Customer Reviews

Makita LS1040 10-Inch Compound Miter saw

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I own a hardwood flooring business and we have 4 of these saws in use and 3 Dewalt 10" and 1 Hitachi. I had the Milwaukee Magnum 10" but sold it because it was too heavy and hard to use. These Makita 10" saws have a great feel to them and are prefered by our crews. We have never had a repair problem with them except for truing the fence which gets knocked out of square after extended use as is typical with all miter saws I've used. Overall the best 10" saw out there.
Note the DEWALT DW703 10" Miter saw is my second choice and is a good saw, however I did have a defective motor on a 1 week old saw.

The tolerances of the Makita LS1040 are so tight that wafer thin pieces of wood can be shaved off and you can see through them. I am not lying. I shaved off pieces of 2x material and could see light through them. Also miter cuts in moldings are crisp and clean. I especially like tools with blade brakes because they are safer and blade changing is faster. Because of its light weight I have no problem transporting this saw from job to job. Sure a heavier slide saw will cut 2x10 and larger stock but honestly how often do I cut that on the job site with a miter saw... never.

You'd think it would be easy to find a miter saw that cut straights, angles, and bevels accurately (without having to adjust them every time), but alas no. I went through a couple of cheaper brands hoping to save a few bucks... live and learn. This saw doesn't have all the bells and whistles of some other brands, but it cuts true.

A few years ago I worked in the cabinet shop of a custom motor-coach factory. We had about 12 of these 10" Makita Saws as well as a few larger sliding saws of various brands. We used them all day long to cut moldings and secondary wood to assemble cabinets, and never had a lick of trouble. Out on the main line, they even used the same saw with a carbide blade to cut aluminum extrusions for coach bodies.

When they finally started wearing out (after about 5 years of 10 hour work shifts) management replaced them with cheap Delta saws which where not nearly as tough.

I have been in the wood trades for several years and used saws of every major brand. If I was going to buy a small miter saw, the Makita would probably be my first choice.

Let me make this short: this is all the miter saw 95% of us need. You can buy bigger, fancier more powerful saws with advanced features but this is all you really need unless you're a full time Pro who does trim and molding etc. all day long.
It has a liitle "kick" at start up but when you make the cut it is so quick and so clean you forget it. In fact....I LIKE that little start up boost!
This is a well made, well thought out tool and looks like it will last a long time. If its like my other Makita tools I'm sure it will.

For the money this is a great Miter Saw. It is very powerful. It may not have an infinate range of angle settings, but it has the most common settings.

Being a finish carpenter for over 30 years I can say that this saw is excellent for the budget end of the Makita line...for the price it is very much worth it. The saw cuts accurately and is light in weight for portability.

I have run this saw for four years. It is the old standby in my shop. It is fairly rugged for on site work as well and transports easily due to its light weight construction. The trigger safety on my saw is broken however. It is one of those small plastic parts that is easily cracked when throw in the back of a pickup at the end of the day. If I had to change anything about this saw I would have made that little button out of some type of strong alloy. This saw will do everything from medium size framing jobs to cabinetry work and moulding installations. It is a good addition to any shop.

for the price this is the saw you need, you may want a 12inch sliding saw but this will do 98% of all tasks that you have. I went looking for a good blade for my old compound slider and ended up walking out of the toolshop with the makita, and i don't regret it. it's small enough to be kept in a tool box instead of rolling around on the back of my pick up. compact unit thats easy to lug around and will handle framing and trim with ease. the jerky nature of the motor is the only consern, and thats why it only gets 4 stars form me.

I've been using Makita tools for over 20 years and have always been impressed with their quality and durability. I bought this saw for doing home projects, so far I have cut oak and pine with it and it makes good solid cuts. Easy to use and seems to be very good quality. Good job Makita. Amazon shipping was excellent as always.