Best Makita Circular Saws
Heavy duty workhorse – These saws are big, heavy and powerful but thats why you buy one. Well not so much for the weight. These saws have remained a similar design for 30… Read more
years and its a well proven, simple and reliable design. Ive used these for framing for years and they just dont miss a beat.
You really can treat these harshly and you would be working hard to kill one. Given thier size and weight I only get it out when the cordless circular saw wont get the job done and thats only for serious full depth ripping in hardwood. They come with the standard accessories you would expect and I would recommend for those serious into heavy timber framing if youre not doing that get one of the smaller and lighter makita cordless saws.
Great saw with plenty of power – Bought this saw for $119 in August 2020 to rip some 45mm thick hardwood. Very impressed with how easily it ripped through the timber and how fast it… Read more
was. The blade was at the right angle straight out of the box and did not require any adjustment. The guide is surprisingly easy to use to cut to pre-determined width. Overall very impressive!
No more cords – Ive had one of these for years, they are powerful and useful. When i first got it i took a bit of a chance as they were fairly new on the market and… Read more
only 3ah batteries were availble. Now there are bigger capacities available the corded 9 1/4 only comes out for ripping ironbark or similar heavy work. I have the new cordless makits 18v and it sits even higher up the chain than this one in terms of features, build quality and battery life. I would spend the extra and go for the newer model. If youre on a budget this will get you by fine.
Solid, powerful and good quality, though rather loud – I bought one of these in March 2020 for $349 at Total Tools, though I used the same model extensively before-hand because my housemate owned one. I… Read more
didn’t have a drop saw so to make straight cuts, I would set up a piece of timber as a guide on top of the piece I wanted to cut on the table, make it square with my square, clamp it down and make the cut with the circular saw. The method works fine, but it’s way slower than using a drop saw, and I should've just bought a drop saw to start with.
Nonetheless, the Makita circular saw has performed flawlessly. I’ve mostly used it with hardwood, which of course is generally more demanding than softwood, and has been no trouble for this saw. I used it to build about 20 garden wicking beds, a loft, a greenhouse, a solar dehydrator, a teeterboard, etc, as well as for cutting up firewood.
At 1800 watts, the saw has plenty of power - more than my Makita mitre saw in fact, at 1430 watts, and with a higher blade speed of 5800 RPM versus 4300 RPM. It’s reasonably heavy at 4.8 kg, but comfortable to hold and easy to use. The base seems flat and solid and can easily be tilted for bevel cuts or lowered to adjust the depth of the cut. It can cut a decent depth: 63.5 mm, or 45 mm with a 45 degree bevel. It also features an LED to light up your cutting area, which I’ve found useful at times. By the way, I believe the “MG” in the model name designates that it has a magnesium base/shoe, which helps save on weight while being very sturdy and durable. And I believe the only difference between the 5007MG and the 5007MGK is that the latter comes with a carry case.
I liked the saw enough to buy my own when my housemate moved out and took his with him. Unfortunately though, my saw hasn’t seen much use, because I ended up buying both a Makita sliding compound mitre saw and a 5-piece DeWalt Flexvolt kit which included a cordless 54V circular saw. I’ve hardly used my 5007MG saw since then. That’s because, as with other corded tools, I’ve found the main shortcoming of this saw is that it has a cord, and it’s just rather an inconvenient thing to have on a circular saw. The only other minor shortcoming is that it lacks an electric brake, which I’ve become accustomed to on my cordless circular saw and my mitre saw. It also seems reasonably pricey for a corded circular saw, but it seems you get what you pay for.
If you’re doing a large volume of sawing in one spot with good access to a power point, you need heaps of power, or you don’t want to invest the premium in buying batteries for a cordless version, then perhaps this saw would suit you? I can confidently affirm that it’s a solid saw.
An outstanding track/plunge saw – When in the market for a quality track saw, there are obviously the two main options - i.e. Festool or Makita. Further complicating the decision then… Read more
is whether to go for 18V or the newer high capacity battery system. Obviously if you are already within a certain battery ecosystem it makes sense to probably stick with that since the batteries are a large part of the investment. I took the Makita XGT 40V option a couple of months back and have been absolutely blown away by this saw. Bought it in a kit form with a rail and two batteries and that's certainly a worthwhile bundle, but you may also want to consider another 1.4m rail or longer if cutting larger sheets. The added bonus with the kit is that you get a bluetooth module which lets you sync to a Makita vac if you have one of those.
There's a few YouTube reviews out there so it's not worth going over all the features, but the main thing that has absolutely astounded me with this saw is the battery performance. I've been able to work with this saw all day on a single 4ah battery and given that the kit came with two of them, I can't see how I would ever go through both unless I'm cutting down a forest. Everything about the saw has been fabulous. It runs smoothly on the track and the adjusters take out any play to give you very accurate cuts. The locking clip to keep it in the rail has been a lifesaver on several occasions (especially when the saw is tilted to cut a miter) and quality as well as ease of cuts has been brilliant. Have had a much cheaper 240V corded track saw before and this absolutely blows it away in every regard. Can highly recommend.
Pro's : - Quality of cuts - Performance of 40V system is astonishing - Short stop on the plunge to give you a score on laminate (quick and easy) Cons: - Miter angle adjustment can be a bit fiddly. - The depth gauge on the saw doesn't consider track depth - Dust extraction port would be nicer to have a clip system so that hose can't pull out.