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V18, Compact Driver/Drill Kit, Compact Size With A Lightweight Design, Battery Fuel Gauge Displays Remaining Run Time, Li-Ion Manganese Chemistry Provides Fade Free Power Until End Of Charge, Superior Bit Grip With Yukiwa Chuck For Greater Bit Grip & Longer Life, Built In Led Light Illuminates Work Area, Metal Gear Box For Added Durability, Kit Includes Driver/Drill, 2- 18V Li-Ion Battery Packs, 30 Minute Charger & Carrying Case.
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Technical Details
- Heavy-duty 2-speed metal gear box- Compact motor delivers 400 inch-pounds of maximum torque
- Built-in LED light illuminates work surfaces
- Lightweight at 4-pounds
- Superior bit grip with Yukiwa chuck
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By Michael Winters
We use a lot of drills and periodically switch to new models when we believe (and validate through our testing) that a new model may provide better performance on the job site. We used to go through a lot of NiCad battery packs during the year and would regularly send off the Milwaukee's in particular off to get rebuilt by a company that specializes in battery rebuilds. With the switch to lithium-ion we first bought Makita drills because they were the first to start offering them.
With the Makita drills we found that parts were often left out of kits and had to be special ordered like bit holders and belt clips, the case designs were sturdy even if a bit crude, the clutches were average (neither great nor bad) and the drills themselves were very light even though a bit underpowered compared to the 18 volt NiCad battery powered Milwaukee drills we had been using.
We have supplied our guys with both the Milwaukee 2601 drills and the Milwaukee 2611 hammer drills. Overall the 2601 is great for what we need it to do - i.e. light to medium duty jobs where we like its light weight and excellent design. Milwaukee has without a doubt the best drill chuck for general use and the smoothest clutch action. The half size lithium-ion batteries charge in more time than the Makita but we have been replacing them with the full size batteries which take about the same amount of time to charge.
The RPM ranges are better than most and the high speed range works well even when drilling through steel which in the past was when we would get out a cord drill. For high torque applications the lack of a side handle makes the drill difficult to control as is the case with all such drills. The new Milwaukee drills with side handles are designed to have to be attached at a 90 degree angle (same new feature or defect is found with the new Ridgid drills) which is a lot less useful than the ones that can be set at any angle as on the DeWalt, Makita, and Bosch drills we have used.
The charger has lights that indicate the charge state of the battery and is a little confusing at first. Why every manufacturer has their own thoughts about how to indicate a battery is charging or fully charged is beyond me. Some have a red light that flashes to indicate the battery is charging, others to indicate it has fully charged, and others to indicate that the battery has a defect. A nice feature on the Milwaukee charger is a plug end that accepts another plug so you can have the charger plugged into an extension cord or outlet and still plug in something else at the same time. There is also room in the case to have the power cord for the charger sitting underneath it in the case.
Being able to tell the approximate charge level of the battery by pressing a raised area on the battery is handy and likely to help prolong the battery life if you don't keep recharging batteries that do not really need a recharge. I have read different manufacturer's recommendations with regard to recharging their batteries but the consensus seems to be that it is best to bring the battery to full charge before storing it away until the next use.
When I bought our first drill with an LED light it seemed like a trivial feature. Now I would be hard pressed to buy a drill without one. So much nicer to be in a crawlspace or in an attic or just working at dusk and be able to see what you are doing without having to use a headlight or have a flashlight in your mouth. The Milwaukee 2601 LED has a very broad which is an additional refinement that you may never notice or find very useful, but it is there if you need it and further evidence of the thought Milwaukee's product engineers put into the drill.
These are some of the details that manufacturers continue to leave out of the manuals and don't even bother to provide on their websites as downloadable PDF files. Instead we get the very spartan bits of information in 3 or 4 languages. I have yet to find recommended RPM ranges that are truly useful from any of the drill companies. They all recommend high speed for drilling small holes and low speed for large holes as though that really covers it. Even the clutch setting are a trial and error process which seems unnecessary. Does a setting of 10 provide twice the slippage of a 20 setting - who knows and is willing to tell.
