Bare-Tool Milwaukee 2601-20 M18 18-Volt Compact Driver/Drill (Tool Only, No Battery)

Bare-Tool Milwaukee 2601-20 M18 18-Volt Compact Driver/Drill (Tool Only, No Battery) Review

A powerful, lightweight drill and driver. Despite buying and enjoying the use of a Hole Hawg prior to doing timber framing with Timberlok screws, I relied largely on the 2601-20 to complete the project. I work with two 2601s, and recommend the purchase of this 'tool only,' and would not hesitate to buy reconditioned Milwaukee equipment.

Milwaukee has done a superb job of combining power with light weight, compactness, and battery function. I like the belt clip also.

I look forward to the drill that beats this one, but can't imagine it.

Bare-Tool Milwaukee 2601-20 M18 18-Volt Compact Driver/Drill (Tool Only, No Battery) Feature

• 1/2 in. Ratcheting Chuck with plastic sleeve
• Heavy-Duty 2-Speed Metal Gear Box: 0-350/0-1,400 rpm
• Compact Length (7-3/4 in.) fits in tight areas
• Compact Motor delivers 400 in.-lbs. of maximum torque
• Built-in LED light illuminates work surfaces. Lightweight 3.1 lbs.

Bare-Tool Milwaukee 2601-20 M18 18-Volt Compact Driver/Drill (Tool Only, No Battery) Overview

The Milwaukee M18 Compact Drill Driver has been built to withstand tough jobsite conditions. Longer run time and fewer battery changes maintains momentum while you're working and prevents unscheduled breaks. The tool balance, weight and grip have been optimized to reduce fatigue. Superior bit grip prevents frequent bit retightening and lost bits. Max. Torque (in.-lbs.): 400, Volts: 18, Speed - No Load (RPM): 0 - 350 / 0 - 1400, Chuck Size (in.): 1/2, Keyless Chuck: Yes, Reversible: Yes, Variable Speed: Yes, Side Handle: No, Battery Included: No, Charger Included: No, Case Included: No, Tool Length (in.): 7 3/4, Tool Weight (lbs.): 4

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Customer Reviews

excellent drill but cuts out under light loads - Phillip Marsh - Texas
I have a Milwaukee ni-cad drill as well as a Makita lithium ion drill and bought the M18 as a more powerful upgrade. Unfortunately most of the extra potential power is not available as the overload circuitry stops the drill even with light duty applications. This can almost double the amount of time it takes to drill holes.

The drill is particularly inclined to cut out when there is a high load even if it only lasts a second or two. In moderate torque situations as with a bi-metal hole saw it is fine though the battery is quickly drained. With high torque as when cutting a hole with one of the modern hole cutters with their few large teeth, the drill can cut-out after as little as 2 seconds of operation. But for the flawed overload protection this could be an excellent drill.

Battery recharge times are also more than double those for my Makita and when the drill heats up, as when using a regular bi-metal hole saw, it takes a long time to cool and not have it affect the overload mechanism that kills power to the motor.

Makita, Hitachi, and Panasonic seem to have the lithium-ion technology well in hand but with Milwaukee there are still some serious problems.



good power but chuck is marginal - Michael Winters -
I have and use a 1/2" cordless lithium-ion drills from Makita, DeWalt, Hitachi, and this M series from Milwaukee. I also use a Milwaukee NiCad cordless. The Makita is the best overall in terms of its chuck performance, battery recharge time, and power to weight ratio. Although on some jobs the Milwaukee 18M showed its extra power compared to the other drills, it also has a tendency to cutout in the middle or sometimes even the beginning of the job. No doubt a override switch to protect the drill's battery packs but an annoyance none the less.

The chuck on the Milwaukee is the second worst of the bunch. When drilling with 2" or larger hole saws (Blue Boar TCT hole cutters or the Hole Pro adjustable carbide cutters in Hardie fiber cement board siding) in hard materials the chuck would loosen completely and the shaft would slip free. The NiCad Milwaukee drill has an excellent chuck that works well under any condition but the clutch mechanism of the M18 drill does not provide the self-tightening mechanism I have often found with keyless drill chucks, and seems to be quite the opposite.

The drill with the full size battery packs is quite heavy, at least a couple pounds heavier than the Hitachi and Makita 1/2" lithium-ion drills and in 95% of the situations where I use a cordless drill the extra power of the Milwaukee M18 is not needed. The Makita lithium-ion battery packs can be fully recharged in less than 15 minutes while with the Hitachi it takes more than 30 minutes and with the full size M18 battery packs it takes about 60 minutes. With the Milwaukee it is more important to recharge the spare battery as soon as possible so it is ready for use when the other battery in use is discharged.

The trigger activated LED light is very handy and this is something I first came to appreciate with the Makita drills. I would have a hard time buying any drill without an LED light. It beats having a third hand or using your mouth to hold a flashlight.

One aspect of the Milwaukee approach that it hard to understand is the need to continually buy new batteries and chargers for each new drill model. I cannot use the old Milwaukee V type lithium-ion on the M18, nor can I use my old Milwaukee NiCad batteries. I also cannot use their chargers with the M18 or vice versa. Hitachi sells a charger (on Amazon for .46) that will charge any of their batteries from 7.2v to 18v and this includes all the NiCad and Lithium-ion battery packs.

The battery packs have charge level indicators that are helpful but not completely accurate. I found that batteries showing 2 lights or about 33-540% charge would actually have about 10-15% charge left for drilling. It is a good idea to recharge a battery when it gets down to 2 LED lights showing to avoid having the drill come to a stop in the middle of a job.

Like Makita, Milwaukee sells the drills with threaded holes for attaching a belt clip and a bit holder to the drill's handle instead of including them with the 0 suggested retail kit. You can order the 5 parts needed from Milwaukee and pay and another for their order processing fee and another for shipping and handling, all to get items that in total would cost Milwaukee under .00 to include with the kit. DeWalt does a similar thing with not providing a case with many of their drills and then charging their customers for a really poorly built one for their tools. The case that comes with the drill kit is a sturdy one designed to hold everything in place but not much more. It is nice when a manufacturer provides places for extra drill bits, the best at this being Bosch and the worst is a toss up between Milwaukee and DeWalt.

The side handle is a nice design that easily attached to slots in the drill but it has one flaw. It can only be mounted 90 degrees from the drill handle. The DeWalt design that can be adjusted anywhere along a 360 degree arc provides more support for the drill in situations where you really need both handles to control kickback or stalling. Unfortunately DeWalt's drill designs are a bit dated, especially when it comes to lithium-ion drills.

I find that most of the time I grab the Makita drill but if I know the job is going to be brutal I take the Milwaukee M18 as well. It the Makita is not up to the task then the Milwaukee M18 is a great backup drill. This is really little different than with cord drills where I used a lightweight 3/8" hand drill and a monster Milwaukee Big Hawg for heavier drilling. I seldom use the Hawg drill anymore as the cordless drills like the Milwaukee M18 with the proper hole cutters, like the Blue Boar tungsten carbide multipurpose cutters, will often work as well if not faster for most projects.





Ryobi replacement drill - T. Rathburn - Olmsted Falls, OH USA
After 5 years of hard use my original Ryobi drill finally burned out. I was very pleased to find this replacement since I already had battery packs and chargers. This is a very strong consumer grade drill.