# whats the thought on makita



## ryan313 (May 20, 2013)

My dewalt 18V nicad drill/driver and impact driver are slowing down after 3 years and not to mention weigh about twice as much as the new li ion tools do. I have been thinking about replacing them with a 4 peice makita set. Hammer drill impact driver circ saw and flashlight. I know the circular saw wont run that long bur for small stuff it seems like the answer.

I was wondering who had a makita kit and if they liked it or if there was a better brand to get. I have not heard good things about the new dewalt 20V line. Somthing about them turning into home owners tools.


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## CarpenterSFO (Dec 12, 2012)

I liked the Makita tools, but hated the batteries, and switched to Milwaukee for my cordless tools a few years ago. My next cordless brand will be Festool.


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## jlsconstruction (Apr 26, 2011)

Enough said


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## m2akita (May 18, 2012)

Your Dewalts will run on the 18V Dewalt Lion batteries. can sometimes find good deals/ sales on the batteries. There are two versions out there, the smaller ones (DC9181) and the larger, longer run ones (DC9180).


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## SDel Prete (Jan 8, 2012)

Love all my makita cordless tools.


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## schaefercs (Jul 10, 2008)

jlsconstruction said:


> Enough said


All that makita and then the Milwaukee radio in the corner. Shoulda cropped that bad boy out!!!


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## jlsconstruction (Apr 26, 2011)

schaefercs said:


> All that makita and then the Milwaukee radio in the corner. Shoulda cropped that bad boy out!!!


Haha but it has a bottle opener :drink:


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## catfish (Jul 19, 2007)

Go with Hitachi, you'll never regret it. Every tool I've used that they made is head and shoulders above the rest.

I've got Makita now.


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## SDel Prete (Jan 8, 2012)

catfish said:


> Go with Hitachi, you'll never regret it. Every tool I've used that they made is head and shoulders above the rest.
> 
> I've got Makita now.


That's confusing. You love hitachi but you use makita?


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## jlsconstruction (Apr 26, 2011)

The only thing Hitachi does right is nailers. The tools are pretty much the same as dewalt


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## ryan313 (May 20, 2013)

jlsconstruction said:


> The only thing Hitachi does right is nailers. The tools are pretty much the same as dewalt


Thats been my experince with them. I have their 15 and 18 ga nailers and compressor and they are all good but I have not heard good things about their other power tools


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## svronthmve (Aug 3, 2008)

I've got the makita 18v brushless impact & hammerdrill set, multi-saw, circ saw and love them. No problems. 

Had Milwaukee before, but shoved off that island because they keep changing the battery platform.


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## Dirtywhiteboy (Oct 15, 2010)

:whistling


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## catfish (Jul 19, 2007)

SDel Prete said:


> That's confusing. You love hitachi but you use makita?


Had the Makita before I was introduced to Hitachi.


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## SDel Prete (Jan 8, 2012)

catfish said:


> Had the Makita before I was introduced to Hitachi.


So switch. I know if I'm not happy with a tool I won't keep using it.


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## sbcontracting (Apr 22, 2010)

I've been on Dewalt for about 3 years now. I was really impressed with the strength of the impact driver compared to Milwaukee and makita.... some of my guys were using those and I felt that the impact driver at least could out-torque all of them.

I recently had to buy a new impact and they had a sale at HD for the dewalt 20V LION impact driver/drill combo. 

I am blown away how light/strong the impact is, even compared to the old HEAVY 18V. 

I can't comment much on Makita but am pretty impressed with the new 20V dewalt. Festool would be next for me as well


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## schaefercs (Jul 10, 2008)

sbcontracting said:


> I've been on Dewalt for about 3 years now. I was really impressed with the strength of the impact driver compared to Milwaukee and makita.... some of my guys were using those and I felt that the impact driver at least could out-torque all of them.
> 
> I recently had to buy a new impact and they had a sale at HD for the dewalt 20V LION impact driver/drill combo.
> 
> ...


Dewalt to festool

Isn't that like...

Taking the bus to driving a Ferrari?


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## Rustbucket (May 22, 2009)

svronthmve said:


> I've got the makita 18v brushless impact & hammerdrill set, multi-saw, circ saw and love them. No problems.
> 
> Had Milwaukee before, but shoved off that island because they keep changing the battery platform.


They switched from Ni-Cad to the V18 Li-Ion in 2005, which were compatible with each other and had the same interface, then to the current m18 line a few years ago. One switch in interface in over 10 years doesn't seem excessive to me.


