Customer Reviews

Makita 2703 15 Amp 10-Inch Benchtop Table Saw

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

Like a lot of the other reviewers have said, this saw packs plenty of power for ripping lumber. It will handle just about anything you can throw at it. Another plus - it's very lightweight even for a portable saw. The downsides: 1) don't expect to crosscut anything if you expect any sort of accuracy. The miter guage is useless, and you can't upgrade either because of the non-standard slot size. I suppose you could make a shop-built sliding sled but the slots are so narrow and shallow I would worry about it jumping out easily. 2) it leaves a very ragged cut due to slop in the gears that drive the arbor. These are my 2 biggest beefs with this saw. 1 minor thing - it's tough to clamp a featherboard to the table and you can't use the miter slot for this. I drilled and tapped a couple holes in the top for a homemade adjustable featherboard but it's still a bit of a hassle.

If you're looking for a saw to move around the jobsite easily and rip framing lumber, cca and plywood/OSB sheathing, this is the saw for you. Get the Rousseau stand to go with it. If you need a saw for finish work, crosscutting, or tight tolerances, I would definitely test drive a few saws before purchasing.

I've had an 8 1/4"Makita tablsaw for about 5 years now.(My 4th saw) It has been the most durable portable I have ever seen. It has seeen thousands of board feet of hardwoods, as well as dimentional lumber.It never strained once unless I put the blade in a bind.The new ten inch saw positively blows it away! Even more power,easier blade adjustment,and most importantly, much higher capacity. With a full 3 9/16 this baby will rip cca 4x4's like butter. Try that with a DeWalt. Heck ,try that with a $1,600.00 Unisaw .(I have one)"It's not gonna happen." The fence isn't as innovative as the DeWalt's , but I plan to get a Rousseau table for it,with a T square fence, when they become available.

I've been using this saw heavily for a year now. I still smile every time I use it. I love the power it has . I love the fact that it has the biggest capacity of any 10" table saw portable or stationary .(3 9/16") I haven't had any problems with it whatsoever. I have several guys using it and not one could be described as easy on tools. The first thing that caught my attention with it was the improved height adjustment over the old one. This one is very fast and easy to adjust. The bevel adjustment is also much better. The miter gauge is pretty poor but I don't use it anyway . I prefer a dedicated miter saw . The fence operates nicely if you adjust it correctly. I have to be honest . As a stand alone saw , the Dewalt and Bosch saws beat it hands down. They offer wider capacity and nicer fences. But they cost ... more. And with all the added bells and whistles they weigh a lot more . As an overall package though , I wasn't happy with either of them. They both need a stand and side and outfeed support. That adds almost another ... to the cost. I bought the Makita plus the Rousseau 2700xl table saw stand and the huge outfeed table for the same money as the Bosch and Dewalt total package cost. This setup positively blows them away! You get thicker and wider rip capacity , better acccuracy , much better stability with large material, higher degrees of safety with the huge work surface. A very sturdy Tee square fence of 2" tubular steel. A real side table to mount your router in. I could go on and on. This combination kicks butt.

As a long term owner of the Makita 2708, I was at first overjoyed to hear of their portable 10" that would drop right into my existing Rousseau stand, and best of all, they replaced the elevation knob with a speedy crank!

Then I actually saw one, and much to my dismay it became apparent that Makita wanted to play the same games they played with the 2708 - the Miter slot is slightly under the world-wide 3/4" standard, which means none of the superb aftermarket saw accessories are usable with this saw. To add insult to injury, the only accessory Makita offers is the standard miter gauge. What a waste!

I think it's time to dump my 2708 and go elsewhere....

I bought the 10" Makita table saw after I got tired of lugging the massive and heavy Bosch in and out of my truck everyday. With the Bosch, you can expect to spend a lot of time at the chiropractor, but the Makita is so lightweight I can carry it with one hand.

I normally use a 7 1/4" Marathon blade for ripping and a 7 1/4" 40 tooth red Freud deck blade for finish ripping/cross cutting. With the small and thin blades, the saw cuts incredibly fast and clean. I also own several expensive 10" blades, but I only mount them when I need to cut deeper than 1x material.

