Time for some new Makita goodies- any good deals on?

[Crofter]

My Makita collection started with a brushless LXT drill+driver pair about twelve years ago.

They were absolutely brilliant and I built an entire house with them and much more besides.

Sadly the impact driver vanished one day (still a mystery).

And now the drill is getting very wobbly, and is located a few thousand miles away from where I need it.

 

So I'm going to treat myself to a new pair. I don't need hammer action. I can't remember the exact model numbers of what I've got but I know they were both brushless and 18v LXT. I'll need a set with a charger as the original one is still with the drill, and I'll need a battery. It might make sense to put this together from separate items.

 

Any tips on where to start looking?

[Nickfromwales]

CNS power tools are near me, but sell a lot online. 
 

Put together an order and email them for their best prices. Not sure when their ‘makita’ deals are on, but usually a great time to get discounts.

 

Give them a try. 
 

FFX is good too. 

[Crofter]

8 minutes ago, Nickfromwales said:

CNS power tools are near me, but sell a lot online. 
 

Put together an order and email them for their best prices. Not sure when their ‘makita’ deals are on, but usually a great time to get discounts.

 

Give them a try. 
 

FFX is good too. 

Thanks

I think my original ones may have been from FFX, it rings a bell.

[Nickfromwales]

Just now, Crofter said:

Thanks

I think my original ones may have been from FFX, it rings a bell.

FFX is where I bought 4 x 5ah batts and 1 dual fast charger in a deal. Had my plunge saw there too, but try CNS and see what they’ll do. 

[saveasteading]

37 minutes ago, Crofter said:

I don't need hammer action.

I was lucky enough to win a set of Einhell stuff. Including a drill including hammer, and a small sds. I previously didn't appreciate the vast improvement an sds provides, cutting a hole easily in seconds instead of minutes.

So I recommend you add this to your set.

I'm very happy with Einhell, and having a bank of different size batteries is a must. But if I was using any of these tools professionally I'd probably go upmarket. I see deWalt stuff doing the most amazing functions. Nail gun firing 90mm nails for example, with so much lighter a tool than a gas one.

[Crofter]

31 minutes ago, saveasteading said:

I was lucky enough to win a set of Einhell stuff. Including a drill including hammer, and a small sds. I previously didn't appreciate the vast improvement an sds provides, cutting a hole easily in seconds instead of minutes.

So I recommend you add this to your set.

I'm very happy with Einhell, and having a bank of different size batteries is a must. But if I was using any of these tools professionally I'd probably go upmarket. I see deWalt stuff doing the most amazing functions. Nail gun firing 90mm nails for example, with so much lighter a tool than a gas one.

I'm already locked in to the Makita system, although I do have a corded SDS cheap thing as well for those odd occasions when I need it.

I agree on the different sized batteries- sometimes you just want a little 1Ah for tiny little jobs where you want to keep the tool as light as possible, e.g. working overhead. And other times you want a 6Ah for the grinder. Horses for courses!

[Nestor]

The Makita kit has been great. Just bought some 6.0Ah batteries from Toolden, always worth a search around for best prices.

FFX now ITS

https://www.lawson-his.co.uk

https://its.co.uk

https://www.powertoolworld.co.uk

https://www.worldofpower.co.uk

https://www.toolden.co.uk/tool-brands/makita/?utm_source=Klaviyo&utm_medium=flow&utm_campaign=Makita Cross Sell&utm_id=VXmYPi&_kx=iewy0UUI_HNqAKAOi3JbrAcYoka6HO07az6VLHTOI0U.WVZJJz

 

Edited Friday at 12:14 by Nestor

[saveasteading]

1 hour ago, Crofter said:

want a 6Ah for the grinder

Or two.

My drill will work for hours (days) on the 2Ah battery. Hedge cutter 20 minutes.

My new leaf blower uses a 6Ah battery in 10 minutes.

 

The weight of battery matters a lot if working with the tool raised.

[Apache]

I'm on the Milwaukee platform but Powertoolmate always best for price. If you don't pay for next day can take a couple of days to arrive. Good stock, frequent offers. 

[G and J]

Cut through my leg and you’ll find it’s turquoise in there with the word Makita written like in a stick of rock.
 

I've got loads of it.  Oddly, my latest blue purchase was Amazon.  My multi tool died again, I’ve fixed it a good few times already and it’s needed right now, and Amazon was equal cheapest and reliably next day.  (Lever tool change is brill, it turns out.) 

 

The problem is, once a battery investment is made you are committed, and whilst I’ve not studied the question rigorously, I do think Makita have a fabulous range of 18V stuff. 

[crispy_wafer]

I use hotukdeals quite a bit and have alerts set up for the yellow and black tools.  Good to get alerted when the offers are on.

[Onoff]

I've genuine 18V Makita drills (3), impact driver, grinder & circular saw. 

 

I've then Fakita grinders (2), sabre saw, multi tools (2), palm router, paint spray gun and 4" chainsaw. 