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## redwood (Dec 5, 2007)

Makita is probably worth it just because of all the different tools available in that platform. I'm not sure if their individual tools are superior to other manufacturers or not. They don't seem to come out on top of most reviews.


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## SDel Prete (Jan 8, 2012)

schaefercs said:


> Dewalt to festool
> 
> Isn't that like...
> 
> Taking the bus to driving a Ferrari?


No. It's a bike


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## svronthmve (Aug 3, 2008)

Rustbucket said:


> They switched from Ni-Cad to the V18 Li-Ion in 2005, which were compatible with each other and had the same interface, then to the current m18 line a few years ago. One switch in interface in over 10 years doesn't seem excessive to me.


Yeah, but at the time there was word another change might be coming after the m18. Besides, I take really good care of my tools and a lot of my ni-cad and Li-Ion era stuff was just fine except for the batteries. I didn't mind the changes then because the stuff was backward compatible. With the m18, it wasn't and that just didn't sit well with me. It's as if Milwaukee gave all it's loyal customers the finger...

And as we all know, it's usually just cheaper to buy new kits rather than a couple single batteries.

I'm totally invested in the m12 stuff too which is ok. And I don't dislike Milwaukee overall (except for my inspection camera), but I really do like my makita stuff. It just feels comfortable to me. 

Different strokes for different folks.....


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## ryan313 (May 20, 2013)

sounds like makitas the way to go. I have heard of some people having trouble with the batteries refusing to charge. Has anyone had that happen?


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## Ninjaframer (May 28, 2011)

Oh ya. Batteries will all of a sudden refuse to charge, sucks when there $100 a piece. The tools are great, the batteries suck.


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## svronthmve (Aug 3, 2008)

I personally haven't had any problems with my batteries. (I hope I didn't just jinx myself! :laughing


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## WarriorWithWood (Jun 30, 2007)

ryan313 said:


> sounds like makitas the way to go. I have heard of some people having trouble with the batteries refusing to charge. Has anyone had that happen?


I've had 12 3.0 Ah batteries total and 2 have developed the no charge condition. I also had 6 1.5Ah and 4 developed the no charge. I stay away from the smaller ones now.


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## john5mt (Jan 21, 2007)

Every 3.0 I own is still working. I've had a couple of 1.5z burn out fast


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## brewdaddy (Mar 1, 2013)

ryan313 said:


> Thats been my experince with them. I have their 15 and 18 ga nailers and compressor and they are all good but I have not heard good things about their other power tools


Funny it comes up in this thread, but Hitachi has the best battery charging technology of any cordless brand now a days. Their compressors are pretty good, but their pro grade cordless are awesome.


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## The Coastal Craftsman (Jun 29, 2009)

brewdaddy said:


> Funny it comes up in this thread, but Hitachi has the best battery charging technology of any cordless brand now a days. Their compressors are pretty good, but their pro grade cordless are awesome.


hopefully hitachi have sorted their chargers out. My farther in laws kit takes over an hour to charge his packs. My Makita takes about 25-30mins.


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## j_sims (Jul 5, 2007)

I don't have the Makita "Set"...but I did buy the Makita 18v li-ion LXT Driver & Drill set , over a year ago and it hasn't failed me.

I have a buddy that uses Milwaukee Li-ion 18v (about the same age as my Makita) and my Makita out performs his hands down.

As far as the 18v Makita LCT...I think the only difference is battery life ( I could be wrong about that though)


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## Robie (Feb 25, 2005)

I've had a 6 tool Makita kit for 5 years and would buy another if everything came up missing.


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## Jswills76 (Nov 12, 2012)

I have had 2 out of 8 3.0 batteries go bad in 3 years. Sucks but I figure they made me plenty of money in that time


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## Sam60 (Apr 29, 2006)

I don't love my Makitas but do like them. And think the have less problems then anything else out there, so would buy again.


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## StrongTower (Mar 4, 2010)

I personally like the LEDs on everything. I know everybody else has got them now, but Makita started it. Only had one battery fail for me. Circ saw is not as powerful as the Dewalt NiCad, but the light on it makes up for it :thumbsup:


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## Spencer (Jul 6, 2005)

I've had multiple makita batteries go bad along with one charger going bad. I have makita and dewalt and know for a fact my desalts have way more balls. I wouldn't buy makita based off of seeing so many batteries and chargers go bad. I buy the better lines of dewalt tools.


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## NCMCarpentry (Apr 7, 2013)

I found the ergonomics of the makita impact to be the best, thats why I went with makita cordless for my impact and drill/hammer drill. I have no regrets at all, great tools, fast charge, I've only experienced one no charge battery and it wasnt mine, it was also used and abused.

