Customer Reviews

Makita 2704X1 Contractors 15 Amp 10-Inch Benchtop Table Saw with Stand

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I was going to get the Bosch 4000 and saw the Makita at a local Home Depot. I looked over the saw for an hour and decided I would get it. Here is the number 1 reason to get this saw: the fence has allen screws on the top to fine tune it parallel to the blade. Once it is adjusted it stays parallel. As far as I know no other saw offers this. Undercarriage is all metal and the bevel gears are METAL not plastic like the Bosch and every other saw. 3 5/8 blade depth is good. Power is very good ,I cut thru 8/4 white oak without a problem and the cut was relatively smooth.The saw is almost as quiet as my General cabinet saw. The cart is very good and easy to use. The only drawbwck is that when stored on it's end it extends somewhat beacause it uses gas cartridges and as far as I can see does'nt have a locking mechanism. It has a unique 2 lever locking system for the extension table (25 inch cut) The only downside is that it doesn't have provisions for a outfeed table and is 38 inches tall (about the same as the bosch. The weight is a little high but was easy to get on my tailgate to roll in my pickup. Don't confuse this saw with the 2703, this is a new design. I believe this saw will beat out the bosch when the reviews come out.

This is a fine table saw. It's easy to set up, smooth running, stable and sturdy, and it's easy on the back as it rolls on sturdy wheels. The few quibbles that I have are relatively minor and since the saw is new I may find other solutions over time. First, the fence adjustment is not as easy as it sounds and the manual is severely lacking in information. There are 4 allen screws on top of the fence and not two as the manual states. I had to play hit or miss to make the fence parallel to the blade. The scale layout for the fence is very ambiguous even with the magnifier. The centimeter scale is seen better than the inch one. The fence lock and adjustment is better on the Dewalt 10"; I like their rotating knob adjustment. Now the good stuff. The table itself is firm and steady and ready to rip full sheets of plywood. With the blade recessed I use it as workbench for sanding etc. because it is so big and steady. The table extension is great. The blade goes up and down smoothly and easily and the best part is the smoothness of the motor. It's quiet and strong and goes through 4x4 pressure treated stock like butter; hardwoods too. And the brake works perfectly. I haven't tried the miter guage yet so I can't comment but with minor tweaking this could be the best and smoothest portable on the market. Oh, and best of all I got this saw for under $500 with free shipping from Tyler Tool. What a deal.

After using this saw for a while I want to downgrade it for several reasons mostly the fence. The adjustment is haphazard and inaccurate and does not stay square to the blade when clamped. I see no way to remedy the problem. The Dewalt has a great fence adjustment and tightening system but the table is too small for sheet goods. Also the blade insert is not stable and is hard or impossible to get to sit flat on all sides and the blade cannot be adjusted parallel to the table. All in all the saw has much promise but fails to fulfill in all the important ways.

After having this saw for two years I need to downgrade it to one star. It is absolute crap. From the fence to the plastic gears to the bevel adjustment, this saw is junk. I have broken teeth on the bevel gear twice. The gears to the blade height must be cleaned almost every day. The fence adjustment makes squaring next to impossible. I could go on. DO NOT BUY THIS SAW.

