Makita MLT100

If you don't mind stripping it down first – This could be a handy table saw once you rebuild it. The guard is obviously mandatory but it limits the use to just stripping timber. The first thing to do is make a riving knife which may help stop the timber falling onto the saw blade as it drops almost a millimeter onto the cheap plastic coverplate. It may be possible to shim the coverplate to… Read more

make it level with the table but it is cheap flexible plastic so I will opt for making one out of 4mm aluminium. The angle guide has so much slop in the T slots that it is not reliable enough to use with any accuracy and the fence is too short as timber clears the fence before it fully passes the blade. Makita should be ashamed to put their label on this poor quality Chinese made table saw.

Makita failure – The rip fence clamp let’s this table saw down. Straight out of the box the clamp didn’t hold and slid up and down the rail, making it impossible to do accurate cuts. How this Makita product made it to the market with this obvious failure baffles me. I’ve owned a lot of good Makita products over decades but this one slipped through the keeper. Show details

Makita junk – Just the worst piece of junk ever . Fence no good, plastic insert fell apart ... engine spluttered and stopped never to work again ! Oh dear so sad that they make stuff this bad  Show details

Not worth keeping – Bought it march 2021 ( last week). Had been using my old Triton MK 3 for over 25years and the saw finally died after 40 years. Decided to upgrade and bought the Makita MLT100. Table is not flat - out by 1.5mm. Fence vey floppy and move when locking it down and is not stable enough for fine work. Tracks sloppy allowing about 1.5 degrees of movement with the mitre. Plastic insert very week and floppy. Poorly made. I'll take it back next week.  Show details

Waste of Money - DO NOT BUY this TABLE SAW – The Makita MLT100 Saw is bad news. - Sliding table moves out of square by 6mm. - Plastic part fall off. - Top of main table is not flat is out on the sliding table wing by height of 3mm. - Ripping fence bends out of square. - T-track and t-bar have 2mm movement off square. - Kerf out of line needed to bend it back in line with the saw blade as it… Read more

would catch.

So many issuse not worth the money or time to fix all the problems. Unless you are not looking for cut within a 0.5<1mm cut line.

Good for the money – Its a good saw for the price. Took a couple of hours and patience to set measurements, guides and slide right. It now cuts really well, straight, square and accurately. I am happy with the results so far. I know there is a few negative reviews, but out of the box it definitely needed adjusting and tunning. The fence will need some modifications to support it more, but I can't see this being a big job. I'm happy so far. Show details

It is not perfect and I can live without it!!! – I purchased this table saw a few days ago and I have already replaced the pathetic plastic insert cover and the pathetic fence and the T slots are also pathetic otherwise this table saw is ok for the occasional woodworker. Really Makita should be ashamed of themselves for selling this table saw with those easy to fix problems. Show details

Great saw – Quieter than other saws iv had nice guide system and extendable table. Runs smooth. Easy to.clean out than other saws . Good power cuts thru anything. Rate highly for diy use Show details

Happier than I expected – Reading reviews for this saw had me worried but after using it my only complaint would be the fit of the mitre fence runner in the saw table slot. Sloppy! Show details

Disappointed – I have always been a staunch Makita owner and on Sunday sold my 2400B Miter Saw as I had replaced it with a new AEG saw/stand system. This was one of the most reliable of your previous products that were always represented by the signature blue. The MLT100 is quite a disappointment as the runners on the miter assembly are flimsy/slack and the… Read more

fence is equally so. I noticed too, that it was produced in China....the home of products of the lowest/cheapest quality and am shocked to note that the Japs would farm their work to someone notorious for crappy workmanship and jeopardise their well-earned reputation to save a YEN!

