While I have one of the early models of the Milwaukee M12 Surge, I haven’t had it long enough to say with 150% certainty what I want to say, which is this: This mighty max is looking like a full-tilt go-go impact driver for an enormous number of tasks from frame to finish.
I’ve only slung in a few deck screws and taken apart a broken power-washer wand, but from what I can tell, it’s blessedly quiet. It has a four-setting, back-lit toggle switch for power output, from Easy (great for the power washer’s soft machine screws) to Drill. Setting 3 was plenty of go-juice to sink deckers.
JOEL JOHNSON
Reports from the video is that this mighty max can go from cabinet screws to structurals and not miss a beat.
Milwaukee packed a lot of tool inside a little body and while that’s awesome, it doesn’t change the size of my hands, which are small. So the handle is stout to me and the tool feels a little top-heavy—but those are observations, not complaints. The belt hook is for techs wearing pants, not a tool pouch (see our latest review here). However, the entire tool fits in a nail bag’s main pouch, so that’s not a problem either. It has what I call a 1-step bit holder: You can just slot your driver bit in there without pulling the collar back. Nice!
JOEL JOHNSON
As a small, compact tool, it could find a home on the belt of a kitchen installer and trim carpenter like Chris Klee, or on that of any mechanic like a plumber or electrician.
There is some reaction torque when it starts. This is the same as the last hydraulic impact I had. My elbows could feel it. A few deck screws, who cares? A whole deck? Well, I haven’t tried that yet. Again, no complaint. Just reporting.
You can watch other people talk about it in this Milwaukee Tool M12 video and see a great graphic on how the fluid impact hammer and anvil mechanism works.
This article originally appeared in Tools of the Trade.
