# Does anyone enjoy Makita?



## chewy (May 9, 2010)

Only for corded, I wont invest in their cordless.


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## Dennis Alwon (May 9, 2009)

I used the old makita 9.6V for many many years. I thought it was a great tool. My worker has a Makita impact drill that works great and he loves it.

I think this is the one


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## ablyss (Feb 8, 2014)

I'm a Milwaukee man myself. Their little 12v impact drill has taken the work out of work. Their oscillating 12v tool is perfect for small cuts in finished products, their flash light is amazing, their mini hackzall is amazing on cutting out metal studs. All those are interchangeable with the same batteries too.


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## Monkeyboy (Jul 28, 2012)

The 18v stuff is awesome. I have 6 impacts, staplers, 5 hammer drills, portable planer, close quarter impact, bandsaw, and many others I can't remember; but they are the best


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## Monkeyboy (Jul 28, 2012)

Monkeyboy said:


> The 18v stuff is awesome. I have 6 impacts, staplers, 5 hammer drills, portable planer, close quarter impact, bandsaw, and many others I can't remember; but they are the best


. Oh yes, the oscillating tool


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## Monkeyboy (Jul 28, 2012)

It's disturbing the amount of $ spent on just cordless tools


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## Rollie73 (Sep 19, 2010)

I'm with you on this one MonkeyBoy.....I luvs me some Makita tools. Its all that I have for my own truck. 

The job boxes are stocked up with Hilti cordless gear just because we use their long term leasing program. Never wait for a tool to be repaired again........when one breaks make a call and the rep shows up with a new one right away.


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## Mate (Sep 5, 2009)

I bought a kit of lxt 18v when they just got out (drill and impact). I replaced the drill 2 times until I switched for Milwaukee with the Fuel (and I could not be more satisfied!!) but the impact won't die!. Now all my cordless tool are milwaukee (m18 and m12) exept for that impact. I was waiting on it to broke to pick up a Fuel one but after seeing this: http://toolguyd.com/makita-18v-brushless-impact-driver-2014/ , I don't know.....!!


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## Monkeyboy (Jul 28, 2012)

They are the best & I beat the heck out of them; I even dropped an impact 60' off a roof & 3 years later still going strong


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## maddhatter (May 7, 2012)

The failure rate of the LXT drill seems pretty high from what I've witnessed; 3 of the other tradies at work have had theirs die (one, brand new - caught fire; another the chuck gave up and on the third the gearbox shat itself). Also, one of the apprentices has a Makita impact driver that is literally deafening. 

To me (I don't use them personally) that a pretty high failure rate as there are only 4 guys at work with Makita gear :/


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## butcher733 (Aug 4, 2012)

Dennis Alwon said:


> I used the old makita 9.6V for many many years. I thought it was a great tool. My worker has a Makita impact drill that works great and he loves it.
> 
> I think this is the one


Don't tell me you make your guys supply there own cordless tools.


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## Speedy Petey (Jan 10, 2007)

I have a lot of Makita. Most in fact.
Several battery drill kits, battery circ saw, recip saw, 2- hammer drills, SDS Max hammer, radio, even a generator.
The ONLY complaint in all the years was the old black and grey NiMh batteries not lasting and going bad. Haven't had a hint of a problem with the 18V/3.0 lithiums though. Been on the original pair for over 3 years.


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## Wpgshocker (Jan 25, 2013)

Monkeyboy said:


> I have used just about every cordless tool out there in the last 30 years & nothing compares to the makita stuff. Does anyone else use them? Seems most folks use Milwaukee


I am a huge Makita fan. They make a solid tool. I switched to M12 Milwaukee Fuel for size and tool options. If Makita had a solid compact tool line up, I would still be with them. 

Wait 'til you see what is coming from Milwaukee very shortly! The M12 line is being expanded even more, circular saw, KO tool, Bluetooth radio! Lots of neat stuff coming.


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## Rochsolid (Aug 9, 2012)

All I have is makita, I have the 5 piece cordless set (drill, impact, saws all, circ saw) and I also bought the 18v ads hammer drill, this drill is awesome! I have zero complaints with their tools


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## wendon (Sep 27, 2010)

Monkeyboy said:


> I have used just about every cordless tool out there in the last 30 years & nothing compares to the makita stuff. Does anyone else use them? Seems most folks use Milwaukee


Are you a plumber?


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## wendon (Sep 27, 2010)

I've never owned a Mosquito but I do love letting carpenters etc. try out my 18v Fuel impacts! Usually get a comment out of them.


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## Southeast Power (Jan 18, 2009)

Monkeyboy said:


> I have used just about every cordless tool out there in the last 30 years & nothing compares to the makita stuff. Does anyone else use them? Seems most folks use Milwaukee


If you see someone with a Makita, they are most likely a Carpenter or a handyman that makes just enough to graduate from Ryobi. Not so much a real tradesman such as an electrician, plumber or HVAC guy.


