3 Responses to “Makita LS1013 Dual Slide Compound 10-inch Miter Saw Kit”

1. Madden
   November 9th, 2009 @ 4:09 pm

   I am a professional finish carpenter and purchased this saw to use HARD every day. In many respects it is absolutely wonderful, but there are a few things I would like to see the manufacturer change. Lets start with what I like. I would vehemently disagree with a previous reviewer that said trim is not this tools’ forte.I build stairs(open tread),handrailing,cabinet faceframes,do crown mold,wainscoting,casing,etc.with this saw and it is accurate and rock solid. Perhaps he got a bad unit. The slide mechanism is the smoothest of all the slide saws I have used. Beveling both directions is a lifesaver when cutting open tread stair stringers and when cutting crown molding. It is reasonably quiet and has a pretty good soft start. Now what I would like to see changed. The positive stops are actually too positive in my opinion. It is too hard to make a half degree change from the stops, it wants to pop back into the stop. They also removed crown stops or even markings on the scale for standard crown molds. 31.6 and 35.3 can be a little tough to zero in on, and that is just on the miter scale. Also the location of the scale indicator is ackward if you have stock to the right of the blade and need to change angles. you have to move the stock to view the scale. Overall I still love mine and have been using it every day for a year now with typical Makita reliability. I would recommend it to anyone interested in this saw. The drawbacks take a little getting used to but are definitely outweighed by the attributes.

2. Yuichi
   November 9th, 2009 @ 4:20 pm

   I purchased this saw when it first came out on the market 3 years ago. Since then it has never skipped a beat. I buy, remodle/renovate and sell houses for a living. In doing so I have used this saw for crown molding, base molding, door casing, window casing, cabinet trim molding, chair rails, custom shelf installations and for constructing parts for existing cabinets. I have also used it for cutting 2×4 and 2×12 and everything in between, including 4×6. It is the first tool I grab for making cuts, it has gotten so much use that I’ve had to sharpen the blade 3 times so far and there is still more life left to go. The many aspects that I liked about this saw is that you can bevel left or right. Because of that I can place the saw in the corner of the room and no matter how long the crown molding or what side it faces I can cut it, the saw tilts left or right. In my opinion the saw is accurate, there is no slop in the sliding shafts (they ride on smooth ball bearings and they never foul no matter how much saw dust gets in them) or the main pivot. The spring in the main pivot doesn’t take a higher initial push to get it to start moving as some other saws. The out rig supports have been especially beneficial and the large platform helps with large pieces of wood. The large scale on the right side is far better for adjusting finer angles than the small notches that are cast in the bases of other units. The rotating table’s quick release is positioned perfectly for actuation by your right thumb. The table’s locking handle is set up so it snugs the table for various miter settings even if you’re just hovering over the side of the stop because the quick release and locking handle are so independent of each other. I much prefer the vertical handle than a horizontal, its much more comfortable when the saw is beveled to the left. I have the optional fence that fits on the right side, I use it when I am doing crown molding that is small enough to stand upright, other wise I lay it down. It extremely quick and easy to set up. The pivoting fence on the left side is absolutely beautiful, it comes in so handy, I would never think about owning another saw that didn’t have one. I use it when I stand up crown molding all the time.

   My only complaints about the unit is that 1. They didn’t install a miter stop for the most used positions for crown molding, 31.6 and 35.3, however, if the molding is less than 4 inches you can usually stand it up (better yet if you have the optional right side fence) and then you won’t need those stops. When the molding is taller you’ll have to lay it down and must rely on your best judgment to adjust to those two position. You can’t always hit the same spot over and over again, but a prefabricated piece of wood cut at 31.6 and 35.3 in your tool box helps as a jig. 2. the optional crown molding stops (that nobody buys) are less than acceptable. The fit loosely in the holes on the table and are not worth buying unless you go to the extent that I did and make bushing to take up the slop. They are designed to hold down the crown molding up against the stop to assure they sit at the 45 or 52 degrees (depending on which molding you’re cutting) when you are making repetitive cuts. 3. Since the table locking handle sticks out so far it is susceptible to getting knocked and bent. I have done this many times and I just keep bending it back. 4. the only other thing I don’t like about it is that it doesn’t have a cut out on the bottom of the base for 2×4′s so you can place it on a pair of saw horses.

