milwaukee chop saw

[butch romig]

my wife got me a milwaukee chop saw for my belated birthday present,ive always thought they made the best power tools,so it comes on the brown truck,and when i go to open the box,what do i see??........MADE IN TAIWAN!!!!!!!!!!
jees i almost puked!!!,tho it is a nice saw!!
isnt ANYTHING made in the usa anymore????????
butch

[Gordon Maney]

That is sad news. I have two grinders, a drill, a hammer drill, a drywall screw gun, all from them. I think they were made here, but I realize I should check. I have had them all for some years.

[Russ Erickson]

I'm gonna check my Milwaukee Sawzall as soon as I get home tonight to make sure it was made in America. You're right about Milwaukee making some of the finest tools available.

[JimmieD]

I don't know about this particular item, but sometimes this has nothing to do with the American manufacturer. You can purchase a brand new Stihl 038 chainsaw today at a fraction of the Stihl cost, because the Chinese have made a clone knock-off of it that is indistinguishable from the genuine item. That is, until you try to run it and cut real wood.

Could be a loving wife was hoodwinked by an unscrupulous seller. Regardless of this the value of such a caring spouse far outweighs any minor problem with point of manufacture of that tool! You're a lucky man indeed......

Aslo, many Taiwanese products are now top quality as they have been expanding their manufacturing technologies and methods for over 20 years, in addition to using far better materials for construction. The real junk stuff comes from the backward China mainland, and not so much from Taiwan. Some Tai' stuff is very good indeed.

JimmieD

[bosco]

Just checked mine ... USA made ... model 6537-22.

[JimmieD]

http://www.milwaukeetool.com/us/en/about.nsf/vwPages/headquarters-and-facilities?OpenDocument

[bosco]

Yes, somethings that were once manufactured in the US are no longer. Even the famous Winchester rifle.

http://www.chuckhawks.com/column13_winchester.htm

[MoparNorm]

Blame it on the cordless revolution, until then ALL Milwaukee tools were made in the USA. To compete with Mikita, Milwaukee used a Japanese vendor intitially, but the quality was poor, so they switched to Taiwan.
As a blanket rule not any one manufacter makes ALL things well. Milwaukee makes the best corded drills and that Sawsall, but their circular saws are weak Skill makes the best power circular saw, but their drill are weak. Dewalt makes the best (most durable) cordless tools but Mikita may have raised the bar with their new batteries that are just now hitting the market. Earlier Mikitas were underpowered jokes that somehow found favor with homeowners and poor illegal immigrant laborers, so they had to step up a notch. Irony is ripe in the tool business, Hilti makes excellent power actuated tools from Litchenstien, but their biggest plant is now in Tulsa OK! Bosch makes powerfull rotary hammers, my favorite chop saw is the Dewalt Multi-Saw. Carbide, NOT carberundum, bladed it will cut up to 1/2" steel with little sparking and a perfect cut, much faster than a band saw and much more accurate.
Keep in mind that you may get a lemon or a perfect tool in any brand, my observations are based upon having many dozens of tools out in the "field" at any given moment, over the last 35+ years, being used by all types of personnel, some who care and some who could care less (and were soon to be unemployed).
A hobbyist will needs only ONE high quality tool for each task, buy the right one the first time and it will become your grandchildrens tool. Buy the wrong one and post about it here.....= )
MN

[bosco]

I have a Makita corded circular saw (a gift after my Skil was stolen). It actually performs very good. When I reroofed my house about 8 years ago it stood up to the demand. With the right blade it performed flawlessly cutting through the decking and nails while cutting the opening for the ridge vent. However, I will say that I do miss my Skil saw.

