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Make Trades Great Again
Recap of Eric's trip to Milwaukee Pipeline
Have you ever dreamt of the perfect cup of coffee, hot and ready at the push of a button? Or perhaps you've struggled with unstacking your tool boxes, wishing for a drawer-based solution? Tune in for a discussion on these and more, as we dissect the highlights of the Milwaukee Pipeline event. We'll delve deep into how Milwaukee's culture of innovation culminates into their products - from battery-powered coffee makers to their hot-selling pack out tumblers. We’ll also address the broader topic of inclusivity in the trades, discussing how 'journeyman' is a status, not a gender role.
Ever thought about the power of a 9.0 battery pack, or the convenience of a cordless trimmer? Join us as we explore Milwaukee's pivot to battery-powered tools, inspired by changing government regulations. The resilience of their new insulated water bottles, the ease of clipping a mug or tumbler to the top of a lunchbox, and the backwards compatibility of their new battery releases are just a few of the exciting topics we’ll be tackling. We'll also brainstorm the unfilled niche for a small snowblower attachment for the string trimmer motor. So, gear up for an enlightening and entertaining discussion on all things Milwaukee.
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Eric Aune @mechanicalhub
Andy Mickelson @mick_plumb
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Boom, we are on the air. Andy, how are you doing? I am doing great.
Speaker 2:Coffee is kicking in, yeah, ready to go Heck.
Speaker 1:Yeah Coffee, that's right. What do you think about a battery-powered coffee maker? Would you buy one?
Speaker 2:Nespresso branded Milwaukee M12 forged light, my fire yeah.
Speaker 1:No, really, though. Seriously, do you think that that's actually something we need? Do I need it?
Speaker 2:No, would it be fun to have sometimes? Yeah, sure would, sometimes, I suppose. Yeah, like pack out version, I could just step in. I'm gonna go out to my van and get some materials and come back in with a fresh cup of Joe.
Speaker 1:Yeah like would it improve the quality of your life. I guess the answer to that is I already know it's gonna be yes.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it'd be beautiful. Do I really need it? No, no, I don't. I know what you mean, I know.
Speaker 1:Well. So I asked because I was just. I just got back from the Milwaukee Pipeline event, the big, the big shindig huh, yeah, we got to get you there. That's what we need to do, Maybe next time. Yeah, well, you know, heather goes with me because she, she's officially the camera man. You know, camera person? Camera person? Yeah, look, it's not, it's not a photographer. Yeah, that's the videographer. Videographer yeah, it's not, it's not a gender thing. When I say that I think it's status, yeah, it's like. It's like journeyman isn't a gender role, it's a status. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I saw that somewhere and I was like impressed with it. I'm like, yeah, I get that. It was a female that had it on their bio or something, right, I don't remember what it was on Instagram or something like that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I, yeah. I feel like there's and especially here more more recently, there's a lot of people are they use? You find more people stumble over over that, trying to not be offended, and I think sometimes the stumbling over becomes offensive.
Speaker 1:You know I do it all the time. Yeah, no, I seriously. Do you know what I mean? I think I bring it up because I know I did that. I do that. Yeah, I acknowledge it. I don't mean to no, but that saying in that you know that was just a little one line in somebody's bio on like on Instagram or something like that was like journeyman welder, not a gender thing, it's a, it's a you know status, that's cool.
Speaker 2:I was like, wow, that's pretty cool.
Speaker 1:I like that. Um okay, so just got back from pipeline and anybody listening follows along on like Instagram stuff knows what that pipeline is. It's like when Milwaukee shows everybody, you know they bring some people into their headquarters and like here's our new stuff.
Speaker 2:You know that's going to be the latest, yeah.
Speaker 1:Here's the latest and the greatest. Here's what we're doing and you get some hands on. It's pretty cool, man, it's. It's always been fun and I'm so lucky to have been involved with it for as many times as I have.
Speaker 2:Well, I mean it's, it's a, it's not a small event, but it's a small group. Yeah, is that true to say. I mean, is there a hundred people invited?
