As mentioned in our new Milwaukee tools for 2014-2015 roundup, Milwaukee is coming out with new precision screwdrivers.
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Milwaukee’s precision screwdrivers feature spinning back caps, thin-diameter shafts, precision tips, and overmolded handle grips.
The precision screwdrivers will also feature all-metal cores, and anti-roll geometry, and color-coded cap identification markings.
Compared to competitive offerings, the all-metal cores are said to be up to 4X more durable. They are also heat treated for additional strength.
These precision screwdrivers look a little chunkier than those designed for finer electronics work, such as those featured in our best precision screwdrivers roundup, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
There will be a couple of different kit options available:
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- 4pc set (48-22-2604): PH#1, slotted 1/8″, 3/32″, and 1/16″
- 6pc set (48-22-2606): PH #0, #00, Slotted 5/32″, 1/8″, 3/32″, 1/16″, and a carrying case.
- 6pc Torx set (48-22-2610): T6, T7, T8, T9, T10, and T15, and a carrying case.
The 4pc set will be available starting in November 2014, the two 6pc sets will be available starting in February 2015.
Pricing: The 4pc set is $15, the other prices are TBA.
Buy Now(4pc set via Home Depot)
First Thoughts
What I find most intriguing about these new drivers are their all-metal cores. Precision screwdrivers are a little dainty, which is a good thing, but that makes them a little delicate. As mentioned, these drivers look a little chunky, and that’s probably deliberate. That they have all-metal cores really should make them more durable for rougher field work, where Wiha and other precision brands of drivers aren’t really at home.
While I haven’t done this to any of my own precision drivers, I have seen screwdrivers with short blade tangs that have been bent away from or loosened within their handles. That’s something that looks to be impossible with Milwaukee’s new offerings.
These drivers might not be as well suited for fine precision work – or maybe they are – but they definitely look robust enough for more demanding miniature fastening tasks.
Bill
Made In….
Stuart
I can’t tell you until I have one in my hands. Probably not USA, if that’s why you’re asking.
Sefron2000
MADE IN?
Stan
Knowing Milwaukee, made in China.
Since that is likely the case, I know I’ll be passing on these.
Tom
Why do precision screwdrivers always have spinning back caps? I’ve never really figured out the purpose. Is it so you can hold the cap and spin the barrel? If so, why would that only be useful on small screwdrivers?
Stuart
The first two images show two grip options. I typically hold precision screwdriversnas shown in the first image.
In such usage, you would use your palm to apply gentle pressure to the fastener. Then, you would turn the handle shaft with your finger tips. The spinning cap means more control, since all the rotational effort goes towards turning the fastener. Without a free-spinning cap, friction between your palm and the driver means you have to turn the driver with more effort to overcome the energy losses.
At least that’s how I believe it’s meant to be used.
Trust me, when you’re working with mini fasteners that you CANNOT lose, such as on the microsample stage of a near-million dollar electron microscope, you want all the control you can get.
Regular screwdrivers are gripped differently and wouldn’t benefit really from spinning caps.
Tom
Cool! Thanks…. it’s just one of those things that I have always wondered about.
Gary T.
I wonder why they didn’t include the PH #1 in the 6 piece set and make it a seven piece set. Now if you want all the PH sizes you would have to buy both sets and duplicate most of the slotted drivers.
SteveR
That’s a chapter taken from Marketing 101, “How to Increase Sales on a Product That Won’t Sell a Lot of Units”. As you know, teeny, tiny screwdrivers are not what Milwaukee built its reputation on. Instead, they built and sold high-powered circular saws and, more recently, cordless drills. They entered a market that already had lots of competition from established manufacturers regarding screwdrivers, so I’m not sure why they felt the need to add one more to the mix. Perhaps they intend to spread out into more areas for sales, and this was a way to test the waters. But they’re here for now.
It’s possible they are using the sales tactic of “If you liked our teeny, tiny screwdrivers, you’re gonna love our cordless drills (or other products)”. It’s a means to establish “brand loyalty”. Car makers, especially GM, used to have several different brands or types of cars within their line-up. They hoped to get you started at the lower end (with a Chevrolet), and work you up through the lines to ever-more expensive models, hoping to eventually sell you a Cadillac.
Stuart
I think it’s more about “you love our cordless tools, so give our hand tools a try.” Milwaukee isn’t the first brand to do this.
Milwaukee’s internal philosophy isn’t to be a “me too” brand, but to provide solutions to common problems.
Milwaukee serves MRO and industrial users, as well as contractors and tradesmen, and so there definitely is a market for pro construction-grade precision screwdrivers.
In one of the images above, a Milwaukee precision screwdriver is used to tighten the wire clamp in a DIN rail terminal. Many of my precision screwdrivers are too dainty to be used on things like that.
Henry
I currently have some Craftsman precision screwdrivers, but they’re not a full metal shaft. I’ve broken several of them (I MAY be a bit rough on my smaller ones), and while Sears replaces them with no problem, having ones with a full length shaft would be nice!
Mike
You’re not being rough on them, they just break. I’ve got three full sets that I’ve bought at various times over the last twenty years along with a couple of smaller ones, and very few of the screwdrivers I have now are originals from those sets. Most have been exchanged more than once and some have broken before they’ve ever even been used. Never once have I had any problem using the Craftsman warranty with them, but it gets irritating having to use it so often. Not to mention they change their color coding from time to time and you end up with mixed sets.