Dewalt does make excellant cordless tools. I've owned many in the past and have several now. I really like their trim saw (14.4V is what I have), being light weight it's great. But it can't perform as well as a corded saw. The battery drains too quickly when cutting 2 by stock, but does great with plywood. Even though I have 2 batterys for this saw, I have had to switch to the Makita to finish some jobs. Ok, maybe my batterys are spent ... I know they last forever and I need to buy a few more. But man they are expensive. Their 18V cordless HD drill ... never a problem. Out performs any cordless drill I've ever used. Their charger radio is also something I have and love it. The charger will accept any voltage battery and will charge quickly. Tip ... just don't plug the radio/charger into a electrical cord splitter and plug in a Milwakee Sawzall into the same splitter, unless you want your radio fried. I did that and now my Dewalt radio/charger doesn't work. But I did get a new one.

[JimmieD]

Hmmm....I wonder if there's a ground fault on that breaker your cord was attached to? Could be some feedback on the common or the ground lug.

[bosco]

Jimmy,

There was no ground fault protection on the outdoor receptacle (rated @ 15 amps) nor on the extension cord (10 gauge wire) nor the pigtail (8 gauge wire). Not being an electrical whiz, I beleive the inrush current of the Sawzall (rated at operating current of 10 amps) was enough to fry the radio when I first ran the saw, therefore no tripping the breaker (rated at 15 amps). I now have replaced the ALL outdoor receptacles with the GFCI type ... a wise investment. I still have the old radio/charger and plan on taking a look interally to see if if has some protective device that was blown that I can replace.

I will say that since that has happened, I have replaced my service panel to an updated GE panel board and breakers. The old panel board was a 25 year old Federal Pacific ... major hazard.

[MoparNorm]

I will say that since that has happened, I have replaced my service panel to an updated GE panel board and breakers. The old panel board was a 25 year old Federal Pacific ... major hazard.
Ah the old Federal Pacific "Stab-Loc", melt and burn but never trip! They have been banned since 1979 but replacement parts are available from Canada and Mexico where the lawsuit didn't reach....= )
MN

[JimmieD]

That upgrade sounds like a wise move!

[MoparNorm]

Yep, he did the right thing by getting rid of it! Federal Pacific panels were nortorious for bursting into flames, the breakers just plain do not trip, they melt instantly into place and ignite the panel, then the home. Just Yahoo or google 'Federal Pacific lawsuit' and be amazed at the number of articles!
The most interesting thing I learned about them is that after TWO companies went bankrupt over these panel, Schnieder Electric bought them! That's the parent of Square D, which seems really weird. Schnieder still makes them under a corporate umbrella in Canada and Mexico.
MN

[JimmieD]

Sounds like a 'feed-thru' breaker. Some work, some don't. Not a real bright design overall. However GE used them as the EQ series and they worked fine.

I got my Makita back when the U.S.A couldn't seem to produce a quality rechargeable tool and that includes DeWalt. It's been a great tool for many years and especially with the newer 'Smart' batteries. I've used it long and hard and on the job, but not continually everyday for years. Still it's been a very good tool and I have no complaints even at 9.6V.

How many volts is the Milwaukee?

[MoparNorm]

I think they all have 18v and 24v models now. In the trades we consider Mikita a throw-away tool. It is very inexpensive when compared to Dewalt and Milwaukee and lasts about one to two jobs under heavy use. It may last a lifetime for a hobbiest-homeowner, so most folks, especially the occasional user never know the difference. The real difference is in the torque department, the Dewalt screw gun will run under a serious load for 3-5 hours continuous, the ERP-niCad batteries will work all day if you have at least two, preferably three batteries. ALL batteries have a "memory" so if you start "short charging" them, battery life will be seriously degraded. They must be fully charged BEFORE use and COMPLETELY drained before recharging. Keep in mind these batteries cost $85-$95 and should last 4-5 years if taken proper care of.

