We’re at Milwaukee’s Pipeline 2024 new tool media event, checking out their latest tools and innovations.
The biggest highlights of the event are the two new M18 FORGE batteries, and a couple of new tools that when paired together deliver the highest-ever performance.
The new M18 FORGE XC 8Ah battery can deliver the same power level as the legacy High Output HD 12Ah battery, but with a smaller size and lighter weight.
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The charge capacity is tied to energy storage, and so in lighter duty applications the 8Ah battery will of course still have lower runtime than any 12Ah battery.
The new M18 FORGE HD 12Ah battery delivers even higher power capabilities.
I had a chance to learn more about the new batteries already, and it was made clear that this wasn’t just about refreshing the same size battery packs with new tabless rechargeable Li-ion cells.
The batteries were redesigned from the ground up, and in significant ways.
We talked about the new motor technologies, and it’s like nothing I have ever seen before.
We’re going to demo some of these tools soon, and I’m stoked to see what they can do!
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Here’s a look at some of what we’ve seen so far. More details are on the way, but I couldn’t wait to give you a peek as soon as I could.
If you have any questions – about anything Milwaukee tools-related, ask away!
Big Richard
https://www.milwaukeetool.com/pipeline
Nice list of some/most of the new tools already on their website.
JJ
Curious to know what tools are in the 85pc hand tool set and the 4 drawer version. 48-22-9494 and -9493. Any of it MiUSA tools?
Richard D Garcia
When will the siding nailer debut?
Chris
Nope, Taiwan like the rest
Mark M.
That little phone-sized worklight is pretty sweet. I have a Klein version that I love, will be interested to see how that one stacks up as it looks to be a fraction of the thickness (and presumably weight). Also curious about the 7 1/4″ circular saw and what upgrades they’ve made
Jronman
Looks like some detents on the cut depth (I don’t know if they were there before) , a new motor, more visibility for the blade, and I think the dust blower was changed but maybe that was just the m12 saw.
Levi Soar
Hey, when are you guys gonna come out with a left-handed? 7 1/4 M 18 fuel saw
Frank D.
I have a similar size Ryobi one from their 4v series. Replaceable battery. Love it. And their regular 4v light with swivel head.
Longhornsfan1
Still waiting on the updated rolling box with the lower handle. It been like a year since it was announced
Adam
Pre-order is available, so maybe you will have it before snow falls. That’s embarrassing to announce a piece of plastic, and release it a year later. I know it’s more than a piece of plastic, but dang. Now some those buyers are going to buy the rolling drawers instead lol
Nathan
Surprised they didn’t have van storage already.
The picket light how many lux and for how long? How many modes?
Jronman
Technically they had the E-track system with Packout players if that could be considered van tracking but this new system looks much better for the average use case.
Nick
I have been wanting something like this for the van for a while. They look like they are pretty versatile as far as moving the sliding shelves around to fit different pack out pieces. The sliding shelves are definitely a quality of life improvement, no more taking the stack apart if I need something out of the bottom box.
Just hope the pricing isn’t ridiculous once they announce it. It’s hard to find the free time to build something like this, but as usual it all comes down to $$$
Saulac
Also new and interested is the M12 3” sander. Not to be confused with the new M12 details sander. The circular disc sander also has dust collector. If I know this would come, this fast, I would not have gotten the detail sander.
Tucker
How about a packout caddy(?) which could allow the parts organizers to slide in/out from the front, so I don’t have to unstack things to access them.
We use packout with the work surface as mobile carts in our datacenter. Would be cool to have the ability to store a couple parts organizers in it but slide in from the front so I wouldn’t have to un-stack things.
Jronman
They mentioned the new van racking would have an option in the future to not need to be fastened to a wall. Maybe there will be a wheeled base option coming.
Jim
Sounds like you should look into dewalt tough system
S
What costs more? The packout van racking as-shown, or the van itself?
James
🙂
Saulac
It is amazing to see the US trade guys transition from rusty pickups and 5 gallons buckets to vans and modular storage. Good for them. We followed the EU guys and seem to catching up with them now.
Peter
Yeah it was not a long time ago when these type of boxes were laughed at because of price and material.
While metal boxes were the only way to go.
potato
I like the focus on efficient dust collection and low vibration for the new sanders
Saulac
Now that the racks are not self built anymore, the question is how many Gs can they stand cornering.
