tommyw-5088 - 1/2/2026 12:25 Years ago i had a couple of corded milealkee tools . I did have a dewalt cordless drill , at that time that is what thought of as the best . Out of nowhere Milealkee came out of the shadows and came on very strong . Milwalkee was pretty much not known about in mechanic shops . In a short Time we were all using them . Id guess im one of the few that knew about them , only reason i did is best friend was a plumber at that time . His were all corded , this was a long time ago . I was one of the last ones to change over , i was a IR air tool guy . I thought that battery junk cant hang with my IR air stuff . A friend at JB . I was trying to break loose bolts with a IR air , it was the best they had at the time , It was 600# rated .He said “ you want to try my new Milealkee high torque , it will get them or break them - 1400 ft pounds . He was a real good friend , I thought ill just humor him and try it . In my mind i said that plastic junk aint going to do it . Id never tried if if not for him , I put it on and it zipped them off like nothing . The high torque Ingersoll was the gold standdard most of my life .most of us had 2 of them . A backup when the other was getting rebuilt . That happened often . We did abuse them in a truck shop . What we did was get one rebuilt a couple times ,then id give one to a new tech and get another new one . JB paid for air tools rebuild then . After my friend got me to use his , i got one the next day . Then the collection started . I dont have everything they make , but got a bunch of it . Mine were abused in a truck shop for a few more years . my first Milwalkee 1/2” high torque is still going . And its been used in the rain , snow , extreme heat . Only one i had quit was 3/8” ratchet. It was abused daily in truck shop . Whoever got them in the mechanic trade was a very sharp fellow . They will sure stand truck shop abuse .