Customer Reviews

Makita LXT407 18-Volt LXT Lithium-Ion Cordless 4-Piece Combo Kit

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I use my tools heavily. We had a special project on which we needed 3 new battery powered drills. I bought this kit that had the 2 Makita drills in it and a Black and Decker drill. All of the drills have 18 volt lithium batteries. We used each drill doing the same task for the same amount of time over 3 contiuous days. The B&D battery had to be recharged after each day. The Makita batteries went all 3 days without a charge and still had a lot of power left.

One of the Makita batteries was also used to saw thru some 2X4s with the sawsall. I have a Makita AC powered sawsall and the new battery powered unit is as powerful as the AC unit. The battery powered sawsall has a new blade changing feature which makes blade changing super easy because no tools are envolved.

The bag that comes with the kit is really heavy duty and should last for years. It is big enough to add a lot of other stuff if you need to. It is so well made and nice looking, you may want to use it as a travel bag instead of a tool hauler.

Check for Internet pricing. I paid $288 with shipping.

makita does have a 3-year warranty to cover all damages to their tools and a one warranty on batteries. i believe the problem here is that the batteries were not fully charged before use. it mentions in the instructions and from the makita rep, that all batteries need to be fully charged, 4-6hours?-not sure how long, as it's been 2 years since i bought mine, before they are used on a job site. it would make sense that if the batteries weren't fully charged that they would never give the full output performance. also, makita was the company that mass produced cordless drills. in the 80s everyone had a makita cordless. they didn't invent it, it was black&decker, in the 60s, for nasa, but they made it possible for everyone to have cordless tools now. the cordless back then required that you completely drain the battery before charging. that is detrimental to batteries today, any battery, from any company. perhaps this is what has happened to all your tool batteries from makita, milwaukee and dewalt. also if you let batteries freeze, get too hot in your truck, leave them on the charger for weeks, use the tool after the battery output has dropped, eg the drill is barely turning the screw but you keep at it until it stops completely, as well as a few other things, all decrease the life of batteries. please note that these makita tools were redesigned from the ground up, improving every area of the tool. the milwaukee, which be a work horse, just added lithium batteries and changed the plastic housing of their tools. the dewalt tools took their best selling product, their 18 volt line, and added lithium-ion batteries. dewalt also has 36volt lithium-ion batteries, but i'm not sure if they settled the law suit against them for stealing the technology.
these makita tools have the best charger on the market today. it electronically charges every portion of the battery to full potential, instead of just charging until one cell is full and leaving the rest of the 1.2 volt cells to be undercharged, in effect, an 18 volt tool becomes a 14.4 volt tool. please note that for sawzall/recip saws, they require much more power than an 18 volt can provide, even a lithium-ion, for remodeling anyway, eg cutting out a door or a window. the 18 volts, regardless of manufacturer, are best for light-duty work, light pvc pipe, occasional rebar, etc. the best cordless tools known to man are hilti tools. i have their 24 volt nicad and it is the only cordless recip saw (sawzall) that could keep up with my remodeling, in fact, it is more powerful than my older, light-duty, 6 amp milwaukee corded saw! the hilti 24 volt recip saw is even more powerful than the 36 volt lithium-ion tools that boast corded power.
my favorite thing about lithium-ion (Lion) is if you only partially use the tool here and there, the battery wont need charging as often. lithium ion batteries maintain full output, in this case 18 volts, constantly and do not decrease their charge if they haven't been used. a ni-cad battery will decrease its charge by 20% if unused, in the 1st 24 hours after its been charged. this is why if you leave it in the charger for weeks at a time, the battery will decrease its charge and the charger will re-charge it over and over again. every battery only has so many charge cycles. for nicad, it is typically 800, depends on manufacturer. lithium-ion batteries typically have 1400 (makita) charge cycles, so if they are treated properly, and charged completely the first time, they will far outlast their nicad cousins.
i love these makita tools, i am so happy every time i use them. its the subtle details i love too. like the self-maintenance, high quality, high-output motor. the led lights that turn on when you pull the trigger, the heavy-duty metal belt clip that doesn't spin like other brands, the smart charger, and everything about the impact driver. i use the impact driver more than everything, small screws (other brands will over torque small screws) to large lag bolts, except when client's baby is sleeping, as it does make a rattle noise, when in use. it is so light-weight and so powerful. i also bought the trim saw and the grinder too.

