ToolBane

When in doubt go cordless... I love my cordless Makita router. Chances are high I never plug in my 1/2” corded again. Thankfully my usual stuff doesn’t get much more challenging than the basic round overs etc.

I like a lot of what I’m seeing with the new products coming about. Although the order they’re arriving in is a little funny. Awesome as a brushless planar is, I think there’s a lot more noise from people wanting brushless versions of the multitool and orbital sander.

Looks like the same size as the current brushed model which was already a solid performer

I like this clue. There have been other clues that have been going around like the spaces available for batteries being larger on newer X2 tools. If Makita isn’t presently planning on releasing bigger batteries, at the very least they aren’t precluding their new tools from being able to use them.

I don’t see myself buying into XGT. LXT with X2 has me covered. It’s a wonderfully complete tool system that has almost all my needs covered at this point. The ONLY shortcoming with LXT is the lack of 8Ah batteries. Lots of 18V tools could use the extra run time. I’m aware of the noise suggesting they have no intention of going that way, and it wouldn’t shock me at all if they may be of this mind right now. But even if such is the case, it’s a bad decision only for as long as they stick to it. I just don’t see any good reason for it. Actually scratch that...the ONE reason I can see that could conceivably justify it is if they have too many tools that are so tightly spec’d to the current limits of their 18650 packs that they could fail prematurely if run on the increased current flow that 21700 cells are capable of. But that would require a lot of design oversight that would seem uncharacteristic for Makita...so i’m doubting it. I don’t think Makita’s toying with whether or not they can manhandle buyers into picking up entire new lines of tools to the same degree some others have. They’ve already been supporting a lot of different lines around the world while growing their LXT line. They’re still entirely invested in growing their CXT line...which is nowhere near as established as LXT. They have some 2 dozen new LXT tools slated for release over the next year. So I’m not worried. One thing that does cross my mind with XGT is if Makita’s just placating the types of buyers who are simply inflexible to the notion of sticking more than one battery pack on a tool at one time with X2. Maybe, maybe not. I see/hear those sentiments getting thrown around and frankly it usually comes off as petty. Sticking two batteries on a tool instead of one is not some high-level academic challenge. It’s an elegant solution that provides a concrete performance outcome with very little extra investment on the part of the buyer.

A 10” table saw seems like the perfect application for a pair of Flexvolt batteries, even more than the 12” miter. Dewalt was marketing the potential of 120V battery power kinda hard for a minute so it’s odd they’ve just kinda dropped the notion entirely.

Same here. I’m not sure what the thinking really is. Unless they’ve run these 36V tools and have simply found them to out-perform 18V by a very consistent and significant degree. Then as the two lines grow people may transition on their own accord. I’d speculate that to be unlikely, but we’ll see how that plays out. I’m actually a little relieved at the cumulative message as it appears LXT will continue to be their bread and butter. I’ll say what I think I’m most optimistic about: this strongly suggests to me Makita likely has 8Ah batteries on the way, with a compact form-factor not unlike what Bosch managed to do with their Core batteries. I say this because the XGT 2.5V looks like nothing more than their 5Ah LXT but with all ten 18650 cells in series instead of a pair of 5 cells in series. The 4Ah 40V Max XGT is only slightly longer at the front, and possibly slightly wider. Those are likely 21700 cells, 10 in series, that would make 8Ah if formatted to 18V for LXT. I’m hoping these come out sooner rather than later.

Hmm...I dunno...while there are people around social media saying...or perhaps like myself strongly hoping for...backwards compatibility...I’m looking closer now and am not so sure. Since I’m on a road trip and can’t access any photoshop software this is about as close to a direct visual comparison of these new batteries vs LXT I can get out of my iPhone and I am NOT at all sure these new ones will fit in LXT tools. Having left all my LXT tools home isn’t helping. The other thing is, there’s nothing on these batteries that suggests a second voltage available akin to LXT. There’s noise both ways on social media but at least one person is going so far as to say he’s been attending Makita presentations in Japan and compatibility with LXT has been stated repeatedly. Can’t say that’s more than hearsay until an official press release though. From a distance, losing backwards compatibility sounds like it could be more trouble than it’s worth, having to remake almost every LXT model into 36 volt versions of themselves. There also wouldn’t be any option for compact batteries. And most importantly ditching the largest 18V platform on the market to start over could be suicide. They already tried 36V in the past and the market did not embrace it.

