Ryobi beats Milwaukee

[erikrs]

Milwaukee is the biggest POS drill I have ever tried, and I have tried them all. I bought the 18 volt hammerdrill recently just to check it out and I absolutely could not believe how poorly it performed - it couldnt hold the bit to save its pathetic life and the motor actually started smoking after just a few seconds of drilling into concrete. Convinced I bought a defective drill, I took it back after 10 minutes of "usage" to Home Depot and returned to the worksite with a new one, which to my amazement acted exactly like the first! and to think this "product" is priced similarly to Dewalt, Makita and Ridgid (exchanged it for the 18 volt hammerdrill, which I am very happy with so far), absolutely unbelievable.

[woodslayer]

Don’t know how to reply to that one, Milwaukee has a long-standing reputation of manufacturing world-class drills and to get two defective ones is highly unlikely but anything is possible. I only own four Milwaukee tools and I haven’t been able to kill them, matter of fact, they all perform terrific and I wouldn’t hesitate to spend my money on more Milwaukee products.

Woodslayer

[chic]

Out of most of the cordless drills i fix i think that milw. are built the best.the transmission and clutch assembly are solid as for the motors there are very good but as corless goes most of the motors are good unless you are buying a cheap drill then you pay for what you get.donot see much ryobi and when i have they all have been a piece of junk.now for the ridgid dont see much since hd swaps out most of them for new ones. now that the same co. owns ryobi,the ridgid powertool line only and milw,i think that you are going to see that they will start to incorperate some of the milw. tech on the other two.mabey ridgids line of corded tools will start to look a little like milwaukees instead of dewalt and metabo.

[chic]

By the way erikrs,there is a tool forum for milw. were you can vent.they have tech support people that read the forum and just maybe there was a problem with some of the motors on the tool you are upset about.

[plumber]

Okay I believe that ryobi is better than Milwaukee i just returned from a trip with Aliens and they said so. :rolleyes:

[swoosh81]

I needed a good laugh thanks guys!!

[adana]

Why would you not breakin a brand new drill ?

The brushes have not seated to the armature and your pounding on it wondering why it smokes.

It's good practice to always run your new tools with no load to allow the brushes to seat properly before heavy use.

Just a tip. The next time one buys a oil bath air compressor do the same thing. Break it in for half an hour with the drain valve open, then change the oil (which by this time is pure black with metal filings).

Your compressor will last much longer, gauranteed.

Cheers
Glenn

[plumbdog10]

Milwaukee is the biggest POS drill I have ever tried, and I have tried them all. I bought the 18 volt hammerdrill recently just to check it out and I absolutely could not believe how poorly it performed - it couldnt hold the bit to save its pathetic life and the motor actually started smoking after just a few seconds of drilling into concrete. Convinced I bought a defective drill, I took it back after 10 minutes of "usage" to Home Depot and returned to the worksite with a new one, which to my amazement acted exactly like the first! and to think this "product" is priced similarly to Dewalt, Makita and Ridgid (exchanged it for the 18 volt hammerdrill, which I am very happy with so far), absolutely unbelievable.

I have used Milwaukee tools, and every other one for years. I have found Milwaukee to be the best. I would take your advice, but for the following:

I have a problem taking advice from someone who claims to use tools, but does not list their occupation, on their profile.

[hewood]

My Milwaukee router is about the sturdiest tool in the shop. They're one of the number one names amongst people who use and abuse their tools daily. I'd guess your "test" was less than scientific and bit inconclusive to warrant what many feel is an off the wall statement. Not doubting you had some trouble, but am definitely challenging the thread title.

[mtburdick]

I have to disagree with that comment. Milwalkee , Ryobi , Ridgid are all made by TTI. Milwalkee is the cadilac of theyre tools. Especially the 28volt. The Ridgid is the Tradesmans version of theyres and the Ryobi is for Joeblow the home owner. I belive all theyre tools are great personally.

[BigThom]

Milwaukees' corded tools are among the best. I would put Milwaukee and Bosch as the only tools in the top category. The cordless tools are not as well built as the corded. They have parts that break easily and their warranty, aside from being a lie, is crap.