Thomas Dewar
Hybrid tools! It amazes to me that Milwaukee makes their lights hybrid, but do not have the foresight to make their big stationary tools multi fuel.
Suggestions: Table saw, miter saws, vacuums.
New tools: Hybrid 6″ joiner, 10″ drill press, 10″ band saw.
M18 Fuel: Biscuit joiner grinder style, domino joiner. Roofing nailer was on my list, but…
Ibrahim Alameddine
I’m still waiting for them to make a battery powered concrete nailing gun, DeWalt and Bosch have their own for a long time now. I think Makita too
John
The van system is interesting but why not make van mounts for the pack outs instead of boxes that hold pack outs. It’s seems redundant.
Adam
So you don’t have to unstack. The bonus is after your buy it all, your realize Milwaukee played a great magic trick on you. Same amount of tools, in twice the space. poof, there goes your money
TomD
https://www.milwaukeetool.com/products/48-22-8420 Finally!
Daniel
Yes, hopefully a non-wheeled version of the single drawer is coming!
James
I’m not sure what I thought, but I didn’t think this. This actually looks fantastic, provided the drawer goes in and out easily, even when weighed down.
Jason M
Over/under $250?
Alexk
I saw it priced at $249 on pro tool review pipeline.
Frank D.
None of the photos work. All a blank thing saying view this on instagram.
Stuart
Sorry, Meta/Instagram glitches at times.
I’ll have edited photos shortly, it’ll take some time. It works for me in incognito browsers and also when signed in. Sometimes lazy loading breaks the embeds.
Richard
FWIW zero of these pictures show if you don’t have instagram here’s a screenshot of the experience.
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/5mhgc3wvgi04zpoyp4bgn/2024-06-27-22.33.48.png
Doug N
Ironically I can’t view this because I don’t have the Dropbox app or account. Maybe it would work on a computer, but not my phone. Technology in 2024, where did we go wrong lol
Stuart
The issue arises because there’s no easy way for me to resize or rename photos from my phone for uploading to a blog post. It takes multiple steps, even with paid photo apps and such. Mobile devices – even tablets, are designed for sharing to other mobile devices, and not exporting for web use.
I have tried multiple approaches over the years, and every year before NPS/Pipeline I look to see if the process has been improved. It hasn’t been. So the easiest way is to post to Instagram and then embed to ToolGuyd, until I can get to a full desktop computer.
TwitchyPete
Any news on pressure washer & snow blower, cheers
Stuart
Nothing yet.
Sam
Charging a million batteries at once is cool and all loads of people will need that (same as the people that will be connecting 400 speakers together) but where’s the quad charger for two m18 and two m12 batteries at the same time? Been a user of both platforms for years and as Milwaukee grows so does the need to use both platforms . It’s ridiculous they haven’t released a better charger yet that accepts both
Stuart
https://14cyiuhvcgv.com/milwaukee-rapid-charging-station/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
3x M18 ports, 3x M12 ports. It can charge up to 3 batteries simultaneously.
Basically, it’s 3 M12/M18 rapid chargers in one.
If you pay attention to how you load it, you can charge 2 of one type of battery and 1 of the other at the same time.
eddiesky
I signed up for their news on the LED light that has both magnetic foot, can hang or stand, is rechargeable and size of phone. Two would be ideal for when I’m lighting to record something or when in small spaces, it can light. Thanks for the Pipeline info!
Doug N
The roofing nailer with siding adapter looks promising. Sidingtips.ca has sold these aftermarket adapters for several years, specifically for the dewalt roofing nailer. They are designed to keep the nails just proud of the vinyl, like hand nailing. Wondering if Milwaukee’s will work as well.
The 6” m12 sanders, long and short throw, are a surprise Hard to find a cordless 6” ROS, only German Metabo offers one currently I think.
JR Ramos
Those 6″ sanders really surprised me, too, hadn’t heard a word about them. Not sure how they’ll do on 12V source. Interesting that they went with the air tool paddle switch, too. Had I know these were coming I might have held off a bit before buying the Bosch 18V 5″ but it’s a truly fantastic sander.
