Customer Reviews

Makita LS1016L 10-Inch Dual Slide Compound Miter Saw with Laser

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I just got this saw...

I was very nervous making a large purchase like this without ever seeing this new model in person, but I like the original model so much that I decided it was safe to trust Makita.

They did not let me down.

It's way too early to give a real review, but since there aren't any here yet I thought somebody else in my position could use at least a general "it's great" to go on before spending the money.

My first impression is a good one. I'm very, actually VERY impressed.

I had one real concern the first time I used it - the upper slides do not glide very smoothly - hard to describe, but they sort of rumble like there's something stuck in the roller bearings.

I called Makita about this and they immediately knew what I was talking about, and assured me it's normal for this saw and will go away soon when the bearings are broken in. I found that a bit odd, but they sounded sincere, so I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt.

Other than that one point that I'm going to keep a close eye on, I feel comfortable saying that if you're like me, going out on a limb and buying this new model, I think you're going to be pleasantly surprised when it arrives.

For the rest of this week I'm going to try to list anything I don't absolutely love about it, but from what I see so far, that's going to be a very short list.

If I do find any flaws I'll try to update my review immediately.

**** trouble in paradise

First, the upper bearings DO operate more smoothly now, but they're still not perfect. At least they're trending in the right direction. So I'm still giving Makita the benefit of the doubt here... but really, should you have to wait weeks to break a $500+ saw in? Couldn't they add an extra robot to their line to slide the saw back and forth a few thousand times FOR me?

Now to a bigger problem. Somehow I missed this on my first round of playing with the saw. At first I thought this saw didn't have a stop for 0 degree bevel (blade tilt). I thought that was very odd, but also figured I was just missing something. Over the past couple of weeks, I just haven't had to make any bevel cuts, so I never thought twice about it. As it turns out, there is supposed to be a 0 degree stop, and it is easily adjustable by a cap screw - but mine is so far out of whack that cranking the screw all the way in only brings my blade within 5 degrees of where it's supposed to be. As I come here to update my review, I see the other reviewer was luckier (smarter) than me and caught this problem with not one, but two saws!

I'd guess that Makita under-engineered the stop, and it's getting bent or cracked with shipping. If it's easily bent or cracked with shipping, It follows that it's easily bent or cracked while transporting... That's an obvious negative.

We'll see how Makita handles this, and I'll update when I get it corrected.

Next - the fence was off a few degrees, left to right in relation to the blade. I never trust any saw is dead on from the factory, and I think going over a new tool is something you must do, even if it's only to prove it's 100% accurate. So I certainly don't fault Makita for being off.

What bothers me with this particular inaccuracy is that my saw seems to be at the extreme edge of a tolerance in this area. Hard to explain without writing 10 pages, but the fence is easily adjustable - it's one piece, you loosen a few bolts, the holes for which provide enough slop so that you can nudge the fence to set the angle to a perfect 90 degrees relative to the blade.

On mine, there's plenty of slop to move the fence in the wrong direction, but I had to fully push the fence hard against the bolts, and pull on the opposite side (picture the saw blade as a fulcrum in the middle), and tighten the screws while forcing the fence into that position. And that's fine - all's well that ends well, and the fence is perfectly aligned now - but man... if it were off just a hair more, there'd be nothing I could do but make the holes in the fence bigger. Again, it IS within the proper tolerance, but JUUUUST so. You may want to check yours right away when you get it.

Other observations:

I've come to love the laser. I never thought I would, so it surprises me. It is very accurate and it's quite a time saver. I'm tall, so bending down to sight the blade along a mark takes time and effort - not much - but you add it up for every cut, and it becomes significant. I never gave it much thought until I started using this laser. I'll still recheck my more precise cuts, but I do find I can get VERY close with the laser alone, and that re-checking is usually a waste of time.

I DO like that the laser is on it's own switch (in fact, I can't imagine why it wouldn't be) - but I DON'T like that I forget to turn it off, constantly. I don't know what the life span of the laser is, but I imagine I'm going to find out at some point in the future.

