I have the older 18V Set with the Hatchet sawzall. The tools are great however the older 18V Batteries leave much to be desired.

Keep an eye out here on Toolmonger for a full “hands-on” with the V18 shortly. One of the things we’ll be testing is battery life. We’ve got a standard Milwaukee 18v battery to test in the drill along with the stock 20v V18 li-ion, so we’ll be able to tell you the difference.

Chuck

I’ve been through the wood floor remodeling process before. It’s a lot of work, but it almost always pays off big time. Even truly nasty looking floors look great after you remove a layer or two. And the polyurethanes that are available now are way, way better than the lacquer of the past.

A few things I remember from the one I did about 8 years ago:

Be careful with the drum sander. It digs in easily and makes waves in the floor. After a bit you get the hang of it and can keep it steady, but at the start it’s going to look like surfing at Maui. So start in a closet or the laundry room or somehting. Or if you’re just doing the living room, start in a place that’s going to be covered up with the entertainment center or a rug.

Better yet, consider using a satin polyurethane. The full-on shiny stuff looks really cool, but you can see every wave and imperfection. They’re a lot harder to see in the satin.

When you put on the polyurethane, make absolutely sure you have adequate ventilation. It really stinks bad, and just opening a window won’t cut it. Try using fans in the windows — some inward, some outward — to keep a flow of fresh air moving. If you have young children, consider finding a place elsewhere for them to stay for a day or two during the poly process.

Last — and I’m sure you’ve already thought of this, but it bears mentioning — do the walls first, THEN the floor. I never manage to get it masked off perfectly no matter how hard I try.

Good luck, and we’ll check in on the blog to see how you’re doing.

Chuck

So when we pulled up the carpet we found that the floors were in pretty bad shape, but not hopeless. There’d obviously been some water damage at some point and there’d been some (not up to my standards) attempt at repair. SOOO… we’re gonna take care of that, refinsh the floors, sealant, four coats of plyurethene, then paint, wallpaper, new lighting fixtures, crown molding, chair rail…. Piece of cake!!

We’ve only been in the house about five years we deliberately left this room for last. It’s gonna be a challenge, but also a lot of fun. This is really our idea of good time! I’m going to post pictures and the different steps on my weblog (http://inlandempireview.blogspot.com) so if you have a morbid sense of humor, play along!!

Thanks again for the great website - even if all I can do is dream…

Nope, it’s a 20 volt. The V-series batteries are based on lithium-manganese spinell cells that produce 4 volts each. The V28 uses 7 cells, and the V18 uses 5.

It’s our understanding that Milwaukee’s marketing people were concerned that some customers might question the V18’s backwards compatability — you can use the new V18 batteries with Milwaukee’s older 18-volt tools — if they called it a 20-volt pack.

We’ll have some more information about the V18 drill out shortly, but there’s more information about the V18’s specifics in our earlier post, Preview: Millwaukee’s New V18 Cordless Line.

BTW, thanks for the great work. You guys have become a daily addiction for me.

Seriously, what’s not to love about tool reviews.

Ok, you can send me the Milwaukee Kit now if you’d like.