# Milwaukee "Heavy Duty" Hammer Drill or standard Hammer Drill?



## PDX-SPARKY (Mar 5, 2010)

I've been looking into getting a new drill, as my old one has taken a hit for the last time and is left me borrowing others to get the job done. I was @ the wholesale house the other day and saw Milwaukee was having a deal on there kits where you get the sawzall, hammerdrill, light, and circular saw for $269.00. I already own other Milwaukee M18 tools and batteries so I was thinking of getting the kit. But the kit doesn't have the "higher torque" hammer drill. 

Just curious for those that own either if it is worth it to just get the Heavy Duty Hammer drill opposed to the lower torque of the standard hammer drill Milwaukee offers. 

Thanks guys.


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## hardworkingstiff (Jan 22, 2007)

I believe your satisfaction will depend on what kind of use/abuse you will put it through. How big of a hole are you drilling with it?

Personally, I've always had the Tim Taylor mentality when it comes to tools, "more power".


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## HARRY304E (Sep 15, 2010)

PDX-SPARKY said:


> I've been looking into getting a new drill, as my old one has taken a hit for the last time and is left me borrowing others to get the job done. I was @ the wholesale house the other day and saw Milwaukee was having a deal on there kits where you get the sawzall, hammerdrill, light, and circular saw for $269.00. I already own other Milwaukee M18 tools and batteries so I was thinking of getting the kit. But the kit doesn't have the "higher torque" hammer drill.
> 
> Just curious for those that own either if it is worth it to just get the Heavy Duty Hammer drill opposed to the lower torque of the standard hammer drill Milwaukee offers.
> 
> Thanks guys.


The Heavy Duty Hammer drill is much better and it's worth the money..:thumbup:


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## iJuke (Jan 27, 2011)

You could always buy the kit and sell the drill and with the money, buy the better one... Just a thought.


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## Mike in Canada (Jun 27, 2010)

I have the 2606. The 'big one' is the 2611. I bought the 2606 for two reasons: it's a bit lighter, and it was rated as the best cordless hammer drill in Taunton's 2010 Tool Guide. It won in every category except ultimate torque. The 2611 has 650 in-lbs of max torque, whereas the 2606 has 550 in-lbs.


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## Roadhouse (Oct 16, 2010)

Everything Milwaukee has failed with my electrical contracting company. The hand drills with lithium ion batteries could not cut daily use, the clutches burned out at less than a year old while drilling through studs, normal electrical work. 18 volt and the smaller 12 volts which the 12 volt drills we do not put to heavy use, only for screws and they still are failing now, not catching and turning slow when they do. The voltage detector failed at two weeks in. Waiting for the snake camera to break. 

The only thing that is still working is the Milwaukee hole hog and it is beginning to have trouble too. 

Milwaukee makes hvac tools (such as meters that read temperature) too but no one uses them and I mean no one.


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## nitro71 (Sep 17, 2009)

Roadhouse said:


> the clutches burned out at less than a year old while drilling through studs, normal electrical work.


Hand drills aren't ment to drill out a whole house. Does sound like the Milwaukee gear is letting you down though. I've never seen Dewalt stuff fail from normal use. Not really a Dewalt fan but no complaints. I'm still on the fence about Makita.


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## Roadhouse (Oct 16, 2010)

nitro71 said:


> Hand drills aren't ment to drill out a whole house. Does sound like the Milwaukee gear is letting you down though. I've never seen Dewalt stuff fail from normal use. Not really a Dewalt fan but no complaints. I'm still on the fence about Makita.


 

Yeah, I'm not a fan of DeWalt either but I have yet to hear of one prematurely failing if at all and yes, IMO all drills are meant to be able to handle daily commercial and resi electrical tasks without question or hesitation. This is not Black and Decker we're talking about but a supposed commercially produced, heavy duty capable tool manufacturer and we're not talking about tasks that are spectacular or out of the ordinary but just holes through wood or sheet metal. That plus screws, yadda yadda yadda..and they fail. My firm opinion of Milwaukee is if given to me for free I'd use it but I would never depend on it, I'd never just have that drill on a job. I'd end up out of work if I did that.