The kit case is the best thought out design of any on the market and far better than the ones from Makita and DeWalt and Hitachi. Why you can spend $200-400 on a kit and get a lousy case is another peeve of mine. With the Milwaukee case design everything has an obvious home and even if the case bounces around in the back of the truck everything inside is protected. There is even a fair amount of room for spare bits or a countersink set.
I liked that the drill came with a good belt clip and bit holder. First time I have bought a kit where everything that showed on the side of the packaging was actually included with the kit. Usually the clips and belt holders are left off and I have to decide whether it is worth spending another $30 to special order the parts from Makita or Milwaukee. It is also a good belt clip and not like the one that Hitachi design that I never used.
Drill power is good for a drill of this size and weight and so long as you use modern bits and hole cutters with it you will be happy with its performance. I have used the drill to quickly cut 6-1/4" holes in Advantech and plywood subflooring and although it is not the best drill for this particular job it shows what can be done with the right hole cutter (in this case a Blue Boar TCT though even the Big Hawgs make a big difference in performance).
BLUE BOAR 6-1/4" (159mm) Self-Feed TCT 2-1/4" deep multipurpose Tungsten Carbide hole cutter outperforms self-feed bits & bi-metal hole saws. Cut wood, MDF, OSB, laminates, Hardie & chipboard, plaster, drywall, brick, Formica
I have used this drill to make 4" holes through stucco and OSB sheathing in less than a minute using a special TCT Stucco bit which again shows that the proper hole cutter is important for good performance with cordless drills. Lots of people I know show up at a job site with a half dozen spare batteries when all they really need to do ins invest in some modern hole cutters and high performance drills. Toss your bi-metal holes saws or relegate them for use only on steel panel and you will be a lot happier with the performance of whatever cordless drill you have now or end up buying in the future. Had we realized the performance difference we would have stayed with our NiCad drills a lot longer.
With Lithium-ion drills there is a safety circuit that is designed to cut power to the drill motor and LED in high draw situations to keep the battery from overheating. The downside is that drill times can easily double especially when the wrong torque range or speed setting is used or you start cutting too fast and forcing the bit or hole cutter into the work piece. Good technique that is adjusted for the particular drill is important with brute force providing poor results that are more the fault of the worker than the drill.
Just be aware that the drill manufacturers have not agreed on a standard testing procedure much less one that would accurately reflect real world use of their cordless drills. It is even more of a joke with the lithium-ion drills where the ratings don't reflect the real power output that can be obtained before the overload protection cuts power to the drill motor. With the Hitachi and Makita drills the drilling time is often double that of other powers in their class and I have little doubt that the problem is due to their overly conservative lithium-ion overload settings.
So far the chucks on our drills have been holding up very well and runout does not seem to be a problem. With the older Milwaukees drill runout was above average and not in the same class as the Bosch drills. Time will tell if the Milwaukee chucks hold up better but if you want the ultimate in smoothness for precision drilling the Bosch drills are worth considering even with their 2-speed gear box limitation (shared by the Milwaukee drills.
The biggest limitations of this drill are the lack of a 3rd speed range and the lack of a side handle, both of which together limit the kinds of jobs you can take on with this drill. But for light to medium tasks the light weight and refinement of the Milwaukee 2601 drills makes them the ones I tend to reach for first. The lightweight Makita drills are very good but the new Milwaukee 2601 drills are just plain better in every way.
With corded drills one had the 3/8" light to medium duty drills and the 1/2" reduced speed high torque wrist breakers to choose from. Now with lithium-ion cordless drills you can often do jobs that in the past meant hauling out the 1/2" stud drill and a 100 foot extension cord so long as you match the drill and the cutters and bits to the job. And don't expect one drill to be both super powerful and lightweight and compact. No free lunch as they say and there are always trade offs with any choice.
For light to medium duty tasks the Milwaukee is better than any other driver drill we have owned, and that includes 18 volt lithium-ion powered ones from Makita, DeWalt, Hitachi, Bosch, and Ridgid. For heavy duty tasks we always reach for the somewhat less sophisticated but amazingly powerful DeWalt DCD970 with its 3-speed gear box and the fastest charging lithium-ion batteries available today.
