2 rail system on new Makita miter saw flawed?

[nickdu]

First of all I'm a total newbie when it comes to any kind of carpentry. I also found an existing makita ls1016l thread, but most, if not all, replies were unrelated to the product itself so I thought I would create a new thread.

I just purchased the makita ls1016l. I tried it out a few times and the results are not good. I'm trying to figure out if it's me or the saw. The carriage slides very easy on the bottom rails. Sliding on the top rails is much more difficult compared to the bottom rails. The result, at least for me, is that when slide cutting the carriage stops momentarily when I reach the point where I need to start sliding on the top rails. This causes marks in the cut.

Am I doing something wrong, or is this two rail system flawed? It seems to me that one set of rails will produce a constant sliding mechanism and thus produce better cuts, but what do I know.

Thanks,
Nick

[JT]

Hi,

It sounds like it may be the stopper on the rail. Have a read through of page 8 of the PDF owners manual(attached) to see if that helps

[nickdu]

Thanks. Yes I did read through the entire manual. The stopper is not causing the issue. The screw on the upper rail is also all the way open so that the upper rails move freely (as freely as possible). Still the same issue though. I ended up returning the saw yesterday. I purchased a different brand.

Thanks,
Nick

[justinmcf]

which brand did you buy nick?

[mikm]

see post #1


2 rail system on new Makita miter saw flawed?
:wink:

[nickdu]

which brand did you buy nick?

I decided to get the Bosch 4410L. It has a single set of rails, as does every other make/model except this new Makita (I believe). It also has had some pretty good reviews.

By the way, I did post this same issue on several other forums. Just the other day I had a reply that indicated someone else had the same complaint. The person called Makita and the representative there said that as the saw is broken in that resistance and vibrating on the upper rails (which I believe is the bearings I feel) will diminish. I don't doubt this may be the case, but I still would rather go with a saw that has a single set of rails so that there is no transition between rails. I think that's a better design.

Thanks,
Nick

[mikm]

oops! that'll teach me for being a smarty pants. perhaps i should have fully read post #3. my apologies, justinmcf.
:D

see post #1


:wink: