Makitas new 18V trim router

[Steven Owen]

Steven and Jozsef: true!

I might be in the minority but I like the OFK500 router bits. I would continue using them if they were to release an 18V OFK but I am not holding my breath. The German Rep said that the new battery shape and transformer opened up a lot of new possibilities for them and he was genuinely interested in our thoughts on the matter. When pushing for a battery OFK it was clear they were not exactly working on one...  ...but after some discussion it was clear to us both that they have a slightly different approach to dust collection and other regulations in Germany. 

After giving him a few examples of use - and mentioning the Makita a few times too many  [wink] he did catch on to the idea. I made sure to push for a Vecturo. And a Nail Gun. And a lot of other things.  [big grin]

However the only confirmation I could squeeze out of him was that an 18V impact is as good as ready and will most likely hit the market next year. That and a new smooth and flexible vac hose that will pretty much eliminate rail drag.

Makita won’t be their stiffest competition in the impact and drill category.  Bosch with their 18 V wireless charging platform and Milwaukee with their powerful line-up of impact drivers.

The like the power of the Milwaukee brushless motor but I dislike the noisy chuck that makes a lot of gear rattling noises.  Milwaukee needs a chuck redesign. 

It would be nice to see Makita come-up with a wireless charging platform like Bosch. 

 

[glass1]

Are you kidding me.  Milwaukee makes better impact and drill than makita? No. The Milwaukee’s are heavy wobbly chuck crap. The top of the line makitas, impact and drill are debomb. In all seriousness Makita is in a different quality league than Milwaukee. Have you actually used these tools ?

 

[Steven Owen]

Are you kidding me.  Milwaukee makes better impact and drill than makita? No. The Milwaukee’s are heavy wobbly chuck crap. The top of the line makitas, impact and drill are debomb. In all seriousness Makita is in a different quality league than Milwaukee. Have you actually used these tools ?

I was taking about Festool’s line-up of cordless drills; not Makita’s. 

Most reviews go back and forth between the Makita and Milwaukee.  The Milwaukee rates better for pure toque the Makita drill rates better for tasks that require more agility and precision.

If I was doing pocket holes and deck screws, I’d pick the Makita.  If I was looking for a hammer drill to run lags and carriage bolts through a 4x4 or 6x6 post, drilling into a paver block, the 700 lbs of torque on the Milwaukee will deliver.  There’s only 400 lbs of torque on the Makita.  The lighter Makita drill and chuck design make it a better all around drill than Milwaukee for tasks that don’t require tons of torque.

 

[pingvinlakrits]

I am not familiar with Milwaukee impact drills but Makita sure is a strong contender in that field.

Metabo has that universally appraised high torque 18V machine  - I have the older one rated at _half_ that torque.  I get by fine with it though it lacks any kind of refinement.

If I could pick any impact I would get the Hitachi triple hammer impact. Fits my hand superbly and has the "right dimensions".
Bosch has one with similar ergonomics but it seems to lack in grunt. I haven't kept track on Bosch impacts lately though.

In all fairness there isn't shortage of decent to great impact drills on the market. We just "need" one more...

 

[Michael Kellough]

I am not familiar with Milwaukee impact drills but Makita sure is a strong contender in that field.

Metabo has that universally appraised high torque 18V machine  - I have the older one rated at _half_ that torque.  I get by fine with it though it lacks any kind of refinement.

If I could pick any impact I would get the Hitachi triple hammer impact. Fits my hand superbly and has the "right dimensions".
Bosch has one with similar ergonomics but it seems to lack in grunt. I haven't kept track on Bosch impacts lately though.

In all fairness there isn't shortage of decent to great impact drills on the market. We just "need" one more...

That's the way I felt about my first 1/4" hex impact driver, also Hitachi, bought in the mid '80s a couple of years before anyone else offered a similar tool in the US. That was a sleek and comfortable tool in the 9.6 volt NiCad range where the benefit of impact drive really made a difference compared to ordinary drill/drivers. (Also way before that refuge from Nike started designing the skins for Hitachi  [tongue])

 

[pingvinlakrits]

Since we are heading off course in this thread anyway (let's share the blame) I heard today that since Hitachi Powertools are sold to that investment firm they can no longer use the HITACHI brand name (!) and they will rename the company HiKOKI...

All the molds for the tools need to be redone, they will have to redesign the logo etc etc. HiKOKI stems from the Hitachi Koki name.

Thought it was a joke at first but the info comes from an ex product manager at Hitachi and he showed me the press release / statement.

C'mon; Hitachi is a brand name with a strong brand recognition - but HiKOKI?  I don't know...  :
http://torque-expo.com/hitachi-koki-to-change-brand-name-to-hikoki-in-2018

 

[Steven Owen]

I have the 2015 model of the Milwaukee Brushless.  I’ll probably end-up getting a Makita for my wood working jobs.  The biggest knock against the Milwaukee is the added weight. 

It’s a bit of a pain if you have 100 dowel holes to drill when your drill is about the weight of an Rotex 150 sander.

 

[Job and Knock]

I wish they would have used a true 36 Volt platform like Dewalt so you wouldn’t have to stick 2 batteries in the saw.  Overtime the two batteries could wear out at different rates impacting performance.

