makita 5104 skil saw

Hi,

Just wondering if anyone is using the new 10 1/4" makitas - the saw looks better than that brown one... ...

Thanks in advance,

Brock

Hello Brock,

I have had the saw in my hand and have made a few cuts with it. The only con that me and my buddy found was in the design. The rear handle was a bit awkward because the handle is not directly behind the blade but offset to the blade. This might become nature after a few thousand cuts though.

Sincerely,
Ford Hall

Ford:

Did you upgrade the base? Or does this have the beefier base like the Canadian version?

PS I have the brown one, with the upgraded base. Better than either the bigfoot, or the milwaukee, IMHO.

Clark,

Can you drop (vertical) cut with the Makita 10.25? I'm used to left bladed saws. I have a Bigfoot, but the blade tends to wander.

Brad

Hello Clark,

Timber Wolf (i believe is close to Canada?) stopped by the shop with a demo of that new Makita 10" saw. If my memory serves me correctly it had a large base about the size (or close to) of after market bases for the older versions. My preference is the "brown" older version because A. the handle is behind the blade B. everything on it is metal (no plastic *smile*).

Which reminds me our shop just recently acquired three each Makita 13" saws @ 220volts from Canada. I believe they came through Timber Wolf. They are a dream to cut with! Are you familiar with this deal?

Sincerely, Ford

Hello,

This new Makita 10" saw reminded me of a super sized Porter Cable side winder 7 1/4 saw. Check it out:

timberwolf

http://www.timberwolftools.com/tools/makita/M-5104.html

Sincerely, Ford

W

Forgive the previous premature posting -- no editing.

we have a couple of the new Mak 10.25 saws that we got a couple of months ago for 350 US each at toolbarn.

These are good saws. While I typically prefer metal to plastic, I believe that safety regs require non-grounding housings, so virtually all new tools are made with plastic housings, handles, etc.

The bases are a huge improvement over the old one. Clark -- no upgrade will be required.

I do wish they would tilt beyond 45 degrees and the visibility around the blade isn't as good as the old saws.

But all in all they seem to be well made, powerful, and accurate. good weight to power ratio. Easy enough to drop cut with.

I give them 4 out of 5 stars and consider them superior to both the old gold saws and the bigfoot.

Thanks guys,

Gabel, your review prompted me to make a purchase. I hope you don't mind, I'll just forward your email address to my wife.

I'll post an update if anyone is interested once I've used it for a while.

Brock

Noel Cleveland (Canadian Makita sales rep) brought one of the new 10" saws to both the ILBA conf in Whitefish, and the TFG conf in Idaho. He said at the time it was only available in Canada. Glad to see we can get it here in the states now. I guess I bought my brown one a year too soon! We still keep the bigfoot around, because sometimes you need a right-hand bevel. The milwaukee is in the "spare parts" crate. What I'm really eager to get is the 13". CB.

Not really relevant,, but wanted to share,, I just bought a new
8 1/4 mag makita. Great saw, but has two faults. One is that the motor housing drops below the plate a full depth cutting (3")
The other is that on less than full depth cutting, the saw is pretty flexible on the plate. Caused kickback a couple of times on me, untill I understood fully what was happening at the end of the cut. Thought I'd share!