Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
60 of 61 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Makita 2703X1, March 5, 2002
By A Customer
The Makita portable table saw in one form or another, has been around for about twenty years, and will no doubt continue to be around for quite a few more. It was being thrown into the open bed of a pickup truck on a rainy overcast day long before either DeWalt or Bosch were ever a jobsite presence. It is probably one the most popular but mishandled, abused and poorly maintained tools on any given jobsite. The design has improved and changed over the years on it's way to becoming the 10-inch 2703 but has always been very solid and capable, unlike many of the people I've seen attempting to operate it with satisfactory results. This saw was designed to be a rugged heavy-duty general-purpose portable jobsite table saw for use with or without table legs and as such, excels in this area. I'm not sure a professional woodworker would want to attempt to build their heirloom quality furniture or custom cabinetry with any portable table saw, but I do know that with the proper setup it can been done successfully with this saw.
I have always kept the fence properly adjusted and have it faced with 1 X common stock on both sides, so I haven't experienced the problems with alignment and slippage that some other owners have reported in their reviews.
Although I don't believe it was specifically designed for exacting shop use, precise square hairline "shop saw" accuracy is surprisingly attainable with the 2703X1 but, this is not an "out of the box" saw for precision shop woodworking and you will need to take the extra time and steps to set it up properly for precise results. And of course, as with any table saw, results always depend greatly on user skill combined with patience and common practices such as, using a clean high quality blade matched to the material being cut, precisely set and maintained initial blade square and bevel adjustments, wood facing of the miter gauge for stability during cuts (especially important because of the shallow miter gauge slots in the 2703's table), double sided wood facing of the fence to add stability and maintain a smooth parallel path to the blade (especially because of the short length and hollow tubular construction of the fence), always measuring accurately and using a square to set the fence, (for my own personal preference, this requires the not recommended practice of permanently removing of the blade guard), using a protractor or angle gauge to set the miter gauge or blade bevel position, clean waxed table surfaces, solid mounting of the saw base to the table legs, proper support of the work piece and very slow, controlled stock feed rate. Also because of the lightweight construction of the saw, weighting of the table legs with cement blocks or sand bags on a level concrete floor is beneficial to stability and accuracy.
A 6-inch dado is the only size recommended by Makita for use with the 2703 and as such is the only size I have ever used with it. The table insert for the dado costs about twenty dollars.
As for durability, I believe if you ask anyone who owns and routinely uses one if they have had any real problems with it over the years (except for those caused directly by abuse), the response of the majority of owners would most likely be... No.
Overall, I personally feel that with the combination of price, durability and capability the 2703X1 is easily the best portable table saw value on the market today.
|
|
|
35 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good but needs improvement., September 21, 2002
I am a contractor and own 2 of these saws. I have had 2 replaced in the last year because of broken blade bevel mechanisms. The reason is that the gears are plastic and packed with grease that subsequently fill with sawdust and jamb when you try to bevel the blade to 45 deg. I still own the old reliable Makita 8 1/4" # 2708, never a problem, except the cord getting a little old and frayed. Makita should have stuck with the tried and true design on the bevel and changed only the blade raising handle to a crank (as in the 2703). It's still a good saw, especially when you drop it in a Rousseau stand, I just wish Makita would get rid of the plastic gears.
|
|
|
27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Tool Time Tim, May 2, 2002
I bought this saw based on my expierience with Makita tools in general and was not disappointed. It's not a "shop saw'" for doing precision work but as a job saw, for common rips and quick cuts on the jobsite, you can't beat it. Every time I turn it off I say, "I just love this saw". The quick acting electric brake is a boon when you have to make a quick fence change. The light weight is a plus if you have to move it around to access different job areas. There's even a hole in the table to let you see the power switch without having to squat down or step back from the saw. And while were on the subject of the table, it's heavy cast aluminium. A feature not always avalable in a saw in this price range. There's a nice blade well with a vacuum system fitting on the back for dust free opperation. I cut a hole in a wet vac box and bunjied it to the back of the stand, and the sawdust just shoots right in.
This saw is a good value. Just like all my Makita tools, there's enough power to do the job, with a minimum of noise and vibration.
|
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