Speaker 1:to. Yeah, I think so, I mean it's. I mean that's a lot of people, it is, but if you think of, like the, the trades, it's a whole. Yeah, it's. Yeah, it's a private party. Yeah, exactly yeah.
Speaker 1:And so they have their, you know, the top staff and their product managers and their engineers and their sales and marketing people and everybody, and they're there to teach you as much as they can about the culture of their business. And here's why we designed it this way and here's what we were trying to solve, because we learned from the people out in the field that kind of stuff. And so it's, it's neat, it's a really inside look at how all this kind of works. And I've done things like tour the factory, or not the factories, but the headquarters and where they're designing and prototyping this stuff, and like that's impressive, that's crazy. But when you get your hands on some of these tools, what a, what an honor it is to like try something out before you buy it right, like in that, in that setting. So they're giving you examples on here's some concrete, drill it with this new drill, that kind of stuff, and it's pretty cool, yeah, it's pretty cool.
Speaker 1:One of the big things that might take away. First thing I saw when I walked in the room was like, oh, there's some new backup. I was immediately looking over there and I'm like are those new drawers? We weren't at that station yet but I couldn't help but notice Wait a minute, you're expanding now.
Speaker 1:I think they got the message on these drawers and the pack out. And so how much people really like that not having to unstack, which was a huge, I would say. It was like they should have had the first iteration, like the first couple boxes should have included those drawers, but of course they didn't. It took them a couple years and then, once they came out with it, they just sold gang busters. So a couple new drawer options. So you're going to get thinner drawers or a combination of deep and thin in the same box, which is deep and shallow. Isn't that right? But I thought those were cool. So many options, so like pack out water bottles, and I saw that. Well, do you remember what was your thought? Be honest with me because I'll be honest when you saw they had a pack out tumbler I use it daily. Oh, you do. When you first thought you're like I got to have that.
Speaker 2:No, no, when I first saw it I was like I already got like a whole cabinet full of Yeti bugs and thermoses and coffee cups and like good, freaking Lord, what am I going to do with another freaking coffee cup? Yeah, and I have. I think it's the 30 ounce, it's the big, the big tumbler, the bigger one. Yeah, and that's what I carry ice water in. And so I have a Milwaukee lunchbox. Yeah, the smaller pack out lunchbox is, or cooler, is what I use for a lunchbox daily, fits nicely in front of my passenger seat on the floorboard in the van.
Speaker 2:And yeah, and so you just lock your cup on top of it. Lock it on it and it's one less thing I have to have in my hand when I'm walking from the house to the van. That makes sense, it's handy. I to the point where I keep going. I think I'm going to, I'm going to get one of the, the smaller ones, the 20 ounce one, and I'll use that as a coffee cup and that way my coffee cup can't fall off the lunchbox when I'm walking up to the van and I'm like, do I really need it?
Speaker 1:But I probably just need to do it. Well, when I first saw it I'm going to be honest I was like, why the hell do I need to like? I got cup holders, I got you know. Why do I need to clip a mug, a tumbler, to the top of my pack out for any reason at all? And then I thought I'm probably just like in true Eric fashion, I'm not thinking this through. I need to be shown. You know, like I'm very much. If you show me, I will. I'm open to learning and I saw some videos of people using it.
Speaker 1:Once it was like in their hands and I'm like, oh, that makes no sense.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you know, they're on.
Speaker 1:Think of being in the mechanical room and I have this little plastic table I carry around on my van and I set up and I set on my you know crap on, yeah, but then I also typically have a stack of pack out stuff sitting there, yeah, and being able to lock that cup on to the top of one of those boxes so it's secure and isn't going to be tipped over the next time I grab a pipe, wrench right and wax up off of it.
Speaker 1:That's why it exists, yeah, that's why it exists, honestly, that's why they made it and it turns out it's like one of their better selling. So, like I was wrong, I'm fully aware of that and willing to admit so. But then now they have some insulated water bottles and what was cool too about that and true, kind of the Milwaukee way, they're like here's a Yeti and they cover up the Yeti name with a piece of tape. But it's a Yeti, you could see very, very clearly, you know. And they had this like 12 pound, like it looked like a giant ball bearing. It was 12 pounds, okay, and they dropped it in a tube.
