Milwaukee 2458-21 M12 Cordless Palm Nailer Review

Manufacturer: Milwaukee
Model: 2458-21
Price: $130
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The
Milwaukee 2458-21 M12 Cordless Palm Nailer Kit is one of those types
of tools that you probably won’t use every day, but it could prove to
be a real asset when the occasion arises. We got a glimpse of this
nailer at the 2010 Milwaukee Media Event where we were able to try
out a few pre-production models and they did prove very promising. We
were slightly surprised that they were able to drive 16d common nails
flush into 2×4 studs all day long. Finally a cordless, hand-held
nailer that really drove nails. Up to now, the few battery powered
nailers that we have seen, also known as auto hammers, have been more
like gadgets than real working gear. The idea of being able to leave
the air compressor, air hose, drop cords and nailers in the work
trailer is rather compelling. Given its fairly compact size, you can
drive nails in those difficult tight spots where you normally might
not be able to fit a full size nailer or swing a hammer. And to make
it even better there is an LED work light built in that should make
it easier to see what you are doing in a dim or dark work area.

Our
test sample arrived in the standard Milwaukee style retail box. The
M12 2458 Cordless Palm nailer came nestled inside a soft sided carry
case along with a RedLithium 12V lithium-ion battery pack, a quick
charger and a nylon web harness that fits around the nailer. The
first thing that might jump out at you if you are familiar with
pneumatic palm nailers is that this nailer is about twice as big as
its air-powered relatives. But the good news is that it still fits in
your palm and just in case you are worried about it getting away,
you can attach the nylon harness on and strap it to your hand. It is
only fitting that since we are calling this a palm nailer that we
compare it to palm nailers as we know them. We felt this was far more
appropriate than putting it in the same category as the 12V battery
powered auto hammers that Ryobi, Craftsman, Rigid and company have
come out with. If we did that, there really would be no comparison
because the hands down winner is the Milwaukee.

2458
Cordless Palm Nailer, M12 Battery and Strap

When
holding the tool, it has a decent size and heft to it. The M12
battery loads into the back end of the grip and on the top center of
that grip area is a small recessed lock on/off paddle switch. On the
left side of the tool body there is a trapezoidal shaped button
switch that when depressed starts the motor. If you are a right
handed, this button is right where your thumb should be. If you are a
lefty, you are on your own as to how you press it. This switch is the
fundamental difference in operation from a pneumatic palm nailer.
With a battery powered tool, there has to be some way to activate the
motor. The actual nail driving action does not happen until you have
a nail loaded in the collet and you put pressure on the nail when you
press it against the surface you are going to drive it into.
Surrounding the nail driving head, there is a retractable metal guard
and a built in magnet that helps hold the nail in place until you are
ready to start. The overall body of the nailer is made of red glass
reinforced nylon material and there is plenty of thick rubber
overmold on the main grip areas of the tool to help absorb shock and
provide traction for you your hands. The exposed metal nozzle area
with the retractable safety shroud bares striking similarities to the
pneumatic variety of palm nailers. Of course this nailer includes one
of the new M12 RedLithium 12V lithium-ion battery packs which offers
a marked improvement over the previous generation of 12V lithium
batteries from Milwaukee due to its improved cell structure and heat
dissipation.

The
Milwaukee 2458 Palm Nailer next to Bostich and a Senco Pneumatic
models

Testing
and Use

Testing
the Milwaukee 2458-21M12 Cordless Palm Nailer was the fun part.
Really using a palm nailer is fun any time. Maybe I have watched too
many super-hero movies with my kids but the idea of simply pushing
big nails straight into a piece of wood, really fast is fun.
When we first saw the M12 Palm Nailer last year, we went away pretty
impressed with its nail-driving capabilities. Now maybe this is
because of our dismal tryouts with the 12V auto hammers, but still,
nonetheless, we liked what we saw. Now that we had one of these in
our shop we were able to get a little more intimate with it. We
grabbed a nail bag that contained a wide variety of both big and
small nails and a piece of 4×4 pressure treated pine that was just
asking to get stuck like a pin cushion. One of the first things we
caught on to with this palm nailer is that it is kind of loud (and it
did not help that we were indoors for our test session). We would
suggest using both ear and eye protection (this goes for any power
tool). The next thing we noticed is that we did not like the nylon
hand strap for the nailer because we felt it lessened our grip on the
tool. We took it off and left it in the carry case. Maybe if we were
working in an overhead situation or up on scaffolding or a ladder, it
might prove to be a better accessory.