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## Monkeyboy (Jul 28, 2012)

wendon said:


> Are you a plumber?


general contractor & electrician


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## Monkeyboy (Jul 28, 2012)

jrannis said:


> If you see someone with a Makita, they are most likely a Carpenter or a handyman that makes just enough to graduate from Ryobi. Not so much a real tradesman such as an electrician, plumber or HVAC guy.


well, that is quite insulting, but not surprising from some of the things I read on here


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## Southeast Power (Jan 18, 2009)

Monkeyboy said:


> well, that is quite insulting, but not surprising from some of the things I read on here


Not trying to be insulting but, they are just a step up from homeowner weekend warrior tools.
Nothing bad but, we never see them in our trade around here unless someone is just starting out.


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## chewy (May 9, 2010)

jrannis said:


> Not trying to be insulting but, they are just a step up from homeowner weekend warrior tools.


Thats complete nonsense.


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## Southeast Power (Jan 18, 2009)

chewy said:


> Thats complete nonsense.


Well here it the States its like that.
I know you Kiwi's drill holes with sticks and stuff like that down there.


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## bduerler (Oct 2, 2009)

jrannis said:


> Not trying to be insulting but, they are just a step up from homeowner weekend warrior tools. Nothing bad but, we never see them in our trade around here unless someone is just starting out.


Agreed. The old shop I worked with ran dewalt forever, switched to makita then back to dewalt. Then they went out and bought every truck the 4 piece Milwaukee 12 volt set up and a 18v hammer drill and impact. I had mine for ever. Hell when I left the company because I brought in a good chunk of change they let me keep all my cordless stuff. Honeywell bought me all Milwaukee to


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## Monkeyboy (Jul 28, 2012)

jrannis said:


> Not trying to be insulting but, they are just a step up from homeowner weekend warrior tools. Nothing bad but, we never see them in our trade around here unless someone is just starting out.


i started out with Milwaukee, but they did not have the power & default ( black & decker ) is home owner brand not worthy of buying. I buy whatever is powerful & durable, makita is the only one to always meet that criteria


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## chewy (May 9, 2010)

Homeowners dropping $800 on this?


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## Hack Work (Dec 29, 2013)

Monkeyboy said:


> well, that is quite insulting, but not surprising from some of the things I read on here


Don't listen to that.

Makita makes great tools. I'm still using the tried and true Dewalt 18V for larger cordless tools, but after I kill them all I don't know which brand I will choose. IMO, Makita 18V is just as good as Milwaukee.

When it comes to 12V, I gave up my Makita and went with Milwaukee M12. In the M12 line Milwaukee far surpassed anyone else. But for 18V I don't see that much of a difference.


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## Hack Work (Dec 29, 2013)

jrannis said:


> Well here it the States its like that.


No it's not.


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## Maple_Syrup25 (Nov 20, 2012)

around here if I see a guy with makita, I think "hey that guy probably does good work" 

respect!


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## wendon (Sep 27, 2010)

Hack Work said:


> No it's not.


Is too.


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## Speedy Petey (Jan 10, 2007)

jrannis said:


> Not trying to be insulting but, they are just a step up from homeowner weekend warrior tools.
> Nothing bad but, we never see them in our trade around here unless someone is just starting out.


Nonsense is putting it lightly. 
I've been in the trade over 25 years, and doing this kind of work literally my whole life. I think I can speak from experience.
To make statements like yours here proves one of two things:
Either you have NO clue what you are talking about, or you are so blindly opinionated that you think anyone who disagrees is flat wrong, regardless of experience.
I think it's a combination of both.


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## Hack Work (Dec 29, 2013)

Speedy Petey said:


> Nonsense is putting it lightly.
> I've been in the trade over 25 years, and doing this kind of work literally my whole life. I think I can speak from experience.
> To make statements like yours here proves one of two things:
> Either you have NO clue what you are talking about, or you are so blindly opinionated that you think anyone who disagrees is flat wrong, regardless of experience.
> I think it's a combination of both.


This is like when someone says that Ford vans suck and they all breakdown and the tranny blows in 50,000 miles blah blah.

Then the next person says how Chevy vans suck.....

I've used Makita's 18V lithium ION and they are great tools. I haven't seen anything to say that they are inferior to Milwaukee or that they are homeowner quality. In reality, I have had more problems with Milwaukee 18V than Makita.


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## [email protected] (Jan 29, 2014)

Hilti


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## bduerler (Oct 2, 2009)

[email protected] said:


> I used almost every thing out there,, I do believe Hilti ,, Just as good as Makita ,, cost just as much tho I run them with a company mean years ago that's what they provided ,, But they cut price way down if run all there stuff ,, I think there made by MAKITA ,??? There are one only one's ,, that make a big axx ,, battery hammer drill ,, dam it work's great ,,


Dude who are you? First off spell check secondly spell check your profile. Looks terrible


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## Rochsolid (Aug 9, 2012)

jrannis said:


> If you see someone with a Makita, they are most likely a Carpenter or a handyman that makes just enough to graduate from Ryobi. Not so much a real tradesman such as an electrician, plumber or HVAC guy.