Speaker 2:Yep.
Speaker 1:They laid the yeti on the ground like a little thing holding it, and they had this tube that was like four feet tall and they dropped the ball onto the yeti and it puts a I mean it dents it, Not just a little ding, it was like holy crap, like it dented it in like an inch. And then they took the Milwaukee one and they laid it exact same test, Nothing's changed and they drop it on there and like puts a little ding in it and I'm like that's actually so. It's built differently. Somehow Something's fabricated.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think it's because they put some like contour to the metal or something, so it gives it structural like it's just stronger, yeah, and so if that matters, you know, I mean I guess it does, because we're carrying this stuff around and probably going to drop it you know, yeah, you don't want it to look, look trashy after the first week of dropping it 75 times off of something you know right, and I think the more you drop it, the likely, more likely, like that, that welded seal, that vacuum seal, it might be lost.
Speaker 1:So, like there, there you go New batteries, new M18 stuff, new MX fuel stuff, like for the batteries side of like they're redesigning them. Yeah, so that was cool to see just new technology coming into their catalog. Where other tool companies had it and are using it. Milwaukee, I guess their approach has been different in that they're they have these new like pouch cell style batteries and I think Flex has been using them.
Speaker 1:Dewalt has a pack that's made all these different cell like flat. They look like a, like a cell phone, the battery cell itself, and they take them and they stack them on top of each other. Right, well, milwaukee has built their own, of course, and like they think that that works for one style of battery. But then they're saying that not all their batteries are going to be made the same. Okay, so really, kind of depending on the amp hour rating or the side you know the MX fuel batteries are they're making differently from the M18. And so, whatever it is they've identified, like they're going to make multiple different types of batteries that are still all compatible with the existing sure tools.
Speaker 2:That makes sense.
Speaker 1:That's a big thing that they push to. When you're at these events is like how their stuff has always remained backwards compatible, right, which you think about it, they're totally right. So you don't. You can't buy a M18 tool that doesn't work with your old batteries, or you?
Speaker 2:know what I mean. Like it's all yeah so long as it's M and not V.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but I mean you could find a V18 or V28, you know that stuff's been long gone.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I guess. Yeah, maybe I should more. Maybe it's more appropriate if I say so. Once they started M12 and M18, like all their stuff has been and they say they're never going to abandon that unless they go to something like just you know, you know nuclear power or something crazy, right, right.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 1:So that so. So yeah, it was cool. A lot of new stuff, like you know, honestly, like tons of outdoor stuff, which is really huge, like you were saying. Saw that pole trimmer I did too. I was like intrigued, but I don't have a use for it, but Right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I got it. I'm going to say I'm going to have to look into the one, because I just bought the new quick lock trimmer, string trimmer here, yeah, I don't know, in the last six months, yeah, and I've been pleasantly surprised with it and that's one of the attachments that I wanted to get with it, for it is the the pole saw attachment for it, but which is different than what that, what they released. But I was like whoa, that's way more than I need.
Speaker 1:But well, I think that they're really trying these companies, all of them, not just Milwaukee. They're really trying to meet that. You know, basically they're. You know the small engine rules and stuff that are going. You know, basically, these small engines are becoming obsolete in that the different states EPA all this, all these rules around them, right, they're trying to govern them out of you know regular use. And so how do you meet that? You meet it with battery power and every one of these companies that make something like this offers electric stuff. Now I just saw like an X mark, commercial grade, 30 inch, like mower. You know, like a push. I was like wow, you know it's like every company is offering the stuff, right, yeah, and Milwaukee's not. You know immunity there and I think a lot of the stuff they're trying, they're trying to go commercial with it, but of course you know they're people are buying it, using them there at home. I have the trimmer too and I think it's frigging awesome, like yeah.
