James recently mentioned being unable to buy a Milwaukee M18 cordless 14 gauge double-cut shear, model 2636. In his comment, James wrote:
Anyone know what happened to Milwaukee’s M18 14 Gauge Double Cut Shear (2636-20)? I went to order one last night, but it doesn’t seem to be available anywhere anymore. Everyone lists it as backordered with either no ETA, or a January/February 2020 guesstimate. The Acme Tool website doesn’t even list it at all. Quietly discontinued?
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I checked around and found the same, that the shear was out of stock and either listed as either being backordered or with a Q1 2020 ETA.
In my opinion, this would usually be an indicator that a) a new or updated model was about to be released, or b) Milwaukee encountered a supply issue that was holding up production. Since there weren’t any new shears announced at Milwaukee’s NPS19 new tool show, it was more likely that a supply issue was holding up production. Supply issues are rare, but do happen on occasion, especially with more specialty tools.
We reached out to Milwaukee, who responded with the following:
Over the past several months, Milwaukee has experienced sustained supply disruptions with components of our M18 14 Gauge Double Cut (2636-20/22) and M18 18 Gauge Single Cut Shears (2637-20/22). We are diligently working towards a solution but due to these complications, these items will be placed on long term hold. These models will be available again in Q1 of 2020. However, both our 18 Gauge Double Cut models (M18 and Corded) will still be available.
So, there you have it. M18 14 gauge double cut and 18 gauge single cut shears won’t be available for a couple of months, but there are still supplies of 18 gauge double cut shears.
Supply disruptions are rare, but they do happen.
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Buy Now(M18 18 gauge shears bare tool via Tool Nut)
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Buy Soon(M18 14 gauge double cut shear kit via Tool Nut)
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Although unfortunate, it’s noteworthy that Milwaukee is upfront about the supply disruption and how long of a delay it might lead to. At least potential buyers have answer. There have been very numerous times over the years where a reader says “I can’t find [some tool] that I want to buy,” I can’t find it either, and brands only tell me “it’s only temporarily out of stock,” sometimes for months if not longer.
fred
Funny
I bought one at the end of October 2017 – no shortage back then. My wife was in the middle of making sheet metal lawn Xmas decorations (Snowmen and Nativity Scenes) and I was tasked with the cutting. I think I paid around $220 for the bare tool. I ended up using a Edma-Malco hand nibbler for the trickier (tight curve bits) – but otherwise it worked well. The tedious bit was deburring all the sharp curved edges. My wife did the embossing, painting and riveting pieces together. We made 4 sets attached to wooden stakes. They got used in front of 4 houses .
I have not used the tool since – so as a practical matter – some made-in-China decorations might have been more economical – but not of lesser value to us.
Tom
Last time I was in my local lumber yard they had one on display, I think. No idea if they’ll ship but it could be worth a shot. (Dunn Lumber, Shoreline WA)
Rory
Down here is Aus supply has been basically non-existent for the last 8 or so months, this includes spare parts for warranties – if your shear breaks you get a credit and then have no shear at all…
In Aus a lot of houses have metal roofs and roofers love these shears yet Milwaukee cannot supply them.
From the rumors I’ve heard Milwaukee had a “falling out”with the shear head manufacturer – something along the lines of the manufacturing contact was up and a new deal couldn’t be negotiated for the heads.
Kyle
I have always thought the head looked identical to that on my corded shears from Kett. This would explain it.
Stuart
Well, that would make the simple explanation a lot more complex. Unfortunately, “supply disruption” is about the most I could hope to learn about a situation like this.
JoeM
…Is that why the shear head looks like it doesn’t belong to Milwaukee at all? It’s a third party component? I’m colourblind, but I can see Red… The shear head is NOT Red… So it seems out of place on Milwaukee’s tools…
James
Thanks for looking into it, Stuart! I was also beginning to suspect it was indeed a cutting head part supply problem when I compared the 14ga and 18ga service parts lists – literally only the heads differ. I checked to see if I could buy a replacement 14ga cutting head to swap onto an 18ga model – no dice, the 14ga cutting heads are also backordered.
I am convinced Kett makes the head, as it’s nearly identical in the part diagrams except for one nut. There are plenty of 14ga Kett heads to go around, so it must be a dispute and not just a problem meeting demand. I’m REALLY tempted to try to mate a Kett head onto the 18ga Milwaukee model.
Stacy
I know that the store i work at – Adams Tarp N Tool, still has a few in stock ( Duncan, vancouver island canada)
chris
I made a set of kett blades fit my Milwaukee shear with just a little grind to make them fit, now I have a set of 18 gauge blades to fit my 14 gauge shear.
James
INTERESTING! What part needed grinding to fit? Can you still rotate the Kett head just like with the Milwaukee head? Why the downgrade from a 14ga head to a 18ga head?
Altan
Brushless is coming…
Stuart
Would have been announced at NPS19.
Jim Felt
Okay. I give.
What’s the functional/practical difference between “single cut” and “double cut” shears?
I’m too long out of shop classes. And don’t want to ask a vendor.
James
Single-cut shears leave a wavy edge on one side of the cut, and maneuvering them through larger/thicker pieces can be pretty hard. Double-cut shears take a small strip out with the cut that coils up as you go, leaving both sides of the cut smooth and allowing you to more easily get through larger cuts.
Stuart
Off the top of my head, single cut are better for curved cuts, double cut are better for straight cuts.
Rory
Single cut shears will cut corrugated roof iron in all directions – rip, cross and miter cuts.
Double cut can only cut flat metal products or corrugated rip cuts.
Jim Felt
Thank you both!
Jim Felt
That’s too funny. THREE replies just populated… So Thank you All Three!
fred
To further clarify (it that was actually needed?) – the “double-cut” might also be called “double supported” . There is still only one cutting jaw – but it is being forced up through a channel. The jaws on both side of this channel support the work on either side of the cut.
Some hand “nibblers” work the same way:
https://www.amazon.com/Tools-90-55-280-Nibblers/dp/B00OYQ3MBA/
as do Wiss Duct Snips:
https://www.amazon.com/Wiss-Pipe-Duct-Snips-M41R/dp/B00QL4WUKC/
jSTYLE
no offense, but this article’s title is clickbait.
🙁
jSTYLE
to clarify, i would expect a title more along these lines from a blog of this calibre:
“Some Milwaukee cordless shears placed on long term hold due to supply disruption”
Stuart
I’m sorry you feel that way, I thought it was straightforward.
Coming up with the perfect title to a post is an art, and even with many years of practice, I have yet to master it. This one seemed simple and fitting.
KB
Milwaukee stopped buying heads & blades from Kett in 2019 – that is probably the “supply chain” issue.
James
So do you think the availability disruption happened because they switched away from Kett? Do you know who they switched to? The pandemic started before the 2636-20 came back in-stock, and to better keep up with the higher demand in other areas of my business, I ended up scaling back the services that would have benefited from having these. I’ve just started to do more sheet metal cutting again, so I’ve been meaning to revisit this tool.