Makita Slide Compound Mitre Saw 305mm 1800W

Good price. Weight wise this is at the top end of the ladder for me. Not something you would want to be loading and off loading into a van every day.From a cutting point of view, very pleased with it. The soft start and how it can quickly come to a stop is impressive. Cutting oak on my first project on it and it a pleasure. Love the mitre and bevel set up. The simple lock system for transport is quick and easy.All round, good value saw with an awesome crosscut length. Would recommend but check its weight first

Awesome saw, needs shadow line

I bought this from Mitre10 Palmerston North, got and home and set it up straight away. Started tuning the saw and noticed the blade had a LOT of runout - about 1mm. This was caused by a bent arbor that was actually visible when the blade was rotating.Phoned the store and spoke to Kev who had a look to see their available stock and then sorted another one for me so when I arrived in the store with my original item, the new one was ready and waiting. Easy exchange.Got the new one home and straight away powered up the saw with no blade and the arbor looked good. Put the blade on and found zero runout. It was perfect.Obviously the first one was a bit of a dud but the staff at Mitre 10 mega, especially Kev, made it so easy to swap over.Saw works brilliantly, ... MoreI bought this from Mitre10 Palmerston North, got and home and set it up straight away. Started tuning the saw and noticed the blade had a LOT of runout - about 1mm. This was caused by a bent arbor that was actually visible when the blade was rotating.Phoned the store and spoke to Kev who had a look to see their available stock and then sorted another one for me so when I arrived in the store with my original item, the new one was ready and waiting. Easy exchange.Got the new one home and straight away powered up the saw with no blade and the arbor looked good. Put the blade on and found zero runout. It was perfect.Obviously the first one was a bit of a dud but the staff at Mitre 10 mega, especially Kev, made it so easy to swap over.Saw works brilliantly, Blade cuts well. Tuned it and did some test cuts and it still needs some fine tuning. Not the easiest to do due to the fact that square to the fence (90 degrees) on one side of the blade isn't exactly the same on the other side, The same goes for the 45's.The bevels are easy as to adjust but setting the indicators to zero mean they read 44.5 at the 45 degree stop and that was set using the included square.This machine is really lacking a shadow line. The laser is ok but not completely accurate and even after adjusting it, it doesn't sit very square. The 36v and 40v cordless options have shadow lights, Come on Makita, it's time to swap out the laser for the shadow line.

Great Saw, if you get one without defects. If you do prepare for a ride.

My first experience with this saw wasn’t great. The fence had a bow in the middle, forcing larger boards to flex inward and kick the saw, a lot. I didn’t realize this at first, thought maybe I was using wet wood, possibly something I was doing wrong as it is my first 12” slider. A couple weeks in I noticed the issue, and contacted CPO, there only fix was to refund me as the saw is in and out of stock. Called Makita, and they wanted me to take it to a service center, 33 days old, a clear manufacturing defect, there’s nothing I could do to bend the entire fence inward. Finally CPO received them back in stock, it took 4 days for them to receive saw, a week to send a replacement, and 2 days to get it back. That’s a long time to a small shop, trying to keep up with ... MoreMy first experience with this saw wasn’t great. The fence had a bow in the middle, forcing larger boards to flex inward and kick the saw, a lot. I didn’t realize this at first, thought maybe I was using wet wood, possibly something I was doing wrong as it is my first 12” slider. A couple weeks in I noticed the issue, and contacted CPO, there only fix was to refund me as the saw is in and out of stock. Called Makita, and they wanted me to take it to a service center, 33 days old, a clear manufacturing defect, there’s nothing I could do to bend the entire fence inward. Finally CPO received them back in stock, it took 4 days for them to receive saw, a week to send a replacement, and 2 days to get it back. That’s a long time to a small shop, trying to keep up with orders. I asked if I could just pay for another saw and get my money back when I received the saw. They weren’t very accommodating, and the Customer Service guy I talked to at CPO wasn’t great. Every time I asked anything I got the same answer, ship it in and we will ship you a new one right out. Maybe I made him mad asking a lot of questions or something. But a simple I timeline from the beginning would have saved me and you guys a lot of trouble. All in all the saw is great, now that it works as it’s supposed to, I wouldn’t change a thing. Dust collection is perfect, it cuts like butter through anything. And the slide crosscuts the widest boards it’s so nice. Laser system is useless but aren’t they all. I’m going to rig a led guide.