My Makita lithium ion hammer drill has never let me down nor do I expect it to anytime soon. Three years and a lot of hard, hard miles on her, even been dropped from over 20' from an extenesion ladder and not a scratch. 

Try Makita bro, you won't be sorry is all I can say. Top notch!


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## nitro71 (Sep 17, 2009)

Roadhouse said:


> Try Makita bro, you won't be sorry is all I can say. Top notch!


And the blue color looks cool:thumbsup:


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## RobTownfold64 (Mar 17, 2011)

Roadhouse said:


> and yes, IMO all drills are meant to be able to handle daily commercial and resi electrical tasks without question or hesitation.


I don't agree with that. Battery operated drills are not made to be drilling out houses 8 hours a day. Just like battery operated hand drills with the hammer drill function aren't made to be hammer drilling all day, it's more of a convenience feature to be used sparingly.


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## HARRY304E (Sep 15, 2010)

Roadhouse said:


> Everything Milwaukee has failed with my electrical contracting company. The hand drills with lithium ion batteries could not cut daily use, the clutches burned out at less than a year old while drilling through studs, normal electrical work. 18 volt and the smaller 12 volts which the 12 volt drills we do not put to heavy use, only for screws and they still are failing now, not catching and turning slow when they do. The voltage detector failed at two weeks in. Waiting for the snake camera to break.
> 
> The only thing that is still working is the Milwaukee hole hog and it is beginning to have trouble too.
> 
> Milwaukee makes hvac tools (such as meters that read temperature) too but no one uses them and I mean no one.


I have never had any problems with the Milwaukee corded tools at all..


And the Milwaukee cordless stuff they are making today i have had no problems with.

The Milwaukee cordless stuff from the 1980's and 1990's were junk..:no:

But the stuff they are making today is Great..:thumbup:

Maybe there is some intentional sabotage going on in your company Guys beating the hell out of the tools because they are not there's


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## randas (Dec 14, 2008)

Go for the big one :thumbup:

You can get it in a kit too, I got the sawzall (also top notch), impact, flashlight, and big hammer drill as a kit.

Going on 3 years and still happy


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## Roadhouse (Oct 16, 2010)

HARRY304E said:


> I have never had any problems with the Milwaukee corded tools at all..
> 
> 
> And the Milwaukee cordless stuff they are making today i have had no problems with.
> ...


 
Seriously Harry? Sabatoge? I use my own tools, all Makita, whether it be hvac or electrical. The Milwaukee is failing in and by the hands of my friend and owner of the electrical company who bought them with his own money. It really pisses him off too, I find it pretty dang funny as his face gets all red like he's been swamboozled by the man.


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## Roadhouse (Oct 16, 2010)

RobTownfold64 said:


> I don't agree with that. Battery operated drills are not made to be drilling out houses 8 hours a day. Just like battery operated hand drills with the hammer drill function aren't made to be hammer drilling all day, it's more of a convenience feature to be used sparingly.


 
Sombody nees to tell Makita that because that is exactly what they have been proven capable of time and again. 

Agreed though, preferably I'd use a corded Bosch hammer drill if I had to drill masonry holes all day but I won't put that task past my Makita.


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## HARRY304E (Sep 15, 2010)

Roadhouse said:


> Seriously Harry? Sabatoge? I use my own tools, all Makita, whether it be hvac or electrical. The Milwaukee is failing in and by the hands of my friend and owner of the electrical company who bought them with his own money. It really pisses him off too, I find it pretty dang funny as his face gets all red like he's been swamboozled by the man.


Ok,,I'm just saying that i have not had any issues with the Milwaukee stuff..


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## nitro71 (Sep 17, 2009)

Sounds like somene else is also using your tools, the boss, you, a helper? I've seen tools of every brand broken due to misuse or pushing the limits of the tool to often. I've seen ancient hole hawgs that are still drilling and tearing off arms on a regular basis.


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## RobTownfold64 (Mar 17, 2011)

Roadhouse said:


> Sombody nees to tell Makita that because that is exactly what they have been proven capable of time and again.


 Sure, and many people do it with Dewalt. Go ask Romex Racer, he has 5 illegals using 18V Dewalt drills with 24" Auger bits to rough houses. 

