Milwaukee Cordless Hammer Drill, 12.0V, 1/2" Chuck

This M12 Fuel Hammer drill is not my primary drill but I am finding myself using is more and more due to small foot print and strong enough power for a lot more task than I expected. This is drill carry around all day. I get the M18 only a few times per day now that I started to use this new drill. I like most of it, the only downside to is is that I am never a fan of the e-clutch I prefer old style clutch.Recently I had the drill in my hand when I needed to install a dishwasher and run a new pipe thru a cabinet wall. The drill handled perfectly the hole saw and surprisingly I had enough power for that one tast.I recommend it to many

For a drill that's heavier than pretty much any other 12V drill currently on the market the performance is middling. But its performance is ok. I want light weight and good ergonomics in 12V and this tool with its heft and top heavy design doesn't cut it. The light is dim, poorly positioned and goes out too quickly for detailed work. The clutch is perhaps the worst part of drill. I'm totally fine with an electronic clutch. The problen with this clutch is that drill speed is tied to the clutch setting. The lower the clutch setting, the longer the ramp up and the lower the top speed. I don't want the clutch to influence drill speed. That's what the variable speed trigger is for. With the clutch set, it's impossible to pulse the drill which is what I do to set delicate ... MoreFor a drill that's heavier than pretty much any other 12V drill currently on the market the performance is middling. But its performance is ok. I want light weight and good ergonomics in 12V and this tool with its heft and top heavy design doesn't cut it. The light is dim, poorly positioned and goes out too quickly for detailed work. The clutch is perhaps the worst part of drill. I'm totally fine with an electronic clutch. The problen with this clutch is that drill speed is tied to the clutch setting. The lower the clutch setting, the longer the ramp up and the lower the top speed. I don't want the clutch to influence drill speed. That's what the variable speed trigger is for. With the clutch set, it's impossible to pulse the drill which is what I do to set delicate screws. For larger bits and hole saws I prefer to drill with the clutch set so a bind won't wrench my wrist.Overall I find nothing good about this drill other than it being part of the M12 system of tools.

Overall, the Milwaukee 2504 is a high quality tool that performs very well. It is heavy for a subcompact drill, but I believe that is more a result of quality materials and construction than anything else. Even with an XC battery, it is still over a pound lighter than the M18 Gen III hammer drill (2804), and is a wee bit shorter in both length and height. It has the features you would expect from Milwaukee - an all-metal ratcheting chuck, an adjustable clutch with lots of settings, a two-speed gearbox, an LED light and a belt clip. I never had any problems with the settings or the chuck...they all worked just fine!The 2504 is fantastic for drilling applications. Plop an XC battery on this and you'll have all the power and runtime you need for small-to-medium ... MoreOverall, the Milwaukee 2504 is a high quality tool that performs very well. It is heavy for a subcompact drill, but I believe that is more a result of quality materials and construction than anything else. Even with an XC battery, it is still over a pound lighter than the M18 Gen III hammer drill (2804), and is a wee bit shorter in both length and height. It has the features you would expect from Milwaukee - an all-metal ratcheting chuck, an adjustable clutch with lots of settings, a two-speed gearbox, an LED light and a belt clip. I never had any problems with the settings or the chuck...they all worked just fine!The 2504 is fantastic for drilling applications. Plop an XC battery on this and you'll have all the power and runtime you need for small-to-medium tasks, and even some heavy ones. This drill handles standard bits and spade bits up to 1" or so like a champ. It will even bore 2-1/8" holes through a 2x4...on low. The drill can handle it no problem but the battery protection kicks in on high...considering this is a 12V drill I can't complain. Just be wary that this drill does not have a provision for a side handle so you may need to get creative in order to avoid wrenching your wrist if it binds up. It's the price you pay for the subcompact profile.Driving fasteners is a bit of a pain due to slow ramp-up when using the electronic clutch. The clutch works well, but there is a ramp-up even on the highest clutch settings and it gets painfully slow on the lower settings (even in speed 2), no matter how hard you squeeze the trigger. I think the idea here was to maximize control for precision screwdriving tasks, but ultimately it ends up just taking forever to put screws in. My M18 hammer drill (the 2804) also has a ramp-up on the lower clutch settings, but it is much better balanced in terms of speed vs. power.Aside from that, I never warmed up much to the ergonomics of the M12 grips...unless you have extremely large hands, they are a bit awkward to handle, especially when coupled with the angled head. However, that is a consequence of using the more compact handle-mounted battery instead of a traditional slide pack.In short, the 2504 is a fantastic drill. You won't find a more powerful one in a 12V line, and the M12 line has tons of excellent tools so is worth getting into if you aren't already. There are better options for screwdriving, though. If you are looking to drive lots of screws into wood or sheet metal, then the 2551 Surge or the 2553 impact driver are better options. If you are looking for something for precision driving, I would look at the 2505 installation driver.