It's done me no wrong.... :) – I got this one from the green shed in 2012, April fools day !! for $518. And it's given me great service in a handyman capacity - at this price I wouldn't expect something that's gonna hold up on a building site. Unlike most of the reviews here, I had to make my own stand, maybe I have an early model as I haven't noticed any fancy "soft start"… Read more

feature. Similarly, the fence has not given me any grief either. My other half does some model making and requires material ripped down to 1mm from time to time. This saw handles that without excitement from pine, or old hardwood palings, and the strips fall off the blade straight and even like they've come out of a planer. I did make my own zero clearance throat plate from a bit of scrap MDF and recall removing a well over strength spring from the blade height/angle adjuster, but that's about it. A modern day Makita out of China that has excelled, so far ! Maybe we tend to come on here to grumble.... :)

Good up to a point – I'm a tradesman. I've used Makita for most of my tools for over forty years. This is pretty much junk. The fence is shoddy and will not stay in place because only one end fixing which is flimsy. Everything all the other reviews say about this is true. It kicked back today because the fence was wobbly and now there is a massive noise in the… Read more

motor/bearings somewhere that makes it scary to use. I bought a much cheaper Ryobi to assist on a job and it is so much better. Stay away from this machine. If Makita have dropped their quality so much I'll move to another brand. Can't trust Makita any more!

Makita MLT100 Piece of Junk ! – I purchased this table saw as an upgrade from my Ryobi that I thought was just a piece of CHINA MADE JUNK, well what a surprise it was to find that the MAKITA MLT100 was a worse piece of junk. I have been a Makita power tool user for 30 years, all my old tools were made in Japan and were superb, but not anymore. This piece of junk I now own is… Read more

only fit for the dump I would not even risk giving it away. The edge slider won't stay straight, the blade wobbles, the table itself is not square.

I have now officially given up on Makita ,I won't pay top prices for Chinese junk anymore. tell the management at Makita we won't stand being ripped off like this, what a bloody cheek selling rubbish like this. These saws are dangerous and should be pulled off the market.

If you are unlucky enough to purchased one of these pieces of rubbish go you your money back before an accident happens, these things are down right dangerous.

MLT100 by Makita. Great for the Builder or Handyman – I brought one of these this week as it was a tidy portable solid saw with a free colapsable base and good cutting capacity. I then read the reviews on it, and nearly didn't open the box's. I'm glad i did. It's a great saw suitable for anything except fine cabinetmaking and the poor reviews do not do it justice. These are the facts: sliding table… Read more

has max cut of 525 and is fine for most jobs, unless you overload it. Pre cutting close to size first and final trimming helps here. The saw has soft start and a soft brake also. It is relatively quiet too. Power wise, it's good for 50mm pine ripping. Accurate angle cuts are good too. Easy in fact. Max width of cut with fence extended is 675. That's with the fence fully locked on. You will get a bit more but lose accuracy after that as the fench loses support. I hooked up my vacumn and had no mess whatsoever! I tried cutting 12mm plywood and got repeated square cuts easily using the sliding table. Once you have the bevel fence fitted, and wood on the table, any movement in tje sliding unit becomes neglable. So for me a builder, this machine that offers so much and cost just $789. 00 plus gst here in NZ, seems like excellent value. Moving it about on site wii be a breeze! I am most impressed! Gary Ellis - Woodwright.

Adequate but poorly designed and manufactured – I purchased this model some 12 years ago because it seemed to have a good mix of features for a moderate price and because it was a Makita. The first thing to go wrong, almost immediately, the mechanism to raise and lower the blade became difficult to operate. I modified it by adding a spring to help raise it which worked until last week when it… Read more

the mechanism finally failed...the thread stripped out on the casting called the gear box. The blade angle adjustment is awful to use. I gave up on the mitre guide after the first attempt because it always wobbled and jams in use. The plastic blade surround snapped into two pieces, so it was replaced with a bit of scrap alloy sheet. The fence works okay, is reliable once adjusted square but it is only one sided. I have ordered new pieces to repair the up-down adjustment as the parts were surprisingly inexpensive but I will not be buying another one of these.

