhere, any time. If you like bass, the Punch EQ offers 3 levels of bass-boost. The first, or lowest, level is plenty for me. I usually listen with the bass boost off entirely.

I previously owned a Bosch PowerBox jobsite CD/Radio. The PowerBox offers many more features (including charging batteries), but I eventually returned it due to its extremely poor radio reception (even with their new external antenna) and inferior speakers.

The Milwaukee's 12 volt DC output jack (like your car's cigarette lighter plug) allows you to use the radio to power an Ipod, satellite radio, cell phone charger, etc. I particularly like the fact that this plug works when the radio is running on battery power (the Bosch PowerBox's 12v plug only works when the PowerBox is plugged in and running on AC current).

The nylon bag on the back of the radio is removable and measures 11" x 8.5" x 2.5", so it's large enough to store quite a bit of stuff (Ipod, CD player, CDs, patch cables, cell phone lighter-plug cable, etc.). The bag has dual zippers so you can leave a small opening at the top for your external audio device's connecting (patch) cable without risking the device falling out. There is also an elastic strap inside the bag to hold things in place, with spaces for 3 pens/pencils.

The LCD clock readout is visible even when the radio is off. In fact, it's visible even when the radio is unplugged and there is no battery pack in it. It's powered by two "AA" batteries (included).

This radio shuts down automatically when whatever rechargeable battery pack you are using gets low. This is important because you NEVER want to completely discharge any cordless tool battery. Doing so can cause cells within the battery to reverse polarity and become ineffective. The battery might still work if this happens, but it won't be producing as much voltage.

The soft-grip handle is comfortable and the rubber-whip style antenna is perfect for a jobsite radio. You can also attach an external antenna to a provided external connector, but the reception is great so I don't see much need for this.

To connect an Ipod or other audio source, you'll need a cable that goes from the output of your audio source to radio's auxiliary input. For an Ipod, this would be a simple patch cable with a (male) stereo mini plug on each end.

A few extra features would make this an ideal radio for any occasion. Padding in the nylon bag would be great (after all, the radio is designed to survive falls and abuse). A remote control would be useful (especially if you're working on a roof or using it in your garage or home). And a "sleep" timer and headphone jack would also be nice.

Some of the features I suggest might seem out of place on a jobsite radio, but I think this radio could find a market with people who will never even visit a "jobsite." The sound quality is there, and the styling offers a real "wow" factor. This radio could be great as a permanent fixture in a kid's room, basement, garage, etc.

Regardless, I give this radio 5 stars because it is the best jobsite radio I've ever heard. More importantly, it is compatible with Milwaukee's v28 lithium-powered cordless tools, which are, without doubt, the best cordless tools on the market.