Milwaukee tools, put to work on real jobs
The Milwaukee kit we've used on the channel, put to work on real jobs, from an overgrown hedge full of ivy and brambles to a fallen tree and a lawn that needed cutting. There's a trip to Rome to see their new garden range too.
What I'd put on the lawn this season
Power Packs: the 2.5kg bags cover 70 to 100m². The 8kg bags cover 228 to 320m².
Not sure of your size? Measure your lawnMilwaukee garden kit on an overgrown hedge
Milwaukee sent us a load of their new garden kit, so we took it to a shrub bed and hedge that had got out of hand, thick with ivy and brambles. Milwaukee sponsor the channel, and this one's made with them.
- The M18 FUEL hedge trimmer
- The multi-tool and its attachments
- Arm sleeves for brambles
- A blade for the heavy growth
- Getting tight to a wall
- A quick way to tidy the waste
What happens in this one
Jason starts on the hedge with the new 610mm hedge cutters on the 8 amp hour battery, which Milwaukee say will give you over two hours. While he works, I go through the multi-tool. It's one power head with a load of attachments that clip on. The new short reach hedge cutter is lighter and better balanced than the one already in the range, so it's easier to use for a long spell. The older one is longer and has an adjustable head.
There are brambles through this hedge, so I show you something that isn't made for gardening: sleeves for your arms, with different levels of cut protection. Then the blade goes on the multi-tool for the heavy growth. It cuts through stuff that would have you forever changing the string on a normal strimmer.
The ivy is what's wrecking this bed. I cut a line through it at the bottom a month before, hoping it would die off, and it hadn't made any difference. So it gets cut at the bottom and pulled out. Along the wall, the reciprocating head gets in tight, and it doesn't matter if it touches the wall. It won't damage the tool or the wall.
To finish, there's a wee trick we use to clear the waste up fast. It's not the tool you'd expect.
Four Milwaukee chainsaws on a fallen tree
A big tree had come down a couple of months before, so we cut it up with four Milwaukee saws, from the wee M12 Hatchet to the new M18 top handle saw, to see which one suits which job. Milwaukee Tools UK sent the saws for this one.
- The M12 Hatchet for the small stuff
- The bigger M18 Hatchet
- Pushing a small saw too far
- The M18 ten-inch saw
- The new M18 top handle saw
- Which saw for which job
What happens in this one
First up is the M12 Hatchet. I've had one for a couple of years and I love it for the smaller stuff, but on a tree this size we'd have been there a while. So we move up to the M18 Hatchet, the bigger version they brought out after it.
The M18 Hatchet goes through the smaller branches quickly. Then I push it on a bigger bit it isn't really meant for, and you can hear it start to struggle. That's the point of the video: the right saw for the right job.
Then the bigger saws come out. My dad has a go on one of the M18s, and I finally get my hands on the new top handle saw.
Stay to the end for my favourite of the four.
Every new Milwaukee outdoor tool for 2024, the full hour
The full hour from the same trip to Rome. Milwaukee's own team go through the new garden range before it came out, so use the chapters to jump to the tools you want.
- The new 46cm walk-behind mower
- A brush cutter with bike handles
- A narrow cultivator for the beds
- Long and short hedge trimmers
- A backpack blower that takes four batteries
- Batteries tested against other brands
What happens in this one
Milwaukee's own team take you through each tool. The new 46cm walk-behind mower has a smooth steel deck inside, and they explain why that matters. Anything inside the deck that breaks up the airflow makes the grass clump and get laid back on the lawn, and you end up going over the same strip again.
The brush cutter has bike handles and a double shoulder harness, the setup most professional users in Europe go for. On trimmer line it runs for up to an hour, and there's a high speed mode for thick, stubborn patches. For the beds there's a cultivator attachment for the multi-tool, only 22cm wide, so you can get in tight without damaging the plants.
Not all of it is garden kit. There are ratchets, compressors, circular saws and a nail gun in the middle, and a tool wall that's worth a look if your shed's a mess.
Stay for the battery tests near the end, where Milwaukee's batteries go up against two of the big outdoor brands.