Maybe they're immortal, but I would feel more comfortable with momentary contact type switch with a timer - say 30 or 60 seconds. That way you can still have it on while you're lining things up, and don't have to worry about turning it off.

I love how light the saw is. And I love the fact that Makita made the handle areas on the sides comfortable with well rounded edges. It's a small thing, but it's actaully easy to carry this saw around. Once I mount it to a wheeled stand it won't matter, but I haven't yet, and I'm appreciating the portability factor.

No complaints at all about the makita blade yet. We'll see how well it holds up, but for now I'm getting glass smooth cuts on everything I put in there.

Miter settings - be SURE to lock the table, even on a detent! I was amazed at home much slop was in the back rails while I was playing around back there once - then I locked the table (by rotating the front knob) and found (to my great relief) that it tightened right up. I tend to be lazy and often forget about locking the saw on a miter cut, but on this one, you have to remember to do it. I guess you could say that about any saw, but on this one - it really matters.


Other than all that, I still love this saw. Zero regrets, and I still highly recommend it.

**** One more update - talked to Makita about the zero degree bevel stop - my only recourse is to ship the saw back to Amazon... (and of course the box is long gone). My fault for not checking EVERYTHING sooner I guess. Now I'll be without a saw for several weeks - but at least I'll get a brand new one back. Which would normally be a wonderful thing - but NOW I'LL HAVE TO BREAK IN MORE BUMPY ROLLER BEARINGS ALL OVER AGAIN!!! If I didn't love the saw, I wouldn't have the patience for this.

The LS1016 is an updated 10" dual bevel slider with some notable improvements over the venerable LS1013 model.

Makita's bevel gear drive now has intermediate reduction gears which raise the motor housing higher above the saw blade arbor than the 1013 and also reduces the saw blade speed down to 3200 rpm. Because of the higher motor location, the critical right tilt of the bevel (45 degrees) allows sawing 1 11/16" high boards an improvement over 1 1/4" for the LS1013. The left 45 bevel capacity increases also to 2 3/8". I like the addition of a double handled bevel lock lever making it easy to operate regardless of which side of the saw I am approaching this control (behind the saw) from.

Most competitors seem to be stuck on using a drive belt to move the saw motor away from the arbor in order to allow dual bevel. This is my second Makita dual bevel slider and both have had excellent power and torque cutting through all hard and soft woods as well as handling lumber which occasionally has internal stresses bind on the blade (the only time that I really notice the full use of the torque available from any saw.) Makita's bevel and spur gear train delivers without any hesitation AND does that while delivering a final blade speed of 3200 rpm. The 1013 was 3700 rpm, all of the competitive saws seem to have blade speeds of 4700 up through 5200 rpm. I don't know if the higher spped is to lower the stress on the drive belt, but it definitely increases the screaming of a high speed blade both when spun up and cutting through wood. For a 10 inch this is my quietest saw yet. Also worth mention is that the soft start motor is so effective I can barely detect any recoil when it starts up yet the motor is at full speed ready to cut without causing any wait on my part.

The 1013 had a passive spring loaded detent for the zero degree bevel setting, while this model has a stop pawl which is manually disengaged with a push button to swing past while moving to a right bevel. Unfortunately, this internal pawl was broken on the first of two saws delivered to me. I think this saw had taken a drop during shipment causing the internal damage. Although I preferred the older detent for speed, this system works fine for me. I might note that the 45 right and left stops are hard end stops which are adjustable with set screws. If you were really pressed to do so, you can bevel as much as 47 plus degrees either way but at a loss of the stop setting. For any flat baseboard miters as high as 4 inches or so, you could just use miters to cut for those occasional room corners that are narrower than 90 degrees however before being forced to cut on the flat instead of against the fence.

As far as miters are concerned, this goes 60 degrees right which is great (I am clueless why someone might mfg a saw which goes to 57 degrees . . . ) this one also goes 52 left. Now what I wonder is why none of the manufacturers will give me the capacity to go 60 degrees left. For this saw table, it would increase the base size no more than 2 1/4" in width left of the center and probably add 2 pounds to the weight. I'd pay for the extra aluminum and also put up with the extra 2 inches in the truck and definitely make room for it in my workshop. (I'm a general contractor who builds homes as well as building fine furniture as well as custom cabinetry both in my own facility as well as onsite.)

