Bare-Tool Milwaukee 2611-20 18-Volt Hammer Drill
- 18-Volt XC high capacity lithium-ion battery delivers longer life and run-time
- Milwaukee 4-pole frameless motor maximizes tool efficiency to increase run-time
- 1/2-Inch single-sleeve ratcheting metal chuck with carbide jaws and Variable speed trigger
- On-board battery fuel gauge displays remaining run-time and Built-in LED Light illuminates work surface
- Belt clip allows for easy portability
Product Description
The 2611 Hammerdrill/driver delivers revolutionary power, run time and ergonomics. The Milwaukee 4-pole frameless motor generates a best-in-class 650 in.-lbs. of torque to meet the application rigors of the jobsite. The 2611 incorporates an easy to use 1/2in. single-sleeve ratcheting metal chuck with carbide jaws for maximum grip. Max. Torque (in.-lbs.): 650, Volts: 18, Speed – No Load (RPM): 0 – 450, Chuck Size (in.): 1/2, Keyless Chuck: Yes, Reversible: Yes, Variable Speed: Yes, Side Handle: Yes, Battery Included: No, Charger Included: No, Case Included: No, Tool Length (in.): 9 1/4, Tool Weight (lbs.): 5.3 (w/battery)… More >>
Bare-Tool Milwaukee 2611-20 18-Volt Hammer Drill
The new M18 2611-20 model has some advances over prior models in all but one regard, the side handle. The new side handle design makes for a slightly more compact unit but it cannot the adjusted 360 degrees the way you could with the older V18 hammer drills. This was definitely a step backwards.
The battery life is excellent but you have to charge them until the green light on the charger lights up. There are 4 red battery charge status bars on the battery pack but when all 4 are lit up the pack is not really fully charged – a mistake I made the first time I used the drill and as a result the charge life was not very good. This is the first charge I have seen there the plug at the end is designed to still provide another plug in spot for another tool so one can plug in the charger and another device on the end of a extension cord or into a wall outlet. IBM was using this plug end 30 years ago and it was nice to see it implemented by Milwaukee’s product people.
The clutch mechanism on the chuck takes some getting used to and if you try to hand tighten the chuck by applying power to the drill it will not tighten fully. The drill is designed to protect the user so it has a neutral or lock position on the trigger switch and then you can tighten the chuck which slips a bit and you can hear the clutch ratcheting (at least that is the impression as to what is happening under the covers). This lock position is required for changing from hammer to drill to screw mode with the drill.
The case is a sturdy one which I always find with Milwaukee products and wish Dewalt would follow suit instead of often making its customers spend another $40 to buy one of the cheaply built DeWalt cases. A flaw of the Milwaukee case is that the designer was being a bit too cute in making everything fit snug in its own recess and so there is no space left over for screw or drill bits or any other accessories. This is where Bosch excels with its cases for its drills and its hole saws.
This drill has a integral LED light that goes on automatically when the trigger is depressed. Until you have used a drill with this feature it is hard to appreciate how nice it is to have and and how many places it makes it easier to spot a drill location or find the head of a screw. I now buy only cordless drills with the built in LED lights, which are also found on the Bosch and Makita drills but seem to be absent with the Hitachi and DeWalt drills – even the high end lithium-ion powered models.
One place where Milwaukee follows in the misguided footsteps of Makita is in showing their drills with belt clip and bit holders and then leaving them out of their $700 retail kits. You have to contact their service department and order a belt clip, 2 screws, a washer, and the bit holder as separate part numbers and they have a $25 minimum order or a separate order processing charge in addition to the charges for shipping and handling. So the customer shells out $25 in order to save Milwaukee $0.50 in part costs for its kits. Makita does the same thing with its lithium-ion drill kits and it is a sad day when the bean counters prevail over the product managers at a company. It would be nice if Makita and Milwaukee at least provided a kit one could buy at the same store as the drill that had theses parts and charged people $5-6 and minimized the aggravation.
The hammer action works very well and appears to be a good contender with the excellent Bosch hammer drills. One thing that is missing is a depth stop which was also available on Bosch and Makita hammer drills. It is a real time saver to be able to drill to a specific depth and know it at a glance. This is another area there the new design introduced some new flaws with the tool. The best design in this regard is the one used by Bosch for its hammer drills where the depth stop is integrated into the handle so its position can rotate along with the side handle. The depth stop and the side handle is often shown in pictures of Makita hammer drills but neither are included with the drills and need to be ordered and purchased later.
The chuck on this hammer action model holds well for hammering but will loosen when using large 7/16″ drill shafts with the hammer action or even with it turned off. It may be the new clutch design as I have not experienced this with other hammer drills in the past.
The drill has more torque than any other 18v cordless I have used, which includes Hitachi, DeWalt, Makita, and Bosch models. It runs relatively cool unlike the V18 models it replaces. There is a thermal and load cutoff mechanism and it can cutout when there is a heavy load even if the drill is not running hot. This is something that the Makita incorporates in some of its drills they have a switch setting for high torque work that I suspect raises the amp load threshold setting for the internal cutoff electronics. This is something that Milwaukee needs to add to the design of their drills as well.