Makita LS1013FL 15 Amp, Mighty Fine Saw

Overall Rating44444

Mighty Fine Saw

I needed a saw when my old DeWalt 708 slider was in the shop for bearing replacement. I considered buying another DeWalt but the new model is not as nice as the old 708. I have the opportunity to use all of the comparable high end saws that my co-workers use. I did not choose the Hitachi because the dinky table makes it difficult to cut wide stock accurately. The laser on the Hitachi does not shine on the leading edge of the piece either.
The Makita laser is better because it will shine on the front edge of the piece. That makes it nice when cutting bevels. Recently I was cutting beveled siding and I needed the piece to be cut with the finish side down so the exposed cut would be square. I needed to mark the bottom of the leading edge. When using the Hitachi, the laser was not shining on the edge so I had to line the cut the old way by bending over and sighting down the blade.
The laser on the Makita will not move far enough over to line exactly on the mark. It needs to move another 32nd of an inch to line up. I may be able to fix that with a file when I have time. You can easily move the laser to either side of the cut.
The saw was easy to calibrate. It did not need much. The 0 degree bevel was perfect out of the box. The 45 degree right and left just needed to be tuned a hair.
The blade that comes with the saw makes very smooth cuts. There is no need to buy a Forrest blade like I had to with my DeWalt. I miss the high fence that comes on the Dewalt. The Makita only has a high fence on one side. You can buy a high fence for the right side.
The guard works nicely and you can see through it by means of a slot. No more bending over to see the blade on the mark. The Hitachi does not have a slot so you have to bend down to see the blade on the mark after the guard is old and opaque. Because of this there are some carpenters who remove the guard and that is not good.
The dust collection on the Makita is very good. The bag fills up frequently. The dust collection on my DeWalt is non existent. I would prefer a zipper on the dust bag instead of the slotted tube.
The table on the Makita is one of the nicer tables out there. It is very wide and stable. It swings smoothly and locks with a quick twist. The saw bevel release has been improved from the earlier Makitas. You no longer have to bump the saw hard to move it out of the 0 degree detent.
The soft start prevents the saw from jumping when it starts up. I always wait a moment with any saw before plunging the blade.
The little light, although not very bright is a nice feature when working inside.
This saw is much lighter than my DeWalt 708.
I have had this saw for about two months now and so far it is a pleasure to use. No complaints. Five Stars

Update (5/19/2012): This item is currently on sale here for the lowest price I’ve seen.

The featured review for this product, Makita LS1013FL 15 Amp 10-Inch Dual Bevel Compound Sliding Miter Saw with Laser and Fluorescent Light Tools & Hardware, was written by Michael Callahan.

The average rating for this item is 4 out of 5 stars, according to 3 reviews.

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Reviews (3)

C. Walsh

March 11th, 2010 at 12:39 am    


Overall Rating22222

Over the long term, very lacking
I Have used almost all the higher end chop saws over the years extensively. including a few iterations of this ten inch Makita. I’ve been using a co-worker’s brand new one for a few months now, and have to say that I’m very dissapointed.
By no means am I griping, I just figure others would like to know about the issues I have run in to.

Firstly an old complaint, when you have a piece of stock ready to cut, it completley covers the miter gaudge. Minor I know but still annoying.

The laser is very faint even in a dark room, and only casts about four inches of laser light on the piece of 1×12 you are trying to cut at an odd angle. Also the adjusment of the laser leaves alot to be desired as well. You just loosten a thumbscrew and it wiggles around all over the place (as opposed to the Hitachi 10″ saw that has a great laser system).

I have had some serious problems with the blade guard recently, where it gets caught on the work piece in various different cutting positions (including square), thereby ruining the cut and forcing another attempt. I’ve taken to just pinning the guard up with my cutting hand to get the job done which is not very safe.

the ability to tighten the miter gaudge out of the detents isn’t very strong at all, which leads to trouble when you for example, set the miter to say 4 degrees, tighten the handle, then try to adjust the bevel to say 3 degrees, frequently you end up having the miter click back into the zero detent as soon as you touch the bevel adjustment.

The bevel dosen’t go past 45 degrees (maybe 46) which should be available on a higher end saw such as this.

As far as the good is concerned, The depth of cut adjustment is great. It allows you to set depth, and if you need to make another cut all the way through the piece, you can just swing the adjustment setting out of the way and back again when ready to continue with depth adjusted cuts. I haven’t seen this ability on any other saws. The light is very handy, and bright in most lighting situations. The saw is relatively light weight.

Lastly a couple of thoughts on other saws. I owned a 12″ Bosch with the up front bevel. I wouldn’t buy another for sure. It got very innacurate over time, and I’ve heard the same from a few other people (about the 10″ as well). I loved the up front bevel but the thing was huge and heavy, and fell just short of the mark. Don’t even get me started on the Dewalts, I hate those things. I got a chance to try the new Hitachi’s last summer and liked what I saw. The only issue I had was that the entire base of the saw was too small for the size of the cutting head itself, which led to it being very top heavy and tipping prone. With a proper saw stand this should’t be a problem. I haven’t tried the Rigid but have used there table saw recently and it is of good construction. The only other thing to consider is that very very very rarely does a tool come along that’s close to perfect. every hop saw model out there is going to have issues. It’s just a matter of minimizing the problems and trying to keep it within the budget. for my money the Hitachi 10″ is the way to go. Even though it looks like an alien’s love child.


Keith Charvat

March 20th, 2010 at 2:43 pm    


Overall Rating55555

2nd Saw in 7 years
I’m a repeat customer for this model. The first one I bought was in 2000, it’s worked well. I do alot of kitchens and other remodels and found it wise to buy the crown molding stops from Makita. Makes the crown work a breeze, no messing with bevel stops anymore. Pay attention to the instructions with the stops, you have to cut the molding upside down, but once you get used to it, it’s pretty much flawless. As for the saw, the first one I bought had the long handle, it’s a bit different than the current one with the stubby handle. It’s worked well, about once every two years I take it apart (not too difficult) and clean things, along with applying a small amount of wheel bearing grease to the bearing surfaces (1/2 moon shaped metal shims about 12″ long). This is only necessary when things start to get hard to move or there is noticeable drag in the saw movement. Reviewer ShopMister is correct, wait for the discount from Amazon, the new saw I bought today is shipped for $374.00 total, can’t beat that price. First saw paid for itself, and then some. I’m not stuck on some brand name, my tools come from various manufacturers and I pretty much love the Dewalt and Bosch line, but Makita makes the very best sliding Miter saw out there today. Buy a good saw stand to go with it (like Dewalt) and you’re all set. The Makita blade is every bit as good as my 80 tooth Freud’s, probably even better than the 60 tooth Freud’s. Another nice feature is the capability to remove the dust bag and hook a small shop vac directly to the saw, helps keep the dust down when doing trim inside a residence that’s lived in…a note about safety too, there is a small button you have to depress prior to pulling the trigger on the saw. Don’t trust it, sometimes it will not be necessary, just pulling the trigger will start the saw, something to be aware of should you develope a habit of believing in the safety button.


Michael Callahan

March 26th, 2010 at 10:24 pm    


Overall Rating55555

Mighty Fine Saw
Rated 5 stars.


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