The detents for miter settings are crisp and the miter lock seems to be very tight.

I haven't met a miter saw yet which is super effective at dust control, this one doesn't excel at this either. (When used in my shop, my miter saw table area has a back board, with a big scoop to a 4" dust system on one side and a small fan directing the spray of dust at the scoop from the opposite side.)

The biggest concern so far has been the linear bearings on the upper set of sliding rails. As the first reviewer noted these bearings are very rough at the onset. I have seen that many other users have also noted this on several wood working and contracting forums (my review and writing are within a couple of weeks of this product release on the street). I am now using the second of these saws shipped to me. On the first one, the roughness of the bearings seemed to have been 90% broken in (in about a week of use) and running nearly smooth. This second replacement saw has been in use now for 4 days and is slowly getting smoother in operation. Only time will tell if it completely smooths out. It seems a bit odd that Makita could make the lower set of linear bearings silky smooth and the upper set is (or at least starts out) horrible, (maybe there are dual linear bearings for each of the lower slide rails) . As for why this is designed with two sets of rails (upper and lower) and two sets of linear bearings, I haven't fully digested. What I will note operationally is that the 1013 single set of "under" carriage rails demands a completely clear counter space behind the saw when working out in the field. This 1016 is more forgiving in a cramped job site.

My other complaint is the poorly executed documentation. Illustrations are tiny and poorly labeled and do not correspond with the text well. The language is executed with the very worst combination of english second language by a non technical writer as far I can interpret. Yes I know that Makita sales have slid 15% in the current economy, but for a 300 billion yen company, how about spending a thousand dollars to have a good technical english writer do the manual! I don't expect a manual of how to do wood working but I shouldn't be puzzled about which part is being referred to to make adjustments or operate the saw.

I would also like to see Makita include the side extensions. The holes for it are machined into the base, but I can't find that I can even buy them. I wouldn't mind paying a couple dollars more to have them included or at the very least they should be available for sale. There are times when the few extra inches of support are appreciated yet I can't justify bringing a full miter saw stand to the job.

The quality control (other than the rough upper linear bearings) are superb. The machining of the turn table and table side wings are flat and smooth. I do miss the large turntable of the 1013 and the support it affords for wider boards, but I am suppose a smaller turntable was needed for the wider miter angle settings. The new fence is also welcome offering much higher support on both sides of the blade than the 1013 and seems to be a stouter approach than the "flip over" high close support for vertical bevels (I have had two of the flip fences on previous saws broken by sudden catches of wood while my employees have had them out in the field). The sliding upper fences are a good solution to allowing both high vertical support and clearance for bevel cuts.

Also on quality control, I had come near to ordering a deep blue colored saw but had seen a reviewers note about alignment of the arbor to the sliding axis. Out of two 1016's delivered to me, the first one was out of alignment a little tiny hair (this is the one which I suspect took a drop in shipment), the second one is virtually dead on. If you make a plunge cut at the rear of the sliding travel, and make a separate second plunge cut at the front of sliding travel (do not slide the saw while in the wood but make two separate plunges) the two separate cuts should be in dead alignment. If you see an offset in the saw kerfs it means that the blade arbor is out of alignment and the blade can not slide or travel straight with the kerf and you will have binding when sliding and wavy cuts, burnt edges . . . etc. I don't think any manufacturer makes this adjustable so either it's right or it's a lemon. BTW the included ATB saw blade is superb, I had orderd a neg rake Freud to put on this saw, but I'll wait until the factory blade needs sharpening.

Overall, I like this new release from Makita and expect it to serve me well I hope that the roughness of the upper linear bearings completely goes away soon.

This is my first sliding mitre saw, I've owned two basic mitre saws before, both of them cheap units, one from Sears (Craftsman) and one from Canadian Tire (Mastercraft). I'm in Ottawa Ontario, purchased this saw through Amazon and imported it as it is not available in Canada until late 2009. I wanted a 10" saw since I already own some 10" blades, and 12" blades are more expensive.