 

I can honestly say I use the Fakita stuff heavily. Had to replace the motor in the chainsaw as I asked too much of it but that's it. The fake grinders were my goto before I bought a genuine one s/hand off of someone on here. Tbh I often prefer the fakes as they're slimmer and lighter as well as brushless. 

 

I only ever use genuine 5Ah batteries on the above stuff and other platform stuff where we print battery adaptors. 

Edited Saturday at 09:02 by Onoff

[dpmiller]

the fake stuff is great now- I've got both turquoise and yellow flavours

[Onoff]

57 minutes ago, dpmiller said:

the fake stuff is great now- I've got both turquoise and yellow flavours

 

I'm mulling a Fajita brushless jigsaw. A tool I don't use a lot tbh. 

 

The s/hand Makita circular saw I bought is a bit gutless tbh. Blade looks alright. Brushes maybe 🤔 

[dpmiller]

4 hours ago, Onoff said:

The s/hand Makita circular saw I bought is a bit gutless tbh.

oddly enough, the crappiest item I have is a DeWalt circular saw- Binds up mid-cut if you so much as look at it the wrong way...

 

conversely tho, my mate has all Parkside stuff. One of the best items he has is a cute looking wee 3.5" circular saw. Amazing thing, absolutely steams it's way through anything even at max depth of cut.

[Onoff]

50 minutes ago, dpmiller said:

oddly enough, the crappiest item I have is a DeWalt circular saw- Binds up mid-cut if you so much as look at it the wrong way...

 

conversely tho, my mate has all Parkside stuff. One of the best items he has is a cute looking wee 3.5" circular saw. Amazing thing, absolutely steams it's way through anything even at max depth of cut.

 

This, a bit gutless:

 

 

 

[G and J]

9 hours ago, Onoff said:

I've genuine 18V Makita drills (3), impact driver, grinder & circular saw. 

 

I've then Fakita grinders (2), sabre saw, multi tools (2), palm router, paint spray gun and 4" chainsaw. 

 

I can honestly say I use the Fakita stuff heavily. Had to replace the motor in the chainsaw as I asked too much of it but that's it. The fake grinders were my goto before I bought a genuine one s/hand off of someone on here. Tbh I often prefer the fakes as they're slimmer and lighter as well as brushless. 

 

I only ever use genuine 5Ah batteries on the above stuff and other platform stuff where we print battery adaptors. 

Having extended a mortgage to buy some sensible capacity genuine Makita batteries I am way too nervous to risk a Fakita anything.   Perhaps I need to screw my courage to the sticking place (with a genuine impact driver, no doubt]!

[saveasteading]

I was tempted by a pruning chainsaw at the local market. Incl 2 batteries £30.

But my sensible self decided it would be poor, maybe dangerous.

[Crofter]

So giving this a bit more thought, I reckon I need: 

- a light/compact drill driver

- an impact driver

- a recip saw

- a medium sized battery

 

I'm very tempted to get a knock off charger to save some money. Do the genuine batteries have some sort of protection built in that would prevent damage from a faulty charger? 

I already own a genuine charger which is located elsewhere, so I just need a fake one to get me through a couple of jobs. 

Likewise with batteries, no point getting one I can't take with me on the plane, so 3Ah will probably do. I don't like fake batteries though, I had a right fright with a Ryobi pattern one a few years ago. 

[saveasteading]

16 minutes ago, Crofter said:

I had a right fright with a Ryobi

Tell more?

[Crofter]

24 minutes ago, saveasteading said:

Tell more?

6Ah fake battery, one of the better known ones but the name escapes me just now. 

I always struggled a bit to press the clips on the sides hard enough when attaching it to the charger or a tool. One day I was putting it in the charger and pressed really firmly on the side clips. There was a loud 'click' like something breaking. 

A few moments later smoke started pouring out of the battery.

I whipped it back out of the charger but it carried on smoking. I could see that the smoke was coming from behind one of the clips, and when I gave it a poke the plastic clip fell away, followed by a stainless steel spring.

The smoking stopped, so I let the battery cool down so that I could take a closer look. It turned out that the steel spring was only isolated from the ends of the cells by a thin (1-2mm) layer of foam. I had pressed hard enough that the metal had cut through the foam and created a dead short.

 

To my mind that's a blatant design defect. If I'd walked away and left it on the charger, it could have been very bad. 

 

I only buy genuine batteries now.

[Apache]

1 hour ago, Crofter said:

So giving this a bit more thought, I reckon I need: 

- a light/compact drill driver

- an impact driver

- a recip saw

- a medium sized battery

 

There is no need to go for a copy charger. Get a starter kit if you need drill driver, batteries and charger. 

https://www.powertoolmate.co.uk/power-tools/makita-store/cordless-powertool-kits/makita-dlx2414st-18v-brushless-twin-kit-dhp487-combi-drill-and-dtd157-impact-dri.htm

 

£205, if you price the drill/driver, impact and the batteries separately its £250 before case and charger. 

 

https://www.powertoolmate.co.uk/power-tools/makita-store/cordless-reciprocating-saws/makita-djr183z-18v-lxt-reciprocating-saw-body-only.htm