Not up to makita standards – Makita need to take a good look at this saw as it is well below their normal high standard of wood working tools 42 years working with timber and every power tool I own is Makita I assumed this saw would be another great asset much to my shock it is poorly built and designed The fence does not clamp on tight enough and moves when ripping timber… Read more

and the sliding cross cut fence is too tight and won't slide unless you use excess force

A very disappointing power tool and would not recommend buy it as there are others on the market slightly cheaper and better built

Makita go back to building your tools in Japan instead of China as it was not cheap and customers deserve better

Brilliant for a compact unit, highly recommend – I don't understand all the salty people here, i got this unit from bunnings and i absolutely love it. It's not without its faults, but it's also a job site/handyman saw. NOT a cabinet saw. nice clean cuts, very minor adjustment to the fence out of the box, other than that its done everything required of it and probably a few things it was never… Read more

designed for.

My only complaints would be:

- No dado capability

- The fence could be longer, a tie down on the opposite side would be handy

- the plastic insert around the blade is rubbish and the design makes diy zero clearance inserts difficult to make

But realistically, the fix to these faults is to buy a full size saw. (Yes i mean you salty people whinging in reviews. 1 star? get out)

For $600ish bucks it's a great buy.

no two cuts the same – no two cuts the same. the blade does not run true because of the way it is mounted the blade is not in line with the miter tracks. fence is not at 90 deg to bench the cutting bench is not flat and flexes as you adjust blade height, blade moves as you cut. the up and down mechanism I have replaced twice it jams on the up. dust collection is so… Read more

bad, sliding table rocks side to side. and miter attachment to loose in slot Miter slots not even in width. fence not the same angle as you move it along the rail. I paid close to $700 for it,Better to spend a bit more say $1000 to $1100 and buy something with a better table top and fence. and bitter arbor flanges. not enough power for cutting hard woulds like red gum.

only ok for ruff cuts that you don't need to repeat . I sense paid a bit more for a new saw well worth it . I am a home hobbyist and very part time trady so please do not consider it really is a waist of your money. I saw the so called new model but i could see the same problems. I bought it from bunnings, but unfortunately I didn't use it for a will and by the time I released it was crap it was too late to return it.

Couldn't be better – This machine is what most people have come to expect from Makita, well made, reliable, and very functional. I've not had it long but it has done everything I have asked of it. The soft start means no nasty jolts or surprises when the machine is turned on and all the adjustments are smooth and reliable. This is a top-of-the-line home handyman… Read more

machine and good enough for most professionals as well. I really love the ample work top which makes handling big jobs a breeze. I would venture to suggest that the many reviews that have been less than flattering are from victims of a rip-off manufacturer using the Makita name. Stihl have had similar problems and these rogue manufacturers are very convincing. When buying goods like this, check the packaging for telltale signs such as the correct labels, logos, and box design. The genuine article usually reflects the pride the manufacturer has in their product (plain, brown, no graphics - forget it).

unless cheap rubbish – bought this friday ,opened the box and straight away see theres a gap at the bottom edge of the sliding table at 2mm and the top was 8mm , rust on the arms that pull out and the guide fence is over at the top by 5mm ,sent it back for a replacement and the one thats come today is worse ,haven't even removed it from the box, as the table has so much… Read more

wobble in it ,and out at 6mm, piece of crap ,and to be fair i have always been a makita fan,but looks like they are not even going through quality control,time to move on to festool .stay away from this saw cheaply made .

You need good nerves – I bought this saw in December 2015 after deciding to downsize my workshop. My problem from the outset has been the full speed start. You need good nerves to stand the bang that shakes the saw. I have spoken to Makita and, apparently, the soft start was taken out some time ago and they are unable to offer any solution to the problem. Has… Read more

anyone come up with a solution for this please. I have not used this machine very much as this bang makes me nervous and I feel that this could be a health and safety issue for anybody buying this machine as you dont need to be of a fragile nature!!!

Wish I read these reviews first – All the problems everyone else has already detailed. Started tripping out and the electronic break failed after the second small job. Ordered new brushes for the motor which didn't make any difference tried to use it again and it burnt out the motor completely. Lost my receipt so no warranty and I wouldn't want this same saw back again anyway,… Read more

even if the motor wasn't junk it would still be hideously inaccurate and borderline dangerous. I'd stick it on council cleanup but I'd be worried someone else might use it and sue me.