A month ago I bought this saw from Tyler Tools to replace the old Delta 9" I've been lugging out to jobs. Now that I've used it daily I feel that I'm qualified to write this review. This is a very good little saw. My opinion of Makita tools might be biased because of past good experiences with their other tools (though their cordless tools don't impress me much) however there is just no denying that this is a well designed machine. All the tools store on-board the saw base - tightly. Just like the Bosch - the blade storage is also on-board the base. I bet the machined aluminum table will long outlast the Bosch and Rigid as will the metal gears. I hooked up the shop vac to the saw's dust port and was relieved of 90% of the dust generated during the ripping of MDF. Another reviewer commented that the bevel release levers were flimsy. Well - you really don't need to crank on it that much to release or lock it. Unfortunately the saw doesn't come packaged with any finesse. That you have to bring to work yourself.
This saw has more than enough power to handle ripping most any materials. The fence is sufficient. You got to remember it's not a cabinet saw and your not buying a Biesemeyer fence. The table extension works great.
The reasons I didn't give it a fifth star:
1. Makita greased up the front and rear fence rails with what appears to be cosmolene. Why? I had to wipe the thing down when I first unpacked it and I'm still wiping it off.
2. Although the stand seems to be working just fine - I don't have that kind of faith in it - yet. The jury is still out.
3. The plastic push stick is pure home owner crap. Makita could have spent the cost of it by adding 1 foot more to the length of the power cord.
So, all you contractors and big dollar carpenters, hurry on down to your favorite on-line store (Tyler Tools) and get yourself this mighty fine saw! You won't regret it.

I'm an occasional weeked do-it-your-selfer. I've owned my Makita 2704 for about 8 months, and I've completed several projects with it, including three nice pieces of furniture. I bought the saw because of the stand, the T slots in the table, the adjusting wheel for the blade bevel, and the large rip depth. All those are very nice features.

So why only three stars? I know the 2704 is a contractors saw, but that seems a poor excuse for leaving off any way to adjust the alignment of the table to the blade. The Bosch allows such alignment, why not Makita? There's also the nuisance of putting on or removing the blade guard. I know some people say they don't use guards. I hope they're not ripping without one, because if they are they will soon enough eat a board. It's possible to wiggle your arm under the saw base to reach the button for releasing the blade guard latch on the Makita, but there has to be a better way.

Some further complaints. The throat plate is very flimsy, which can really affect accuracy when cutting small pieces. And finally, my biggest aggravation -- the fence and the table extension. The fence locks onto the table extension, which is not very securely held in place by the supposed locking levers. So the fence (actually the table extension) wobbles from side to side as you push your work through the saw. I managed to fix the problem by using two small Irwin clamps to hold the table extension solidly in place, but it should not be necessary to jury rig a fix like that, and it it wouldn't work very well for ripping anything more than a foot wide.

The bottom line is that some inexcusable design flaws have marred what otherwise would be the state of the art best portable saw on the market. It's a real shame.

I am a first time purchaser and, for that matter, user of a table saw. I purchased the 2704 separate from the stand. Got the saw on Ebay (sorry Amazon) for about $430 and the stand on Ebay (oops again) for $196. Completely satisfied thus far. Just basically use it for ripping at this point. However, I can counter some of the nay sayers with regard to the rip fence. It does securely tighten when you follow the owners manual. Just read a bit and you'll see that you merely have to adjust two screws. I did so and fence remained tight and cuts were extremely accurate! As for the stand...I love it. It does store the saw vertically. It is very strong and works effortlessly!

I Have a makita 2704 table saw, and its a good saw, but it has a two design flaws, theirs no lateral adjustment for the blade, and the throat plate sucks, and you cant buy zero clarence throat plates, I think ill buy a Bosch next.

The makita table saw is a great all around saw. It is easy to move around and is very stable with the portable stand. The only bad part of my deal was with amazon. The checkout is confusing and if you need to talk with someone about a mistake or a problem good luck. CUSTOMER SERVICE HERE SUCKS.

I Bought this saw about a year ago and thought it was wonderful. Everything on it worked great. A couple of months later the handle to tighten the miter adjustment stripped out. I ordered replacement parts from Makita and received them in a very timely fasion. Shortly after that it stripped again so I made my own replacement parts that work much better. Unfortunately other cheap plastic parts on it are starting to fail and fall apart. I am a big believer in Makita tools and own many for my contracting business, but I strongly suggest buying a different saw. The best part on the saw is the folding stand which I now use to hold my old De Walt rack and pinion table saw.

Well after running some wood thought it I am glad I got it. Works great and runs super smooth.