Thread: Makita 5801B 185mm Circular Saw Help!!

Red, as long as smoke does not pour out of the casing, electrical zaps don't get you and it has all the modern safety features, I would use it remembering that circular saws are not fine cut of tools in the hands of the normal woodie You could replace the blades with the Bosch set of 3 from Bunnies ($20 odd last time I brought some). If you are mechanically confident (unlike me) you can look at the bearings and try to tweak it to perform better. Just be very careful when using it and watch out for kickback!

Originally Posted by Redbeard

I've recently inherited a Makita 5801B 185mm Circular Saw from my wife's Grandfather and I have some questions which I hope somebody here might be able to help me with.

Firstly, are these saws worth fiddling with? I'm guessing it's probably 20 or more years old and it feels like there might be a bit of wear in there (there's a slight bit of play at the blade) perhaps a worn bearing or some such.

Externally it looks like it's not had a huge amount of use, it's just the old boy was a fair wood butcher and was always pretty hard on his gear.

The other problem is the blade itself. It looks like the original blade, 16 tooth or so, really coarse. You can of course imagine, it's pretty darn blunt and I'd like to be able to change it for different jobs. The bolt holding the blade on has been fairly butchered at some point and it's nicely rounded off. I can get some vice grips onto it but here's the trick question, is it a left or right handed thread? I don't know if I'm tightening it up or loosening it off!

If this machine is worth fettling and getting it working well I would like to give it a go, so, any thought?

Cheers
Redbeard

HI
I'm a Carpenter and i love my 185mm makita, the best saw out. If the blade isn't cutting to well put new blade in or get the other sharpened. I don't like cheap blades get a good Irwin. 40 teeth are good leaves a good finish. If ripping thick timber then use the 16 tooth saw balde. It will tend to wonder though. The saw is only as good as the blade. Don't worry about the bearings as mentioned there arn't a presicion machine. The nut is opposite to normal. Once removed go to the local bolt supplies with the bolt and ask them to match it. or order a new bolt from your local Hardware to match the saw, Won't cost much. If the blade is blunt the saw will work to hard so get that fixed first.

Jamc

Hi Redbeard,

If the slack in your blade is sideways then you have problems but this is very unlikely. If the slack you are talking about is when you rock the blade forwards and backwards, this is quite normal and is just a bit of slack in the gears and nothing to worry about.

Just do what Jarrah says!

Hope it all works out

Chipman

Thanks gents, just what I needed to hear. I thought it would be a good unit, being an older Makita and all. I'll just go and have a go at it now.

Cheers

I've got a couple of Makita saws the oldest must be approaching 30. Just replace or resharpen the blade as suggested, otherwise leave it alone. Makita is pretty bullet proof and at most only the bushes should need replacing. FWIW the old saw has a fair bit of slop in it and gets used to dock offcuts for firewood, but it just keeps going.

Bugger. Bugger. Bugger.

Either I'm being a duffer or this things jammed up better than I thought.

Jarrah, when you said the bolt is the opposite to normal I assume you meant to undo it you turn it clockwise, ie as if you were tightening a normal bolt?

If that's so then it's really jammed up.

Any further thoughts, comments or ideas?

Originally Posted by Redbeard

Bugger. Bugger. Bugger.

Either I'm being a duffer or this things jammed up better than I thought.

Jarrah, when you said the bolt is the opposite to normal I assume you meant to undo it you turn it clockwise, ie as if you were tightening a normal bolt?

If that's so then it's really jammed up.

Any further thoughts, comments or ideas?

Redbeard,

I think you were given the WRONG information. I dont have that model saw. My 2 are Ryobi and mine are clockwise or normal thread which means you turn them anticlockwise to undo them like a regular screw. (I just went out to the shed to double check and that is correct). Just looking at the way the saw spins, normal thread seems the obvious choice. (I have used guite a few different saws over the years and I don't remember any hand held circular saws with left hand thread but there could well be some like that).

I thought it was wrong last night in the other post but as I don't have that saw I didn't say anything but given the trouble you are having, it must be the other way.

You will cetainly need a new bolt now!

Hope it comes out now!

Chipman

Thanks Chipman.

The bolt was already well and truly buggered which is why I wasn't concerned about attacking it with vice grips.

Looks like I'm going to have to take it to a machine shop and see what they can do with it. I just don't have the gear to sort this type of problem.

Thanks everybody, a very pleasant first posting experience.

Cheers
Redbeard

Makita are a 13mm spanner and normal right hand to tighten, anticlockwise to loosen. Multi grips and pliers

Originally Posted by johnc

Makita are a 13mm spanner and normal right hand to tighten, anticlockwise to loosen. Multi grips and pliers

This one was about a 10mm bolt (probably down to an 8 or 9mm round now).

Ya do what ya have to!