Totally put me off anything Makita makes if they are OK with sticking this piece of junk on sell.

Don't go near this saw – I bought this table saw approx 2yrs ago. Decided to upgrade my Triton that I got around 1995 as I Owner Building my house at the time. Well, I have had Makita tools back in the 70's. What a disappointment, the guide is SO inaccurate, I also checked reviews before I made my decision. I want to get rid of the thing, but I can't pass this heap of crap on to anyone else.  Show details

Do not go near this saw – As per above, I have one of these. What can I say this saw is very badly made: it falls apart and is very dangerous. I will never buy Makita again: The fence is only supported on one side and is prone to move about. The little grubber screws securing the plate around the saw blade work loose ( dangerous). All the adjustable parts are not secured properly and simply fall off. Do not go near this saw.

Buy something else – Bought mine 18months ago and use it mainly for ripping stock down now, mainly hardwood which it handles well power wise. Tried making a few cabinets with it but the extension wing doesn't line up properly so the fence is way out of square. You can see where I'm going with this... There doesn't seem to be anyway to align it so you can get square cuts out of it.

Race to the bottom – I bought a MLT100 beginning of March 2015 after my Dewalt DW744 burnt out ripping some slightly wet landscape timber. I am retired and only need a saw for DIY use so thought this Makita would be a good replacement, was I wrong? After I assembled the stand and got the saw set up I realised this was not good enough for me to make furniture on. I… Read more

soon found the table was not flat and varied front to back, making 90 degree cuts was neigh impossible. Every time I tried to use the sliding table I had to use a framing square to set the mitre fence to the blade, the play in the mitre slots are terrible. The rip fence is flimsy and too short, setting it on the table extension is totally inaccurate. I sold the saw this week and cut my losses, the buyer said looks great like new, I said I did use it much so a waste for me to have it. Now I have bought a 60 year old New Zealand made Tanner brand table saw and renovated it, it much better than the Makita. In my opinion Makita is not competing with Bosch or Dewalt with this saw but in a race to the bottom with other cheap Chinese and Taiwanese brand saws

Buyer Beware - Dangerous - Chinese Made, Poor Quality! – I have always been one to read reviews before buying a certain product and then make my own decision at the store. But after purchasing this table saw, I can personally tell you that if these sites say the product is no good,,,, please listen to them. This table saw is dangerous!. I purchased one from my local bunnings store and after setting… Read more

it up and making a few cuts I totally regret it.

The fence locking mechanism is the most dangerous of all the problems I have found. It does not lock properly. I was ripping a piece of wood and the fence locking mechanism came loose and let the fence move half way through a cut. I still tremble every time I think of when this happened. It really scared me. This is just not acceptable Makita. ( The quality of cut also suffers because of the fence)

The throat plate was cracked around two screws before I used the saw. The design and poor quality of this throat plate also make it dangerous to use.

Problems with the saw that I also have noted -

Table is not flat

The sliding side table slides on two plastic guides that run on two pipes. very poorly/cheaply made and designed. Two much play and movement in the side table guides to get consistently accurate cuts.

When using the mitre gauge in the T-slots there is to much play movement to get consistently accurate cuts.

The height and alignment of both table extensions are also very disappointing.

I would recommend to anyone thinking of buying a table saw to stay away from this model - MLT100

get the upgrade this is not good – The fence travels, you can't cut straight with it, the thing moves when you tighten it, it's not a very well thought out machine. I'll be taking this back and buying the better version

Better off at Aldi – This is a very shoddy machine, verging on dangerous. The throat plate is so thin the work piece can be pushed down beside the blade. Mine was broken in three places when I bought it. The fence is weak. The mitre gauge is so sloppy in its slots that it's useless. The lock on the mitre adjustment throws the adjustment out by several degrees when… Read more

you tighten it.

Save up and buy a proper one - this one is rubbish.

Another example of a company using its good reputation to sell junk. Makita's reputation has taken a nosedive for me. It's cheap - in all ways.