Makita continues to impress me with their tools and their combined packages. I have had the 9.6V version of the drill and impact drill/driver for about 10 years. It continues to work flawlessly to date, but I am on my 3rd set of batteries. So I decided to upgrade to the 18V Lithium-Ion version of the tools and am sure glade I did. The tools are rock solid and much improved in the power department. I have owned just about every power tool by every manufacturer, and Makita, continues to be at the top of my list before any others.

Have been using the LXT407 set for 2 weeks now and am pleased overall. My favorite and `least' favorite tool is the impact driver. I will never use a drill to drive screws again. BUT if you are a lefty user like myself with normal to large hands you'll quickly find that the reverse/neutral/forward switch on the impact was not designed for us! When the switch is set in the forward drive position the `button' sticks out and my index finger keeps hitting the switch and knocking it into neutral. I think this happens because of the compact handle design and there just isn't enough room for the index finger on the handle. I'm sure that after I retrain myself to tuck it under the switch and it will be fine. It is a shame because the impact has become the tool I use the most. I do not think this is as big of an issue with right handed users since the switch only sticks out in the reverse setting.

I originally thought the LED lights were a gimmick but quickly realized how handy they are. Nice useful addition...

I read several reviews with complaints on the `cheap' zipper on the included bag. They are right, the bag has fantastic heavy duty material construction but has the cheapest zipper I've ever seen. I will be surprised if it lasts more than a month.

It is not the build quality found it say the Milwaukee (metal chuck etc), BUT the Makita it is MUCH lighter (several pounds lighter) and more compact. So far it appears to have the power most of us would ever need without extra weight and bulk.

Other than a few minor issues it seems like a great set for the price. If you are in the market for a set, this might be the one for you!

I bought the kit from Home Depot when it first came out 3 years ago. As a kit, it's a solid performer. If I were to rate the individual products, I would have to say impact driver and the drill are exceptional...wouldn't trade them for any other. The LED was a really nice addition to these tools. I've had to use them in my attic a few times and the LED lights have proven invaluable. Both have exceptional torque and battery life is good. The belt clip is another of my favorite features. Since it's flat, I simply slip them over the edge of my pocket and they never fall off...best belt clip design I've used.

My kit also came with the circular saw. Both the circular saw and the reciprocating saw could use a little more power. The circular saw seems to drain the battery too fast and the recipro. cuts nails fine but struggles with wood cuts. I don't know if the problem is with the battery or the saws themselves. I still use them but only for very small jobs.

The flashlight works great and seems to be fairly tough. I've dropped it from as high as 6 ft. on a few occasions and it has not broken yet. It's replaced my other flashlights for general use. It's bright enough to be used as a spotlight in my boat.

At the time I purchased this kit I also looked at the DeWalt tools...which were less expensive. I didn't like the heavier weight of the DeWalt batteries so I went with Makita. I'm still pleased with my purchase.

When I got my first 9.6v Makita cordless drill, all that was offered at that time was foreward and reverse.NOW, no end to the fine new additions available.I still use my early model 9.6v (several switches later) and still love it,BUT I am considering giving it a rest.Just purchased the 407 kit and 'WOW' Nearly as surprised as I was with the 'New 9.6v' drill. The New L-ion series is not much heavier than my 9.6, BUT the diff in power----. I know you can't compare 18v to 9.6v but I have had all the ones in between.Makita, I will say it again, THANK YOU FOR A SUPER TOOL.
Oh,Yes, there is the fact that there are TWO drivers in the 407 kit, an impact drill/ driver and an impact driver. Also, a super recip.saw.IF YOU ARE EVEN THINKING about one of the other BRANDS,give yourself a sharp rap on the index finger of your right hand and forget the other BRANDS.Been there and done that. MAKITA, MAKITA, MAKITA. That's all you need to know......These are GREAT tools, and I expect them to last a long time as have all my other Makita tools.

Thinking of buying into Makita Lithium Ion?

I did last year and I am glad I did.

I bought the big Makita LiOn 6 toy kit from AceToolsonLine last December. That way my cost per tool was about as low as you can go and I got the grinder. In my work, a cordless grinder can be very useful.

The kit contained recip saw, circ saw, impact driver, drill/driver, grinder and, of course, the flashlight. Most of these kits have a flashlight, which they count as a tool. Go figure.

They also threw in a jobsite radio. I see that they are promoing these as part of kits. The radio is nice - and useless.

