Brian,

Just curious - I've got the same Makita 10" saw. I'm just curious what kind of finish you get on your cuts, mine leaves a pretty ragged cut, esp. with the stock blade that came with it. I cut the strips for a canoe and a kayak with a 7 1/4" Matsushita blade that left a little better finish but still pretty rough. Didn't really matter since the strips were getting sanded and planed smooth once they were on the boat. There's a lot of side-to-side slop in the blade arbor i.e. with the power off when I wiggle the blade I get probably nearly 1/16" of play.

I'm wondering if this is normal for these saws or did I get a bum one? I didn't expect cabinet saw quality work of course but I can't believe anyone could do finish carpentry with this saw - you'd have to take 6 or 8 passes with a block plane on every piece just to get the saw marks off. I can't figure any way to tighten it up either.

On the plus side it does have tons of power, I can tear through 5/4 white oak or green treated lumber no problem.

Steve

: For ripping strips I bought a Makita 10" portable table saw (price
: around $329). It's easy to carry around and set up in the driveway or back
: yard. We sell a lot of them to finish carpenters who don't want to carry
: 300 pound saws around. Makita has a great new 2-1/4 hp router that we sell
: for $189 or in a kit with case, fence, and plunge base for $300. Porter
: Cable has made a few improvements recently to the 690 (1.5 hp)and raising
: the price to $169.

: Brian Wegener
: Crown Tool & Supply
: Tualatin Oregon
: (503)885-0200
: (888)72-CROWN