Great compound mitre saw

This saw does everything you want, its a pleasure to use and its accurate. As with other professional grade tools everything is adjustable. 60 degrees in either direction for mitres is great. The laser is a bonus and works well except in high light conditions.The only thing I've noticed from the previous version of this saw (LS1216) is that its about 3Kg heavier.

I have used most of the features and it's pretty good

In general I'm really happy with the saw. The motor control (slow start and then constant speed) is fantastic. With a 100 tooth blade the finish on the cut hardly needs any additional sanding or planing.I'm going to mention a few things that are less than perfect though:It's hard to set the bevel precisely to a non-standard angle because the motor/blade assembly is so heavy.The laser is so faint it's near impossible to see outdoors. But I do like that it can easily shifted to either side of th4 blade. Also, a hole in the blade guard makes it easy to sight along the blade to the work.My main complaint has nothing to with the saw per se but with Makita's total lack of guidance as to what vises they make that work with the saw. I bought one that sort of worked ... MoreIn general I'm really happy with the saw. The motor control (slow start and then constant speed) is fantastic. With a 100 tooth blade the finish on the cut hardly needs any additional sanding or planing.I'm going to mention a few things that are less than perfect though:It's hard to set the bevel precisely to a non-standard angle because the motor/blade assembly is so heavy.The laser is so faint it's near impossible to see outdoors. But I do like that it can easily shifted to either side of th4 blade. Also, a hole in the blade guard makes it easy to sight along the blade to the work.My main complaint has nothing to with the saw per se but with Makita's total lack of guidance as to what vises they make that work with the saw. I bought one that sort of worked for some things and end up modifying it to suit my purposes.

It's great unless they send you a bad one

Aligned the fence and made two full capacity cuts in 3/4 plywood. Flipped one of them and aligned, expecting to see a gap at one end or the other indicating a minor alignment adjustment. What I had is touching both ends of cut, gap in the middle. This indicates the sliding rails are not parallel to the blade, there is no adjustment for this. Makita authorized service center repeated the result. Sent the saw back to Makita. Only thing I hear back is they are "looking at it". Takes less than 5 minutes to duplicate the alignment test. Meanwhile into the second week with no miter saw. Not acceptable. To me this is straightforward, even the service center asked them to replace the saw. Wish I had gone with Bosch.

Makita LS1219L Not So Perfect

I was a bit surprised on how inaccurate the saw was straight from the factory, I've always had makita tools with no problems but this item surprised me immensely, it wouldn't cut square all ot the mitre cuts were miles out, the lazer was at least 2mm from a marked pencil line in any direction, the blade didn't come in any wrapping of any sort and had been bouncing around in the box with the saw, same with fences. When your spending such a lot of money on a new machine you'd expect it to be a bit more perfect than mine was, I do have a vibration on the saw when starting up but I'll live with that for a while to see if it disappears, overall now I've spent hours trying to set this machine up its working a bit somehow like it should do. I haven't spoken to the ... MoreI was a bit surprised on how inaccurate the saw was straight from the factory, I've always had makita tools with no problems but this item surprised me immensely, it wouldn't cut square all ot the mitre cuts were miles out, the lazer was at least 2mm from a marked pencil line in any direction, the blade didn't come in any wrapping of any sort and had been bouncing around in the box with the saw, same with fences. When your spending such a lot of money on a new machine you'd expect it to be a bit more perfect than mine was, I do have a vibration on the saw when starting up but I'll live with that for a while to see if it disappears, overall now I've spent hours trying to set this machine up its working a bit somehow like it should do. I haven't spoken to the suppliers yet about the issues I've had but will do shortly as some of these issues should not be there.

Received saw with alignment issue

Aligned the fence and made two full capacity cuts in 3/4 plywood. Flipped one of them and aligned, expecting to see a gap at one end or the other indicating a minor alignment adjustment. What I had is touching both ends of cut, gap in the middle. This indicates the sliding rails are not parallel to the blade, there is no adjustment for this. I was past ACME's return window but a Makita authorized service center repeated the result. Sent the saw back to Makita. Only thing I hear back is they are "looking at it". Takes less than 5 minutes to duplicate the alignment test. Meanwhile into the second week with no miter saw. Not acceptable. To me this is straightforward, even the service center asked them to replace the saw. Wish I had gone with Bosch.