I'm not a professional contractor, more of a serious DIY-er. So far this year I've installed hardwood and new baseboard and casings throughout the main floor of our house, and I'm now using this LS1016L to complete a two level 23x21 foot deck with lots of angles and stairs out back. I thought it was high time I get myself a good quality saw with a reasonable cutting capacity. The LS1016L seemed to fit the bill.

I gave this saw 4/5 stars, let's get the bad news out of the way first.

Issue #1 - TOP RAIL BEARING SMOOTHNESS

After reading how others had not been pleased with the smoothness of the upper rail travel, this was the first thing I checked when I unboxed the saw. Yep, the bearing travel is a little rough, for sure, not nearly as smooth as the lower rails. I found that loosening and re-tightening the cap on the back of the top rails eliminated most of this roughness almost immediately. This is easy to do:

1.Pull the saw all the way forward and lock the lower rails, then push the saw back and lock the upper rails.
2.Using a 3mm Allen Wrench, loosen the set screws in the top of the rail cap about 1 turn each.
3.Wiggle the cap until it feels loose then tighten the set screws being careful not to torque the cap and load the rails.

This cured the majority of the bearing roughness right away. The top rails still don't glide as smoothly as the lower rails do (and they probably never will given the way they are supporting the weight of the saw head), but they are much better now.

Doing this helped tremendously with my particular saw, but there is no guarantee it will work with every saw, I'm just sharing my experience.

Issue #2 - 0-DEGREE BEVEL STOP

Others have had an issue with the bevel stop being broken. This worries me a little since mine is definitely still there and working, but it feels "soft" and seems to flex a bit when trying to set the saw for a 0-Degree cut. Is the stop in my saw working as designed? Is it cracked and therefore more flexible than it should be? I guess I won't know unless I take the bevel mechanism apart and have a look. Shipping this saw back to Amazon isn't practical since it costs a fortune and I no longer have the box to ship it in. If I ever disassemble this thing to figure out what's going on I'll update this review.

OTHER NIT-PICKS

A number of other small issues that bug me about this saw, but really aren't significant to its operation:

1.The clamp (vise) doesn't tighten down quite enough to keep it solidly in place when carrying the saw around. Another thread on the screw would allow it to tighten firmly down to the table and keep it in its place.

2.The laser can be adjusted to the left or right of the blade, but doing this requires loosening a small plastic cap that's difficult to get a good grip on. Can't there just be a lever to switch it back and forth? How about a laser on BOTH sides of the blade?

3.It almost cuts a 2x10 at 45 Degrees - ALMOST. I need to take about 4-5 swipes with a hand saw to finish the cut. If another ¾" of travel had been designed into the upper rails and kerf/mitre plate this cut would be no problem, and would give Makita a great spec to brag about.

AND NOW FOR THE THINGS I LIKE ABOUT THIS SAW:

MITER TABLE/LOCK
The mitre table and lock system works beautifully. Simply set to the desired angle and turn the knob counter clockwise; a spring loaded lock pops into place and it's SOLID. Using the lock even when in one of the common angle locks helps to improve the rigidity of the table too. Very nice.

SOFT START
This works so well and really gives the saw the feel of a professional grade tool. The blade goes from rest to full speed very quickly, but with absolute smoothness! There's no kick or torqing through the saw head - beautiful.

QUIET
Makita chooses a sealed gearbox to transfer power to the blade instead of a belt (as so many other companies use), I like this idea much better. It is also very quiet - I don't even feel the need to wear ear protection using this saw.

CONSTANT SPEED DRIVE
The LS1016L maintains blade speed as you are cutting; it automatically ramps up motor torque to overcome the resistance of cutting. This gives the saw an effortless feeling about it, the saw never sounds like it's working very hard.

SMOOTH OPERATION
Between the soft starting, quiet gearbox, solid mitre table lock, constant speed drive and excellent included 60T carbide blade, this saw is one smooth cutting machine. Cuts never bind unnecessarily and the blade makes beautiful cuts, very smooth. I think the lower cutting speed of the blade (much lower RPM than some other saws) helps greatly with keeping vibrations out of the blade. This saw cuts SMOOTH.

