Miter saws have become an essential tool when it comes to woodworking, and the product we have for you today is the Makita LS1018, which is a dual slide compound miter saw! With so many options available on the market, we will go through an in-depth breakdown of this miter saw and see if it is a worthwhile investment for you!
Key Features
Knowing more about the miter saw, let’s dive into the Makita LS1018 compound miter saw! This is a 10 inch saw with a 13 amp motor that can reach a maximum of 4300 RPMs. This is a powerful miter saw, and it can easily be used by both professionals and hobbyists. It is also a dual bevel miter saw, which means you can tilt your blade onto either side of the saw. Not only does it make it more versatile, but will allow you to work more comfortably and achieve a better finish on your work.
Breakdown of the Makita LS1018 Compound Miter Saw
Now that you have a small idea about the Makita LS1018, let’s break down everything about this miter saw, and you can find out if this is the perfect miter saw for you!
Motor Power
The Makita LS1018 has a 13 amp motor with 4300 RPMs. For a miter saw, this is more than enough as it can get you through most jobs with ease. This powerful engine makes the Makita LS1018 more than capable of being used by professionals as well. However, you can get miter saws out there with 15 amp motors as well. We still think that this definitely a very sufficient amount of power.
Portability and Weight
The portability people need on their miter saws really depend on the type of work they are going to do. However, if you’re someone that likes to (or needs to) move around a lot when you’re working, then the Makita LS1018 is definitely a great choice for you. The fact that this miter saw is built for professional work but is also very lightweight, makes this a great choice among woodworkers. The overall weight of this comes in at 43.7 pounds, and it is reasonably easy to move around.
Durability
The Makita LS1018 is lightweight, and most lightweight products tend to not have the best durability. However, this miter saw is a different case. It has a heavy duty build and can last you for a long time with its high durability. This makes the miter saw an even better choice with it being better suited for heavy duty tasks.
Dual Bevel
The Makita LS1018 is a dual bevel compound miter saw, which makes it an even better choice. A dual bevel saw allows its blade to be tilted to both the left and right side freely, and provides the user freedom to more versatility and comfort when working.
For the miter angles, the Makita LS1018 miters from 0 to 47 degrees to the left and 0 to 60 degrees to the right. You’ll also have 5 positive stops at 0 degrees, 15 degrees, 22.5 degrees, 31.6 degrees and 45 degrees. This will allow your work to be optimized further.
For the bevel gauge, the blade can tilt 0 to 45 degrees towards both the left and right side. You’ll have 2 positive stops in this case, with both being at 0 degrees and 45 degrees.
Ease of Use
When it comes to miter saws, or any woodworking tools in general, one of the best selling points is their ease of use. A miter saw could perform much better than what you have, but is it easy to use? The easier a tool is to use, the better performance it will have, and the Makita LS1018 comes with numerous perks to help you make your choice easier.
One of the easy to use perks of this miter saw is the see through blade guard. It allows you to always keep track of your blade, and you’ll be able to keep track of whether or not your blade is in contact with the wood piece or not. You’ll also be able to know exactly where they connect.
In case of needing to make an emergency stop to your work, the Makita LS1018 comes with an electric brake that lets you bring the machine to stop with ease. It not only increases your efficiency with your work, but can also act as a safety mechanism if needed.
The Makita LS1018 comes with an oversized power button that is always very convenient to locate. This makes it easy for anyone to operate this miter saw in any case. If someone needs to make an emergency stop, you’re going to have an easy time locating the button.
The Makita LS1018 adds further comfort for the users by having the handles be wrapped with rubber. The entire rubberized feature allows for users to have a much more comfortable time using the machine, and not get fatigued as fast.
Accuracy and Precision
The Makita LS1018 is not only powerful, but designed to provide you with some of the smoothest and accurate cuts. It comes with a linear ball bearing technology that helps maintain the quality of its cuts. The mechanism ensures the accuracy and precision of the Makita LS1018, but is also very smooth in terms of adjustment. It allows you to make very swift and precise adjustments that ultimately reduce the risk of errors occurring.