That still doesn't mean that it's right to do. That's simply not what the drill is made for.


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## tkb (Jan 21, 2009)

RobTownfold64 said:


> I don't agree with that. Battery operated drills are not made to be drilling out houses 8 hours a day. Just like battery operated hand drills with the hammer drill function aren't made to be hammer drilling all day, it's more of a convenience feature to be used sparingly.


The problem is too many morons are using cordless tools all the time.
If you need to hammer drill more than a couple of 1/4" plastic anchors or drill out a whole house, get out the cord and use a real tool.


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## PDX-SPARKY (Mar 5, 2010)

Thanks for the responses guys. I've looked into other brands, in fact everyone else @ the shop uses 18v Dewalt. I know everyone has got their favorites and their horror stories of smoking drills and broken clutches. I've heard the good and bad for just about all of em'. I guess I am just sticking with Milwaukee because thats what Iv'e been using and have had really minimal complaints other than the drill I bought when I started my apprenticeship over 2yrs ago was the cheaper compact drill that is probably a good drill for a HO but not for the jobs we do. So the clutch burnt out of it twice on me, and its time to get some new stuff. I will look into other brands again and weigh out my options.


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## Roadhouse (Oct 16, 2010)

nitro71 said:


> Sounds like somene else is also using your tools, the boss, you, a helper? I've seen tools of every brand broken due to misuse or pushing the limits of the tool to often. I've seen ancient hole hawgs that are still drilling and tearing off arms on a regular basis.


No one outside of the company uses his tools. So that'd be the owner, his brother and sometimes myself. I have never cared for the feel of De Walt or Milwaukeee so I've always used my Makita.


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## Roadhouse (Oct 16, 2010)

RobTownfold64 said:


> Sure, and many people do it with Dewalt. Go ask Romex Racer, he has 5 illegals using 18V Dewalt drills with 24" Auger bits to rough houses.
> 
> That still doesn't mean that it's right to do. That's simply not what the drill is made for.


 
Last year I went to the De Walt store and that is exactly what they said they are made for otherwise they wouldn't have put a hammer on it to begin with. Made sense to me. 

I'm not trying to argue as I've already said I agree that a corded Bosch (or anything) would be better for all day hammering but if the tool advertises it and comes with it than I too believe that is precisely what it is designed for. 

The De Walts we also have have never come across a problem being used all day ouside of the batteries running down and the bits wearing out but that is not De Walts problem. No clutch problems, no nothing but again, I prefer my Makita.


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## Roadhouse (Oct 16, 2010)

I don't about where you guys are but I have a DeWalt store about fifteen minutes notheast of me and a Makita store about fifteen minutes northwest of me. Both stores will repair tools for free or as low cost as possible and usually within one day or give you new ones so it's not a big deal for us down here. Walk in, walk out.


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## McClary’s Electrical (Feb 21, 2009)

It all depends on what you're doing with the tool. I've had many, many jobs that this tool wasn't big enough:


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## Josue (Apr 25, 2010)

mcclary's electrical said:


> It all depends on what you're doing with the tool. I've had many, many jobs that this tool wasn't big enough:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


how much did you pay for that core bit?


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## PDX-SPARKY (Mar 5, 2010)

Definitely wont be doing any core drilling:blink:. Just some concrete work for anchors and your run of the mill remodeling holes in wood framing.


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## tkb (Jan 21, 2009)

Roadhouse said:


> Last year I went to the De Walt store and that is exactly what they said they are made for otherwise they wouldn't have put a hammer on it to begin with. Made sense to me.
> 
> I'm not trying to argue as I've already said I agree that a corded Bosch (or anything) would be better for all day hammering but if the tool advertises it and comes with it than I too believe that is precisely what it is designed for.
> 
> The De Walts we also have have never come across a problem being used all day ouside of the batteries running down and the bits wearing out but that is not De Walts problem. No clutch problems, no nothing but again, I prefer my Makita.


I always believe ever advertisement I see too. :no:


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## McClary’s Electrical (Feb 21, 2009)

Josue said:


> how much did you pay for that core bit?