EASY TO CARRY
The handles in the base are large, rounded, and easy on the hands when carrying. This saw may be RELATIVELY light compared to some, but it still weighs over 50lbs so nice handles are a definite plus. It also folds up into a relatively compact package, much smaller than any 12" saw for sure, and according to the specs this saw cuts as big as many 12" saws do.

Overall I'm happy with my purchase and wouldn't hesitate to recommend this saw. I'm not going to put it through the rigors of professional use so it will probably last for a very very long time. If I figure out that 0-Degree bevel stop and get the upper rail bearings to loosen up a bit, this LS1016L will be with me for many years to come.

I am a general contractor and have many power tools. All Makita power tools I've owned over the years were state-of-the-art and excellent quality.

I've had many quality miter saws over the last 30 years by every manufacturer, Delta, Dewalt, Hitachi, and several Makita etc.

I've had 2 or 3 of the older Makita LS1013s sliding compound miter saws and were satisfied with their quality although I did not use them for crown molding. I've used the 12" Dewalt and 12" Makita compound miter saw for crown.

Upon reviewing the LS1016L, I realized that the LS1013 was not a good design at all for crown molding. The whole table rotates and the crown-stops only work for 90 degree cuts !!!!!!!!!!!!!! The LS1013 only bevels in one direction, and the back-stop fences are too low for crown.

The new LS1016L overcomes all of the old LS1013s short comings. I think it is the best by far or any miter saw I've ever owned. It does everything well.

The only negative side to this product is it's weight. It is a bit heavy but still lighter than all others.

Chuck

I am carpenter who recently purchased this saw at Home Depot. I thought I would go out on a limb and try this new model, hoping to be impressed.
Unfortunately I am depressed. After owning this saw for 3 days, I was cutting a piece of ash baseboard that ended kicking back and smashing up
the plastic blade guard assembly, tearing into the kerf boards, and worst, breaking off a piece of the reference fence (not the flip fence). I understand
that broken plastic due to kick is not an if but a when issue unfortunately, but I thought breaking off a chunk of the fence was to be frank..a bit lame.
I don't expect to have to replace the fence and re-calibrate the saw every time wood kicks back.

I can't say I noticed any issues with roller bearings being "bumpy" but I can say that the saw needed squaring from the ground up, which is typical and to be expected.
What I really didn't care for is the lack of a really solid 0 degree bevel stop. Every bevel angle has to be locked in, which is pain you can't just flip up the saw
to zero, it has an area of about + or - 3 degrees it wiggles in. The miter gauge locking mechanism seemed to be pretty slick once you get used to it. My only concern is
if it loosens up after a year or two of heavy use, could present a problem. The direct drive motor seemed to be decent, no complaints there. The extra tall fences
actually got in the way for 45 degree bevels, even when slid out to the very edge, I ended up just taking them off for what I was doing. Also providing you
need to read the directions for any reason, I echo another reviewers sentiment of them be really poorly written/illustrated.

Overall I would say this saw not marketed in my opinion for hard working no-nonsense builders, seeking efficiency/reliability/accuracy. I would highly recommend sticking with the other Makita models or the really great Hitachi C10FSH. These other models are tried, true and really solid saws. For $550 I think hands down you can do better.

All of my tools (plus our 2 cars and boat) were destroyed in a garage fire at our home last month. Miraculously the garage itself didn't catch fire and nobody was hurt but everything must be replaced. The ONE good thing from all of this is the extraordinary luxury afforded to me of being able to design my home wood shop from the ground up with a "system" of well-chosen tools that function seamlessly and without unnecessary duplication. A few days after the fire I began researching table saws, sliding compound miter saws, planers, jointers, dust collection; everything down to marking pencils. After several weeks comparing features and prices, visiting local stores, and wading through these reviews, I concluded that any 10" or 12" sliding miter saw from Bosch, Makita, or Ridgid should do.

I had to perform a task yesterday that required a sliding miter saw, so I went to Home Depot to acquire my very first post-fire power tool. Home Depot sells two of the saws from my above list - the 12" Ridgid and the 10" Makita 1016L. I went with the Makita due to its lower price, smaller footprint, lighter weight, and I think it's a great looking saw too. Regrettably, my experience with the Makita 1016L was painfully short-lived.

