Milwaukee Tools

That saw looks to be from Milwaukee before they sold out so of course it won't say China!! misinformation running wild!!

 

anyone want to jump into the irony of discussing 'american-made tools' on a truck forum for a vehicle designed and specced by a japanese company, built partly in mexico?

my understanding is that this thread is for the milwaukee platform, of which these tools qualify, as they utilize the same battery platform. a conversation about utilizing a dewalt power tool however does not qualify for this thread.

i genuinely have no issues using these knockoff tools within their limits. i absolutely understand how milwaukee-made tools are better and more robust, but the reality is that:
firstly, i've committed myself to a singular cordless tool battery platform
secondly, i don't always need top-shelf, rugged-grade, first-class designs in a good majority of cases, especially for home projects.

to me, anything that utilizes the same power source counts.

as i've stated before, i've got tons of genuine milwaukee tools-- i have the lawnmower, blower, weed eater, 18v fan, the 18v and 12v handheld lights, drills, saws, grinders, multiple packout's, even 2 of the obscure and discontinued rolling tool bags i had to special order through a canadian retailer to cross-ship back to the states. i've got zero issues paying for quality tools/materials where needed.

but as i indicated early on with the fan i was buying, many of these knock-offs provide a different solution to problems that the genuine milwaukee products don't address. i routinely put my m18 cordless fan on the top of a ladder. it fits in 1 orientation, and is getting constantly knocked off because the size just barely fits onto the top of a ladder--if it moves 2", it's falling over. i'm hoping to solve this by using the knock-off fan that uses the battery as the stand-- a much smaller footprint, and likely just as easy to knock off, but should be easier to position to better direct air where i want. the lesser cost is nice, but overall not a huge factor for me--the quality isn't going to be a factor for me-- i've had my genuine milwaukee fan entirely taken apart to fix factory non-lock-tited screws that came loose twice now.

 

Here is a current day data plate


Current day data plate "made in China"

 

You made my point! 35 years from now are you going to be using your 'Mil-China' tools? I've got relatives that have been begging for my USA built Milwaukee tools for years. My responce is always "don't worry, when I croak they will still be working!".

 

You're not making a valid point as in, we can't tell Milwaukee to stop making their tools in China.

No matter how much you (or anyone else) dislikes the idea of them being made in China, it's happening anyway.

 

The point I was trying to make is the USA made Milwaukee tools are built better than the licensed tools they make in China. I've got a bunch of the China made tools and as good as they are they are no way near as robust as made USA built tools.

 

ah, so you're reminiscing about what essentially is the 2jz bubble era...
https://jalopnik.com/heres-why-the-toyota-supras-2jz-is-such-a-legendary-eng-1794949464

damn economic forces taking away allowing companies to over-spec their products!

 

The same can be said for nearly all products that were once made in the USA. This is bigger than just tools.

Carry on.

 

Now this we can agree on.

 

Oh absolutely.

I've got +15 year old Craftsman hand tools that are made in USA that are still being used to this day. Stuff from a decade or less is all made in China.

It sucks, and that's why I keep the old tools but I can't dictate who makes what and where.

 

eh, you/i/we technically can, but it's more political in nature. if 5 people step up and say they'll pay $400 for a widget that does 10/10 in a specific test, but 20,000 people step up and say they'll pay $200 for a tool that does 7/10 in the same test, the 20,000 people are getting their way...

it's really got nothing to do with china at all, as the MFG is who sets the quality standard the plant builds to.

 

Keyword, quality standard.

You know Honda GX motors were manufactured in Japan, Taiwan, and other countries and yet held to the same standard throughout all plants?

Should check out the service manuals and specs on many of them as you can order a crankshaft made for a Taiwanese variant for less money than say, the Japanese variant. Tolerances for both being the same.

 

I think that’s a over simplification.

If it had nothing to do with China then why wouldn’t it be made in Taiwan where a ton of “quality” tools come from. Or Mexico? Maybe even Canada for that matter?

The manufacture, DOES set a quality standard, and I have no doubt that Manufactures have people that check lot numbers for QA. That said, the 5 year warranty you get on say a Milwaukee power tool…you don’t think you’re not paying for that in the price? Lol

That’s not including the fact the every time a US company does business in China, they are losing the intellectual property to a foreign force. You think the CCP cares about that stuff?

The other issue is people will ride in on their high horse on social media peddling virtuous rhetorics, yet, seem to have no problem supporting child slave labor and labor in poor working conditions. All while supporting extreme manufacturing standards set or supported in someway by every political party here at home that otherwise make it impossible to be competitive with said child slave labor.

In my unhumble opinion, it’s not technical. We simply just can not. You’re looking at the market competition, but the made in US market is stuck and has been for a long time.

It’s why it’s a no brainer to buy Gear Wrench or Harbor Freight Icon over Snapon tools…there’s little to no performance difference in those hand tools with a huge price savings.

 

Trying the bug zapper, thanks for links.

 

Red's my favorite color, that's why I chose Milwaukee

 

Milwaukee for automotive, dewalt for construction.

 

Was at my local HD Friday and saw the new Milwaukee Rep. I asked about the new M12 Planer. His literal response, "What's a Planer?". I had to simply walk away.

 

I was pretty surprised they came out with such a carpentry specific tool, but I guess the installation tool(which I love now) is designed for cabinet making as well.

 

Bet you it wasn’t even a pretty girl.

 

Your Milwaukee reps are girls?

Ours are guys, and not even the cool type I'd have a beer with