Dewalt circular saws; never buy a battery powered circular saw with less than 18v, it's just not powerful enough for serious work. If used occasionally and the performance is poor, see my battery comments above, if you let your battery sit for weeks on end after it was fully charged and then use it for 15 minutes, you will have battery life issues. The most important thing to consider with battery operated circular saws is blade type and sharpness, a dull blade will kill a battery in a few seconds, the comment about plywood good, diminsional lumber bad, tells me that you have the wrong blade in there for the use. WITH ALL SAWS, the blade does the work, NOT the arm speed! LISTEN to the saw "talk" to you, rpm's, saw blade resistance, saw speed, you will be able to tell a difference if you are doing something wrong! It's just like welding, a good welder can "hear" a perfect bead, a good carpenter can "hear" a perfect cut.
Be safe, have fun!
MN

[JimmieD]

Agreed, Norm, however: at the time I bought that Makita many years ago the American manufacturers were entirely unable to come up with a product that was even close in quality, power, durability or charge retention! DeWalt hadn't even re-entered the market place and Milwaukee was banking all their expertise in their excellent corded drills. The DeWalts were junk when they first re-appeared and it took them a while to pump up their product to current standards. Milwaukee made a little folding electric screw driver that was great for the tool pouch but had no power and a short life. Black and Decker offered their typical junk and they've never been able to break out of that rut.

Everybody played catch-up real hard trying to re-capture Makita's market share. They managed to do this and now have a superior product, but back when I first purchased they were nowhere in sight. The Makita performed just fine for all day/every day use but I wasn't a carpenter driving screws in wood so that's different.

[MoparNorm]

Yes, I completely agree, the first American company to make cordless tools in response was Milwaulkee and they were cheap junk made in Japan, so I didn't go cordless for many years, It was around 1998 before the Dewalt 18v came out, meanie that I was I would purposely go find a worker with a 9.6v Mikita and stand next to him with my hi-torque 18v Dewalt and blow him away! Dewalt should have given me a commission back then, I sold a lot of Dewalts...ha!ha!
As stated in my very first post, Mikita has a new battery system coming out that may revolutionize the cordless industry, stay tuned!
LXT -Lithium Ion batteries not many in the field yet but once they reach the jobsite the REAL product testing starts.
MN

[JimmieD]

Ya, and you can bet your bippie Makita will sit down hard on that patent until somebody else finds a work-around to crack the code and play catch-up again. I'm about ready for a new cordless drill so I hope they hurry up.....!

[MoparNorm]

Actually Mikita is the one playing catch-up. Dewalts ERP-niCad is 36 volts of kick butt power. I'm just curious as to the battery life of the new Mikita system. It's always been Mikita speed vs. Dewalt torque, I'll take torque anyday.
Speaking of torque a diesel won the 24 hours of Sebring over the weekend!
MN

[JimmieD]

Ya, and they used a DeWalt for tire changes, right....? :~ )

[bosco]

Yes, I was very happy to get rid of that FP panelboard ... what a piece of junk. I didn't know that have been banned since 1979 ... gets me to thinking the previous owner of this house I live in didn't either, since it was built in 1982. Must be something there.

I agree about the cordless circular saw and the smaller voltage battery, but thats all they made back then when I bought my DeWalt. It's still a good saw, but I will replace it later with a higher voltage cordless saw. I'm not sure if DeWalt has launched their new circular saws with the 36v battery yet. Since I don't use the saw as much as I used to, I can wait a bit.

It will be interesting to see what Makita comes up with. Any idea on when they are going to launch the new battery technology..?

Anyone using Ridgid cordless tools..? I hear they used to make a quality product years back, but then again maybe that was just their calendar.