 

I think around 250 for that one. And around 350 for my 4&3/4" I like the thickwall so if I hit rebar or something the carbide doesn'r get knocked off


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## Josue (Apr 25, 2010)

mcclary's electrical said:


> I think around 250 for that one. And around 350 for my 4&3/4" I like the thickwall so if I hit rebar or something the carbide doesn'r get knocked off


wow??

Where do you get those thickwalled ones?

Or are they the normal core bits?


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## McClary’s Electrical (Feb 21, 2009)

Josue said:


> wow??
> 
> Where do you get those thickwalled ones?
> 
> Or are they the normal core bits?


 

They are normal aas far as I'm concerned. But they make thinwall ones that are cheaper.


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## McClary’s Electrical (Feb 21, 2009)

Josue said:


> wow??
> 
> Where do you get those thickwalled ones?
> 
> Or are they the normal core bits?


 
Oh and I bought them from a local tooling company because he'll sharpen them for me when I need it


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## Josue (Apr 25, 2010)

mcclary's electrical said:


> They are normal aas far as I'm concerned. But they make thinwall ones that are cheaper.


ohhh...........I think I saw those thin walled ones the other day on some site. They looked like made of sheets of metal:laughing:


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## Josue (Apr 25, 2010)

mcclary's electrical said:


> Oh and I bought them from a local tooling company because he'll sharpen them for me when I need it


Dad sharpens his and my bits.:thumbsup:


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## McClary’s Electrical (Feb 21, 2009)

Josue said:


> Dad sharpens his and my bits.:thumbsup:


 

You have to have some diamond stuff to sharpen carbide:thumbsup:


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## Lone Crapshooter (Nov 8, 2008)

That Milwaukee stuff of the 70's and 80's was junk too. Own 2 late 70's 3/8 drills and a 80's early 1/2 Magnum hammer drill had to replace the cords on all of them in the last 2 years. 
In all seriousness I have not had much trouble with Milwaukee corded tools other than the triggers. I would replace them myself no big deal. 
I also have several OLD Black & Decker industrial quality tools no problem with them aether.
When I was working in construction the pipe fitters would get a Milwaukee band saw and power it up from the receptacle on the welder lost several triggers because of that. Fitters would take the rear work rest off first thing out of the box. I think that is a fitter thing. That ruined the saw for everyone else.


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## tkb (Jan 21, 2009)

Lone Crapshooter said:


> That Milwaukee stuff of the 70's and 80's was junk too. Own 2 late 70's 3/8 drills and a 80's early 1/2 Magnum hammer drill had to replace the cords on all of them in the last 2 years.
> In all seriousness I have not had much trouble with Milwaukee corded tools other than the triggers. I would replace them myself no big deal.
> I also have several OLD Black & Decker industrial quality tools no problem with them aether.
> When I was working in construction the pipe fitters would get a Milwaukee band saw and power it up from the receptacle on the welder lost several triggers because of that. Fitters would take the rear work rest off first thing out of the box. I think that is a fitter thing. That ruined the saw for everyone else.



Are you really complaining that you had to replace a cord on a drill that was 30-40 years old?

That makes all Milwaukee tools junk?


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## jefft110 (Jul 7, 2010)

Someone's sarcasm meter needs calibration.


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## tkb (Jan 21, 2009)

Yea I guess mine is off. 
I was reading on the phone and didn't read it right.


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## Lone Crapshooter (Nov 8, 2008)

Yes that is pure sarcasms. I have always looked on Milwaukee tools as first class. I can remember when Milwaukee had very limited distribution I was told many years ago the reason for that was they were owned by some religious group and they were very particular who they there distributors were( that was in the early 70's) From that a company by the name of Amstar ??? owned them for a wile. I think that same company owned South Bend Lathes. 
I still think they are a good tool however I do not like battery tools I have expressed my feelings before on that subject and ALL keyless chuck are junk


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## Josue (Apr 25, 2010)

mcclary's electrical said:


> You have to have some diamond stuff to sharpen carbide:thumbsup:


ohhh.......................

Well, I've seen him sharpen concrete bits, I think they are tungsten carbide tipped. And I know they are sharper.:laughing:


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