I opened the box and the top of the saw popped out like a jack-in-the-box. "What?" - I thought. I removed the saw from the box and found it to be a thing of beauty. The slider action is smooth and has a feel of quality. The instruction manual is almost useless, none-the-less I read every poorly-written word. I then replaced the Makita blade with a metal cutting blade so I could cut - you know - metal. I positioned the work piece, clamped it to the fence, and powered up the saw. The blade wobbled badly. I thought "Jeez, I have a bad blade!" I removed the metal-cutting blade, cleaned the arbor nut and washers, inspected the Makita blade and installed it. It wobbled too. It's always a sad moment when you find that a tool manufacturer that once was so good has joined the Craftsman's and others who lowered their standard of quality. I hope Makita gets their act together again. There is no excuse for a wobbly saw - it's the one thing a saw should NOT do.

I returned it and went to Lowe's and bought the $599.00 Bosch 5312. It's the same robust saw as the $699.00 5412 but without the rotating handle, soft-grip, repetitive stop, has slightly shorter cord, the blade wrench is basic instead of a combination socket, and the clamp is a vertical quick clamp rather than quick-action. Did I mention I got the $300.00 Bosch Gravity Rise miter stand FREE with purchase of the 5312? Because I did! (Free `til Halloween.) Cowabunga, man!

After carefully reading the negative reviews for this saw (LS1016L) and the newest DeWalt 12", based on reviews only, the Makita is a better buy. However a trip to the local HomeDepot, for a hands on feel, was a bonus. After setting up the saw per instructions, I found this saw not to have any of the problems some have complained about. The slide action is a little tight, but only initially. It smooths out very quickly. The laser accuracy is adjustable. But mine was dead on--on both the right and left side of the blade. The soft start feature is a serious plus for not tripping breakers on start-up. This saw has the lowest rpm of any saw I know of, yet, it produces very smooth,fast and accurate cuts. Mine came out of the box needing no calibrating. Dead on accurate. So, If you need a better saw than this one, you need to make it yourself, and I'll buy it from you.

First let me say that the shipping used by this seller was the worst I have had to deal with. It was a private carrier that only delivers on Thursdays and Saturdays. I asked if there was the possability to pick-up at thier location. The answer was no.
Dispite the shipping hassles, I really like this saw. It was accurate out of the box. I have Dewalt and Festool saws in the shop I run at work and this saw is better than the Dewalt and compares well with the Festool. Having lots of experience with many tools, I usually can figure the new ones out quickly, but I like to go over the instructions anyway. There are too many parts of this saw that don't have clear explanations. I figured them out, but not everyone will find it easy. If you know tools, this is a good one. I wouldn't recommend this to a first time buyer unless they have someone show them the ins and outs of the saw.

Purchased this saw a couple of weeks ago, so obviously I don't have a lot of miles on it. Since I'm not a contractor I'm not really the best person to write about longevity anyway.

This is a replacement / upgrade to a 10" Delta non-slider bought about 10 years ago. It is a vastly superior saw to te Delta in almost every way possible.

As far as downsides go I was a bit disappointed by the box the saw was shipped in. Not robust enough for the weight and cost of the saw in my opinion. Fortunately though I haven't detected any damage, in particular the 0 deg. tilt stop others had issues with seems to be fine on my saw.

The alignments weren't right on right out of the box, but it has been pretty easy to adjust things to be accurate.

I have the rough top bearing that others have commented on. Hopefully with use the saw bearings with smooth out in on the not too distant future.

I am using this saw on a Delta 36-136 stand which it fits onto quite well.

As far as the printed documentation supplied with the saw, it is pretty much unusable with the small diagrams and print format. However it is possible to download a PDF of the docs from Makita's web site. The PDF can then be viewed at the magnification you wish which makes it a lot easier to figure out.

Good Price
Although refurbished, the saw was in like-new condition
The manual is sorry, even the pdf download (which unlike the print addition is readable) leaves much to be desired
The saw is excellent; I wish the manual were half as good