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I don't have time to wait for the saw to stop spinning and make sure the guard didn't catch. Well put together and tought oout design. Light weight and rugged. Saw stops smooth and quick. The electric brake is a safety must have for me.
Then I noticed they made one with a brake- which is a great idea. Looking at the Makita you can tell that the designers and engineers put some thought into it- it's not just a basic hammer-like power tool like the Milwaukee; instead the Makita has well thought out, almost sexy, "extra" detailed features for the user. Fix those two things and it's perfect. Then I noticed Makita also made one with a brake and indecision set in: I could not decide which brand to buy with the brake. It's odd that with all the detailed design put into the saw they missed glaringly obvious poor features on the case and fence.
Negatives: As others have stated, the case is too small- you have to kink the cord at the strain relief which is not a good idea- the case needs to be 3" longer. Sure, you don't need these little features, but it shows that someone was thinking about more than mounting motor on a plate. The brake stops the blade in about half the time as my old B&D with no brake: ~3 seconds vs 6 (just counting off). I decided to upgrade from my 30 yr old B&D saw and almost bought the basic Milwaukee. To help with my decision I went to HD and looked at both- it then became an easy decision to buy the Makita 5007MGA even though it was slightly more expensive. The base is cast and has a nice thick lip on the blade side- the Milwaukee is stamped from ~.12" alum. The rip fence is too short to be of much use; this is ironic because the space for it in the case will accomodate a fence almost 2" longer. Oh, and this Lexus is unfortunately made in China, but the quality is perfect.The saw has plenty of power and is as safe as any other saw so ignore the one bad review here wrt safety.
So I looked at the Milwaukee with brake. All the levers on the Makita have nice rubber grips on them; the quick stops on the bevel adjustment on the Makita is also a great feature. The case could also use some additional blade storage space although it's fine for at least two spare blades (all I have). The Milwaukee is the Chevy Malibu; the Makita is the Lexus; either will get the job done, but the Makita is a nicer tool.
What a shame -- this is otherwise a really great saw. I see that some other saw manufacturers that have cast versus machined baseplates are doing the same thing. Makes me wonder why they did that. I was going to buy this saw until I noticed that the rear left corner of the baseplate is chopped off. None of the pictures of the saw show the rear left corner. I went to a Makita parts website and looked at the drawing for the baseplate. I'd rate it at 5 stars if the baseplate was just rectangular without the missing corner. To save a few pennies worth of magnesium.
When you are using a guide to make a straight cut that part of the baseplate is quite useful to keep the cut straight as the blade exits the material. Makita did the same thing on the 5008MGA, the 8.25" inch version of this product. Makita reps I'd love to hear the reasoning for that decision. I guess I'll have to buy dewalt or milwaukee instead.
The inclusion of the rip guide is a nice touch (other saws like some DeWalts expect you to pay extra for them). This is just a all around great circular saw. Starts relatively smooth, the ergonomics of the handles and levers are top tier, and the LED light/saw dust blower do a really good job of keeping you on the cut line. Very pleased w/ this purchase. Adjustments are easy.
WE BUY THIS SAWS FROM AMAZON DUE TO GREAT SHIPPING AND SERVICE AND MODIFIED THEM TO INCLUDE THE SMART BASE AND DUST COLLECTION SYSTEM. 325 MAG, MILWAUKEE AND DEWALT WITH BRAKE ARE GREAT TOO.STAY AWAY FROM THE "PLUNGE TYPE SAWSW" LOW POWER AND AWKWARD TO USE WITH ANY SYSTEM. NICE JOB MAKITA.THE OTHER SAWS THAT WE THINK ARE GREAT BUY IS THE NEW HITACHI SAW.REMEMBER TO BUY A SAW WITH ELECTRIC BRAKE, FEW MORE DOLLARS AND NEVER LOOK BACK. SAME QUALITY SAWS IF MADE BY A GERMAN cO IT WILL BE OVER $1000.00. WE TEST SAWS EVERY DAY.
PC. THE NEW MAKITA'S 5007=5008 mga'S AS WELL AS THE NEW 5104 (10" SAW) ARE THE BEST SAWS IN THE MARKET TODAY.GREAT POWER, LOW NOICE, NO VIBRATION,QUICK ST0P BLADE AND OVERSIZED LEVERS CONTROLS MAKES THIS LINE OF SAWS THE BEST SAWS TO USE ON THE EZSMART RAIL SYSTEM. sO FAR, WE HAD NO PROBLEMS AND UNTIL SOMEONE ELSE COMES UP WITH A BETTER SAW, WE WILL CONTINUE TO OFFER THE NEW MAKITA SAWS TO OUR CUSTOMERS. DINO THE CARPENTER.EUREKAZONE WE USE THE SAME SAWS IN OUR FACTORY EVERY DAY.
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