Makita LXT brushless battery 36v Compound Bevel Miter Saw

Makita 18-Volt 5.0Ah X2 LXT Lithium-Ion (36V) Brushless Cordless 10 in. Dual-Bevel Sliding Compound Miter Saw with Laser Kit

Today we will be looking at the all new Makita 36v battery operated miter saw with bevel and compound (model #XSL06PT ) We were excited to try this saw as it looked tough and let's face it, who wouldn't want to play with a new saw from Makita?

Assembly:

When you first take this out of the box, it looks as if it's a turn key operation, but you will need to install a few things.

If you are using the new Makita miter saw stand, the process becomes a bit more complicated, but the blade is one of the first things that you will need to install. All in all, its an easy process, but you will probably need to follow the directions provided, or our easy step by step video posted below. You will also need to install a couple adjustment knobs, and that basically it.

Once you get the saw set up, it's time to rip some wood. We looked at a few different thing when using this saw. The first was adjustments, and if they were easy to make.

Adjustments:

There are a few different knobs and pins that you will need to become familiar with, but it's an easy learning curve. The slider, bevel, and compound all have their own locking knobs, pins and buttons. We actually feel that there were just to many things that needed to be done in order to adjust your degree of cut.

In some cases, you had to turn a knob, pull a pin and then hit the locking button just to do a simple bevel cut. It is somewhat of a pain at times, but the adjustments do lock in tightly once made.

The fence:

One of our main issues involved the fence while making a 45degree cut........you can't do it! Though not hard to do, you will need to remove the top fence completely if you want to make a 45 degree cut. Many other miter saws allow you to simply slide the fence over when needed, but they left this out for some reason?

Batteries:

This kit comes with two 5.0AH batteries that must be used together when operating the saw. They

also give you a two port battery charger to charge both batteries at the same time. The batteries are actually very powerful on this saw, and last a good amount of time. We got about 45 minutes of heavy cut time off two fully charged batteries. They will also take about 40 minutes to fully charge again. Each battery, and even the saw have charge indicators located on them, so you will have no issue trying to figure out when you need more juice.

 

Power:

we were impressed at just how powerful this saw was while cutting. I can say that we could not really tell the difference between this saw, and a corded version, which is really saying something. There was no resistance when cutting through different types of wood, including treated 4x4’s. Each cut was smooth and easy to make. The sliding bars were easy to use, and well lubricated. The 40T Makita miter saw blade that comes in the box is a bit thinner, and extremely sharp, so this was a big plus for us.

Build Quality:

As for the build of this saw, everything except a few tightening knobs was built fairly well. We would have no complaints while using this in a heavy construction area, and think it would hold up to a good amount of abuse.

All in all, this is a well working, heavy duty saw that will keep up with any electric out on the market. It does cost a bit more ($699.00) to go cordless, but definitely a pro grade tool. I'm not sure that I would pay this much extra, but if you are working in areas without power, it may be a great fit for you.

Check out our full video review here!