I also have the Rousseau stand with the Biesemeyer style fence. There is no better fence and stand for a portable. With infeed rollers and long outfeed tables, I have ripped and resawn lumber as long as 21 feet with the little Makita with no problems.

I recently added a set of "Board Buddies" hold downs to the fence and now the saw cuts more accurately than a delta cabinet saw with a unifence.

I miss the soft start and quiet running motor of the Bosch, but the blade brake on the Makita is more practical and safer. The small 7 1/4" blades stop almost instantly.

The Makita saw has a removable trigger safety that prevents the saw from turning on when you remove the safety.

Makita does not offer a zero-clearance kerf insert, but it is easy to make them out of mdf. Dado inserts are available, however.

The stock fence will work if you lock it down parallel to the blade, but it leaves a lot to be desired. The stock rip capacity is less than 20 inches. This saw really is designed to be used in a Rousseau or Makita (made by Rousseau) stand with the large fence. The saw lacks all the sliding extensions and rack & pinion assemblies that you don't need with a Rousseau stand. If you don't intend to buy a Rousseau stand for your saw, you will be better off with a higher priced saw that has a better fence and more rip capacity.

Ripping a 4x in a single pass is an amazing and humbling experience because all that blade sticking out of the table could take a leg off a Rhino in no time flat. Ripping huge lumber is best left to the lumber yards with their monstrous saws and fearless machine operators. I mostly use the saw for finish work so I rarely need to run anything thicker than a 2x4 through the saw, thankfully.

There are lighter and cheaper saws available, but many of the cheaper saws do not have a blade shroud (the Makita's is made from cast aluminum instead of plastic). The blade shroud keeps you from putting a hand into the running blade should you reach under the saw for something. The metal shroud would offer better protection from shrapnel should your blade lose a tooth or fracture.

I recommend this saw for a contractor looking for a lightweight yet powerful and accurate portable. The price is great, the saw is super easy to transport and set up, and the saws are know to be extremely durable and long lasting.

Don't buy this saw. There appears to be a manufacturing defect in the rack plate which allows adjustment of the beveled angle on the saw. Makita needs to rethink their design and use steel instead of plastic for this part. Twice now I have purchased the saw and had to return it because several teeth were missing on this plate making bevel adjustments impossible. This can create a real problem in delays for the professional contractor.

I work this saw like a dog eight hours a day. Never had a problem with overload or jams. It's solid enough to take the punishment of going from truck to job, truck to job. Two things need improvement: Rip fence and miter gauge. For standard cuts, the fence is fine, but when I need a true strait cut, I often use the tape just to be sure the fence is strait. It's a minor issue for a good saw. Bigger problem: miter gauge. Hash marks are in 5 degree increments and the whole gauge feels flimsy. Even the[delta] has a better gauge.

Ive been a self employed for 10 years and been in construction since 1987, most of my work is custom trim,mantels and cabinets. my father bought a 8 1/4" makita saw in 1986 and i still use it today with a rousseau table,, i cant tell you how many LF has gone through that saw..well i thought it might be time for a new one , a bigger one . so i went with the makita 10" because of the deep 3 9/16" cut and the good luck a had with the last saw (as far as wear and tear, any makita table saw is useless to me with out the Roussseau table)in the past years.I also like the crank to lower and raise the blade,after years of hand turning the blade up and down this was really nice,,well when i got the saw i first took note to all the plastic parts that use to be metal, all the important parts , the gears,the crank, the lock. ive used the saw for four jobs now and the hand lock has all ready snaped off.. its very upsetting to see good long lasting tools get cheaper and cheaper..ive beaten the heck out of the last makita i had for the last 16 years, ive had this new one for 4 weeks and its already broken,,i do not recomend this saw to anyone that has to rely on it every day for work, it will not last..spend the money and buy a Dewalt...

The unit I received within 10 uses developed a bad bevel adjustment system, which made it impossible to do fine adjustments of the bevel. I sent it for replacement, and the next one did the same thing. I think there is a definite manufacturer's defect on this one.

At first I was very happy with this saw, despite the somewhat wobbly fence design. After a couple of months of light use, however, the locking mechanism for the bevel adjustment had stripped, allowing the bevel angle to shift while cutting.