The great PF cordless tool debate

[wvincent]

Anybody here using the Skil cordless worm drive saw yet?
Thinking hard about this purchase, never met a worm drive I didn't like.
https://www.skil.com/truehvl-cordles...aw-spth77m-11/

[Welder]

Shameless double-post; I also put this in the chainsaw thread.

I recently spent some time clearing out a section of my woods (not a lot, maybe 20' x 20'), and since I didn't have any 2-stroke mixed gas around, I used the M18 chainsaw. Here are a few more thoughts about it. First, it oils plenty. Secondly, for small whippy-type brush, it's a pain. I think a lot of this is caused by the thin .043 chain it uses in an effort to conserve energy, but regardless, it likes to throw the chain. Meaning I had to use loppers for stuff that was under an inch or risk losing the chain.

The way I was taught to tension a chain was to hold the bar nose up, then draw the chain up to the bar eliminating any gaps, and tighten the locking nuts. When you're done, it'll pull down away from the bar but will spring back to it. It's possible that this small chain needs to be tighter than that, but I hate to do that, especially when it's hot. I have a possible fix on the way for this.

The Oregon chain shipped with the saw is OK, but it's a safety chain and is impossible to bore (plunge-cut) with. It also dulls relatively easily compared to Stihl chain which is the only chain I've used up until now. I have a possible fix on the way for this, too.

So after a lot of searching, I found two mentions online of people who'd swapped different bars onto the M18 saw. This is good news, because: 1) I think the bar is too long, 14" would be better, and 2) I don't care for the .043 chain and if I could switch to 3/8LP in .050 gauge, I'd have a slightly wider chain with non-safety options as well.

I had to do my own research to figure out what bars would fit the Milwaukee, because if you use Oregon's Bar and Chain Selector Guide and input the M18 saw, you only get the single 16" 3/8LP .043 56DL bar offered. However. Since two people on the interwebz said that the M18 sprocket would accept .050 gauge, I'm assuming they're right and after going to that bar's listing (it's P/N 164MLEA041 if you want to see for yourself), I used the Fit Guide and Cross Reference to identify the other saws that would accept that bar (Oregon calls the tail mount of that bar A041...it's popular in a lot of cheaper saws like Poulans, Craftsmans, etc).

Having never bought non-Stihl bars before, I had to learn what the good brands are. Some of them don't offer any bars with this tail mount because these were generally cheap throw-away saws. But I did find that TsuMura offers one, and the 14" one that I ordered off Amazon for $28 was P/N 013ML3. The tip profile looks at least a little less safety-conscious - more rounded and less pointy, which will be better for bore cuts. This bar uses a 52 driving link chain.

Stihl doesn't offer 3/8LP (also called Picco) chains in that count; their saws with the 14" bars use 50DL. So a little more research and I ordered a Carlton semi-chisel non safety chain P/N N1C-052E off ebay for about $16/free shipping.

All of this info is here so that in case this actually works, part numbers are documented for other M18 saw owners who might want a little better-cutting saw. I'll let you know how the experiment turns out.

[rob_s]

Interesting new battery tech from DeWalt. Thankfully, it’s supposed to be fully compatible with existing tools, rather than requiring a whole new stable. Hoping Milwaukee follows suit.

https://www.dewalt.com/powerstack

[Welder]

Conversion complete; part numbers in my recent post are installed and they fit and function. I used up a 12.0Ah battery sawing up a 50' section of forest-grown oak trunk (14" at the thickest, slowly tapering to 8" at the thinnest, growth rings really tightly spaced as it put all it's energy into getting height) into 17" firewood pieces.

You can see that this bar nose is a lot more rounded / less pointy which means a little more chance of kickback, but I prefer this profile for boring / plunge-cutting as I think it's easier on the chain.

The new non-safety chain does allow boring cuts and works fine for the purpose. You don't get the chain speed out of this saw that you do from something like an MS200T which is what I normally use for small work like this, but it's acceptable and most importantly it's not waking up the entire neighborhood. The Carlton chain seems good so far; it's still plenty sharp and I haven't touched dirt with it yet. One thing I did notice is that I had to extend the adjuster way out to accomodate this chain. I didn't pull the cover back off to see how much adjustment I have left at this point.

