Makita 10" Sliding Compound Miter Saw | |
 | Makita LS1019L Review Highlights
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| For the Professional Contractor | 5 out of 5 |
| For the Do-It-Yourselfer & Weekend Warrior | 4 out of 5 |
| For the Hobbyist and Beginner Woodworker | 4 out of 5 |
| For the Serious Woodworker | 5 out of 5 |
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The Makita LS1019L 10″ Sliding Compound Miter Saw Review Summary
The Makita LS1019L is a highly innovative 10″ sliding compound miter saw that rivals 12″ saws when it comes to cutting capacity. Usually, if you’re doing 5″ and 6″ molding, a 12″ saw is what you would use. With this miter saw though, you can actually get similar cutting capacity without requiring the larger tool (and their more expensive 12″ blades).
It also sports a unique rail system for the sliding action, which allows for a smaller footprint, comparable to the ‘Gliding’ technology in the Bosch 10″ sliding compound miter (see link below).
This style that Makita has pioneered places the rails beside the saw, instead of extending out behind it. That means you can use it in more confined spaces and smaller wood shops.
This Makita 10″ miter saw comes standard with a laser sight for lining up your cuts quickly and accurately, tall removable fence system, dust collection ports that fit standard to any dust extraction system or shop vac, and includes a nice 60 tooth 10″ cross-cutting blade.
The saw uses a direct drive motor system and the motor is positioned at an angle to avoid being in the way of larger and more awkward cuts, plus it has a soft start system.
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Makita LS1019L Review – Why Go With This Sliding Miter Saw?
Smaller footprint due to unique rail system
The rail system on most compound sliding miter saws extends out the back of the saw. This means they typically will require additional space as the footprint is larger since the front-to-back dimension is greater.
For some shops and construction sites, this is no big deal. But many wood shops are very limited in space. Or maybe the best spot on a construction site to set the miter saw is on an unfinished cabinet that really isn’t deep enough for the larger foot-print sliding miter saws.
So in comes the Makita LS1019L sliding miter saw. The first thing you notice is the 2 rails lined up on the side of the blade. It’s different, a little strange looking, but also a really cool and practical design.
The motor and blade slide back and forth on the rails, and there are zero parts being extended off the back. This means you can push this saw right up against a wall and you can still slide it full-length front to back.
Comes standard with dust collection attachment and hose
Comes with a large port at the base of the saw arm that can be used with your dust collection system. This is shaped, and positioned, to catch the maximum amount of dust coming off the back of the blade throughout the entire cut, which is a great feature and an impressive design.
It also comes with a connector piece and a flexible hose. This can be attached to the dust collection assembly, and the other side of the hose runs to the blade shroud, creating additional dust collection right at the cutting action of the saw.
For miter saws, dust typically flies in all directions and is hard to take control of. This built-in dust collection is a huge improvement over many competitors, and is a big selling point for this Makita 10″.
But don’t get your hopes up!
Dust collection in general, with miters saws, really sucks, and not literally. You usually lucky to get 75% of the dust into a collection system. The only good way for real dust collection with a miter saw is to build a shroud around and/or behind the saw that gets attached to a central dust evacuation system.
Massive cutting capacity, comparable to a 12″ miter saw
If you do any large base and crown molding, this miter saw is perfect for you. It’s got a tall fence system and an impressive cutting depth capacity. To achieve this increased cutting capacity, Makita designed the overall system of components they call the DXT(TM) – Deep and Exact Cutting Technology.
This saw can support a nested crown molding cut up to 6-5/8″ wide. This means you can rest the molding against the fence at an angle and make the perfect cut, even with large crown molding.
For baseboard, you can place the wood vertically right up against this 4-3/4″ tall fence, and cut baseboard as tall as 5-1/4″. This is a really good cutting capacity, so if trim molding is your main purpose for a miter saw, this is absolutely a good choice.
Overall a very convenient and user-friendly working area
From the large aluminum surface area to work on, to the large easy-to-read dual bevel scale, this miter saw is fantastic to work with. It comes with positive miter stops at 0, 15, 22.5, 31.6, 45, and 60 degrees, both left and right.
It also has a soft start system that makes for an easy, non-jarring startup of the blade which eliminates board-shift, and extends the life of the motor and gears. The blade changeout procedure is super-easy and quick.
The blade guard is see-through which helps line up the cut faster. It’s got a large, over-sized trigger switch for added comfort and less hand-fatigue on large jobs.
The bevel lock is located at the front of the saw, which means you will spend less time setting up bevel cuts and compound cuts, as you no longer need to reach to the back of the saw to unlock for adjustments.
There’s also a simple slide lock which is quick and easy to locate and use, eliminating unnecessary sliding of the blade on standard and smaller cuts.
Slide Out Supporting Rails Feature
The slide-out rails are a bit different than most manufacturers (but similar to Ryobi’s). The Makita rails are heavy gauge, single steel rods bent into a supportive structural shape, as you can see here. They work great for support longer boards when cutting dimensional lumber.
These support rails, however, aren’t really made for hobbyists and woodworkers. They are practical for construction and renovation projects, but woodworkers would benefit more from the type of adjustable support with flip-up board stops built in, like on the Craftsman 21237, which I review here.
But even still, many miter saws available today lack the extension board support feature altogether. So, in that sense, it’s a nice bonus. Especially having it come standard with 2. Some models that offer this feature only give you 1 support, which you would then switch to the other side depending on where you need the support
Opinions Based On Real User Experiences
Positive Reviews
- 5-star approval from real contractors using the saw for trim jobs
- If using a dust extractor along with the built-in dust collection system with this saw, 80% of the dust is captured and removed
- This is a preferred saw for contractors when compared to other leading brands at similar price points
- This saw is a heavy and solid saw with a small footprint and lots of power
- Allows for exact and perfect cuts due to the adjustable stops and fence
Negative Reviews
- A couple users indicated that the rails are slightly off square, meaning the blade drags just a bit on long sliding cuts
Is This Makita 10″ Miter Saw Worthy?
This saw is great for contractors because of it’s impressive cutting capacities, great power, and small footprint due to the unique rail system Makita uses.
I also love this saw for woodworkers just because it’s got a fantastic dust collection system, and the small footprint is great for small woodshops, while still providing a large cutting capacity for wide boards.
Overall for the price range, I honestly think this is a really good saw. The dust collection and the massive cutting capacity for a 10″ saw are the big selling points for me personally. I do however think the rail system is very cool and I would absolutely recommend this sliding compound miter saw to anyone that does a lot of trim work.
For the average woodworker, I think this is a good choice, primarily for the dust collection. Woodworker shops need good dust extraction systems since they are typically in enclosed, and somewhat small areas.
I know some larger wood shops may not have this issue, but either way, dust collection is still important. And unless you’re willing to build a dust collection box around your miter saw, the dust system built-in to the Makita LS1019L is one of the best you can get.
DIYers and hobbyists can get some great benefits from this saw, however, the higher price tag may disagree with you. Either way, if you’re willing to spend a little more on your miter saw, this is a solid choice.
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