Broke my Milwaukee

widefat · Jul 27, 2019

Ok, tell me what a numbnuts I am. I was using my 1/2 electric Milwaukee drill to drive in some 1/2 lag bolts on a porch I am 'repairing'.
Yeah, I know - but it sure makes it easy on a hot day.
One of the bolts became bound (I did drill pilot holes, and they were the right size - maybe. maybe not)
The bolt would not go in, and would not reverse out.
But, I insisted. The drill groaned, but I ignored it's desperate plea.
I could hear that voice in my head telling me I had better stop - I had reached the limit of a quality tool, and something was about to bow to the laws of physics.
The breaker bar was just 50 yards away, but would I stop and go get it? Nope.
Well, it was the LH screw the holds the chuck on.
So there I stood, with the drill in one hand and the chuck in the other.
Absolutely no fault of the drill.
Sometimes I just cant help stop myself from doing dumb things.

4570Man · Jul 27, 2019

That’s what impact drivers are made for. I busted a Dewalt drill with a hole saw. I let the magic smoke out of a Bosch drill with a hole saw. Surprisingly that one cooled off and survived.

k0ua · Jul 27, 2019

Don't it suck? You broke it, you knew you were liable to break it, and yet you went ahead.

By the way, I use my $25 1/2 inch air impact to drive those lag bolts. I have drove hundreds of them. Hard to break an impact like that. You can sure twist them off if you have it set too high though.

downsizingnow48 · Jul 27, 2019

Sounds like you might be lucky and just need a new screw for the Milwaukee. Hope so.

I use a cordless Makita 1/2" impact wrench for that kind of work. Much better tool than a straight drill.

Also, there are better structural screws available. The Spax and GRK type structural screws do not need a pilot hole and they go in faster than an old fashioned lag bolt. By the time you drill your pilot holes, you would be done with the whole job using modern structural screws.

Another point is that, depending on the wood, large old fashioned lags actually might need two pilots. One smaller and deeper hole where the threads are, and one larger and shallow hole where the shank is. Mostly it doesn't matter but on hardwood and wood that wants to split, drilling a shallow larger hole for the shank makes a lot of difference.

Finally, when I had a lot of those big old time lags to install, I dipped them in a can of motor oil first. Makes life much easier.

piaffepony · Jul 27, 2019

Sounds like you needed a Milwaukee impact... I have the 3/4” and I’m in LOVE! A few years ago, I was building some H braces for fence and it was a multistep PIA process to get the lag screws in. This year I used my new cordless impact to attach some flex fence brackets and it went in soooooo much easier. Getting rusty lug nuts off my skid steer was a breeze. 5/5 would recommend!

4570Man · Jul 27, 2019

You’re using a 3/4 impact to put in lag screws? It sounds like a better job for a 3/8 impact.

oosik · Jul 27, 2019

For the longest time I used my corded Milwaukee 1/2" Hole Hog to screw in those lag bolts. Then, like you, one lag bolt "froze up". That big pipe on the side of the Hole Hog threw me a good 15'. Fortunately, nothing broken on the Hole Hog - or me.

Now I use a corded Milwaukee 1/2" impact driver. I had the same luck drilling deep holes with the Hole Hog and ship's augers.

I've simply given up on 1/4" drills of any type. I had to burn up two before I learned my lesson.

Oldpath05 · Jul 27, 2019

A Milwaukee electric drill...................... You need to get in the 21st century and cut the cord anyways, 20v Dewalt. The good news is now you can build up some reward points on your credit card.

I use a lot of these Spax screws........ https://www.homedepot.com/p/SPAX-5-...Contractor-Pax-50-Box-4571010801008/301068429

Jstpssng · Jul 27, 2019

I was drilling a 7/8" hole with my 3/4hp drill, trying to save the loader on my old 275. When the bit bound up the drill yanked out of my hands and continued to spin until wrapping the cord around the drill enough to rip it out of the wall. I also bent the shank in my $35 bit... and didn't do a thing to help the loader.