While the ball bearing system is great, the Makita LS1018 could have opted for a laser guide which would have set it apart even more. A laser guide would have secured the utmost efficiency in terms of precise measurements.
Dust Collection System
With woodworking, a lot of sawdust is created, and the Makita LS1018 comes with a dust collection system that will help you out with this. Unfortunately, even though it is there, the system on the Makita LS1018 isn’t the best. It will definitely get the job done for you, but can sometimes be inefficient. Even so, it is definitely good enough. You’ll also receive a dust bag with the product to help rid the waste.
Versatility
The Makita LS1018 is not only efficient in terms of precision, accuracy and power. It also allows you to get multiple types of jobs done with the help of its great versatility. This compound miter saw allows you to make all the necessary cuts, and the fact that it has a dual bevel mechanism only makes it better. It doesn’t stop there though, the Makita LS1018 is also a sliding miter saw, which means that you can gain even more versatility with this feature, and move your blade with even more ease when working.
Brand Value
When buying a power tool, you’ll want to always maintain quality, and the best way to do so is by acquiring your product from a highly renowned brand. Makita are very well known in the woodworking tools community, and you’ll be sure to receive a great tool when buying from them.
The Makita LS1018 is not one of the cheaper options on the market, but it definitely is much more affordable than the premium options as well. What’s great is that you’ll receive top notch performance from this miter saw within a budget price, than you would with a high-end miter saw. The added ergonomic perks also make this a much more desirable miter saw.
User Reviews
Now that you have an idea of our take on the Makita LS1018 dual bevel compound miter saw, let us have a look at what other users have had to say about it. It will definitely give us a better idea of it!
How Does It Compare?
We’ve seen that the Makita LS1018 gets great ratings for its performance and overall usability. However, how well does it actually do when compared to some of the other choices on the market? Let us take a look!
Bosch CM10GD, 10 Inch Dual Bevel Sliding Glide Compact Miter Saw
The Bosch CM10GD is another great choice on the market. It comes with a patented sliding glide mechanism which helps give the miter saw a lot of versatility. However, the Makita LS1018 also has great versatility. The one aspect the Bosch beats Makita on is its 15 amp motor, which will ensure that the Bosch miter saw will be better at cutting through its pieces faster!
Dewalt DWS713, 10 Inch Single Bevel Compound Miter Saw
The Dewalt DWS713 is also another great choice for your miter saw, but you’ll also see that it is very similar to the Makita LS1018 one. The only place it really differs on is the Makita’s sliding feature, which in fact makes the Makita LS1018 more desirable. However, Dewalt is a really well renowned company, and you can’t go wrong with their products as well!
Hitachi C10FCG, 10 Inch Single Bevel Compound Miter Saw
The Hitachi C10FCG is a very dependable miter saw, and it is also very similar to the Makita LS1018. It is durable, precise and accurate. You’ll be satisfied with this miter saw when you use it, not to mention it also has a very sleek and aesthetic look about it. The Makita does trump it however in terms of versatility. This is a single bevel compound miter saw, whereas the Makita is dual beveled.
The Takeaway
Having gone through this article, what do you feel about the Makita LS1018 dual bevel compound miter saw? We definitely feel that this can be a worthwhile investment for any woodworker, based on its perks. You’ll be assured longevity thanks to the heavy duty build which provides it a strong base. However, it also maintains the lightweight feature and will allow contract workers to also be able to use it. The additional ergonomic features add to how easy it is to use and will ensure that you also optimize your woodworking time. Overall, you can not really go wrong with the Makita LS1018 miter saw, and we hope you definitely give it a shot! It’s also pretty budget friendly, so you won’t have much to worry about there. Have a great day!
Hey there, my name’s Braden Smith and all my lifeI’ve been passionate about woodworking. As such, I spent more time learning about and experimenting with power tools. Over time, I learned to help spread my knowledge by articulating my words thanks to my academic knowledge in the English Language as well.