Tool Box Buzz

M18 FUEL Framing and Brad Nailers

This year at their annual Milwaukee New Product Symposium (NPS19), remodeling and carpentry trades were rewarded with an expansion of cordless nailers with two cordless framing nailers and a much needed update to their existing cordless brad nailers.

M18 FUEL™ 21° and 30° Framing Nailers

Milwaukee Tool continues to expand its line of cordless solutions from frame to finish with the introduction of their very first cordless framing nailers, the M18 FUEL™ 21° Framing Nailer and M18 FUEL™ 30° Framing Nailer. Delivering the power to sink nails in engineered lumber, these framing nailers can also fire up to 3 nails per second with no gas cartridges. The M18 FUEL™ Framing Nailers deliver a fire rate similar to pneumatic nailers. The nailers have also been optimized with the size necessary to fit between studs and a balanced weight to limit fatigue. An optional Extended Capacity Magazine accepting two strips of nails is also available for these tools, allowing users to work longer before needing to reload.

At NPS19 we had a chance to try these new framing nailers on some engineered lumber with both 3″ and 3-1/2″ nails and the results were very impressive. In both sequential and bump modes the nailer easily sunk framing nails completely into the engineered lumber and countersunk them. Bump mode was very fast and didn’t feel any different than pneumatic nailers. At first glance and use these new framing nailers are the fastest non-pneumatic we’ve ever tested.

The new M18 FUEL framing nailers will be available in October 2019. We’ll try to get our hands on a sample before then if possible for some more in depth evaluation and testing.

M18 FUEL™ 18GA Brad Nailer

Milwaukee has also completely redesigned, from the ground-up, their M18 FUEL™ 18ga Brad Nailer. The new tool delivers clean, consistent nail holes in a compact size and with zero ramp-up time. It has been optimized to consistently sink nails sub-flush in all common materials and orientations, with reduced recoil and a reduced hole size left by the nail and striker. In addition, the front of the tool has been streamlined to improve line-of-sight to the work surface and access to tight spaces, and the overall weight has been reduced for better balance and less fatigue.

At NPS19 we also were able to test this 2nd generation 18ga brad nailer and the improvements over the first generation are incredible. We know many users were quite disappointed in the first generation with a lack of consistent penetration especially in hardwoods. Well this new release is incredibly impressive. We were able to consistently shoot 2-1/2″ long finish nails through Pine, Oak, Maple, MDF and framing lumber with ease and speed. While bump mode isn’t our preferred method with finish nailing the speed that this tool can fire at is impressive and telling of how much more powerful it is compared to the previous version.

Pre-sales of the new Brad Nailers are being taken now, see links below:

Milwaukee Expands M18 FUEL Nailers – Video Preview

3 Comments

1. Richard Haislip

   August 16, 2019 at 7:45 pm

   is there a gen 2 16ga coming?

   Reply
   1. Todd Fratzel

      August 19, 2019 at 10:51 am

      Nothing officially announced yet.

      Reply
2. charles

   September 26, 2019 at 8:32 am

   I’m glad to hear they are improving the nailers, I really want a 16ga m18. I bought the 1st generation and the reviews were way too kind to it – it sucked. Went back to HD 2 days later. But I love milwaukee tools and the platform, so I’m really looking forward to better reviews

   Reply

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