If one believes (as I do) that ethics and attitude start at the top (as I do) then one would accept that this extends across all their tool lines (rigid and ryobi). The buyout of Milwaukee was probably a big negative for quality.

I'm not sure that any of the cordless tools are better. They all have their failing. I'm hoping/expecting the new Bosch line of Lithium Ion tools will be primo. We'll have to wait and see.

My tools are professionally abused. Replacement is a regular thing.

[Jim Lang]

I agree that Milwaukee tools beat Ryobi and Ridgid.............for now, but I saw an article in the paper that Milwaukee is moving cordless tool production from the US to the same Chinese plant the Ryobi and Ridgid come from. They are claiming "ecomonies of scale". Let's wait and see if the "Red Ryobi" are as good as those formerly made in the US.

[tkholck]

Okay I believe that ryobi is better than Milwaukee i just returned from a trip with Aliens and they said so. :rolleyes:

Agree that RYOBI makes some priced right tools but better than Milwaukee, whoa that's a kick in the pants.

[BigThom]

Don't forget, Ryobi and Milwaukee are made by the same company. Maybe that's why Milwaukee's cordless tools went down hill.

[sluggo85024]

I know you are talking about cordless hammer drills, but I had to tell all of you this. I have a Milwaukee corded Hammer drill that I bought used from a pawn shop for $10, and it needed a cord. Bought a cord, and it is the best $30 I have spent in years.

[CheekyMonkeyWrench]

I agree that Milwaukee tools beat Ryobi and Ridgid.............for now, but I saw an article in the paper that Milwaukee is moving cordless tool production from the US to the same Chinese plant the Ryobi and Ridgid come from. They are claiming "ecomonies of scale". Let's wait and see if the "Red Ryobi" are as good as those formerly made in the US.


economies of scale....perhaps the correct economic term is comparative advantage.

or is that just a euphamism for slave labor wages :)

[Bob D.]

"Ryobi and Milwaukee are made by the same company."

Not exactly, the Ryobi and Milwaukee companies are both owned by the same parent corporation, TTI. Milwaukee only recently having been bought up by TTI. If Big Red is TTI's cadillac line as someone else said, it's like buying your way into the big leagues instead of working your way up. TTI had nothing to do with the excellent product that Milwaukee produces and the solid reputation Milwaukee has among tradesmen and other professionals as the best power tools on the planet, they just "bought the company" cause they new a good thing when they saw it. Their only problem will be when they try to take that overseas and continue the loyal following that Big Red now enjoys. I, for one, will not buy a Milwaukee tool made elsewhere.

Why? The price will not go down, but their profit will rise, and a few thousand of your fellow Americans will be without a job.

The way I see it it's like this;

If you don't want to pay $3/gallon and be at the mercy of the Arabs, build more nukes and other alternative energy sources, and demand vehicles that get higher mileage from Detroit. Places like CA where they want green power but aren't willing to have a generating facility in their backyard, bt power generated from fossil plants outside their state borders is OK (someone else eating the fumes of your 'green power' is OK huh?) Not picking on CA, there are plenty of other instances around the country.

If you want good power tools and home grown tech support then you got to be willing to pay what it costs to have them made here by your neighbors right here in the USA and for the telephone to ring here and not overseas.

Not all my tools are made in the US, but as many as I can find that meet my requirements with respect to useability, quality, and price are, and those that are not I am always looking for good, US made replacements so I can do away with the foreign made stuff, not matter where it is from (except for our good friends to the North, Canada)

Nomex is on, fire at will :-)

[BigThom]

I have a truckfull of milwaukee tools, have been a fan of their corded tools for 30 years. The cordless are a different matter. They just don't hold up. I replaced my 4 bosc cordless drills with milwaukees. The milwaukees just don't hold up. The switches break, the chucks are cheap, the batteries are crap, the chargers are crap, and milwaukee's warranty is a lie. In their words, if the tool was ever used, the break/failure is wear related and not warrantable. This is even true with bat chargers.