One design flaw in this saw is the shape of the chaincase cover. It forces the sawdust to angle all the way back around and actually shoot forward away from the user, creating a choke point in the process. The Carlton chain cuts fast enough that it'll try to clog this cover as it's currently designed. Pretty much any other chainsaw doesn't redirect like this. There was plenty of room to design a proper cover....why, Milwaukee, did you do this? I'm tempted to notch the rear of my cover out about halfway up and just let the chips fly where they want.

I guess this isn't a problem with that crappy safety chain the saw ships with; but with a real chain....

One other thing I think I'd address if I were designing version 2.0 of this saw is to give it some real felling dogs. The teeth on these aren't deep enough to grab anything with much diameter to it, or with flaky bark like White Oak for example. Pretty sure they're bolted on, so since I know someone who can work with metal, I might have "him" make some real ones.

The new TsuMura 14" bar is super stiff and probably twice as heavy as the thin, whippy 16" bar the saw ships with. Whether it was the whippy original bar or the thin .043 gauge original chain, I no longer have any chain-flying-off issues with the new setup using 3/8LP .050 chain.

I'll cross-post this to the chainsaw thread as well so this is here for whoever's looking.

[LittleLebowski]

The dust handler on the M18 sander sucks ass. I’m surprised by Milwaukee on this.

[rob_s]

The dust handler on the M18 sander sucks ass. I’m surprised by Milwaukee on this.

The random orbit sander?

I wouldn’t expect any RO to self contain its dust.

When hooked up to my 16 galling shop vac it’s virtually dustless.

[rob_s]

Decided to put the Milwaukee M12 inflator to the test. After inflating four full-size truck tires from 32 to 39 I decided to try it out on the campervan which goes up to 65 on the fronts. After finishing the first I put in a fresh 6ah battery and it ran down by one bar going from 50.5 to 65 in about four minutes. Granted, when it was done the overheating light was flashing, so I decided to save the 80psi rears for another day!

[RJ]

Maybe one of you guys knows: I picked up an off-brand 20 V cordless impact driver off Amazon a while back. I'm in the market for a new cordless drill to replace my Hitachi, which although ok is past it's prime.

Below is a picture of the impact driver I have, the battery, and the charger. Based on looks alone, it appears to me to be very similar if not the same as the Black and Decker line of 20V Max cordless tools.

My use case is very limited, hobby grade, and I don't need a Milwaukee or Dewalt price point. I am thinking of just getting a new Black and Decker cordless drill with the same 20V battery type, so I can swap batteries between these tools if needed.

It's not a yuge deal either way, the B&D comes with a battery anyhow, it's just an OCD thing, in case it does actually match my existing tool.

TIA!



Black and Decker tool for ref:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005NNF0YU...v_ov_lig_dp_it

[RJ]

Ended up going with the Ryobi 18V system. Started with a compact drill / driver w 2 1.5Ah batteries and charger for $99 shipped.



It’s obviously a huge step up from my 10 year old Hitachi 10.8V. Feel is good, smooth speed control and easy to manage keyless chuck. I like the LED light at the base as well.

I have a P731D compact tire inflator en route, took only, for $25. Pondering maybe a fan for USPSA matches, or possibly a light. I’ll keep the dedicated 20V impact driver as a dedicated tool for wheel bolts.

So far so good.

[Crashpad]

Ended up going with the Ryobi 18V system. Started with a compact drill / driver w 2 1.5Ah batteries and charger for $99 shipped.



It’s obviously a huge step up from my 10 year old Hitachi 10.8V. Feel is good, smooth speed control and easy to manage keyless chuck. I like the LED light at the base as well.

I have a P731D compact tire inflator en route, took only, for $25. Pondering maybe a fan for USPSA matches, or possibly a light. I’ll keep the dedicated 20V impact driver as a dedicated tool for wheel bolts.

So far so good.

Their inflator is pretty good. It's major drawback is no trigger lock.
I've got one in the wife's car and burnt one up that was in the extra vehicle (my fault, not the tool's).

They also have a work light that is a good size and very versatile for keeping in the car tool kit.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/RYOBI-ON...5&gclsrc=3p.ds