Makita Cordless Recip Saw Issue

[leakyroof]

I'll have to post the Model number later as I'm not next to the saw right now. Little used 18 volt saw of their Cordless Lineup, but so handy when I need it over my old Bosch Panther Corded Saw. Which is why I'm surprised that the Blade Holding assembly is acting up. Basically, it jams or gets stuck in the fully open/released position all of a sudden.
I tried lubing the assembly, thinking that with so little use, like months of sitting before I use it , maybe rust had snuck in.
Hasn't helped. I can run the saw with no blade for a few seconds , then it 'might' free up to the relaxed position on the blade chuck, ready to have a blade inserted.
No visual issues seen with it.  Might have to just figure how to remove it for a more detailed look at some point.
  Anyone run into this with a Makita Tool-less Blade Holder on a Recip Saw?  [blink] [blink]

 

[leakyroof]

Well, YouTube video kind of explains it all. Lots of small parts in there, one of them may have galled or rusted. Time to take apart and see what's what.... [embarassed] [embarassed]  [sad] [sad].
Luckily, my need for the Saw is random, so have it down for a bit won't affect me. And I still have my now 'fairly ancient' '90s Bosch Corded Saw, with its 'practically antique set screw blade holder', still functioning like new...  [big grin]
Sometimes simple is better?  [big grin] [big grin]

 

[Imemiter]

Mine gets stuck sometimes. It can get stuck open or closed, and it happens maybe one times out of ten. The saw is only five or six years old, but it's led a hard life. I'd leave a blade in it if it would still fit in it's Systainer. Some gentle percussive maintenance with the claw end of a hammer has always fixed the problem.

 

[Crazyraceguy]

I have never had that issue with mine, but I might be a different model? The one I have was the "free" promo tool that came 5 piece kit. This was the first release of the LXT platform back in 2005. It came with a voucher in the box, that required you to mail it in. The saw shipped a few weeks later.
I happened to have had it at home when the shop fire destroyed everything, so it still exists to this day.
Clear back then, the highest capacity battery was 3ah, so it didn't run that long. The new 5ah batteries do a lot for it, but I still don't use it very often.
I don't have any idea if they have updated or changed the mechanism, but mine has performed well, even doing ugly stuff, like cutting tree roots in the ground.

 

[smorgasbord]

The new 5ah batteries do a lot for it, but I still don't use it very often.

The brushless cordless router I purchased about 2 years ago came with 6ah batteries. I can't tell if they're heavier than the 5ah or not, but they do last a bit longer.

 

[Koamolly]

I’ve had the issue with it getting stuck.  I’ve had it apart to clean a few times and works fine afterwards.  Look up videos online it you need to.  There are more parts than I would have thought. I use mine for cutting bamboo stumps in the dirt below the ground, many times in the rain, so the saws get really loaded up with mud. The saws are highly abused. 

 

[leakyroof]

I’ve had the issue with it getting stuck.  I’ve had it apart to clean a few times and works fine afterwards.  Look up videos online it you need to.  There are more parts than I would have thought. I use mine for cutting bamboo stumps in the dirt below the ground, many times in the rain, so the saws get really loaded up with mud. The saws are highly abused.

Yeah, I saw a couple of videos this weekend. Amazing amount of small parts in that blade holder assembly... [smile] [smile]
As for my saw,. it's seen so little use, I'm chalking it up to rust more than use/abuse. I use it maybe once a year, or two tops.  We'll see once I find the time to tackle it.
What's ironic is the Dewalt Saw at my previous job got beaten up constantly by everyone, yet that blade clamp on that Saw never failed anyone. Maybe it' a simpler, less parts affair on that Dewalt... [scratch chin] [scratch chin]

 

[Crazyraceguy]

I remember back when you had to tighten a couple of set screws for every blade change.  [unsure]

 

[leakyroof]

I remember back when you had to tighten a couple of set screws for every blade change.  [unsure]

So true.  My humble, old Bosch saw is a single set screw design. It's a pain compared to a modern quick change holder like that work Dewalt, or my ailing Makita, but, it still works.... [big grin] [big grin]

 

[WastedP]

I have two Makita recip saws.  One is fifteen years old or so, and this summer I was using it with a Milwaukee-branded scraper blade to clean  mortar off of old bricks.  After a few hundred bricks, the blade broke off down in the blade holder.  It's thicker than a standard sawzall blade, so it was really stuck.  It still is, because I didn't spend more than a few minutes messing with it, then I went ahead and bought a new sub-compact (black) one.  I noticed that it didn't take much sustained use to heat it up and start slinging grease all over.  I read these posts last weekend, didn't think much about it, then Tuesday the spring on the blade holder sprung somehow (it didn't break apart).  So it wouldn't lock onto a blade unless you rotated it fully open, like something is 90 degrees off now.  I took it into the warranty repair center here in town, and the manager there said that she has seen a few of these problems, on a variety of models.

