Makita Circular Saw Q

B.Kelly

Hey,

Im just starting to look for a new circular saw. I started out looking around, and found that Makita has 2 Circular saws. Now i personally love the Makita brand.

They have there regular 7 1/4" saw, witch i have used, and personally love the older models, they had some much guts its great.

They also have a new 7 1/4 Magnesium saw. Never saw it before.

What i'm wondering is, why would i need to pay an extra $75 for the Magnesium? Is it worth the extra money?

I'm an apprentice, just starting to get the basic power tools i need to do work. So im looking for something that will last and take a good amount of punishment.

Any advice would be great.

Thanks

-Bill

Clutchcargo

I too like the Makita brand. I just bought a Makita circ saw from HD and ending up returning it because I felt the blade was too far out of alignment; it was out by 3/16 and I often guide the saw with a speed square. I think it was the 5007MG for $159. All my other Makita tools are made in Japan. This one is the first one that I bought that was made in China and it's most likely my last. Anyway, that's my Makita story.

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md2lgyk

Don't know for sure, but I suspect the magnesium saw is just a lot lighter than the "regular" saw. Only you can decide if that makes it worth the extra money.

I too am partial to Makita tools. I have one of their 16-5/16" circular saws I'm using to build a log house. I wish there was a magnesium version of that one - it weighs something like 28 pounds.

Erik Reppen

The newer looking ones are lighter because they're made with some magnesium alloys which a lot of people claim are more fragile too. If you were happy with the weight of the old saws, I'd stick with those as they are tried and true models. When you see people talking about the "mag" version of a saw, that's what they mean. It's typically the same saw with a few tweaks to accomodate the lighter parts. That's not the first time I heard the Makita mags are less than great quality. Makita's stuff seems to hit or miss for my taste but I doubt you can go wrong with the older model saws. Good price on Amazon too.

I think both saws have models with electric brakes which are nice if you're expecting to do a lot of repetitive cutoff work and it's also touted as a safety feature but the brakes can add 40-60 to the price tag. I need a cutoff saw of some kind, myself and I'm going with a jigsaw as I've developed an interest in woodworking. Apparently the latest Bosch jigsaws fill in nicely for occasional cutoff work.

TBFghost

I got my Makita 5007F from HD and it does not have a blade brake...it has been a great saw but has a few flaws...one is it only bevels to 45 degrees and the markings on the bevel scale are useless. The blade guard is not the best, i find myself having to manually pull it up more then on others saws. The sight lines, IE ability to see the blade is HORRIABLE compared to other saws. It is also one of the heavier saws. Last, the depth adjuster is getting hard to use, takes more and more force to get it to lock and unlock. Check out Bosch and Milwalkee....I have used both and they blow the 5007F out of the water...however I have not used the new Makita which is lighter, bevels more, and has nicer controls....

Erik Reppen

Is the 45 degree thing really that big of an issue? I see people make note of that fairly frequently but I can't think of many occasions when you would want the extra bevelling, myself. I'm not defending the Makita. I'd buy the Milwaukee first myself. I've just seen that come up as a criticism before and I'm wondering if I'm unaware of some of the more creative uses of circ saws or something. Seems like that would be more important to a jigsaw.

TBFghost

Framing for one.... alot of times things are not perfect 45 degree cuts and you need just a little more. in Finish work I use mine for LONG miter cuts....using an edge guide and a circ saw is alot easier and faster then a table saw sometimes. And it is nice to be able to tune the joint if needed. I also forgot to mention that the controls for the bevel and depth are are lot nicer and easier to use on the Bosch and Milwalkee.


Bosch Reman CS20 for $99. Great saw, A company I used to work for used these and I loved them....and great company to buy reman from...I do, and they come to you looking brand new and I have never had a problem with any of mine. I have a reman Bosch Reciprocating saw...BEAT THE HELL OUT OF IT...its seen its share of high drops and it still goes on like nothing happened.

http://bosch.cpotools.com/saws/circu...s/cs20-rt.html


My good friend has this saw...also a very nice and very comfortable saw...
http://www.cpomilwaukee.com/saws/cir...-/6390-81.html $119 reman