   If I had to do it all over again I would buy the same saw

3. Anonymous
   November 10th, 2009 @ 12:15 am

   I am annoyed at those who would let 6 different people use a saw that don’t have the foggiest notion of how it works, then get critical of it when it breaks. This saw has a dual release on the front to set the miters. One is a lever that is spring loaded and easily moves aside in order to not click into the detents at 90 or 45 degrees for example. (So you can set it at 90.5 and not have it fall into the 90 degree detent) The other release is a large knob that screws in to tighten, and screws out to release. If you leave it tightened in and force the saw to change it’s setting, you are for sure scoring, stripping, and breaking the setting mechanism.

   Pertaining to the fence; With any tool you use, like a router, or a saw, you have to be careful to start the tool spinning fast before you enter it into the work. Have you ever experienced the run away router that was touching the work when you started it up? Well the same holds true of the Makita saw. Once or twice on my LS1212, I rushed into the cut before the blade was spinning, and the power took the piece and tried to force it through the fence. Spin first, plunge second. After that happened twice, I had to realign the fence. When someone does this on a regular basis, and then has to take the saw back for a replacement fence, it’s the operators fault, not the saw. The fence is thick aluminum. Humidity has no effect on it whatsoever.
   The adjusting lever for the bevel is located on the back of the slider, and of course it extends beyond the back of the stand.
   I guess I am venting, because some have chosen to abuse this stellar piece of equipment, then return it trashed, and then try to convince others that the saw is at fault. I had to say something. So enough of the confusion, let’s talk about the beauty of this saw.
   The LS1013 is a brute workhorse, while at the same time an unbelievably perfectly accurate fine tool. Consider what Popular Woodworking had to say about it. “We can’t recommend this tool enough. It’s won every award this magazine gives out, and has earned a permanent place in our shop because it’s tough and accurate.”
   Workbench Magazine gave its brother the LS1212 their editors choice award. Here is some of what they said about it. “Makita LS1212 proved to be the superior saw in this test on almost every count. It is compact, powerful, and dead on accurate. The saw made perfect bevels, miters, and compound cuts using only the factory detents for setup.”
   In ToolsOfTheTrade.com Tool test for sliding compound miter saws, without going into all of the elaborate criteria they used for each and every aspect of DSCMiters, they said in their Winners section; “Without a doubt, my overall favorite saw is the 10-inch Makita LS1013. The company’s engineers really thought the design of this model through.
   Personally I own the Makita LS1212 and it is a cornerstone of my shop. I used the Bosch Digital Protractor, which measures in tenths of a degree (equal to 3600 dots in a circle, no matter how small the circle) and measured the results in terms of accuracy right out of the box. This is it: The saw was dead on accurate, whether it was cutting a miter, a bevel or a compound miter-bevel cut, and wasn’t off by even one-tenth of a degree. It is so quiet and smooth, I smile every time I use it.
   Think of the engineering: Getting a saw to bevel both ways is a problem because when you tilt it to the right to bevel, the motor would normally get in the way. Some manufacturers put the motor at the back of the saw, and run belts to it. What Makita did, was still keep a direct drive by simply tilting the motor upwards at a 45 degree arc. Direct drive gives you the maximum amount of power, and zero vibration.
   I could go on for hours about this saw. It comes with a blade that is such high quality, their is no need for an expensive replacement. It creates a glass smooth surface. With the dual bevel capability, and the Bosch digital protractor, you measure the real corner angle of the wall, (they are rarely a perfect 90) and it calculates the miter and bevel settings for cutting crown moldings. You lay the molding FLAT on the Makita, and cut a perfect crown the first time. No having to run up and down the ladder to keep tweaking it in.
   Some may complain that the dust bag doesn’t work very well. I throw my arms up in frustration hearing that also. How do you get a saw that is cutting forty million different angle combinations, and get it to throw all those shavings into a little throat. Production shops have a large collector behind their saws to catch all of the dust. It is amazing that the bag does the job that it does. Mine fills up with dust, but sure it doesn’t get it all, none of them do.
   I did a ton of research before buying my saw. I could tell you about the cheap plastic used in some of the competition. I could tell you about the saws that don’t cut accurately, even on a simply 90 degree miter. Or the ones that cut the miter accurately, but falls short on the accuracy of the bevels. The ones that throw small pieces of wood flying at a 100 miles per hour, but I would rather just tell you that the Makita sliders are Simply the Best Compound Slider Out There. With the special going on right now, makes this a no brainer. I am so crazy about the Makita sliders that I ordered the LS1013 for portable use, even though I already have the LS1212 on a stand in my shop. Some reviews rate the 1013 higher than the 1212, due to a larger platform-work surface. It also has the crown detent, which the 1212 does not have. I love them both, now that I have been using them. Highly recommended. Triple AAA plus 5 stars.

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