I've used lots of other makita cordless tools too, like the grinder, recip saw and circ saw. All perform quite well but don't seem to hold up as well as the drill/impact. Remember there are different grades of drills and the top end ones obviously hold up better than the more inexpensive models.

The impacts are absolute brutes.


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## jiffy (Oct 21, 2007)

Spencer said:


> I buy the better lines of dewalt tools.


Better line than Dewalt would be Makita :whistling


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## WarriorWithWood (Jun 30, 2007)

WarriorWithWood said:


> I've had 12 3.0 Ah batteries total and 2 have developed the no charge condition. I also had 6 1.5Ah and 4 developed the no charge. I stay away from the smaller ones now.


To add insult to injury a couple days ago I decided to pull all my batteries out of the truck and make sure they were all charged up for an "electricity challenged" job the next day....well I had 2 more go bad because apparently I didn't charge them and they sat at the bottom of my bag for a couple months. So now that's 4 big ones total in 3 years. Now I have 10 different LXT tools and I'm down to 4-3.0 and 2-1.5 batteries. No warranty on a 2 year old battery. I even tried taking two batteries and making one good one just to see if it would work but the chip won't let it charge even with the good cells after tripped. 

I said it in the TBA thread, I feel like I'm back in the old Dewalt days. I really like the tools and I'm decently invested but it's the freaking battery deaths that made me sell all the yellow crap and it's looking like they're headed in that same direction. I wonder what the hell they're gaining by not fixing this known issue with one of their best selling lines. 

From now on they ALL go right on the charger and I wait for the "new" batteries to come out before I buy more. 

I did notice they have a new charger with the top of the line impact kit.


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## moorewarner (May 29, 2009)

brewdaddy said:


> Funny it comes up in this thread, but Hitachi has the best battery charging technology of any cordless brand now a days. Their compressors are pretty good, but their pro grade cordless are awesome.




Got any data or is that just what your "gut" tells you? I have generally heard that Panasonic is putting out the best batteries.

I will be leaving DeWalt for Festool as well. If there was no Festool I would look for a Panasonic; if no Panasonic, Makita would be my next choice.


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## Northwood (Jan 6, 2010)

He's paid to say it. Check his posts- all pushing hitachi. Pretty transparent.


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## Dirtywhiteboy (Oct 15, 2010)

Northwood said:


> He's paid to say it. Check his posts- all pushing hitachi. Pretty transparent.


How do you know he's paid? I use all Hitachi nailers and I am not paid:no: And I push them too! I have heard the battery tools have a lifetime warranty? Is it true, I don't know? Hitachi invented the sliding miter saw and when one comes in stock from Japan I'm gonna get one.


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## redwood (Dec 5, 2007)

Regarding the Makita battery problem, do you think that it would do any good to circulate a petition to have these batteries replaced or just to put them on notice that a lot of high profile contractors are disappointed in them.


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## svronthmve (Aug 3, 2008)

redwood said:


> Regarding the Makita battery problem, do you think that it would do any good to circulate a petition to have these batteries replaced or just to put them on notice that a lot of high profile contractors are disappointed in them.


Where do I sign up?

Do I think it will do any good on the face of things? Probably not.

But there might be a few closed door meetings behind the scenes at makita headquarters....


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## The Coastal Craftsman (Jun 29, 2009)

redwood said:


> Regarding the Makita battery problem, do you think that it would do any good to circulate a petition to have these batteries replaced or just to put them on notice that a lot of high profile contractors are disappointed in them.


I would if I had battery's under 3 years old that failed. There's zero reason for a pack to fail in them time frames even with a full charge every day of the year for 3 years.


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## WarnerConstInc. (Jan 30, 2008)

I bought the brushless makitas, looking at them as fairly decent throw away set and that impact driver spent two days running GRK structural screws into old oak barn beams.


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## Dirtywhiteboy (Oct 15, 2010)

redwood said:


> Regarding the Makita battery problem, do you think that it would do any good to circulate a petition to have these batteries replaced or just to put them on notice that a lot of high profile contractors are disappointed in them.


I don't think they care! Why don't we copy&paste this stuff to their FaceBook page?


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## Dirtywhiteboy (Oct 15, 2010)

redwood said:


> Regarding the Makita battery problem, do you think that it would do any good to circulate a petition to have these batteries replaced or just to put them on notice that a lot of high profile contractors are disappointed in them.


^^^I stuck your post on their FB page.^^^With a link to this thread.
I bet they will take it down!