Contrary to what you think I'd say Makita made the right decision. The average Makita cordless user is a site-based trade guy who doesn't have the space to carry yet another charger and buy two more non-compatible batteries which can only be used on a single tool to finish maybe the last cut of the day (I carry DW, Makita dual and phone charfers which is quite enough, thanks). I often can't afford to wait while a 36 volt battery charges up - but I already have 12 no. 18 volt batteries in different capacities (mainly 5Ah) to power my ten plus Makita 18 volt tools. Having a saw where I can pull a live 18 volt battery off another tool to get the job finished is just plain common sense to me. A lot of other tradesmen will see it the same way, I'm certain.

From what I have heard the "trouble" with brushless motors used to be that they would not stand up to abuse / knocks very well.
I don't know how they have evolved to find their way in to handtools that are abused on a daily basis.

They must have evolved. I still use a Makita BTD145 brushless impact most days - it's more than six years old, almost all of it site work, and has been dropped off scaffolding towers, stagings, benches, etc on a few occasions. I'm on my third body casing and my second switch and control plate (the thing on the front which selects the speed - it was the first 3-speed model), but that's just down to the sheer amount of abuse this tool has taken. When it dies it will be replaced by a DTD170, although that may take a while. Similarly my current cordless SDS drill is a brushless 18 volt Makita (DHP242) which has drilled hundreds of 16mm (5/8in) holes in heavy concrete, engineering brick and stonework over the last three years to take resin-anchored threaded bar. That, too, is still going strong and hasn't missed a beat

This morning I finally bit the bullet and ordered the cordless trimmer. It will be used mainly out on site for recessing door ironmongery (hinges, flush bolts, electric closers, keeps, etc) so it won't be having a particularly hard life. It replaces the RT0700C I currently use for the job - and I have to agree that the cord as supplied by the factory is a joke. I cut mine off and replaced it with a far longer one in the second or third week on site. It was that bad

 

[pingvinlakrits]

My Colleague has three RT0700 routers, all fitted with a plug-it cord. They are fitted with the three most used trimming bits and always ready to go at preset depth.

Did some edge trimming on site today with the Makita 18V trimming the end of a laminate floor that had one end sticking out in a doorway, an obstacle for the threshold/endpiece. A straight piece of board and a flush trim bit and it was done in twenty seconds. Floor was 16mm solid wood flooring and the Makita sailed through the cut. Normally I would not have bothered bringing a router out for such a small task but this time it was literally perfect and the router, battery and bit took up very little space.

Well on site it turned out I needed to re-chamfer some oak trim pieces that I had to plane down to size.

 

[Michael Kowalenko]

(I see that this post has been silent for a couple of years)  This week I purchased the Makita LXT trim router. Today I looked at using it and the Makita dust collection attachment with my Festool CT. They do not fit together. How are the rest of you connecting the two?

 

[CarlsonCarpentry]

(I see that this post has been silent for a couple of years)  This week I purchased the Makita LXT trim router. Today I looked at using it and the Makita dust collection attachment with my Festool CT. They do not fit together. How are the rest of you connecting the two?

Finally got around to getting this piece a couple months ago. It fits the two perfectly together and captures tons of the router dust! Bosch Vac003
https://www.amazon.com/Bosch-VAC003-35mm-hose-Adapter/dp/B0000AV77S/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?keywords=bosch+vac004&qid=1573088750&sr=8-2

 

[Laminator]

I made a slight bevel on the inside if the makita dust shroud and the 27mm festool connector will press inside and is very secure.

 

[Michael Kowalenko]

(I see that this post has been silent for a couple of years)  This week I purchased the Makita LXT trim router. Today I looked at using it and the Makita dust collection attachment with my Festool CT. They do not fit together. How are the rest of you connecting the two?

Finally got around to getting this piece a couple months ago. It fits the two perfectly together and captures tons of the router dust! Bosch Vac003
https://www.amazon.com/Bosch-VAC003-35mm-hose-Adapter/dp/B0000AV77S/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?keywords=bosch+vac004&qid=1573088750&sr=8-2

Thanks. I have now ordered the item from Amazon Canada and should have it tomorrow. I look forward to having the shavings and dust collected by the CT.

 

[derekcohen]

I thought that I might add something to this thread. First off, I do not have the Makita 18v trim router. I do have the powered version, plus a Chinese copy (on the UK forum it is referred to as a Katsu brand).

Why do I not have the cordless version? Well, it would be a no-brainer if I worked principally from a work site. Instead, I work exclusively in a workshop building furniture. Also, while I have a very full collection of power tools, I prefer to use hand tools, and the use of a small trim router is dedicated to removing waste when making hand sawn half-blind dovetails. This is demonstrated here, along with the fixture made to facilitate its use ...
http://www.inthewoodshop.com/Furniture/PowerRemovingWaste.html

Would a cordless not do a better job?  Well, probably .. yes. It would be good to get the cord out if the way, but the set up would still have one cord for dust control. Hanging both cords from a ceiling hook gets them out of the way. What I do miss in the corded version is the light in the cordless version. The visibility in the corded version is okay, but would be several times better with a light, and this is needed when freehanding to the sockets.

On balance, the corded version remains a viable tool for those in a workshop, while the cordless would be ideal for those on a job site.

These is some ongoing interest in the Chinese cheapie version. In short, the router is amazing, and within spitting distance of the Makita. Where the cheapie is likely to falter is in the collet, which is not as well machined as the Makita original. I recently ran a few tests on collets and their run out. The short story is that the cheapie can be upgraded with the Makita collet, and that the Makita collet is as good as a custom collet for a CNC machine. Article here:
https://www.woodworkforums.com/f13/chinese-710w-trimmer-router-review-225828/3#post2163051

Regards from Perth

Derek