Ok, its been almost three years and I am sick of my DeWalt 18V Batteries. I use a Makita 12V Impact driver that works flawless but I want a LI kit to replace my Drill and Circ Saw. I don’t use the DeWalt recip enough and could buy one later if I need it.
So which one should I look at, V28 of the Makita? I’m all about the saws, because honestly the Little Mak does all my screwdriving.
Replies
Ouch, I just want price shopping and I can't see an advantage either way. I think this ones up to you guys, let me know what you think, the mak looks good but the buy in is steep. I want to ditch my circular saw, as I rarely ever need it with the table saw, RAS, or miter saw. BUT when I do it's only for a few cuts. I looked at the Makita LXT 400 and the Milwaukee 0928-29. The only upside is that Milwaukee comes with a free batt or impact wrench for around 580, where I found the makita kit around 350. But the Milwaukee has more tools. Let me know what you guys think, especially the circular saws.
Do you like power or weight/ergonomics better? The latest reviews I've seen rank the Milwaukee as pretty much the best, but the Makitas are lightweight, ergonomic, and maneuverable. I have Milwaukee's old 18v NiCd, and have been very happy with it. At some point I'll buy the V18 batteries to retrofit it. The saw is great, and for most smaller jobs I don't even bother pulling out my wormdrive.I have the Makita Li-Ion impact driver, and love the weight and power. I wish it had the battery charge indicator like the Milwaukee/Ridgid/somebody-else's-stuff does though.For what it sounds like you are doing, I might take a hard look at the Makita.
I have had the Makita kit for one year it includes the impact, hammer drill, circular saw, flashlight (almost a negligible item), and got the recip on rebate. Great ergonomics and it keeps up with all lightweight remodeling. I have one complaint about the chuck on the hammer drill, the teeth do not grab equally, thus causing weeble wobble. Do not let the compact dainty feel of the Circular saw fool you, it keeps up with my bosses 18v milwaukee no problem.
I have been using the Makita Lithium kit since December on a daily basis and I am a Happy Camper. They do have elegant ergonomics; they feel good in the paw.
Would I buy them again. Yes? Would I buy the Lion jigsaw (now on sale in England)? Yes.
I bought the 600 kit from Ace Tools Online out of NY. That gave me the lowest cost per tool. Good price, good service, threw in a battery and also got the jobsite radio, so works for me.
The recip, impact driver and drill are grouped into one bag for all sorts of drilling and cutting. That goes onto the job with me. The light, circ saw and grinder are in a second bag.
The circ saw is very nicely done. Makes my 18v Bosch look clunky, feel clunky, etc. You cannot lean into the grinder as you would an AC model - it shuts down for a bit if over heating (even has a warning light), but I have had enough needs for a grinder and no job power that I will be delicate.
The ToolBear
"Never met a man who couldn't teach me something." Anon.
I have the Milwaukee v28 4pc set and bought an 1/2 in hammer drill and an extra batt. so now its the circ saw , the sawzall , two 1/2 in hammer drills , 3 battery's and the flashlight. and it was worth it. I never use up the battery power in a very busy day. and two drills are good. plus I still have my 2 old 1/2 in 18 volt drills with 4 batteries so I never need to reach very far to find a drill thats ready to use no matter what im doing.
sounds a little too much but im worth it. but I love the V28 set the most its definitely the way things are going in the future (the next several years anyway)
woof woof
Carpentry and remodeling
Vic Vardamis
Bangor Me
http://www.ravengrove.com
i like the v28's better than the v18's. been considering the 28v recip.
yeah the V28 recipro saw is amazing
I don't use my corded De Walt any more its home in a closet. its worth every penny.woof woofCarpentry and remodeling
Vic Vardamis
Bangor Me
So how do you like the circular saw? I gave up drills for driving screws a long time ago when I went to impact drivers, and your recip reviews have me sold, but I want to leave my saw in the truck for a few sheets of ply or a 10' wall of studs. What say you?
Try,
I use my Milwaukee 28V Circular saw for everything. Ripping plywood, cutting 2x, even trimming doors with a 40 tooth blade. Plenty of power and battery life. JLC did a review of Lithium-Ion tools in April, the authors pick was the Milwaukee kit.
