Good tools are good tools. I have a certain affinity for the Makita brand that goes all the way back to the early 1990s. Both my uncle and my grandfather were users of the Makita brand dating back to the 1980s after the decline of the Craftsman brand as the tool standard of Americans. My uncle told me a story that when he started as a contractor in 1985, he went through two new Craftsman sanders in a week before switching to Makita and never looking back.
When going through my father-in-law’s shed, I donated a lot of items to Habitat for Humanity. I saved a couple of the Makita tools that I thought were not ‘use off the shelf’ ready, like this drill. Sure, ultimately I think it probably cost more to repair than to purchase used. I suspect that they were ‘gifts’ from a friend as he was a retired cabinet maker that had a habit of giving tools away that he no longer saw a use. And my father-in-law was always gracious.
The amazing thing is that I think you can purchase every single part for this drill still. This includes all the plastic cowlings. My original plan was to just replace the cord, but looking at it more closely, I figured I could get away with shortening the cord. That is what freed my mind to replace the missing auxiliary handle which was the most expensive part of the whole project.
End Your Programming Routine: I now have three, corded electric 1/2″ drills, only one that I actually purchased. My ultimate thought was to repair this drill and give it to someone that might feel more of an emotional connection to it, like my son rather than risking it getting thrown away. For that reason, I didn’t mind spending some money on it as long as it was a quality item. It probably won’t ever get a lot of use now that cordless tools are so convenient. But, what would you pay to do a project with Grandpa again?
I have been using this tool for the last couple of months. I have got to say that it has become the go-to circular saw in my inventory. I am going to give some ins and outs of my experience.
A cordless circular saw should not be your only circular saw, but probably your first one. Once a certain level of efficacy is achieved with the engineering of the tool, all the additional drawbacks are secondary. What I mean is that a smaller overall blade means less cutting capacity and a battery means limited runtime. But, for the ‘one’ cut or the awkward cuts you cannot beat a small, lightweight and cordless tool.
I am going to compare and contrast some of the other saws in my line-up to try and build a case for this one. My first saw was a traditional home-owner grade Skil. Nothing really wrong with that, I have done a lot of projects and it is serviceable. The number one thing that improves accuracy (for a right hander) is having a blade to the left so you can see the blade cutting the line as you push the saw.
I upgraded to a Porter-Cable about fifteen years ago. This is a much beefier, contractor oriented saw. It has the blade on the left, a really wide base. This saw is ear splitting loud and I have some trouble with the blade wandering, could be me but it doesnt seem to be an issue with other saws. However, the first thing that broke was the ‘tool less’ nut to hold the blade on. This happened mid-project so I ended up buying the Skil worm drive saw while I waited on a replacement nut.
The Skil is a beast. If I am cutting framing lumber all day long or concrete block, this is the saw that I want. It is quiet and powerful (and really heavy). Now, I am going to review the roles that each of these saws’ play. The regular Skil is now attached to my Kreg track. The worm drive is for heavy duty cutting and the Porter-Cable I use largely for demolition. That leaves the Makita for everything else.
I think most people in this realm know that once a brand is chosen, you are smart to buy other tools in the same brand because you can share batteries between them. Hence I have the Makita tool system and a number of tools that are in the family. In true disclosure, I dont have a lot of recent experience with other brands. But after fretting for several months on what brand to buy, I think that you probably cant go wrong with any of them. I will say that DeWalt is available at both major home centers whereas Makita is not. The same is true for Rigid, Milwaukee, Ryobi, Bosch and Craftsman, being store specific.
Now, I only have 3 aHr batteries, so to get more run time, an upgraded battery would be an improvement. However, on a full charge I was able to work on siding all day long without changing batteries. The light an compact nature of the saw is extremely useful in tight situations.
On the more downside of things, this saw does not have a ton of torque so it needs a runway to get started with cutting. It can bind relatively easy so you need to pay attention to the cut. Because of the light weight, kick back is much more real because it doesn’t have the mass behind it to counter act the forces of binding. If you add to it more risky support because of the light weight of the saw you need to be careful not to get injured.
Score
Pros
Cons
Value
3/5
Uses batteries for my existing 18V tools
Costs as much as a high output electric saw
Batteries requires brand loyalty
Quality
5/5
Good ergonomic fit
Performance
4/5
Very happy about the performance of a lightweight, cordless saw
High battery draw, the brushless saw (for 50% more) would be more efficient and powerful
It should be noted that this was a tool only purchase. At $129 that is fairly steep for convenience. There are options to buy kits where the most common is drill, driver, reciprocating saw and circular saw that would come with batteries and a charger. The saw can be purchased with battery and charger as well, but you are now getting up to the $250 range. At that price I don’t think this is worth the money.
To sum it up, I am very happy. Despite the many drawbacks not having a cord is sure convenient.
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