10 Milwaukee tools under £100
Ten Milwaukee tools we use ourselves on a regular basis, all under £100 each. Milwaukee sponsored the channel when we made this, but nobody asked us to make it.
- A compact blower
- A cordless tyre inflator
- A magnetic area light
- Tidying up the workshop
- A knife with more uses than you'd think
- The bonus item
What happens in this one
First, a compact blower. We use it to clean the debris off the machines, because it's narrow and really powerful, and it does the workshop and leaves too. Then a cordless tyre inflator. You won't use it every day, but when you need it, you'll be glad it's in the van or the shed.
Our favourite light has a strong magnet on the back, so it lives in the van and pivots round when you need to light up something outside. There's a USB charger hidden on top too. Then a quarter-inch socket set we've used every day for a year, and a mounting plate with long-handled tool storage that sorts out an untidy workshop.
None of the battery tools come with batteries, so bear that in mind when you're pricing them up.
There's a bonus item at the end, and the clues are dropped along the way. See if you can guess it.
30 new Milwaukee outdoor tools, the short version
Something different. I went over to Rome with Milwaukee Tools UK to see their new garden range before it came out. This is the short version, about 12 minutes. The full hour is video 3.
- A mower power test in long grass
- A cultivator attachment for the beds
- A drop test on the casing
- A fencing stapler, from a fencer who uses one
- Hedge trimmer safety features
- Batteries straight out of the freezer
What happens in this one
It starts with the mower, cut into long grass on its lowest setting to see how it copes against a competitor's. Then the new attachments for the multi-tool, including a cultivator for the beds, and a drop test to see whose casing survives.
The hedge trimmer has a few safety features worth knowing about. There's a tip protector, because when you get tired and the blade touches the ground, it picks up soil and sand that can damage it. The guard on top is longer than the cutting edge, so you don't catch your leg when you sweep down the hedge.
Adam from My Hinterland, who uses Milwaukee's fencing stapler every day, explains why he rates it. He also keeps a blower in the vans to clean the dust and mud off the tools at the end of the day, which makes them last longer and helps with biosecurity.
At the end, the batteries come straight out of the freezer to see which ones still work in the cold.
Sorting out a messy workshop
Is your garage a bomb site? Jason sorts one out in one of his tool tips, with the Milwaukee Packout system. The tools were provided by Milwaukee, who sponsored the channel at the time.
- The Packout tool wall
- Mounting it in a van
- Height adjustable racking
- A first aid kit for the workshop
- The Packout trolley
- Hooks for the garden tools
What happens in this one
The tool wall comes in three sizes: the mounting plate, the XL and the compact. Everything locks onto it with the same mounting system, and it can go in a work van as well as a garage, though what it'll carry depends on where it's mounted.
Jason doesn't forget health and safety either. There's a fully stocked first aid kit that mounts on the wall, or in the van.
The trolley has a top box with foam cut out for the prism gauge, a three-drawer unit and a double drawer for the bulky stuff. Bars lift out so you can padlock all the drawers.
Wait till you see what Jason does with the heaviest tool in the shed.
Milwaukee trimmers and strimmers compared
A side-by-side test of three strimmers: a brush cutter, a line trimmer, and a multi-tool system that takes a few different attachments.
- Brush cutter, line trimmer and multi-tool
- Taking on a bank
- Line or blade for heavier growth
- Changing the guard for the blade
- Why a harness and bull handles help
- The other multi-tool attachments
What happens in this one
We start on ordinary garden grass, then move onto a bank and some heavier growth. The line trimmer has a support that lets it hang, so it catches the banking easily.
Once it gets thick, the blade wins. With the line trimmer I could feel the cord snagging in the heavier stuff at the bottom, where the blade went through brambles, nettles and old plants like a knife through butter. If you swap the line for a blade, change the guard too, and wear eye protection.
The line strimmer is the one I'd use day to day in people's gardens. It goes in and out of the van all day and takes a fair bit of abuse. For long spells, the one with bull handlebars on a harness is a lot easier on you.
The multi-tool takes a lot more than a strimmer head, and I run through the rest of the attachments at the end.
The Milwaukee M18 battery mower
The new Milwaukee M18 battery mower, with all the specs and some grass cut with it. Milwaukee sponsor the channel, and they sent this one out to me.