It has AM, FM and NO MP3 jack - making it obsolete. I own a $25 boom box from Wal Mart that offers AM, FM, CD and MP3. Works fine. What I really use is a Sansa 280, which works very well.

I have been using one or more of these kit tools on an almost daily basis in my work (HOA maintenance and repair) since last December. They still work fine. I am still a Happy Camper.

The weight and balance of these tools and the ergonomics is excellent. Suddenly my Bosch 18v NiCad kit looked large and clunky and felt heavy. It moved to the attic for a rest.

The Bosch jig saw came out last week for a hardiplank siding job. We had both the Bosch and Makita saws up on the AlumiPole. The Bosch used up two batteries and that was that. The Makita was still running.

I normally bring the batteries in on Friday for a charge. If something is getting used hot and heavy, I will charge overnight. Have not had to run a charger on the job - which is good as I normally do not have easy access to AC. Of course, I have four batteries.

Impact driver and drill/driver get used a lot. I was setting anchors with the hammer drill feature last week. Handy. My other option would be my 120v Makita hammer drill - but try to find 120 in these projects.

The circ saw was out for a fence repair just last week. It's rather elegant and cuts well. Been quite a while since one of my 120v framing saws got out.

The grinder is used for those special jobs - usually cutting something off that is frozen up. It's a bit tender compared to an AC model. Those you can lean into. This demands a delicate touch.

If you act like a brute, a red warning light comes on. If you persist, it shuts down for a brief rest. I like to lean on my 4.5" grinders, but not at the price of having to drag in a gen set to make one cut. I play nice and it cuts.

Recip, impact and hammer drill reside in a large Husky tool bag with all sorts of drill bits, blades and accessories for cutting or making holes. Circ saw, grinder, flashlight and now the new (in this country) jig saw go in another bag.

Makita makes a 18v LiOn jig saw. I use a jig saw a lot. This fall I bought it as a naked tool and put it in the kit. You can finally buy it in this country. The English have been selling it for some time. I waited a year until it was on sale in the USA. No reason, just policy.

This is great bunch of tools at a great price. I have been using Makita Cordless 19 volt tools for over 3 years now, and I am more pleased with them every time I add them to my tool shed. I am a general contractor and they get used every day, all day long. They have held up and except for battery replacement, have been outstanding performers.

I've owned a Makita NiCad impact drill since they first came out 6 or 7 years ago. That drill was used in my construction company regularly (often to drive lag bolts into treated 2x12 ledgers to hold decks to the house). At first I was afraid it was too light and was careful with it, but after 3 or 4 years of use I was satisfied with it's durability. I only bought the new kit because I wanted the Lithium batteries and a cordless sawzall. The old drill works yet (though it's got some bearing squeal), the batteries are shot. (I stored it outside in my van where the temps get to below zero in the winter, I was surprised the batteries held up as long as they did.)
The new kit came and I noticed the forward/reverse switch has been lightened up on the lithium models. Also, the motor doesn't sound as heavy duty. Then yesterday the drill "popped", got really hot, and quit working. Fortunately I still have my 12 volt NiCad, so I could finish the barn roof with it.
Amazon.com is sending me a whole new kit, I'm supposed to remove the BTD141 Impact drill, and put the faulty one back in, and send the kit back. I hope that's not the sort of kit I received the first time.

The sawzall is nice, especially the blade insertion/removal lock. I've used it to rip a 7' 2x4, and feel there would have been battery power left to rip another one. The tool feels heavy and stout.

The hammer/drill/driver has a nice LED feature like the impact drills, but the forward/reverse switch on it seems too light also.

The flashlight is typical, nothing exceptional, but not flimsy either.

Don't pay over $383, and I've even seen them delivered for $320 after I bought mine.

I love this set. Plenty of power, lighter than my bosch 14.4v set. Quick charge. Long life batteries(way longer than my bosch set).
All the tools are real, & solid. Lith-ion batteries are light & powerful(easily drives 10" GRK fasteners)
This has worked great for me. I'm a builder & use it daily. No problems yet(1 yr). I added the 6 1/4 skill saw & love that too. I do alot of early onsite(before powers in) work. Drain pipe, underslab plumbing, footing pads...and alot of punchlist, going somewhere to do a few little things w/ min. set up. This works great for that too.
This has been the best cordless set I've ever owned.