Driving
nails with the Milwaukee M12 Palm Nailer

Needless
to say, we drove tons of nails including twisted deck nails, ring
shank stainless steel deck nails, #8 and #10 Simpson Tie nails, and
16d common framing nails. There was not a single instance that we
were not able to drive a nail until the head was flush with the wood.
This is not to say that all the nails went in exactly straight or
where we wanted them. What would happen is that once we started to
put some pressure on the nail head, and the nailer started hammering,
the nail had already started into the wood crooked. In some instances
we were able to straighten up the nail by placing pressure on it in a
different way, but most of the time, the nail would just go in
crooked. After doing this a number of times we figured something was
up and we had to get to the bottom of it. After discussing our
difficulties with Corey Dickert, Associate Product Manager for
Milwaukee Cordless Tools, he quickly honed in on what we were
missing. Remember that trapezoidal shaped power button that your
thumb rests against? What he suggest is that we have that button
pressed in so that the motor is running before we try to drive a
nail. He went on to explain what was happening to us is that unlike a
pneumatic nailer, which is activated by putting pressure against the
internal nail anvil to start the tool; that with this battery powered
tool, the only way to activate the motor is with the push button. If
you set the nail in the tool, press the nail against the wood and
then hit the power button, it will cause the nailer to jump or not
fully strike the nail which sometimes leads to false starts or
starting the nail crooked.

We
went back into the shop and tried what he described with having the
power button pressed before we put a nail in and before we started
pressing it against the wood. Using this method, we discovered that
we had nearly the same nailing action as we would have expected from
its pneumatic counterparts. While we did glance at the owners manual,
we did not read it thoroughly as we should have. The manual actually
tells you this is the proper procedure for using this tool. READ
THE MANUAL. This
is not to say that we did not have an occasional crooked nail drive
but we did experience a different tool once we understood how it was
designed to be used.

Size
of the nail collets (the Milwaukee is the largest)

When
we compared the size of the hole for the nail head on our Bostich and
Senco pneumatic palm nailers, the hole on the Milwaukee is larger
which seems to give more play but also ensured that large head nails
fit into it. As far as speed, the Milwaukee Cordless Palm Nailer is
maybe only a second or less slower when compared to a pneumatic model
driving the same nail. We liked the idea of being able to pound nails
cord-free and we are pretty sure we can come up with a bunch of good
reasons to add the Milwaukee 2458-21M12 Cordless Palm Nailer to your
tool collection. This tool especially makes sense if you already own
other M12 series of tools because you will then have extra batteries
to go around. We also liked that it has a Cree-style LED work light.
Where this tool will likely get used most often will be in dim or
dark areas like attics, crawlspaces and job sites with limited
amounts of lighting. Even with its extra weight and slightly larger
size, after some practice and getting used to the tool, we were
actually getting good with it.

Conclusion

The
compact size and the reality of no attached hoses or cords puts the
Milwaukee 2458-21M12 Cordless Palm Nailer into a category all its
own. You can really go where no nailer has gone before. With a
powerful impacting mechanism you can plan on being able to drive
standard construction type nails in most situations. For our
Performance rating we gave this nailer a 6/10 based on the fact that
it can actually keep up with it’s pneumatic counterparts but at the
expense of a little extra bulk. For our Value rating, we gave the
nailer a 7/10 because it offers all the features we have come to
expect from the M12 product line along with the ability to do
something that has not been done at this level before.

Specs

• Voltage: 12V
• BPM: 2700 BPM
• Blow Energy: 2.2 ft/lbs
• Collet Capacity: 6D-16D
• Height: 6.5″
• Length: 7.5″
• Width: 2.5″
• Weight: 3.4 lbs
• Warranty: 5 years