Best Makita Power Saws

Best power tool purchase in ages – I made the mistake of buying an entry level Hikoki (Hitachi) mitre saw online to replace my old commercial grade Hitachi but took one look at it out… Read more

of the box and thought: nup, not going to do the job.

Flicked it and bought this, admittedly for a much higher price. There are several Makita slide compound mitre saws available. This and its big brother 305mm (12”) version have a unique design where the saw comes forward on fixed double slide bars instead of the bar/s sliding through the main body. This is a huge benefit to anyone with less bench space. As long as you’re using the vacuum port rather than the dust bag, you can push it right up against the wall.

Cutting is fast (comes with an excellent stock blade), with soft start and motor kill after handle release. Quiet compared to many others. Slide rail is a dream to use. The base bevels easily on the horizontal, with firm click locking on the most common angles and an easy adjustment to fluid freeform angle setting. Vertical bevel is easy and accurate, designed well so it’s not a huge weight and difficult to set an angle left or right.

The cutting flexibility for a 10” is so impressive, it’s better than my old 12”. No wonder this sells for more than the bigger model. If you’re doing something like decking, this thing is adaptable enough to make tricky compound cuts and even a super long straight cut out to 300mm. It’s also got a really tall cutting capacity, so for narrow wood up to 100mm, you can leave the slide locked for stability and cut straight through, for example, 5 stacked lengths of 19mm dress decking or 3 of 32mm in one cut. Huge time save if you have multiple pieces the same size. For me building a deck around my swim spa, it was an unbelievable advantage.

The horizontal handle works well, making it easier to bring the saw down onto the wood, and it’s not fiddly to start, just a simple thumb press on the safety button to release the squeeze handle. There’s a built-in laser, but for me it’s not that helpful, as it’s only on one side and difficult to see in broad daylight. But at least it’s switchable, so I just have it permanently off.

Only two real downsides for me.

1. With wet wood the sawdust pipe clogs. But then that’s probably the same for any of these types of saws. It’s really set up for a vacuum attachment. Minor niggle, though. A manual vacuum at the end of the day and remembering to empty the dust bag 3-4 times if you’re cutting all day is not a great inconvenience to me. 2. The weight. If this will sit on a work bench it’ll never bother you (unless your workbench isn’t strong enough!) but for moving into cutting site daily it’s a bit of a pain. There’s a solid metal carry grip on the top, but at around 40kg, it’s a big lift with knees bent and requiring both hands. Easiest with two people.

Despite the above, I still rate it 5 stars. Beautifully clean cutting, quick, powerful, accurate, quiet and effortless to use. And the fixed slide rails system works really well.

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.

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.

Perfect for our kitchen reno! – Home Reno’s aren’t the most fun but having tools that make the job easier makes the world of difference. We used this jigsaw to cut out holes in our… Read more

bench top for appliances and the sink as well as holes in the cabinets for pipes etc.

It’s relatively light and very easy to use.

Glad we bought it.

Powerful, Lightweight, Almost Perfect – I do not have a workshop so I need a sliding compound mitre saw that is easy to move and not too heavy (compared to my previous large, heavy 240V… Read more

one). I own quite a few Makita cordless tools so I thought the Makita DLS714 saw would be perfect as it is lightweight (compared to the DLS111 or DLS2111 which are much heavier but provide additional features - laser, depth of cut, larger bevel). The cut is accurate and the motor is powerful enough to cut through 45mm dressed hardwood. I experienced kickback (for the first time in my woodworking life) that was so severe that 2 saw blade teeth were damaged and the back fence was gouged and pushed off line/center by a huge splinter/chip so the saw blade had to be replaced and the back fence sanded and re-aligned. Due to its size (190mm), the bevel angle is limited, there is no laser to align the cut location (I bought a small laser and embedded it near the rubber chip/sawdust extraction port) and the depth of cut is limited, especially for bevel cuts. I am not sure if I would buy this particular model again due to its limited depth of cut - the reason for giving it 4 stars. If you want to add a cutting guide using a light shadow, buy a bendable flexible USB LED light, a USB male female switch cable and a small USB external battery on eBay (total approx cost = $25) and use a hot glue gun to glue the USB LED light in front of the blade, on top of the blade housing but under the blade guide and then position the USB external battery near the carry handle (I used double sided tape, otherwise use velcro).