 

[leakyroof]

Tool Update- I finally took the Makita apart at the Blade Holder- YouTube didn't lie, it's a collection of sleeves, more sleeves, springs, pins, more pins. It's a wonder it works as well as it usually does.... [smile]
I didn't have gunk or rust build up at all. Not sure why it started jamming.
So, I cleaned and oil things up, tried to re-assemble... That DID NOT GO WELL.  I ran into two problems, the tiny spring that goes down the middle of the Saw Shaft kept trying to poke out of the lower 'Pin' hole once it was under compression from trying to push down the 'blade holder', which is a tiny piece of metal shaped like a T, and needs to have the lower pin inserted through its matching hole, all while keeping that shaft spring under it and working the pin from the side of the shaft through the sleeve, the blade holder, and the other side of the sleeve once you've made it through the center of the Saw shaft and blade holder inside the shaft.
Needless to say, harsh words were uttered, tiny spring eventually became bent and ruined. The Blade holder only wanted to tip sideways once it was being compressed against that lower shaft/internal spring, since to add to misery , the Saw Shaft has a slit on it, that allows the Blade Holder to pivot sideways when you're working it against spring pressure.
I admitted defeat for the moment. Ordered a few parts from Ereplacement Parts.
And figured out a simple tool/jig that I'll make from sheet metal to act as a guide for that tipping T-shaped Blade holder, so it won't pop out of the slit in the Saw Shaft as it's being coaxed against spring pressure, all the while trying to  insert the lower pin through the whole assembly from the side... Or I'll use one of the 'upper' sleeves as an outer guide to tame the Blade Holder..... Simple really....... [mad] [mad] [mad]
YouTube made it seem much easier..... [embarassed] [embarassed] [embarassed]

 

[squall_line]

Tool Update- I finally took the Makita apart at the Blade Holder- YouTube didn't lie, it's a collection of sleeves, more sleeves, springs, pins, more pins. It's a wonder it works as well as it usually does.... [smile]
I didn't have gunk or rust build up at all. Not sure why it started jamming.
So, I cleaned and oil things up, tried to re-assemble... That DID NOT GO WELL.  I ran into two problems, the tiny spring that goes down the middle of the Saw Shaft kept trying to poke out of the lower 'Pin' hole once it was under compression from trying to push down the 'blade holder', which is a tiny piece of metal shaped like a T, and needs to have the lower pin inserted through its matching hole, all while keeping that shaft spring under it and working the pin from the side of the shaft through the sleeve, the blade holder, and the other side of the sleeve once you've made it through the center of the Saw shaft and blade holder inside the shaft.
Needless to say, harsh words were uttered, tiny spring eventually became bent and ruined. The Blade holder only wanted to tip sideways once it was being compressed against that lower shaft/internal spring, since to add to misery , the Saw Shaft has a slit on it, that allows the Blade Holder to pivot sideways when you're working it against spring pressure.
I admitted defeat for the moment. Ordered a few parts from Ereplacement Parts.
And figured out a simple tool/jig that I'll make from sheet metal to act as a guide for that tipping T-shaped Blade holder, so it won't pop out of the slit in the Saw Shaft as it's being coaxed against spring pressure, all the while trying to  insert the lower pin through the whole assembly from the side... Or I'll use one of the 'upper' sleeves as an outer guide to tame the Blade Holder..... Simple really....... [mad] [mad] [mad]
YouTube made it seem much easier..... [embarassed] [embarassed] [embarassed]

This seems like one of those parts of a machine that benefits from, if not requires, a factory jig to reassemble.  This is one of many different ways that companies have used to try to limit repairs outside of their own factory-authorized business models, whether intentional or just short-sighted.

 

[leakyroof]

Tool Update- I finally took the Makita apart at the Blade Holder- YouTube didn't lie, it's a collection of sleeves, more sleeves, springs, pins, more pins. It's a wonder it works as well as it usually does.... [smile]
I didn't have gunk or rust build up at all. Not sure why it started jamming.
So, I cleaned and oil things up, tried to re-assemble... That DID NOT GO WELL.  I ran into two problems, the tiny spring that goes down the middle of the Saw Shaft kept trying to poke out of the lower 'Pin' hole once it was under compression from trying to push down the 'blade holder', which is a tiny piece of metal shaped like a T, and needs to have the lower pin inserted through its matching hole, all while keeping that shaft spring under it and working the pin from the side of the shaft through the sleeve, the blade holder, and the other side of the sleeve once you've made it through the center of the Saw shaft and blade holder inside the shaft.
Needless to say, harsh words were uttered, tiny spring eventually became bent and ruined. The Blade holder only wanted to tip sideways once it was being compressed against that lower shaft/internal spring, since to add to misery , the Saw Shaft has a slit on it, that allows the Blade Holder to pivot sideways when you're working it against spring pressure.
I admitted defeat for the moment. Ordered a few parts from Ereplacement Parts.
And figured out a simple tool/jig that I'll make from sheet metal to act as a guide for that tipping T-shaped Blade holder, so it won't pop out of the slit in the Saw Shaft as it's being coaxed against spring pressure, all the while trying to  insert the lower pin through the whole assembly from the side... Or I'll use one of the 'upper' sleeves as an outer guide to tame the Blade Holder..... Simple really....... [mad] [mad] [mad]
YouTube made it seem much easier..... [embarassed] [embarassed] [embarassed]

This seems like one of those parts of a machine that benefits from, if not requires, a factory jig to reassemble.  This is one of many different ways that companies have used to try to limit repairs outside of their own factory-authorized business models, whether intentional or just short-sighted.

If you watch the YouTube videos on this repair, or basically, how to reassemble your Makita Saw, it doesn't look that hard, and is only being done by simple hand tools... [embarassed]
I think in my case it's beginners inexperience that's making it so hard.  We will see once the new parts show up and I make adjustments to my technique... [scratch chin] [scratch chin]