Stuart
The 6″ sander with air-style paddle switch is more aimed at automotive body work, but the sander won’t snitch if you use it for other applications. Feature-wise, the 5″ sander seems more designed for woodworking applications/
I’m really curious to see which might be better suited for mixed applications.
JR Ramos
I’m only privy to two cabinet shops, one of which does a little furniture and tables, plus a moulding/millwork shop, but they all use 6″ air sanders, nobody uses electric or cordless. No issues with dust overheating a motor, plus cheap and plentiful PSA discs. I doubt I’d buy one from Milwaukee but I’d like to take a gander at them in person sometime.
Gary
Still waiting for the m12 Brad nailer they showed last year.
Doug N
Shows as in stock at Acme. https://www.acmetools.com/milwaukee-m12-fuel-18-gauge-compact-brad-nailer-bare-tool-2541-20/S0000000011349.html
But yes, took a full year from announcement to being available.
Gary
Thanks! Wasn’t aware it was out.
Paul
I don’t have instagram and can’t see any of the pictures.
JR Ramos
Stuart, couple questions on the new batteries since you got to see them in person. Looks like the 8Ah Forge is tabless cells. Did you happen to notice if the tool contact terminals have been beefed up at all?
I saw on the new M12 impact wrench that they’ve added a rubber isolator/gap filler. Does that make it on to M18 as well, or did you get to see that feature up close? Simple approach compared to what Bosch and others have done, wondering how effective it will be and whether it affects the effort to insert/remove the pack.
Really glad to see that M18 transfer pump! I think it’s the only thing that will open my wallet this round but I’m going to wait to see what people think of it. If the torque specs for that new 1/2″ M12 impact are close to true that will certainly shake up the scene.
Chris
The 550 is nut busting, they say 400 working torque, I’ll wait till TTC tests it. I’m guessing 325 to 350
JR Ramos
Sure, wouldn’t expect it to be accurate (at this point, given their history) but it’s about double the 2xxx impact specs. Quite a jump! Hopefully it’s not like 20% in reality.
Stuart
We didn’t talk a lot about it, but there was a comment about how the terminals were reinforced. I believe I snapped a quick “old vs new” photo for comparison.
I had a call about the batteries a week prior to Pipeline, in preparation for a podcast interview the day before, and additional discussion beyond that at Pipeline.
I wouldn’t say it’s accurate to say that the power terminals were beefed up. They went back to the drawing board for the FORGE batteries, redesigning everything from the ground up. As I understand it, the terminals too were stripped down and designed to new specs.
For the M12 impact, they also added an additional spring latch to provide additional support to the battery connection. It technically increases the effort needed to remove a battery, but I found that it also changes the feeling of battery removal in a positive way.
I didn’t do many M18 battery changes, and the ones I did do were hurried in order to check for performance comparison. I didn’t feel any noticeable difference, but I also wasn’t looking for it.
The new M12 looked pretty sweet. It’s slightly heavier than the existing model, but brings a lot of benefits to the table.
The M12 impact had my FAVORITE new feature of the even, where you can switch modes with one hand. This means workers can maintain 3 points of contact on a ladder or similar, or if on flat ground they can maintain hold of the tool. It’s an improvement in user interface and I’m hopeful for more thoughtful upgrades like that.
Back to the rubber isolator/gap filler – I don’t think we talked about that, but I can always ask more questions.
We also talked about noise. The tool was made quieter by having a prime number of fan blades, which I thought was pretty neat.
The impact anvil was beefed up, but its strike characteristics were also modified.
JR Ramos
Thanks. Well, that sounds positive then and hopefully some of their battery issues there will be solved for good (going forward anyway). I’ve seen so many impacts (drivers and wrenches both) with some kind of retainer strap on them…I thought it was for safety or something the first time I notice one, before I learned of the problems.
I saw that trigger feature in the ad slick…I don’t think I’d like that personally but I can see where people would want it. The added weight would actually be nice – impact wrenches are better with some heft, imho, and these M12 are already so light. Looking forward to the TTC tests on the new ones.
Terry
From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “Milwaukee Tool is owned by Hong Kong-based Techtronic Industries… ” I wasn’t aware of Milwaukee’s parent company was based in Hong Kong. I’ve been buying more Milwaukee tools lately. I’m not sure if this information will change that. I really like their tools but I frown on products associated with China. Prefer USA, Europe or Taiwan.