Milwaukee M12 2550-20
2 reviews
This unit is awesome – Recently with covid causing all sorts of havoc, I was asked to take over and oversee the in-house assembly workshop. Whilst cleaning up the mess that was left by the former occupants, literally this was the most disorganised, cluttered, cesspool of a hoarders den I have ever been charged with sorting out. That is saying something because I have 4… Read more
teenagers. Anyway, I discovered that one of the compressors was in dire need of repairs and servicing. There was an ecosystem growing inside the tank and airlines because no one ever drained it. The smaller compressor expelled 7 litres of oily water so you can only imagine what horrors lay dormant inside this one.
After isolating the unit I saw these advertised, my wife went down to Sydney tools to acquire one of these units for myself to use at work. The first impression when you open a new tool is instant infatuation, I can assure you that this was no different. I noticed how heavy the unit is and thought it might become an issue. When you are used to a lighter gun weighed down by wrestling with an air hose you don’t notice the additional weight of the battery unit. It feels heavier, but having complete freedom in movement is actually easier to work with. The unit is also nicely balanced and that plays a big part in preventing fatigue throughout the day.
Most days I can easily pull over a thousand rivets with this unit. I’ve noticed that with the smaller mandrels it has the real potential to jam. The operator needs to ensure that the mandrel has fallen into the collector before setting the next rivet. Once I had confirmed my operator error, this issue vanished. The tips have coloured bands that not only indicate the size of the mandrel, but are also used to hold the small bearing in place. This small bearing is what holds the rivet in place and then prevents the mandrel from being ejected forward. It really is an ingenious system. Runtime is really great, I usually get a half a day out of a 1.5ah battery with constant use. The unit is easy to clean and service too. I really can’t say anything negative about this unit.
How did I ever get by without one? – I am sixty. I work as a maintenance carpenter and have found in the past few years that I am losing strength in my hands. One of the jobs I have to do reasonably frequently is rivet expanded aluminium mesh to security doors. They take about fifty rivets per door. My strength has deteriorated to the point where I can no longer squeeze a 3.2mm… Read more
aluminium rivet single handedly with a standard riveting plier, I have to do it two handed. Recently I was in Total Tools and saw that they had these skins on sale for AU$253.00. I thought, to hell with it. I can't justify the expense any more than I can afford it, but I bought it anyway. I am really pleased that I did. It makes such light work of popping fifty rivets that I sort of want to do another door, just for the pleasure of having rivets being set at the press of a button.
The tool. It is bloody heavy. Bloody heavy. The sort of heavy which you know means that it could re-enter Earth's atmosphere and hit the ground with barely a scratch. The nose piece is longer than on a standard manual gun which makes popping rivets on shower screen up against a tiled wall easier. It will pull 4mm SS rivets with ease. Far greater ease than I can manage with two hands. It has also increased my productivity. I haven't timed it but I think that I am about two and a half times faster per rivet than with a manual plier. I am certainly less tired and that in itself is a good thing.
It is a very well made tool, very robust. I haven't had any problems with it though I shouldn't have given that I have only set about 200 rivets with is thus far. One thing you do trade in speed and ease though is in the weight. At 2kg it is very heavy for its size. I would not want to have to use one overhead in a tight space for very long. But then I would not want to have to try and use two hands overhead in a tight space to try and set a rivet either.I can highly recommend this tool to anyone who, like myself, has poor hand strength, who sets a lot of rivets, is in danger of RSI or carpal tunnel syndrome or who just likes well made tools which do exactly the job they are designed to do and do it well.
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