[MoparNorm]

If you go to the Mikita web site, the new battery appears to be out now. But naturally, it doesn't fit their old tools!
MN

[JimmieD]

My hottest Makita is my typical custom job: hot wired contols and it runs off a cord, with alligator clips to the battery terminals of the truck. Also has a plug to connect to the front and rear cig. lighter receptacles. Let's talk amps as in 120A input at up to 15V! The little 9.6 volt motor loves it. Seems to have picked up more than a few rpm's too... :~ )

[MoparNorm]

Ha!Ha! You a funny boy Jim, that sort of defeats the entire purpose! Are you off the grid?
Hard to say how long it will last putting that much juice to it?
MN

[Renegade05]

Actually Mikita is the one playing catch-up. Dewalts ERP-niCad is 36 volts of kick butt power. I'm just curious as to the battery life of the new Mikita system. It's always been Mikita speed vs. Dewalt torque, I'll take torque anyday.
Speaking of torque a diesel won the 24 hours of Sebring over the weekend!
MN

Must've been the Audi! Had mine out over the weekend, too -- do you think I could have used "I'm practicing for the ALMS 24 Hours of..." as an excuse if got pulled over for speeding? I was doing 80-90 mph on I-80 at night for a little bit...

Lithium-Ion (LiIon) batteries have been around for awhile in the personal electronics arena -- laptops, handhelds, and cellphones. They're a big step up from Ni-Cad and Nickel-Metal Hydride (NiMH) batteries in terms of duration, but in most digital devices we're talking low voltage. Unlike NiCads, they do not have the nearly 'memory' problem. It's interesting to see them used in power tools; I believe they're also used in hybrid vehicles...

Andy

[JimmieD]

Well, I may be off my grid but my therapist says I'm showing improvement, sort of. I often had to do field repairs on my mining equipment w-a-y out in the middle of nowhere and that was an easy solution to unlimited drilling/screw gun ability. It didn't seem to do any harm at all and it's still my favorite portable. Easy disconnect and swap back to the battery when there's shore power. Electrical normally has at least a 10% + or- variable on power, if not 20%. At 9.6 design rating that allows for at least 11+ volts, and Makita builds tough stuff so 20% at 12+V doesn't seem to hurt it. I would have to full-field the alternator to bump it up to 15 V. Not that I wouldn't.....

[MoparNorm]

Do you keep your vehicle running the entire time, or is the batter reserve sufficient?
MN

[JimmieD]

Oh, for most jobs the battery reserve is far more than you'd need. You're not really drawing down that many amps compared to the capacity of a good charged automotive battery. The little Makita cell is enough for over an hour of hard work so your truck battery can work a long time as a power source. Middle of nowhere I'd stop every now and then and fire it up and see what it looks like on charging, but usually not even noticeable. I also used the deep cycle battery off my trailer quite often, if not more often. With an isolator the truck was always protected for starting power. It really worked very well.

[MoparNorm]

You have me wondering if it's possible to re-charge the cordless battery from the vehicle battery in lieu of the cord to the tool? I've gotten happy not having to drag that cord around. I'm not thinking about an inverter but a straight 12 volt to 9.6 volt re-charge?
MN

[JimmieD]

My first thought on that is that Makita [don't know about others] has a 12V vehcile charger available. Maybe imagining things or crossed up with something else. In DIY you might have to configure some resistance into the charge circuit unless you want to be picking battery parts out of your teeth though. Pretty simple to check the charge rate output of your charger, I think it's in milliamps, and by adding some resistors come close to that. You could over-current by 10-20% from spec output without too much damage, but don't know how that would effect 'Smart' charging sensor. Possible a cell phone or other charger could be used as the base unit somehow? You do 14.8V, right?

[Renegade05]

While we're on the topic of battery power and Milwaukee Tools, did anyone see "Monster Garage" on Discovery Channel Monday night? Jesse James and his team converted a 60's Chevy Impala to electric and powered it with 320 tool batteries (Li-Ion batteries from Milwaukee, natch). He actually drag-raced it against one of the guy's Plymouth Super Bee -- the Bee won, of course, but the electro-geek in me was happy that the Impala put in some respectable times (11 sec quarter mile). Even Jesse was impressed...

Andy

PS: I just spent most of the night doing my taxes, and it looks like I'll be writing another large check to the IRS. Blech!