The good news is that even the worst lithium-ion powered drills are better than their NiCad predecessors in holding a charge for months at a time and providing excellent run times so long as they are not overloaded. The new lithium-ion batteries are likely to last through at least 4 times as many recharge cycles and last years longer than the NiCad battery packs and without the memory problems that often disabled NiCads, and in particular those from Milwaukee. Just save some dollars for new hole cutters and modern drill bits (like the Blue Boar TCT high performance hole cutters, Milwaukee's Big Hawg cutters, and new Bosch Rapid Feed spade bits).
BLUE BOAR TUH14-14 Piece Super Duty Universal Tungsten Carbide TCT Hole Saw kit with 2-1/4" cutting depth cuts more materials than other hole saws. Hard RA90-91 carbide teeth cut faster & last longer, ultra deep side gullets for faster plug removal
BOSCH 3/4" Bosch RapidFeed Spade Bit Part No. SB1009
Hard to appreciate but I have cut 2" holes in 7/8" MDF with a brand new Lenox bi-metal carbide tipped hole saw and it took more than 40 seconds to cut the hole, another couple minutes to knock out the piece of MDF, and 30 plus minutes to get the Milwaukee battery back to a full charge level. With a Blue Boar TCT hole cutter the same size I made multiple holes in the same piece of MDF and each hole took 4 seconds, the cut pieces of MDF just fell out onto the ground so I could start cutting the next hole and I ran out of MDF long before the battery ran out of power. I saw some great video clips on the Hole Pro website showing similar results but I like to do my own testing even if the outcome is the same.
By howie (el segundo ca)
I do not have good luck with things that recharge, but this is the best ever!, the batteries charge very quick and last a long time, very smooth, i got hooked on the 18volt milwaukee, and now have alot!! you will be happy!!
By M. Palka
Let me start off by saying that this would be a very good drill if the batteries weren't so terrible. I received this drill from my boss as a replacement after my 18 volt 1.5A lithium-ion Makita drill (which I owned for approximately 1.5 years) got stolen at a job site. In this review I will be comparing the two drills. I am a carpenter and I use my drills everyday to install kitchen cabinets and various other projects. This drill is a little heavier and shorter than the Makita. The storage case for this drill is very nice and sturdy. The Makita case feels a little flimsy but it hasn't fallen apart on me during the 1.5 years that I owned the drill. One nice feature about the Milwaukee drill is that it comes with a belt hook and bit storage holder. With the Makita you have to buy those separately on ebay or from Makita parts center. This is a minor thing but it's worth mentioning. I liked how on the Makita drill the light stays on for about 6 seconds after releasing the trigger. On the Milwaukee the light goes off as soon as you let go of the trigger. Now onto the most important part, battery life. The batteries on this drill aren't even in the same league as the Makita batteries. The Makita batteries last about twice as long and provide much more power and torque to the drill. The Makita drill comes with a 15 minute charger while this Milwaukee drill comes with a 30 minute charger. In my opinion the Makita 18 volt drill is hands down the best drill in it's class on the market. I also highly recommend the new Bosch 18v lithium ion drill. My co-worker owns one and I had a chance to use it a few times and was very impressed, but I still prefer Makita by a slight margin. The Makita drill is a little more expensive but you get what you pay for. If you are a homeowner that has a few small projects every now and then, then the Milwaukee drill might be ok for you but for someone that uses their drill everyday I would consider spending the extra money for the Makita drill. I know I will.
By Jack L. Place (Greeneville, TN United States)
This is great drill made for a company with a great history of quality made American products, but it is not American made. I bought one without thought of where it was made because like most of us assumed a Milwaukee would be American made. As above, it's a great drill, but how many more years will we be able to buy these, if there is no longer any American industry. I'm as guilty as anybody, but we are going to have to start insisting on American made consumer choices if we are to reconstruct our economy. We have nearly completely exported or economy and our tax base. When the government wants more taxes where will we get the money since corporations have moved both their manufacturing and bookkeeping offshore?
By J. Walk
Bought this one after some research and price comparisons. Have used the drill for one big project so far, worked great. Has plenty of power, I like the variable clutch, high and low speed ranges plus variable speed, the clutch is super easy to add or remove bits, the batteries charge in about twenty minutes and the charger has a built-in light display to show charge status as you recharge. Also pretty light weight for the power it puts out. Only negative would be it's a little loud if you're holding right at ear-level, but not enough to make me stop working or put on earplugs.
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