Retired & part time @68

High end saw for those wanting quality. Soft start/direct drive motor runs smooth with minimal jerk upon startups. Electronic brake is smooth as well. Makita customer service told me the motor is made in Japan. Quality for sure. Slide rails are smooth and tight,with basically no play in the saw head, extended all the way out. Rail stops for optimal cutting on edge and another for rabbets & dados. Vertical lower fence is dead straight end to end. Minimal calibration with the miter scale to square the blade. Upper removable fences are not dead on, but I would say within a 1/32nd of being flat to the lower. Overall, w/the 5 1/2”fence assembly, 90* to the deck.So no issues standing up material for square chopped cuts. Miter swing arm is silky smooth w/all the popular ... MoreHigh end saw for those wanting quality. Soft start/direct drive motor runs smooth with minimal jerk upon startups. Electronic brake is smooth as well. Makita customer service told me the motor is made in Japan. Quality for sure. Slide rails are smooth and tight,with basically no play in the saw head, extended all the way out. Rail stops for optimal cutting on edge and another for rabbets & dados. Vertical lower fence is dead straight end to end. Minimal calibration with the miter scale to square the blade. Upper removable fences are not dead on, but I would say within a 1/32nd of being flat to the lower. Overall, w/the 5 1/2”fence assembly, 90* to the deck.So no issues standing up material for square chopped cuts. Miter swing arm is silky smooth w/all the popular detents. Goes 60* both ways;very nice.Haven’t tried, but might cut 1x8 on edge? If not, it’s close! Great capacity. Reminds me of the older 14 & 15” chop/miter saws.Front operated bevel adjustment is slick & convenient. Not quite Kapex, but imho,, better than all the others out there. Locks at 22.5 & for standard crown cut flat. Tab lever to go from 45 to 48* for extra bevel.Shovel handle and safety switch are ergonomically nice. Safety button not in the way. Adjustable laser was factory set, just left off the cut of the included 60tooth Makita blade. Visible unless it’s super sunny. Shadow lines are nice, but it is a tight fine-line beam.From CPO, this model shipped, with the quietly upgraded newer extension wings. Same as the 40v GSL04Z. For some reason Makita still markets this machine with the older steel extensions they’ve had forever. Nice surprise!It’s a big fella,(approx.65lbs.), as with all 12” sliders. Not something you want to carry on a daily basis, especially for us old timers.If not for the shop, and out in the field, highly recommend a big wheeled miter saw stand. Purchased the Makita WST01-N and bolted up to this bad boy. The wheels are just under 12”. Nice on grass,gravel,up/down some steps & thresholds. Offers an adjustable working height too!CPO was fast & efficient in delivering both. If you’re shopping a new big slider, and been a fan of Makita, get this one. Great choice!????

THIS IS A BIG FELLA, but he sure does cut right.

This is a workshop upgrade, previous Makita miter saw was in and out of the workshop and on to site like a dog on heat at crufts, in the summer.Time for a dedicated shop saw. Wanted a Kapex, but the wife likes keeping a well stocked cocktail cabinet so here we are.Out of the box, the machine was actually pretty well keyed in. The positive stops on the base were accurate, the bevel also.The laser, not so much, bit of a tweaking still to come on that (not that I use them that much), seems to have a different point of focus as you drop the blade.Dust extraction..... Meh. Reckon I'll need to put a dedicated extractor on it as my system doesn't seem to have enough pull.But I digress, HAVE YOU SEEN HOW BIG IT IS!!! And as we all know, the bigger the tool, the more ... MoreThis is a workshop upgrade, previous Makita miter saw was in and out of the workshop and on to site like a dog on heat at crufts, in the summer.Time for a dedicated shop saw. Wanted a Kapex, but the wife likes keeping a well stocked cocktail cabinet so here we are.Out of the box, the machine was actually pretty well keyed in. The positive stops on the base were accurate, the bevel also.The laser, not so much, bit of a tweaking still to come on that (not that I use them that much), seems to have a different point of focus as you drop the blade.Dust extraction..... Meh. Reckon I'll need to put a dedicated extractor on it as my system doesn't seem to have enough pull.But I digress, HAVE YOU SEEN HOW BIG IT IS!!! And as we all know, the bigger the tool, the more satisfied the customer.I chucked the plastic zero clearance base plates and made my own, and threw the massive removable back plates at my neighbour and made my own.Get yourself one, let's be a gang.