Speaker 2:I, yeah, I have had the original m 18 string trimmer for year. I mean, I don't know if that thing's probably five, five years old. Yeah, probably, you know, and it is. It was one of those things that I got to the point where I was like you know what Cheryl absolutely hates doing starting a gas powered weed eater. Yeah, well, they're paying in but dealing with it. And I was constantly, you know, every spring you're like I'm going to take it to the small engine shop and have them give this thing a tune up, because you know that's what you do with them and you know mixed gas and all that. And then I was like, oh hey, look at this. You know I had a really nice still weed eater. I still actually I shouldn't say I had, I still do. It's hanging in the shed. That hasn't ran in five years.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I know exactly. I mean I have an echo which is, I think, what do they sell as a Home Depot? But it's it's got a little Honda on it and every time I pull it it starts right up, right. But I never have gas, I don't know if it's mixed or not, and it's just a pain. It's just. I never winterize it because I'm an idiot. You know, like, whatever the the electrical going, you don't have to worry about any of that.
Speaker 2:No, I'm a neighbor he was.
Speaker 1:My neighbor was just asking me about my trimmer. I have the quick attach one, whatever it's called, and I really like that because I put the broom thing on it for when it snows and I like that. But my neighbor was like Do you really like that thing? Because he sees me use it from across the street and I'm like he bought some cheapo thing and he's like I think mine's junk. I can't even like finish the job on a charge and I'm like I Swear to God, this is the same battery as in your last summer, right.
Speaker 2:And I haven't touched it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean to be fair. I don't use it a lot, but yeah Also, and I've probably used it 30 times and I've never charged it, so yeah, Ours.
Speaker 2:We I've got. I've, because I've started phasing the 9.0 batteries out of the vans. Yeah, because they're failing. I mean it's just, it is what it is.
Speaker 1:And that's why they're unfortunate. I used them a long time ago, yeah.
Speaker 2:But so we've got a pair of 9.0s in the in the house garage that are on the charger all the time. That are Good enough for the trimmer and leaf blower and what not. And they you know one of them easily will take you around the yard with string trimmer and then, once you're done mowing, it'll blow off the sidewalk on the driveway. Yeah, no, no, no.
Speaker 1:Speaking of sidewalk and driveway still no snowblowers. From Milwaukee I was hoping to see one. To be honest, I mean totally honest with you, I was like I thought, yeah, you know, what it would really like is a little snowblower for the end of my string trimmer motor thing, you know what I mean Like just like a little little 10 inch or something so I can buzz the sidewalk off real quick. That'd be nice, yeah. But yeah, I know it was fun. Yeah, new technology, new hand tools Trying to think I don't think there was any new lighting, which is always exciting to me.
Speaker 1:I think lighting is way more important than people Kind of give a credit for, at least in the work that we do. Big, huge power source, like a pack out looking box with wheels on it that has its own like internal battery. Yeah, it's like 3,800 water, something like that. Crazy things like 4,000. I'm like I don't have a need for that, yeah, but I could see where people do if they're working, like remote sites, like Kyle building, you know, pole buildings out in the middle of a farm field where you like literally don't have power, like I could see him using that, but I would never have a use for it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, I that would. That's that's intriguing to be able to have that, you know, basically a noiseless power source. Yeah Well, you know, with no generator, and yeah, no emissions Yep.
Speaker 1:No maintenance Yep, it's a battery. It's a giant. Like storage is what that thing amounts to. I don't know what kind of batteries in it, but so you?
Speaker 2:is it like MX fuel or is it no? No, it's like a plug thing in and yeah, it's very.
Speaker 1:It had some like super nice looking screen on it and I'll like touch control, I don't know. Yeah, it's very high tech looking. It's got 420. Yeah, well, it's on it.
Speaker 2:Interesting, that's cool.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's a, it's legit, like I mean it's to replace like a 30, like a 3000 watt generator is what it is. That's what I mean, and it's it's priced to. I mean it's not cheap, right, but I could see. I mean, I guess what it comes down to is like how long is that battery going to last? I'm not sure, like a life cycle of it, right, but batteries are pretty darn powerful. I mean, look at, these cars have been running on the road for 10 years and they're fine.