Hahaha ok buddy


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## FrunkSlammer (Aug 31, 2013)

I used Makita LXT's for years and absolutely loved them.. had like 10 tools in the line. They worked flawlessly, other than maybe 2 batteries bricking on me after a while.

I wound up selling it all and switching to Milwaukee M12, but I have nothing but good to say about the brand and line. 

Also saying it's not a tradesman tool is total BS.. probably 50% of tradesmen around here use Makita LXT.. Then like 20% dewalt, 20% milwaukee and the remainder some random stuff like Ryobi, Ridgid and Hilt.


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## Semi-Ret Electrician (Nov 10, 2011)

I only had a Makita 4" cut-off wheel for years until someone here said Home Depot had a sale on the 18V Lion drills.

I found two sets: 1/2" dril/impact w/ 2 batteries & a charger for $139, I bought both, but only put one drill in service.

It's been a year of hard use, still doing fine.:thumbsup:


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## Mate (Sep 5, 2009)

[email protected] said:


> Hilti


Ya ok...Don't compare apples and oranges! But my employer is providing all hilti stuff and I like my Milwaukee Fuel better than the Hilti cordless drill. Don't listen to the guy saying Makita is a homeowner brand because he don't know what he is talking about. They make some really nice tool and they were the first brand to innovate with a nice li-ion line.


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## captkirk (Nov 21, 2007)

I love Makita...switched from Millwakee after two v28 drills crapped out.


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## captkirk (Nov 21, 2007)

captkirk said:


> I love Makita...switched from Millwakee after two v28 drills crapped out.


Hilti is nice but I dont need top of the line cordless stuff as they all seem to crap out sooner or later..


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## captkirk (Nov 21, 2007)

Quoted my own post....lol


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## MTW (Aug 28, 2013)

I like Makita and own a complete set of 18V cordless stuff, but I'm switching over to M18 now.


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## wendon (Sep 27, 2010)

Speedy Petey said:


> Nonsense is putting it lightly.
> I've been in the trade over 25 years, and doing this kind of work literally my whole life. I think I can speak from experience.
> To make statements like yours here proves one of two things:
> Either you have NO clue what you are talking about, or you are so blindly opinionated that you think anyone who disagrees is flat wrong, regardless of experience.
> I think it's a combination of both.


Wow! You tellem' Petey!:laughing: I could care less what brand of tool someone else wants to use. I've had Panasonic, Bosch, and Milwaukee and I know which brand I prefer. I remember when Makita came out with one of the first cordless drills with the 9 volt battery (or whatever it was). It was a piece of junk, but back then it was a wonderful thing compared to pulling around a cord. I just know that I've compared my drivers to the other brands and I have my *own* preferences.


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## EBFD6 (Aug 17, 2008)

I like Makita. If I were going to buy an 18v platform I would go with Makita. However, I use the m12 stuff.


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## Wpgshocker (Jan 25, 2013)

wendon said:


> Wow! You tellem' Petey!:laughing: I could care less what brand of tool someone else wants to use. I've had Panasonic, Bosch, and Milwaukee and I know which brand I prefer. I remember when Makita came out with one of the first cordless drills with the 9 volt battery (or whatever it was). It was a piece of junk, but back then it was a wonderful thing compared to pulling around a cord. I just know that I've compared my drivers to the other brands and I have my own preferences.


Substitute Milwaukee, Dewalt, Makita for Dodge, Ford or Chevy. Arguing opinions, you can never win.
If any of them made garbage, they would go out of business. End of story.


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## East Coast Paul (Sep 30, 2010)

jrannis said:


> Not trying to be insulting but, they are just a step up from homeowner weekend warrior tools.
> Nothing bad but, we never see them in our trade around here unless someone is just starting out.


you need to get the contractor grade not the diy stuff. there is a big difference. for every contractor grade tool there are about 3 or 4 diy grade versions.


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## svh19044 (Jul 1, 2008)

The 18v Makita impact was ahead of it's time 5 years ago. Now it's average, as are the rest of their tools. I certainly wouldn't put them on the below average level of Dewalt though.


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## Jordan.M (Dec 31, 2013)

I used to have a drill/driver and impact set. I liked them but there is no overload protection, I got a brushless m18 hammer drill/driver combo from Milwaukee and it is amazing.


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## 3D Electric (Mar 24, 2013)

I finally replaced my Milwaukee set about six months ago. Looked at the Makita but ultimately I upgraded to the Milwaukee fuel kit. So glad I did! There's no way I would go to anything else but Milwaukee. I use the m12 every day. Then I have my m18 set for bigger jobs! :thumbsup:


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## Rollie73 (Sep 19, 2010)

As I stated before.....I use all Makita 18volt LXT in my truck. I love their gear. I had some very bad experiences with Milwaukee tools in ,97 and ,98 and their absolute horrible customer service made me switch to Makita tools and I've bought nothing but Makita power tools since, unless it some of the bigger demo drills, SDS hammer drills and core drilling tools. Then its all Hilti.


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