Among many things I’m inferring from the video: -21700 cells finally being utilized -not too ridiculous in size...akin to Bosche’s Core batteries edit: -natively operates at 36V -press release in Australia https://www.makita.com.au/Next-Generation-Technology

How many feet?

They just had to release this right after I purchased Ryobi’s jet-style model. Given I’m not using it for that much, maybe I wouldn’t have paid the premium for this one anyway...but it would have been nice to have the choice earlier.

I’ve wondered at this proving to be a potential issue for some tools going forward. As they were almost certainly all developed and tested using what we presently think of as “standard” batteries that aren’t outputting as much current as these larger capacity batteries can, along with the higher work output they’ll now get is more heat production and accelerated wear. I’m interested in seeing how that plays out over time.

I don’t know about Slovenia in particular but Makita does use different model number systems in different parts of the world all the time. Watch to make sure the batteries they use are exactly the same, and I would suggest contacting Makita about that as well, but if they otherwise look completely identical, they probably are the same.

You’d think buyers might pick up on the geographical discrepancy not only in location of production but also in ownership and maybe detach any nationalistically-motivated fanboyism for such brands. Then again, maybe not.

A lot of these companies can’t really move out of China...or only by so much. Sadly, far too little of the rest of the world is ready to handle the manufacturing load that China presently excels at.

The simple ability to aim these lights where you need to work makes them extremely useful. And when you already have the batteries it just adds yet more convenience.

I think this new one is a 6.5” blade. Which is still a lot of general utility, really. Their current 6.5” (which is quite new, really) not having a slider is kinda limiting.

I wouldn’t expect it terribly soon as the current models are relatively recent releases themselves

It’s an interesting ergonomic approach. The videos I’ve seen of it suggest the power it has is legit though.

Not yet, although you never know when one could be announced... https://www.homedepot.com/b/Tools-Power-Tools-Saws-Miter-Saws/DEWALT/Hybrid/N-5yc1vZc2d7Z4j2Z1z0m3yr

Now that’s interesting. Is it a corded model? Sometimes I think they pay so much attention to cordless that they forget what their own corded tools even are anymore. Browsing miters recently I came across what looked like my exact Dewalt miter, even though I bought mine almost a decade ago. Sorry no one happens to have an answer for you.

Well if you won’t do anything but 10”... And you won’t do anything that doesn’t do both batteries and corded... I’m pretty sure you only have one option: https://www.toolsofthetrade.net/power-tools/cordless-tools/cant-get-it-yet-cordless-slide-miter-saw_o I have no personal frame of reference with this particular company, but some around here have been impressed with their newish 36V system so far.

The latest model is actually the 12” which I haven’t yet noticed available in the US yet. That’s what I’m waiting to get ahold of. Probably not much reason to fret about not being able to run corded. The Dewalt 12” according to some has a noticeable difference in performance when run via batteries vs a power cord. I’d rather just have the tool optimized for whichever than spend the extra for an extra power option that doesn’t run as well. If an outlet’s available, just charge your batteries.

Actually if I have this right, it was because the (now essentially defunct) 14.4V tool batteries could also be charged on that charger. Presumably their thinking was to keep things open to the possibility that more platforms would all use the same charger. So it’s basically a legacy feature that’s ended up largely unused.

The electronics may be smart enough to charge anything spanning that voltage range, but the physical interface isn’t there to do anything with it. Perhaps Makita could have made things even easier for everyone and just made a $20 attachment, but they didn’t. Such would probably introduce other issues like cooling vs venting during charging and such.