My trusty Milwaukee cordless sander started to fail. Follow along at home as I rip this baby apart to install a new brake, restoring it to her former glory.
I took my first one back after 2 months of use. Next one did the same. Being a bit of a sanderholic, I have gear driven rotary sanders with broad orbital strokes for rough and quick removal, and dainty ones for fine and finish sanding. This has become my “only if it’s necessary or incredibly convenient” sander. Basically fencing, in the field with no free extension cord, or if there’s no other option.
Just wanted to say thank you for for making this video. I was going back-and-forth on purchasing one and finally did only to find out that this could happen to mine as well. I already opened the box but I haven’t used it yet and honestly I’m debating on returning it. It’s a bummer to think I spent almost $130 on a brand new tool that’s probably going to crap out on me shortly. Either way I really appreciate your step-by-step tutorial on how to replace that part. Thanks again.
This is why I want a 3M Xtract or a Festool ETS EC150 because expensive sanders are definitely well worth the money. Milwaukee really needs to make a fuel random orbital sander. The M12 fuel detail sander is a step in the right direction though.
@@FixerMerlin Not always going to be practical? I don't understand this reply... I've been using random orbital sanders for years and always set it on the material first and then turn it on.
Mine lasted all of ten days, maybe 4- 6 hours of actual work until it started spinning like crazy. waiting for distributor to deal with it. 'Never heard of that happening before', yet the internet is full of this happening. Maybe just will return it and get another 20 year old dewalt, as that sucker is still working OK (if noisy, and vibrates my hands badly, it works perfectly as far as the wood is concerned)
Mine "packed" after 1.5 year of use, but I've been using it almost every day and it paid for itself many times over. Because it died during a job and couldn't get the same model I had to buy DeWalt brushless and batteries (I live on small British island). Was so unhappy with DeWalt that I've decided to take Milwaukee apart, bushing under a pad has seized, bit of lube and it's good as new. Never had to replace break pad. Keeping DeWalt as a backup. Also worth nothing day before it died I was sanding gypsum plaster for almost a day (not really a purpose it was built for) and by the end it developed a weird noise. Dust collection box in my opinion is actually quite good, when I have to use it. Good 30 minutes of runtime on 5ah battery
I just got for my self to and I was deciding which one to get DeWalt or Milwaukee so I got Milwaukee. The guys who have Dewalt and they been using it for years and they do not have any problems but on the other hand Milwaukee looks like they having problems. When I was looking for reviews there were no long term ones for Milwaukee so now I'm thinking I should got Dewalt instead. 😞
Interesting. I’m thinking the cordless sander might not be made as well as corded sanders overall, regardless of brands but I’m not sure. Since I’m only on the m12 and m18 platforms I was excited to try the m18 cordless one. Haven’t had a chance to open it up again and have another look, maybe something else could’ve gone wrong but I would have expected a brand new brake to last much longer than one sheet of paper
My brake kept squeaking while spinning down the sander so I applied a small amount of dry tube between it and the body. At any rate thanks for the video, very helpful.
How much you used it before you noticed this ? I just bought it I’m expecting to have to buy that break plate but i don’t use this sander for hard wood it’s more for softer material like 400-800grit
I used it basically for one job sanding kitchen cabinets and doors in a house before it started acting up. Since replacing I’m still on the first sheet of 80grit and it’s acting up already. Haven’t had a chance to look at it yet, just put the old dewalt corded back into action. Boo Milwaukee.
Did you find the compression spring located under the power terminals where the battery connects? I did. It popped out and It took me 45 minutes of searching the web for a schematic. Fortunately it was easy to re-install.
Do you recommond going for a Makita 18v sander over the M18? how about the finishing of M18 according to your experience with it? Really appreciate your opinion as I'm curently stuck between these two choices
Honestly I don’t know anything about makita. I replaced my m12 with a new one and have only used it for a couple small jobs and so far it still works good. Just doesn’t seem to be as stout as the corded ones but maybe I just got a crappy one?
Excellent tutorial. After pulling a couple of corded sanders off the bench and bending the shaft when they hit the floor (why does the peanut butter sammy always land face down), I thought I'd try a cordless. ¿¿¿¿¿How long have you had the sander before it failed???????