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## WarnerConstInc. (Jan 30, 2008)

Since they may look, their cases suck and no place to store extra bits in the tool is stupid.


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## The Coastal Craftsman (Jun 29, 2009)

I'm adding to this also. Stop making your tools in China. I am not buying another Makita tool if it says made in China on it. 

Sort the crappy battery's out as well. 3AH was so 5 years ago lol we want 5-6AH.


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## StrongTower (Mar 4, 2010)

bcconstruction said:


> i'm adding to this also. Stop making your tools in china. I am not buying another makita tool if it says made in china on it.
> 
> Sort the crappy battery's out as well. 3ah was so 5 years ago lol we want 5-6ah.


will pay for quality made tools


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## Dirtywhiteboy (Oct 15, 2010)

WarnerConstInc. said:


> Since they may look, their cases suck and no place to store extra bits in the tool is stupid.


Man this big one for me too! The box has no room for anything but the tool! What is up with that:blink: Instead of designing a case that will work they just let the chinese vacuum form and thing that will work 



BCConstruction said:


> I'm adding to this also. Stop making your tools in China. I am not buying another Makita tool if it says made in China on it.
> .


Nobody like that chinese crap:no: I will add that the 5" 18volt sander I just bought was manufactured in the UK plant.


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## Jswills76 (Nov 12, 2012)

BCConstruction said:


> I'm adding to this also. Stop making your tools in China. I am not buying another Makita tool if it says made in China on it.
> 
> Sort the crappy battery's out as well. 3AH was so 5 years ago lol we want 5-6AH.


Keep em in Japan tho. Americans are slacking on them. just got the cordless miter saw made in Ga. Nice but not as quality as my ls714. I was expecting the same saw with a different motor.


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## redwood (Dec 5, 2007)

WarnerConstInc. said:


> Since they may look, their cases suck and no place to store extra bits in the tool is stupid.


Here, here on the bit storage on board.

Regarding the cases, I have 2 combo kits, 1 brushless and 1 brushed. Cases were the same and had plenty of room. BUT, there are some unexplained openings in the top to the case that eat tips. The other day I couldn't find a tip that I knew was in there. I shook the case back and forth and must have gotten 25 tip out of there. I taped it up. Stupid.


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## Dirtywhiteboy (Oct 15, 2010)

redwood said:


> Here, here on the bit storage on board.
> 
> Regarding the cases, I have 2 combo kits, 1 brushless and 1 brushed. Cases were the same and had plenty of room. BUT, there are some unexplained openings in the top to the case that eat tips. The other day I couldn't find a tip that I knew was in there. I shook the case back and forth and must have gotten 25 tip out of there. I taped it up. Stupid.


Yup,,,I have that case too :furious: they should give us some duct tape for that!


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## ryan313 (May 20, 2013)

I had seen some reviews mention problems with the batterys but I didnt relise how much of a problem it realy was tipl this thread. Its made me kind of concerned of buying a set. 

Make it right makita. I was willing to invest in a makita combo kit because of the great reputation they had but now im not sure


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## Spencer (Jul 6, 2005)

The bosch rep makes things right.

He came on here and sent me 2 brand new jig saws to replace mine when the triggers went bad along with an assortment of blades and bits just because bosch customer service kicks A.

Where you at Makita???????


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## WarnerConstInc. (Jan 30, 2008)

Oh please, joe the pro did a little ass kissing then never came back.


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## redwood (Dec 5, 2007)

WarnerConstInc. said:


> Oh please, joe the pro did a little ass kissing then never came back.


Do you blame him with this bunch?


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## chewy (May 23, 2010)

The BHP454 cases we get here in NZ have an organaiser in the top lid. It doesnt seem to last long though.


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## Spencer (Jul 6, 2005)

WarnerConstInc. said:


> Oh please, joe the pro did a little ass kissing then never came back.


Still more than the makita rep.


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## ryan313 (May 20, 2013)

Any update on the facebook thread


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## Dirtywhiteboy (Oct 15, 2010)

ryan313 said:


> Any update on the facebook thread


I don't know why you don't check the facebook page yourself, it's open for everyone to see:blink: But I looked for you:blink: And found this response to my post ""DWB -- If you have an issue with your Makita tool, accessory or battery, we want to hear about it. Contact our Makita USA National Call Center at (800)4-MAKITA. Our Call Centers are based in Buford, GA and La Mirada, CA and are ready to help, M-F."" 
Here is a link to the page:blink:
https://www.facebook.com/MakitaToolsPage


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