One of my rotary tools recently stopped working and the maker hasn't responded to my multiple warranty request emails, so I'm thinking of getting the Milwaukee M12 rotary tool to replace it. It retails for $89 at Home Depot for the tool alone and $119 for a kit with a battery, charger and case.
A quick search yielded the by now well-known hackable Home Depot combo deal with the M12 hammer drill & impact driver kit as the base kit and the rotary tool as the "free" extra tool. Order both, immediately cancel the base kit, and the rotary tool ends up costing you $64.09 + tax.
But I tried out some other combinations and found one that brought the hacked rotary tool price down to $59.44, nearly $5 lower. Not a huge amount but still something. Basically, instead of the drill/driver kit, use this kit as the base kit and choose the rotary tool as the extra tool, order both, then cancel the base kit immediately:
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Milwa.../205145430
I couldn't find any other combo that brought the price even lower, but if anyone knows of one, please post it here and I'll update the deal.
This hackable deal also applies to the 3 other "free" extra tools you can chose, as well as to the base kit:
M12 Ratchet: $81.31
M12 3/8 in. Right Angle Drill: $63.74
M12 Oscillating Multi-Tool $59.44
M12 Fuel Hackzall Reciprocating Saw Kit w/ 4.0Ah Battery, Charger & Tool Bag: $97.69 (Pick the ratchet as the "free" tool to get this price)
Note that only the tool in the base kit, the Hackzall, is Fuel and thus brushless. The other 4 tools are non-Fuel and brushed.
Btw, does anyone here own this tool and how do you like it? It's brushed, but there's only one brushless rotary tool in this price range that I know of, a Dremel, but I'm into the M12 system at this point and prefer to remain within it. And I'm not a "power" rotary tool user. I use it mostly to clean up rust and crud from hard to reach places on auto parts and occasionally cut off a bolt, but no fine metal or woodwork. $60 is a bit more than I'd like to pay for such a tool but I cheaped out last time and got what I paid for. Milwaukee offers a 5 year warranty and there's a walk-in authorized Milwaukee repair center just a few miles from here.
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I'll eventually find a fix and get it working again, but I can't rely on this tool anymore, plus the motor's really cheap with what appear to be steel or aluminum windings instead of copper, and there's only one bearing, near the front, so the shaft has some play at the rear. Not even a cheap bushing back there. Crap design.
I'm posting all this so folks should know why it's best to avoid cheaper tools as these are the sorts of internal weaknesses that eventually cause them to fail even if they look and work great initially. I'm not saying that this Milwaukee is that much better, in fact some reports are that it's not the greatest design either and will eventually fail. But they offer a 5 year warranty that they seem to honor, while no-name China-based makers don't seem to honor their 1 or 2 year theoretical warranties, as has been my experience. And Milwaukee's weakest tools are probably still much better than no-name makers' best tools.
Anyway, I think I'll pick one up today. If it seems like crap I can just return it. Btw is Dremel's brushless tool, which I believe is the only brushless cordless rotary tool made, high quality, and better than this Milwaukee brushed tool?
I've had M18/M18 Fuel and now M12 tools, and they've all been fantastic. I dropped my M18 drill off a 3rd-story balcony onto landscaping stones, and it's still worked great for years afterwards. I guess I'll take my chances. Maybe Milwaukee has found the source of the issues and fixed them by now.
Edit: I read a bunch of reviews, and the vast majority are quite positive. HD shows both their reviews and Milwaukee's, and I see 4.5 stars, which is quite good. Out of 1285 reviews, over 1100 of them are 4 or 5 stars. Every product has defects from time to time. Maybe you were just unlucky and got two bad ones in a row.
As far as the reviews, there are tons of them about the rotary tool just suddenly failing. Star ratings are meaningless when it comes to product reviews anymore with how skewed they can get due to "i received this as part of a promotion, i haven't opened it yet but its 5 stars from what i can tell!!"
If you get a good one, great!!! Its a great tool when it works but just don't say you weren't warned is all. i'd have a backup plan ready if you are going to rely on this thing to complete a project (like an old corded dremel or something).
But then again as Einstein says, nature abhors a vacuum 🤑. Maybe I'll find a use for the tool if I had it. Try to convince me 😝
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https://www.etsy.com/listing/7638..._purchas
https://www.etsy.com/listing/7638..._purchas
...Whoops, I just realized that for this to work the rod would have to be hollow for the 1/8" mandrel to fit into. It's not enough for the collet to thread onto it. The problem there is that it might not be strong enough to fit tightly into the grinder's 1/4" collet and could get crushed. The right way to do this is to use unthreaded 1/4" rod and leave on half as is and the other externally threaded and internally hollow. That would require a drill press or such, which I don't have. That's why it costs $20. Lots of precision machining.
I suppose that I could try to hold the rod in a vice and carefully drill out the center, with a rotary tool held very steady and lots of cutting oil. Maybe even use the router-like attachment that came with my other rotary tool that holds the bit perfectly vertical, over a board with a cutout hole.
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