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10th February 2011, 01:26 PM #1Quantum Field Theorist :-)
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Makita LS1016 - First Impressions.
Continuing the story...
Having mangled my trusty Makita LS1013 SCMS, I spend a morning
on the Internet trying to decide what to buy as a replacement.
I decide to stick with 10" SCMS because they're lighter and I've never
needed the extra cutting capacity of a 12".
Hmmm, maybe I should go all out and join the Festool club? But...
I look at the price and decide my blood is still far below their league.
So my default choice is of course the Makita LS1016 (ie the replacement
model for the older LS1013). But I've heard some good things about the
Bosch GCM10S and Hitachi so I figure I should look at them more closely
before deciding...
The specs on the Bosch GCM10S indicate that cutting capacity of only
85mm, whereas Makita and Hitachi offer 91mm. Hmmm, yes I'd like that
extra bit of capacity. Also, the bore on the Bosch is 30mm whereas
the Makita and Hitachi are 25.4mm, so I'd have trouble using my
existing blades on the Bosch. It's also the heaviest of the three (28kg).
The Hitachi is the lightest (19kg) but the mitre range isn't as large
as the others. Its fence and vertical clamp features look similar to
the Makita LS1013, but I was hoping to do better since the Makita 1016
has double sliding fences and a much larger vertical clamp. I also have
to travel a lot further to buy Hitachi whereas I can get Makita locally
at reasonable prices.
So I bought the Makita LS1016, ie., this one:
LS1016-260mm Slide Compound Mitre Saw
then spend the rest of the afternoon unpacking and familiarizing myself
with its new features. Amusingly, on both of the sliding fences there's a
small icon that looks like a man reading a manual. I guess this is their
way of saying "read the bloody manual first, you twat". OK, ok, I _always_
read the bloody manual first.
So here's my first impressions of the LS1016:
1) The new mechanism for locking/unlocking the mitre swivel feels
superior over the LS1013 -- once you get used to the different action:
twist one way until it snaps to unlock, then depress lever and change
mitre, then twist the other way until it snaps to relock. This feels more
definite on mitre angles which don't correspond to a standard stop
position. Haven't actually measured the accuracy yet though.
2) The new mechanism for locking the slide by a lever at the front
(hidden on the website's picture) feels superior to the LS1013's
knob-turning (which I managed to break soon after buying my LS1013).
3) The quadruple slide mechanism (2 rails down low and two more up top)
allows longer travel, but takes a little while to clearly understand
the separate mechanisms for controlling/locking each pair of rails.
Initially it feels funny after you've been using the LS1013 for ages --
as if it doesn't travel back far enough, and it seemed to need some
extra oomph to make the top rails slide (I don't know if this is just
because it's new). But I daresay I'll get used to it.
4) I haven't tried bevel cuts yet, but the dial certainly looks easier
to read.
5) I noticed the effect of improved speed control and faster electronic
brake immediately when I did the first cut.
6) I found the new handle design pleasant to use.
7) Looking at the "improved" vertical vise in the shop, I thought that
it seemed good: longer reach and more flexible configurations. The
"quick-release" clamps felt nice when I played with it in the store.
Sadly, the reality was a disappointment. There is now only 1 hole
on each side of the machine at the back for the vise, whereas the LS1013
had more, allowing you to move the vise in closer for smaller pieces.
The LS1016's vise cannot reach in close enough, though surely it would
have been easy to add some extra holes at the back for this purpose.
Also, the back rod of the vise no longer screws in: you just drop it in
the hole, having been designed as a snug fit. This makes the vise a
real pain to tighten fully. Sure, you can use the quick-release to drop
the clamp onto the work surface, but to actually tighten it requires
many more turns of the knob (quite firmly) before all the flex of the
vise assembly has been cancelled. (Unless I'm doing it wrong?)
This is a pain. It takes me far longer to secure and release the
workpiece on the LS1016 than it ever did on the LS1013.
"Quick-release"? Seems like a joke.
