Customer Reviews for Makita 18V LXT Lithium-Ion Brushless Cordless 4-1/2 in./5 in. Cut-Off/Angle Grinder (Tool-Only)

Great router. I have two other cordless routers,from different companies, so for me to get a third from a third brand meant I saw some must have features. 3rd time was definitely the charm. I mainly got this for one reason. Anyone ever use a router would know you will definitely need a mask on as it spits out dust out, the dust port was the main reason I got this. I am a righty and using the right going from left to right with the vac attached to the port was a little inconveinent. You would have to hold the router so the back is facing you, making the window to see your work piece useless. I simply put the vac on the left and this resolved that. The rack and pinion for the microadjustments is quick and easy. I knew exactly which way I was going each time. The router was not loud at all, to me. My sound meter showed 79 db, with the router operating on its highest setting on a piece of mdf

Battery worked well for me, I used this for my x2 tracksaw. Not enough to drain the battery so I can not attest to how long they will last for. Also with the rapid charger they charge in 45minutes which is greater

Maybe I’m biased because this is my first set of cordless drills, but my father has had Craftsman and Dewalt. The craftsman gave up a long time ago so we’ve had Dewalt for a while now. I like the look and feel of the Makita, it’s just so strong. The set I bought has a solid, heavy feel. This isn’t that little-bitty set, it’s the brushless set so it should last forever.

This isn’t a tool i expected to need for a while, and I honestly hoped to be able to postpone buying anything until Makita releases a more compact, brushless update (preferably with a light, which would be really handy for a tool of this nature). But I ended up having an extremely specific problem which this was easily able to bail me out of and I simply had no other way to go about it. After a lot of painful consideration against several other multitools this still emerged as the best option, and when factoring in the price vs the power and robustness I guess it’s actually pretty impressive. The plunge cut in the included pic through some relatively soft (presumably pine) scrap probably only took some 10 seconds (not counting a few seconds to clear sawdust midway through). The tool-less blade change design is easy to use and extremely stout. Something not obvious when I bought it is that by not having its ergonomics quite as over-committed to one singular grip as certain competitors’ offerings, this Makita unit can actually be more flexible to being gripped different ways depending on whatever angle your work space constrains you to hold it from. At this point this is more an observation than a preference to me as I’m not any sort of “multitool guru” at all, but similar design choices show up on some of their other tools so this seems to have been a purposeful ergonomic decision on their part. I would still prefer if it were trimmer especially toward the end of the tool body approaching the battery. But what ultimately elevated this tool above the competition in spite of my preference for something more compact was the vibration-absorbing base. Reviews of competitor’s offerings frequently noted that the oscillations of multitools can damage battery housings where they interface with the tool over time, such that they may not properly fit other tools after a while. From where I sit that may as well be damaging every other tool those batteries also get used in. Committing to another battery platform is expensive enough but buying into a new one knowing the specific tool you’re getting will be messing up the batteries that go into it was going to be a deal-breaker every time. This simply isn’t a concern for this Makita unit. Looking hard at this thing versus a number of competitors’ offerings, my mind kept coming back to that, so this ended up being a really straightforward decision.

Routers may be my favorite woodworking tool, and this router is one of many great reasons Makita is far and away the best platform for woodworkers looking to up their game. Most manufacturers don’t even have an answer for this thing. At the time of this review only 2 competitors offer a cordless router (which are almost identical to each other) and neither of them happen to be yellow or red. But it doesn’t look like Makita took the relative absence of competition as an excuse to slack off and give us a mediocre product. This thing oozes quality all over, and is thoroughly well-designed and -executed. The wood clearing and lighting in particular are AMAZING! Completely blows the competition out of the water. Just hook up a competent vacuum and go to town! No more inhaling woods chips and struggling to watch your cut progress through saw-dust coated safety glasses! It’s so effective I can literally just throw a tarp down in my living room and go! I’ve seen it claimed this unit’s depth adjustment doesn’t have a “fine-tune” feature. Not sure how that claim stacks up because high precision with this unit’s depth adjustment is really completely trivial: just partially engage the latch until it develops a little friction, then finely adjust the rack and pinion as desired, and fully engage latch when it’s where you want. The aluminum housing is precisely machined and marked such that you can easily use this technique to adjust to fractions of a millimeter. So easy and there’s no play or slop! Keeping it real: this unit will not match the power levels of some large cordless units. I’m not of the impression this was a particularly significant design goal either. It is made to primarily use 1/4” bits which I think is a good indication of where Makita aims this unit to be used. For me, I’ve been too giddy about the dust clearing and superior visibility to pay attention to whether or not I’m going any slower than with my corded unit. I’m holding onto my old corded lug and all its 1/2” bits for now, but my feeling is with the Makita’s drastic improvement in cleanliness, fantastic and completely irritation-free visibility, and go-anywhere convenience I’ll be more than happy to shed the old corded unit before long. Between all those factors plus the simple convenience of not having to maneuver around cuts trying to avoid damaging a stupid cord I’m probably getting my work done faster (and more importantly with better consistency and precision) if anything. Did I mention these Makita units can attach to their compatible plungers as well as several other attachments already available for their corded models? No need to wait for peripherals to be released because they’re already all out there! This unit is a godsend.