Speaker 2:But and I think that's a that's a big piece of that as well and you can attest to it. I can attest to it Anybody that out there that's using lithium technology for batteries If you use the battery routinely and regularly, you will get a nice, nice long, full life out of it. Yeah, if you're going to go buy that MX or that fuel or that power source and you're going to use it for the camper and you're going to use it once a year, you're not going to get a long life out of it.
Speaker 2:I think you're right, I just my my opinion of how this battery technology works yeah. I guess if it's used it stays and you'll get a long life out of it. If it's not used, if it's like emergency service only type thing it's going to, it's not going to give you very good performance. It's my opinion. Do you guys ever have to use a car drill.
Speaker 1:Yes, you've seen. You've seen my videos where I've posted about that MX fuel, that hand held one, yeah. Yeah, they say that'll go up to six inch and I guess in theory it would. But drilling a hole by hand with six inch might be a little squarely. Yeah, they have a stand for it, I guess. But it is built so you can use it by hand and there's some really neat technology built into it.
Speaker 1:And I'll be the first to say that that drill works very, very, very well. Sure, I've used it to drill about a hundred holes now over the last like two, three years that I've had it, which doesn't sound like a lot, but you know I don't see this every day. I don't have to do a lot of concrete pouring right and and when I've needed it that thing has like, oh man, I love it. They have a full-size MX fuel cord drill coming that's like drill up to 14 inch, like Friggin insane, that's crazy. I don't know how many holes you can drill for. Like, yeah, I imagine if you do a four inch holes with that thing, you'll be able to do a lot one.
Speaker 2:I we did that Navi and rack system here recently. Yeah, and I rented a new Like pretty much brand new, healthy, yeah, handheld, yeah, or drill and we were drilling four inch holes with it and I was Pleasantly surprised at how nice that drill was to use. Courted, correct, courted, yeah, yeah, I'll courted. I Was just blown away how well the anti-kickback work done it.
Speaker 1:That's what this MX fuel like. So there's a gauge on the top of the drill. You look at as you're holding it right, yeah, standing above it and you look down and there's a there's like arrows in four directions, like a compass, okay, and they light up, telling you which way you need to tilt the drill so that it is plumb in square. Sure, that's cool. And and the clutch built into this thing is like it'll. I am convinced that, unless this tool fails, there's no way it's gonna twist your hand more than like a quarter of an inch Like it is. Yeah, it will it? You don't even feel the bind up, the tool stops. Does that make sense?
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, I totally do and so the state like that is so incredibly important for safety and people Overlooked at. And they, they, they. You know there's a little macho built into the who cares. You know, I, you know, my, my, my, what's the? The stud drill, the?
Speaker 1:The whole, my whole hog, you know, knock me off ladders. I'm still alive, and I'm like, yeah, can you? Yeah, cool it cool, yeah, yeah no, but anyway, new full-size cordial come in, which I've learned about there, and I Gotta tell you, though, my recommendation is Don't sleep on that handheld MX fuel thing, like that thing's legit if you have a use for it, occasional use, like like I do, where you're like, oh, we got a drill, a couple holes for the venting on the like yeah.
Speaker 1:I'm I own that thing. It's expensive, but yeah well, I mean it's been worth the Like. That is a good investment, in my opinion. Yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean, it cost me 200 bucks to rent that one for four, get four holes the other day.
Speaker 1:So yeah, well, yeah, and if you don't do it often that I can, that's. There's nothing wrong with yeah, right, though. All right, dude. Well, it was fun. I can't. I'd like to reach out if anybody from Milwaukee is listening. Thank you for the invite from cancel hub. We had fun. The hospitality is great always. Yeah, and I'm looking forward to it. I hope. I hope we see some cool updates from people as a new tool calls tools come out Absolutely. Tag us in your post, mtga, and your new tool, post from a walkie. There you go. Right on, brother, there's a long one. It's a long bonus. There's a long bonus. It's like a bonus bonus double, double duty.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