It's to bad, but that great old company that was Milwaukee is just another junk-tool manufacturer.

[CWSmith]

One of the very unfortunate things about far too many American-owned companies is that they are more interested in quarterly profit reports than they are quality and long-term business relationships. For most American companies, it isn't enough to make a profit; the focus is on accounting numbers and big money for the top executives.

With almost 40 years of experience with one of the great American manufacturers, I've watched my company do everything it could to wring the life out of its workforce and it's production equipment, for nothing more than increased quarterly profits.

Bonuses to top management depend on those numbers and for them nothing else matters. Year after year I've seen orders pulled out of December, January and February to be pushed out the door at any cost by the end of November so the numbers would look great. Then employees would be reduced during the holidays, so the labor numbers would appear minimal. End result was poor quality (we don't want it right, we want it Tuesday!), and employees on the unemployment line, and holiday festivities darkened for far too many families. But management got it's bonuses and Wall Street got it's numbers, so everything was great.

Over a decade ago we ventured into manufacturing in Asia. The problem was that most of Asia wanted "made in America". But oh no, can't have that, we don't make enough profit, so now most of what is produced is in Asia, even if some of it has to be shipped back here for "special" projects. The results are that, the original business as been sold off to an investment company, we employ less than a third of what we did forty years ago. Many buidings have been sold or reduced to rubble to reduce the tax burden, and the great American company, now has it's official address in the Cayman's because, as the parent CEO said, it saves over $80 million in Federal taxes each year.

Hey, this is an "American" company with American executives!

TTI only recently purchased Milwaukii, but as illustrated by a couple of the recent posts, the company's quality was already being sacrificed along with it's dedication to it's customers. When the squeeze can't produce more profit off the back of it's employees, American companies have a tendency to cut and run. It's not that we can't compete, it's really more a case where the top executives and the increasing self-centered stock holder will sacrifise anything and anybody for short-term gains.

So while it's really easy to beat up on TTI and other Asian companies, I think we forget what has happened. For example, in the automobile industry, while everyone stands around screaming for more money, the business has deteriorated. Ford and GM are faltering badly, but the top execs are doing okay. Chrysler, well their not an American company anymore, are they? But Toyota, Hyundai, and Nissan are doing well... including the many U.S. companies and their employees that are now owned by those giants. Yet does one realize that the "Big Three" in China are... '"GM, Ford, and Chrysler". They make a good profit there too and thier Chinese cars generally get better mileage, albeit without all the American frills. And, Chinese workers are now being paid enough to buy those cars as well as homes. They don't pay for education and health care, the government provides that... it's almost like America was in the early 50's, with the exception of education and healthcare of course.

While we complain about the loss of American jobs (and I'm one), we should realize that TTI wasn't even thought of 40 years ago. How is it they not only are one of the largest global manufacturers, but they now own companies, like Ryobi, Homelite, Royal, and yes, even Milwaukii. Surely you can't believe its because of all the "slave" labor. Likewise, it's not because the American worker screwed up either. Try looking at your government and the fat cat top execs that focused more on their "golden parachutes" than on their loyalty to their country and their employees and their customers. You might also want to ask your Congressman and your Senator, why our jobs are less important to the country's welfare, than it's own trade policies?

CWS

[JimDon]

Dear CWSmith,
Well said my friend. Well said. In a nutshell you've summed up a lot of what is wrong with corporate America. In an even shorter statement it is simply 'corporate greed.' They no longer look at the long range of 25 or 50 years or 100 years out. They just look at the immediate gratification of the quarterly profit. I.E. look at what Ken Lay and that other corporate raider Skilling did to Enron.
Do you know what 100 dead bean counters on the bottom of Lake Michigan is?

A good START!

Jim Don

[Bob D.]

"Try looking at your government and the fat cat top execs that focused more on their "golden parachutes" than on their loyalty to their country and their employees and their customers. You might also want to ask your Congressman and your Senator, why our jobs are less important to the country's welfare, than it's own trade policies?"

Couldn't have said it any better CWS. It was all good, but this last is right on the mark.