Edited 5/17/2007 10:05 am ET by paulbny
same with the circ saw I love mine I almost never take out my corded De Walt circ saw. The V28 works great for everything I need it for with the exception of cutting down through subfloor or a roof for a skylight window. etc. thats when I dig out corded saw with an old sh-ty blade.
But V28 is great
love all mine
Carpentry and remodeling
Vic Vardamis
Bangor Me
I have been using the Milwaukee 4 piece combo for everyday framing/general carpentry for about 4 months. I am well satisfied so far. The drill is good and fast drilling mudsills. The corded sawzall almost never comes out. The saw is quick to use and a pretty good cutter, clearly weaker than my wormdrive but more ready and mobile. I can get about 150 crosscuts in 2x4 stock on one charge, maybe more, and it can compound miter a 2x12 lvl at a 45 bevel comfortably. So if I am doing occasional or moderate cutting at multiple spots the V28 is my saw of choice, repetitive high output cutting and out comes the Mag77. The Dewalt 18v circular saws I used to use do not even compare in output to the V28, its about 3 times the saw. For cutting sheets, aside from gang rips the V28 is about equal in my opinion to the Mag77, I can rip sheathing all day on maybe two batteries or so with no cord to get in the way.
Edit: Sorry, I wanted to post that to ALL, and forgot to change it.
Amazon has the 4 piece Milwaukee kit for $351 today.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000I22NPA/bretsreviews4-20
Glamorous
Edited 5/28/2007 7:32 am ET by dustinf
I've been looking at circ saws and want a saw with the blade on the right.
The makita 18V ion comes with it on the right. Just get an extra battery?
I would buy the 28V milwaukee in a heartbeat if it came that way.
I need to see the line.
There is a Makita 24V saw but it is discontinued and it wasn't ion.
Do you think Makita will do a higher voltage ion line? Makes sense.
So I'm guessing that the deafening silence that I hear w/regards to the 36v Dewalt line means that nobody likes them much? Not only that, but I've noticed that places like HD and Lowes have backed off from their initial displays.
Maybe they are just to heavy or bulky at 36V. It depends on what you are doing with the saw. If you on a site without power and you used the saw on a couple of saw horses the 36V would be fine. But most people aren't using them that way.
At 28V you can still carry it around and do overhead cuts or what have you.
The 18V Makita is more of a trim saw for most people. But for some it might be fine for framing. They just don't need the compasity of the 28V.
Since I want the blade on the right I guess I'm going with the Makita.
Are you sure that they make a Lithium Ion circular saw with the blade on the right?
I just got my new kit and the blade is on the left.
Just mentioning it, I don't know if they make a blade right model.
They make both which I really appreciate. Most manufactures wouldn't do this.
It's only a 5 3/8" trim saw. The left blade one is 6 1/2"
Edited 5/29/2007 7:50 pm ET by popawheelie
Good deal man, I didn't know that they made one.
I had to go and check my saw again after I read your post about the blade right.
Which kit did you get? I just got a reconditioned 36v Dewalt kit and I really like the saw. You can't bind it up, but its quiet, blade stops right away, not too heavy.
I can't wait to cut rafter tails with it and not mess with a cord :-)
I got the Makita Lithium 18v. Really nice feeling tools. Pint sized in comparison to the 36v you bought.
I had a few questions on the Head cutter I got, you should look up the thread in the tool section. I could use some of your feedback.
http://forums.taunton.com/n/mb/message.asp?webtag=tp-breaktime&msg=90386.1
Edited 5/29/2007 10:42 pm ET by Stilletto
Reading on Wed. and I pulled the trigger on the HDT MAkita Li Ion Lit for $383. This thing is the cat azz. Not looking back one bit.
does the left sided blade take getting used to. I'm really awkward at doing things backwards, and can't even imagine trying to use a left sided blade saw.
Also with regards to the 36V Dewalt. I heard a Dewalt rep say once that it was not designed to be a counter part to the other cordless saws out there but more towards replacing a corded saw. So weight wise it should be compared that way. I love the fact that it uses a 7 1/4" saw blade.
In Australia Hilti have just released a 36 v li-ion circ saw with the blade on the right, don't know if they're selling in the US though.
youd think it be the other way around. they drive on the other side of the road don't they?
Right hand drive you mean? Well sure. Go back far enough and even US cars were right hand drive.