- Two 12 amp hour batteries
- LED lights for cutting in the dark
- Side discharge, mulching and a striping flap
- Height of cut in half-inch steps
- Normal and high lift modes
- Which speed to cut at
What happens in this one
It runs on two of Milwaukee's high output 12 amp hour M18 batteries, and it won't run on one, so it's sold as a kit with both and a dual fast charger. There are four LED lights round it, so you can cut first thing in the morning or when you get in from work.
It comes with a fabric grass box, a side discharge that sits inside the mower rather than sticking out, a mulching plug, and a flap that leaves a light stripe. The height of cut goes up in half-inch steps to four inches, with one lever for all four wheels, and the handle folds over so it doesn't take up much room in the shed.
Normal mode runs at 2,800rpm. High lift uses about a third more power, for long grass or lifting leaves, but when we cut all day on normal it kicked up a gear by itself when it hit a tough patch. The blade's a true 21 inches, which isn't always the case when a maker says 21-inch deck.
Then we race it down the lawn in every gear, and I tell you which speed I'd cut at.
The M12 Hatchet, and taking trees back to let light in
Ross from Enhance NI came in to take these trees back by a third, and I had a new wee pruning saw from Milwaukee to try, the M12 Hatchet. This one's from 2021.
- Why the trees came down by a third
- More light and air for the lawn
- The M12 Hatchet pruning saw
- Keeping both hands on it
- Which battery to use
- How long the battery lasts
What happens in this one
Ross reduced the trees by a third to let more light into the lawn and get more air moving through the garden, which should mean less disease in the summer. They look a bit bare afterwards, but they won't be long growing back.
The M12 Hatchet isn't for cutting up big bits of wood. It's for pruning round the garden, and for that it's an absolute beast. You do need both hands on it, even when one hand wants to sit somewhere else.
It runs on M12 batteries. The one out of my heated jacket didn't really want to cut anything. Milwaukee recommend a 4 amp hour battery, which they say gives you up to 120 cuts, and I ran it on a 6 that day.
Stick with it to see how long the battery held out.
About this guide
Milwaukee sponsored the channel when these were made, and I'll always tell you when a video is sponsored. Most of this is kit we use day to day, in people's gardens and in the van.
If you're choosing a battery system from scratch, the DIY kit guide has a video that goes through the brands by who you are, not by which one we like best.
Worth taking home
The bits from these videos that work whatever brand you use.
Common questions
Should I use a strimmer line or a blade?
Line for ordinary garden grass and edging. Once it gets thick, with brambles, nettles and old plants, the blade wins. That's in video 7.
If you swap the line for a blade, change the guard too, and wear eye protection.
Do Milwaukee battery tools come with batteries?
Not the bare tools. None of the battery tools in video 4 come with them, so bear that in mind when you're pricing them up.
If you've already got Milwaukee batteries for a drill or a grinder, that's where it pays off. You buy the tool, not a whole new system.
Is Milwaukee a good choice for garden tools?
If you're in the trades and you already have the batteries, a garden tool on the same battery makes sense. For long days of grass and hedge cutting they'll do it. You might just need more batteries than you thought.
If you're starting from scratch, the battery systems video in the DIY kit guide goes through the other brands as well.
Is a battery mower powerful enough?
The M18 mower in video 8 runs at 2,800rpm on normal mode and kicks up to 3,200 by itself when it hits long grass.
There's a high lift mode as well, but it uses about a third more power, so you'd keep it for long grass and leaves.
Which Milwaukee chainsaw should I buy?
It depends on the job. The M12 Hatchet is great for the smaller stuff and the M18 Hatchet is quicker, but push either on a big trunk and you'll hear it struggle.
In video 2 we try four of them on a fallen tree, from the M12 Hatchet up to the new top handle saw.
How long does a battery hedge trimmer last?
Milwaukee say the M18 FUEL hedge trimmer gives you over two hours on the 8 amp hour battery. Jason puts it to work on an overgrown hedge in video 1.
The blower attachment on the multi-tool is a lot harder on the battery, so plan for that if you're using both.