Best drill and impact for the price couldn’t go wrong

I needed to buy new batteries to complete a deck project after my last original 3.0Ah battery died (after 12-13 years), and swapping around the one 4.0Ah battery I had really slowed things down ("Are you done with the battery yet? OK. Throw it over to me.") The fuel gauge is pretty nice after all the years of not knowing how close you were to a dead battery. And the capacity is pretty amazing. I used the packs for hours of screwing or drilling into pressure-treated lumber, and rarely got to half power. The only thing that challenged the batteries was the circular saw; cutting through a very wet, pressure-treated 2x12, cutting stair stringers. 12 feet took 3 batteries (almost with 2).

Both drills were lightweight and ergonomically comfortable. The charging speed and battery life is impressive. They are easy to use, as all of the settings are clearly marked and understandable. Although I haven't used them extensively YET, they do scream durability and dependability when I do use them. I also haven't use the built in belt clips yet, those to will be VERY convenient at some point.

It's a great tool ,very powerful and reliable so if you want a great electronic high impact wrench ,please by all means get ,just take a look of what I used it for.

This impact driver is awesome. If it won't break it loose, it will break it off. I love my Makita tools.

Awesome tool. This thing ripped off rusted on lug nuts on my 1/2 ton truck. I tried several air impact wrenches before hand that couldn't do the job. This thing did it quick and was so much easier than setting up a air compressor. Just charge it and rip. I recommend the 5.0 Ah battery to go with it since it does take alot of juice.

I bought one of these about 3 years ago and returned it after one day of use. It didn't last for more than 5 minutes on a full charge, tried 3 different batteries. I needed it again today and decided to give it another shot. Bought a new one, put a half charged battery in it right when I got home and cut through old cast iron and brass pipes clogged full of rust and hardened gunk that took forever to cut. Then I cut all my PVC and it was still going strong. I either got a dud the first time around, or they improved the saw. Note that the battery I used was one of the same ones I tried with the previous saw 3 years ago, still going strong! Happy with the purchase this time around! By the way, the metal blade that came with it is not that great. Milwaukee 'Torch' blades are worth every single penny. 4/5 stars because I need to use it for a while at work and see if continues to hold its own. Will update (if I can) after a while of use.

Great brushless compact set for the money, especially with the free tool offer right now (11-2016). I bought this set along with the Milwaukee free tool offer, set Model # 2799-22CX. Each set was ordered with the free 6 1/2" circular saw. Admittedly, I am a Makita fan and own many of their tools and one excellent corded Milwaukee Sawzall. I recently did a big remodeling job with my cousin who uses Milwaukee drills. Those were great drills that blew away my old Makita nicd 14V drill. I decided to upgrade, came upon this awesome deal and ordered both from HD. So I got to evaluate both of these compact brushless drill kits and the free circular saws in home, which is hard to do in store. Both (free) saws are brushed. The Milwaukee drills and saw are larger and heavier. The drills were so close it didn't really matter, but the saw seemed twice as large as the Makita. If you had to nitpick, the Milwaukee hammer drill was a bit better with larger bits and their impact driver needed the collar pulled back to insert a bit. I do like the robustness of the Milwaukee batteries over the Makita, that are just plastic and seem cheap, but I also like the one button release of the Makita. The Milwaukee have a nice rubberized shell to take some abuse, with a 2 button release. Overall, the Makita package is a winner as much as I liked the Milwaukee hammer drill and robust battery packs. Each of the 3 tools just felt right to ME, YMMV. Makita -3 year warranty, hard case (an extra 6 1/2 saw blade fits perfectly in the charger area), Two 4 amp 18v batteries with nicer charger, 2 belt hangers, brighter LED lights (2 per tool), smaller, lighter tools that function equivalently. Milwaukee- 5 year warranty, soft case (zipper bag), One 2 amp battery and One 4 amp battery, which is not in the specs, the charger has 18 amp and 12 amp slots (if you have 12 amp tools from Milwaukee), 1 belt hanger (shows one on each tool in photo), duller LED lights (1 per tool), overall bigger and heavier tools that function perfectly. The 2 amp battery pack on the Milwaukee tools (lighter) really made this a close decision. But the the better value and overall weight even with the 4 amp batteries made the Makita MY winner. And really, if you only occasionally use these drills as a homeowner, I would opt for the lighter 2 Amp batteries and maybe add a larger one as needed. Definitely a cheaper option without giving up much. OR for most DIY homeowners looking for drills, seriously look at the new Makita Sub Compact kit Model # CX200RB. FWIW, if the Milwaukee kit had a nicer case, two 4 amp batteries and smaller/lighter circular saw, it would have made my decision much harder. This Makita set wins for me.

Long lasting battery. Used it to power a random orbital sander for 30 minutes, almost continuously. Still had 2 bars. Plugged it in the reciprocating saw to remove a door. Still showed 2 bars. They also last a while on the circular saw. With (2) 3Ah, (1) 4Ah, (2) 5Ah batteries & two chargers, I have enough batteries for all day, powering drill, impact driver, recip saw, circular saw, RO sander, and grinder. The battery level indicator is handy, but Makita should put them on the same side as the release button. As it is, when you plug the battery in, you can't check the battery level without first removing it.

This tool does everything and is really tough and looks feels and performs like a real pro tool.

The drill already stopped working

The product was light and very ergonomic. The only down fall Makita had with this one was the pin detent design. The pin was too beveled so it wouldn't hold a

The most used tool in the truck. Fantastic

I do not recommend anyone to buy anything online from Home Depot because they send you open boxes or used one.