I don’t normally review tools, nor am I someone who looks for a reason to add a tool to my shop, but as a favor to my fellow pulled-rivet airframe builders, I have to shine a light on the Milwaukee M12 cordless riveter. When I built my Sonex I had to set over 10,000 stainless steel blind rivets with a pneumatic rivet puller. It worked well—certainly better than doing it manually—but naturally it had to be tethered to an air compressor. The air hose played tug-o-war with me and added weight. Care was needed to keep the hose off my polished skins and from wiping my coffee cup off my workbench. The hose also made setting the riveter down a challenge. The mandatory air compressor was loud, took up valuable floor space and, when it was cold in my garage, needed to be preheated to coax it to work. (The older I get, the more I understand that need.)
I became aware of Milwaukee’s cordless riveter in 2022, when Sonex used them to build the Waiex One Week Wonder during AirVenture. I had my first opportunity to use one shortly thereafter, on my personal Onex project. I think I heard angels sing. I know for sure it wasn’t an air compressor. After setting a few thousand rivets with one, I feel qualified to write an (uncompensated) review.
I’ve used the M12 riveter to pull mostly 1/8-inch-diameter stainless steel rivets, up to 3/8-inch long. The only time it’s balked is when the battery is running down, but battery life is excellent—easily carrying me through hours-long building sessions. As with any battery-operated tool, to ensure progress continues uninterrupted, it’s wise to have an extra battery.
Though the pulling force cannot be adjusted, as it can with a pneumatic riveter (by adjusting the air compressor’s pressure regulator), I view this as a plus. In my years supporting Sonex builders I found a frequent builder error was setting the air pressure too high, which pulls rivets too fast, causing mandrels to break proud of the surface. I’ve had no such problem with the M12. The M12 also pulls a rivet slightly slower than the pneumatic riveter I’m used to, but this is also a plus as it reduces the odds I’ll side-load a rivet which, when the mandrel breaks, can send the tip of the rivet gun skittering across a skin. Not a good look on a polished airplane. I’ve yet to have a mandrel get stuck in the M12’s jaws. That was a frequent problem with my pneumatic riveter, though that may be because my pneumatic riveter came from Harbor Freight.
If you are equipping your shop for a pulled-rivet project, I’d guide you to the Milwaukee M12 riveter—especially if you don’t have an air compressor or another need for one. If you do have an air compressor, an M12 will free you from the leash and the noise of a pneumatic riveter.
Thanks for the review Kerry! I too noticed the use of the Milwaukee Rivet Gun during the One Week Wonder build at AirVenture. I’ve since purchased one and I’ve used it on a few projects. Wow! I can echo your praise. I’ve still got my pneumatic one if needed, but I’ll be going to the battery one first in the future.
Thank you, Kerry for this review. I’ve already pulled probably 90% of the rivets on my RANS S-19, but unlike you, I’m always looking for more tools! There may be an M12 in my future!
Kerry, what size battery did you use? It looks like several sizes are available? The smallest/lightest one would be my choice if it provides enough life.
I used the standard (smallest) M12 battery, which gives great performance. I’d rather have two of those than one high-capacity battery.
Good to know. I guess 2 small batteries and a charger would be good. Thank you.
I ordered the kit with riveter, 2 small batteries, charger, and carry case.
My biggest issue with this gun was that the smaller rivets (3.2/4mm) would occasionally get jammed in the ejection tube. So if I was running this without the catcher on the back I wouldn’t know if the mandrel ejected or not. Having one in the channel and pulling the next rivet would result in two mandrels in the channel and they would bind up. You would find out quickly when you tried to pull the third rivet and the mandrel wouldn’t full recess into the chamber. This requires a quick dismantling of the rivet gun and then finding a strong but narrow “pusher” to release the jammed mandrels.
I basically got to a point where I ran without the collection on the back of the rivet gun and when pulling the 3.2/4mm rivets it was pull, verify ejection before pulling again. The first time it happened I spend a few hours trying to sort out of how to fix the problem. By the time I finished the plane I could catch it quicker and have it resolved in about 15 min or so. It was still a pain.
Anyway – nice gun with that one issue.