That sucks man, I damaged a saw like that recently. I didn’t have the sandet that long, basically one big and one medium job and it started failing partway through the medium job. I’m not sure if this is particular to just my sander but they guy at the warranty place immediately identified it as a worn brake bad and sold me one for .50 cents. After that it worked ok for a while but then same problem so I just tossed it on the shelf and went back to the corded one for now. Not sure if it’s just a bad design or poorly made or what. Often Milwaukee will reissue another generation to fix design flaws, not sure if that is something that would be happening or not. I’d love to have the cordless sander back it would have come in handy on so many jobs!!
@@FixerMerlin I found a Bosch GEX12V-5N fits all my criteria- interchangeable back pads, low profile like a Mirka and a 3/32" orbit...I just need to be careful...it's tough when you're old🤣...as long as the sander falls and not the guitar...I'm OK...keep up the great job on your videos!!....disclaimer: I use the sander for light finish sanding/sanding between coats of lacquer/polishing, not heavy sanding...ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-mw3roQ3ulyE.html
@@LiloUkulele ya it looks like the bosh would be good for that, and maybe more comparable to Milwaukee m12? I’m only on the Milwaukee batteries so I’m pretty much limited to m12 or m18
@@FixerMerlin Yeah, me too. The charger, a couple of batteries is as much as the sander. My drills are Milwaukee M12. Found a Bosch deal at lowes: sander + battery and charger $99...well, Time will tell!
@@LiloUkulele It would be interesting to see how that sander works out for you over time. I have some Bosch tools but went for the Milwaukee cordless line and I generally prefer the m12. I had been entertaining a festool sander but we will see
Thank you very much for posting this content! Just got this sander and it's good to know the fix if something like this occurs in the future. Any idea how long it might take (hours of use) to start to notice similar issues for other users of this sander?
I used it basically for one job sanding kitchen cabinets and doors in a house before it started acting up. Since replacing I’m still on the first sheet of 80grit and it’s acting up already. Haven’t had a chance to look at it yet, just put the old dewalt corded back into action.
@@FixerMerlin Thanks for your reply. It's interesting that this brake issue wasn't noted in the "2.5 years later" video that Toolboxbuzz posted and I would think they'd use the heck out of this sander: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-hg52lh96YWg.html I wonder what the deal is.
From new I sanded a table, some doors and trim and a set of kitchen cupboards. Not sure how many sanding discs I used, maybe 25-30? And it was completely worn. Replaced the brake and didn’t even use one disk before it was making those gouges again
@@FixerMerlin the part seems to be different a box organizer comes up with this part number they must have change or idk . I might just do a modification to this break pad when it finishes what would be a great idea is if I had a 3D printer to make a custom brake pad hehe
what a weak design - same thing on Ridgid and Ryobi, that brake fails after a short time and needs to be replaced🤦🏻♂️ nowhere to buy that in the Home Depot, and now Milwaukee😱 Dewalt simply better constructed and will last much longer, belts available
I got a replacement at Milwaukee service store but including my time it was cheaper to buy a new sander. I’ve had a corded dewalt that’s been taking heavy abuse for 10+ years but the cordless one is so convenient it’s too bad they aren’t built better
@@FixerMerlin i agree, having the same brake problem now but with Ridgid. Found the part in the internet, it's cheap, but delivery is 7x price of the part itself. Thinking would it be good to pay 1/4 price of a new Dewalt sander for this part for Rigid or just it's better to buy a new Dewalt. I sanded my deck with Ridgid and that's seems maximum it can do with 1 brake...too fragile imo, thanks for your video though!
@@FixerMerlin Just on those worn nipples, milwaukee usually uses tough plastics, so I assume that wear is mainly down to a increased temp caused by friction. That plate should be isolated from dust if its got a good seal.
@@FixerMerlin Correction to my last statement, it seems that braking plate is not sealed and hence open to dust attraction, still I cannot see how a little grease will hurt. First time I have used these sanders, impressed with the speed, but also amazed how many disks I go through, it chews them up in minutes.
