2 rail system on new Makita miter saw flawed?

**nickdu** · 22nd July 2009, 10:05 AM

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 · 23rd July 2009, 05:49 PM

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** · 24th July 2009, 01:25 AM

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** · 24th July 2009, 07:07 PM

which brand did you buy nick?

**mikm** · 24th July 2009, 09:04 PM

see post #1

2 rail system on new Makita miter saw flawed?

**nickdu** · 25th July 2009, 12:13 AM

Originally Posted by justinmcf

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** · 26th July 2009, 09:44 AM

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

Originally Posted by mikm

see post #1

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

Thread Tools

Search Thread

2 rail system on new Makita miter saw flawed?

Stopper?

Similar Threads

bandsaw sled and rail system

Makita / Festool guide rail clamps

Router miter gauge system

Flawed ice bucket

Incra Rail System on the way....

Tags for this Thread

Posting Permissions