Product Review with Marv Johnson

MARV JOHNSON

Makita Tool Makita Plunge Saw www.makitatools.com Retail Price: $499.00

Makita Brushless Cordless Plunge Saw

Is it just me? I hope this does not make me seem old (stay off my lawn!). Recently I caught myself reflecting on the early years of my career and some of the colorful characters who enabled me to mature into the builder I am today. I was fortunate to have some incredible opportunities to learn from many highly regarded, master-skilled tradesmen.

For instance, I learned to work with wood panels and solid wood trim (all stain grade) from a pair of true, old-school European craftsmen, brothers Angelo and Pete. They had relocated to California from Italy and were amazing carpenters. They taught me many lessons, some tangible, some intangible, but all valuable. Lessons like laying out an ellipse using a few nails and builder’s string and finding the center of a circle with a framing square; or explaining the cool way to carry an extra carpenter’s pencil in my cap.

They both had a “touch” or “feel” for the finest details. I would later come to learn that the “touch” I noted was really the art of finesse. Having it makes finish work smooth and rewarding. Not having it, a struggle and frustrating. Finesse makes good finish carpenters great. If you have it and are reading this, you know what I mean.

How much is too many?

Thinking back to those early days, one thing that really stands out is the amount of work we could get done with few relatively unsophisticated tools. For years, the entirety of my tools would almost fit in a five-gallon paint bucket. No laser level, no construction master calculator, no cordless impact driver, no miter saw workstation, no portable job site table saw. We had none of those now common and ubiquitous tools.

What you once could carry in a repurposed bucket, today requires a tandem-axle cargo trailer. The 10 minutes allotted for roll-out and roll-up now requires 45. Somewhere along the way, guys moved away from the “less is more” concept, at least where tools are involved. Labor, however, remains governed by the “conservation of movement” principle—performing a task, with the fewest steps produces maximum efficiency. This is also the concept behind working smarter, not harder.

Let’s Compare

Recently, we built a series of stairways, each connected to the other by uniquely shaped landings, circuitously winding a stair path down the slope until finally terminating at a grade level 6’x12’ deck situated just above the completely natural waterfall below. For all the riser boards and trim, we opted to use the matching composite fascia material. The only size they offer the fascia in is 11-1/2” wide x 12’ length.

This required ripping the fascia down to the height required for the risers. The project lead then suggested he could come get the portable table saw in the morning along with the roller

infeed and outfeed stands. He then was going to roll back to the job and he and his crew would set everything up. With any luck they’d have all the rips completed by the end of the following day.

What blew my mind was that neither of them gave their plan so much as a cursory second thought. The hard costs and time lost would have been devastating. For that to not register or even send up the smallest red flag tells me there is a disconnect somewhere. So, without so much as a word, I grabbed my saw and rip guide, stacked and squared the fascia material, clamped it, set the rip guide to the correct rip width, and with one pass of the saw, produced eight pieces of ripped riser material, all in a 30-minute time frame. Until then, neither guy had given using a rip guide a moment’s consideration. When asked how they do not see the disparity between the two methods, they said they “just hadn’t thought about it.” That’s a scary thought, especially to the person responsible for and obligated to pay for the oversight (me).

Somewhere along the line, we lost sight of simplicity as a solution and in its place developed an appetite for the extra complex, time-intensive answer. Complexity does not equal quality. Where we once used a pencil and a fender washer to scribe trim to fit (thanks, Angelo), we now seek out and purchase a $29 scribe tool for the task. Seems silly, wasteful and non-sensical to me. Now, I am NOT some bitter old dinosaur. These are just things based in logic and critical thinking.

Throughout the years, my tool kit has grown, and the one common theme my tools all share is they provide a demonstrable, tangible benefit in their use. A great example is Makita’s Cordless Track Saw System, 6-1/2” Cordless Plunge Cut Saw, and 55” Guide Rails.

The Makita Track Saw System

The parts that comprise what I refer to as the Makita Track Saw System are: Makita 6-1/2” 36 Volt Cordless Plunge Cut Saw with AWS; 55” Guide Rails; Guide Rail Connector Kit; Two Port Multi Fast Charger; Lithium-Ion 5.0 Ah batteries; Auto-Start Wireless Universal Adapter.

Although they can be purchased separately, most of the time Makita will bundle certain items and often these deals are exceptional values. A quick internet search shows the saw, guide rail, rail clamps, dual port charger, and two 5.0 Ah batteries, plus two Makita-branded Systainers to store everything in for $499, whereas the saw as a bare tool only is $349. Quite a savings, but your mileage may vary.

The Saw (XPS02ZU)

The XPS02ZU is the heart of the system and has some unique features. Powered by two 18-volt, 5 Ah LXT batteries, the resulting 36 volts and the Makita-made brushless motor make short work of cuts in hardwoods and composites. The saw is fitted with a variable speed control with adjustability from 2500-6300 RPM as well as the Automatic Speed Change Technology, which electronically adjusts the cutting speed and torque to match the demand and optimize cutting performance.

This makes the saw ideal for cutting large panels of different wood veneers, but also provides for cutting of multiple materials, such as MDF, melamine, aluminum and even solid surface materials such as Corian. Makita also produces several material specific blades for this saw. In addition to the speed control, the saw also incorporates a soft start and electronic blade brake. The 6-1/2” Plunge Cut Saw has a cutting capacity of 2-3/16” at 90 degrees and 1-9/16” at 45 degrees. Bevel capacity is from -1 degree to 48 degrees with positive stops at 22.5 and 45.

The bevel function is unique in that it is supported front and rear, which provides extreme rigidity and thereby increases the accuracy and precision of bevel cuts. The saw is also capable of close-to-the-wall cutting, with the blade and table offset only 11/16” as opposed to most saws at 1-1/2”. One complaint that many had voiced was the inability of cordless tools to trigger the automatic operation feature of many shop vacs and dust collectors. To address that, Makita now offers many of their cordless tools with AWS (Automatic-start Wireless System), which through

KITTED VERSION comes with two Makita LXT 18v Ah Lithium-Ion batteries.

GUIDE RAILS interact with the saw and make for a straight, tear-out-free cut.

the magic of Bluetooth technology, provides a link between the tool and the machine being triggered, thereby restoring the convenience of a tool triggered auto start function.

My favorite feature has to be the foolproof automatic scoring function. The saw has a built-in depth stop that enables a preliminary scoring cut of 5/64”-7/64” effortlessly. When followed up with the full depth secondary cut, tear out and splintering are eliminated. The ripped edge is clean enough to allow for a glue up of panels without any further machining. This allows you to “join” the edge of a board or panel and make perfectly parallel cuts in the fi eld without a joiner and tablesaw.

I sometimes build cabinets or built-ins on site and this makes that task so much less cumbersome. Finally, the saw feels good in hand, solid but not awkwardly heavy as is sometimes the case with big battery cordless tools where the concentration of so much weight is working against you. The saw is compact and ergonomic at 13-5/8” long and weighing just over 11lbs. with two 5.0 Lithium-Ion batteries attached. The saw comes with a three-year limited warranty and is also available in a model without the AWS transmitter built in, the XPS01Z.

Batteries, Charger & Guide Rail

The kitted version of the saw comes with two Makita LXT 18V 5.0 Ah Lithium-Ion batteries. The included Rapid Optimum Dual Port Charger with active cooling fan provides highly effi cient

charging, allowing the batteries to reach full charge in just 45 minutes. This means more time building and less time spent on battery management. Each battery also has an integrated LED three-stage battery charge level indicator so that you can check the level of charge anytime with just a glance.

The guide rails are where the magic happens with a track saw. They interact with the saw and make for an exceptionally straight, tear out-free cut. The rails can be secured to the work with optional screw clamps designed specifically for the guide rails. In many situations the anti-slip material on the underside of the guides is sufficient to hold them by just applying a bit of downward pressure. Locating them for cut setup is simplicity, with no need to add or subtract blade offsets or be concerned with the width of the kerf.

The shop-made rip jig and standard Skilsaw seems archaic and clumsy when making comparisons. The ease, accuracy and cut quality that the Makita Track Saw affords makes this an extra exceptional value when evaluating the return on investment for a “big ticket” tool purchase such as this. The saw works with the 39”, 55” and 118” Guide Rails and using the Rail Connector Kit, any number of them can be end joined to make any length required.

In my opinion, the Makita Track Saw is the best tool you never knew you needed. This is NOT simply a saw and cut guide. The precision of the saw and track system is simply amazing and the finished parts machined with it are clearly superior. If I were starting my career over today, I would make this one of my first serious purchases. The price point already makes it a bargain, the build quality guarantees a long useful life and those two combined ensure that this is a tool that will quickly pay for itself.

If you are on the fence because you already have a cabinet saw and a jointer, the proceeds from garage-selling those should easily pay for the Makita system and leave you enough for a few Growler fills at your favorite micro brewer. In the end, you’ll have a robust tool that produces better quality machining of parts faster and easier. Sounds like a win-win to me.

Marv Johnson is the principal of Deck Envy LLC, Gig Harbor, WA. Send comments and suggestions for product reviews to emjaybuilding@mac.com.