8) The rear fences now come with two upper sliding sections (which were
previously standard only on the larger 12" model). Also, the bottom fences
now slide a little. Sounds like this should allow more flexibility in
configuration, right? Sadly, I was disappointed here too. When the
lower fences are pushed fully in, they wobble. The upper sliding
sections also wobble. I discovered this when cutting some aluminium
sections (with the piece properly secured this time!) and found that no
matter how securely I clamped the piece, the cut was still rough due to
slight vibration against the blade because the fences wobble slightly.
I think I'll have to leave the lower fences fully out all the time to
avoid this. For many tasks it wouldn't matter, but for smaller items,
if you're trying to get a perfect smooth cut, it makes a difference.
And yes, I _did_ tighten the lever and knob behind the fences. I think
it needs two knobs on both the upper and lower fences sections to
stabilize them better. I wonder if there's anything I can do to stop
them wobbling. Maybe insert a shim in the track, or... ? Needs thought.
Anyway, I'd be interested to hear of other people's experiences with
the LS1016, and whether I'm doing anything wrong... ?
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10th February 2011, 02:21 PM #2GOLD MEMBER
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Thanks for the appraisal. I am also considering a 10" SCMS and a question if I may, and without prying too much , how much was it?
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10th February 2011, 02:40 PM #3Quantum Field Theorist :-)
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I paid $976, which is a tradie's price at my local Mitre-10.
I knew that I could get it a bit cheaper at (say) Sydney Tools,
where it's listed online for $929:
SYDNEY TOOLS - Makita 260mm Dual Bevel Slide Compound Mitre Saw
but Sydney Tools are just far enough away from me to be annoying,
and the people at my local Mitre-10 have helped me so much
over many years that I try to buy stuff there if I possibly can.
[Edit: I now wish I bought it at the Sydney WWW show last June at the
show price of eight-hundred-and-something.]
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10th February 2011, 03:01 PM #4GOLD MEMBER
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Thanks.
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15th February 2011, 10:59 AM #5Quantum Field Theorist :-)
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I must now correct one thing in my original post...
After taking a much more careful look at my aluminium cutting blade
I noticed the one tooth was bent slightly sideways, probably from the
accident described in the other "can you kill a Makita" thread.
I put on another blade and the cuts are much cleaner now.
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27th March 2011, 12:02 PM #6Member
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I got mine from Sydney Tools for $949, including the laser feature and an off the rack blade thrown in.
I found the quick release mildly annoying too- could have been better thought out or engineered.
To clamp quickly I tilted the clamp post till the knurling 'bit' in the socket- if you don't it'll just slide out for ages, and I also found the quick released didn't release quickly- I assumed it was more for getting the clamp into clamping range quickly and wouldn't let the thread slide easily if even the slightest pressure is against it (which I suppose you would want when actually cutting).
Cheers,
Garth
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27th March 2011, 12:40 PM #7Quantum Field Theorist :-)
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Thanks. Hadn't thought of that. I'll give it a try.
BTW, I was down at Northern Abrasives at Brookvale recently and
took the opportunity to have a much closer look at the Festool 10".
(They have great display of Festool stuff there now.)
The Festool clamp looks superficially similar to Makita's, but it
has a flat section at the bottom. I tried clamping and releasing
with a piece of timber, and it's definitely faster to clamp. After
reading your post, I guess this is because the flat section has the
same effect as "tilting the clamp post till the knurling 'bit' in the
socket"? The fences on the Festool also seemed more stable.
So it looks like I've committed the same mistake again that I made
when I bought my first SCMS: I initially bought GMC when I should
have bought Makita, and now I see that I should have coughed up
an extra $600 to buy Festool instead of buying Makita. (Of course,
I would have also had to buy a shopvac setup, since Festool don't
do dustbags.)
Cheers.
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27th March 2011, 09:42 PM #8Member
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Although if Makita can reasonably match all the other features, think of the custom fence you could build for $600...
If I was flogging my tools everyday and need compactness I'd also choose Festool, but just can't quite justify yet.
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29th March 2011, 09:57 AM #9
Gald to see they got rid of the cyclone catch at the back and replace with a bag.
What a piece of crap that was.
I'm happy with the Makita cannot say I move it too much, just stays on the bench.
Pulpo
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