Last week Makita officially announced 3 new additions to their 12V Max CXT cordless power tool lineup: a jigsaw, a 3-3/8″ glass and tile saw, and an LED flashlight.
All of these tools use Makita’s 12V CXT batteries, which are more compact and higher capacity sliding packs, compared to their previous generation of 12V Max plug-in style batteries..
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Stuart covered the launch of the Makita CXT lineup back in September.
Jigsaw
Makita’s new 12V max CXT jigsaw weighs just 3.8 lbs with a 2.0Ah battery, and is 9-1/8″ long, making it pretty compact and light for a jigsaw. With the variable speed motor you can cut at anywhere from 0 to 2,900 strokes per minute, either cutting straight up and down or using one of 3 different orbital settings. And if your finger gets tired you can also lock the trigger on for continuous operation.
Even though the jigsaw is small in stature, it can still can cut up to 2-9/16″ thick wood, 5/32″ thick aluminum, or 1/16″ thick mild steel when the base is set to 90°.
The jigsaw has an electric brake that stops the saw when you take your finger off the trigger. A built-in battery protection circuit also protects the saw and battery against overloading, over-discharging, and over-heating.
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The jigsaw accepts tang shank blades, but the blade holder is not tool free; you need the on board wrench to change blades. The base is made from die-cast aluminum and tilts from 90° to 45° both to the right and left.
The saw has a built-in blower that clears the sawdust in front of the saw so you can see where you are cutting, or you can connect the jigsaw to a dust collector via the dust port on the back. A clear slide-down dust shield in the front presumably helps capture more dust.
You can either buy the bare jigsaw for about $97-100, or the kit, which includes the saw, (2) 12V Max CXT 2.0Ah batteries, a 12V Max CXT Charger, 1 blade, and a tool case to carry everything, for $150.
Buy Now (Bare Tool via Amazon, VJ04Z)
Buy Now (Kit via Amazon, VJ04R1)
Tile/Glass Saw
Makita’s new 12V Max CXT tile and glass saw, similar to their previous version, spins a 3-3/8″ diamond blade at 1600 RPM for a cutting depth of up to 1″ at 90° and 5/8″ at 45°. When you need to make wet cuts, it features a 16.9 oz water supply tank with a large easy to access fill cap.
The saw weighs 4.2 lbs when paired with a 2.0Ah battery, and is 12-3/8″ long. The nickel-plated base tilts from 0 to 45° to make beveled cuts.
The saw ships as either a bare tool for $150-160, or as part of a kit which includes a 3-3/8″ diamond blade (tile/glass), (2) 12V Max CXT 2.0Ah batteries, a charger, and a tool case, for $200-210.
Buy Now (Bare Tool via Amazon, CC02Z)
Buy Now (Kit via Amazon, CC02R1)
LED Light
This compact LED flashlight is 3-7/16″ long and weighs only 0.6 lbs when powered by a 2.0Ah Makita CXT battery. It provides 100 lumens for up to 28 hours with the 4.0Ah CXT battery.
The light is sold as a bare tool and will run you about $25. It comes with a 3-year limited warranty.
Buy Now (via Amazon, ML103)
First Thoughts
All of the tools look decent, but I’m left wondering why Makita choose not to use a tool-less blade change mechanism on the jigsaw. Sure, the Allen wrench stores on board the tool, but when you lose it, it’s going to become a chore trying to find the proper sized wrench every time you want to change the blade.
Maybe Makita has a good reason, such as creating a more secure connection between the blade and the tool. Or maybe it’s a space or cost consideration.
I’m not too familiar with handheld tile and glass saws, but the Makita saw looks to be a convenient tool for small cuts where you don’t want to run outside to use your bigger wet saw.
Finally, I like the compact form factor of the flashlight, but with it lasting 28 hours on a 4.0Ah battery I’d like to see a higher power mode. Throwing in a built-in USB charging connector wouldn’t hurt either.
Thank you also to Andrew for his ToolGuyd Forum post about these tools!
BonPacific
That tooled jigsaw blade change is bad. Every other tool on the market seems to have tool-less blade changes. Both Makita’s 18v and corded model are tool-less, and Milwaukee’s 12v is tool-less
Seems like all they have done is switch the battery-contacts for the cxt. Other than that it appears identical to the older 10.8v tool.
glenn
The jigsaw has been available here in Australia for a while now and yes it appears the only changes are the battery connection.
I agree that the tooled blade change is a bit sub par but its better than having no dust blower or pendulum action like the M12 that I own. The M12 cuts well enough without having the pendulum function but not having a blower is a pain.
https://sydneytools.com.au/cordless-tools/shopby/makita/skin/jigsaws/10_8v-12v/
mnoswad
12v jig saws………actually all jigs saws should be barrel grip only.
Nathan
I’ll disagree. there are cases where the d handle helps – particularly with larger thickness/harder materials.
I would often like to see one do both – IE detachable D handle and barrel grip section but again it would be one of those “if you could design the ideal . . . . “
mosh
How does the light compare to Dewalt’s 12v light which is great .
https://toolguyd.com/dewalts-new-12v-max-lithium-ion-led-work-light/
https://www.amazon.com/DEWALT-DCL510-12-Volt-Max-Worklight/dp/B0043XX8AO
Mike
I like the idea of this light. Small, stupidly simple, and inexpensive enough to own more than one. Would be great for lighting up the interior of enclosures and machinery from in front of you instead of having a light to the side or behind you. Not everything needs to be 500+ lumens.
mizzourob
I would need to see a stronger commitment to the line before I would buy into this as Milwaukee has such a solid lineup of 12 volt tools. Essential to add would be a usb power adapter, ability to work with the heated jacket, a radio, blower/vac, and at least one or two more specialized tools (e.g. wall scanner, inflator, lock de-icer, oscillating multi tool, etc).
julian
One thing about Makita cordless jigsaws, the two 18volt versions I’ve had were made in the UK and very solidly built. Not sure if this one is as well, but if so it’s probably a fair amount better long term quality than the Milw M12 version.
Stuart, obviously the blade clamp is a cost cutting feature – why would you think it had something to do with a better clamping system? Tool-less blade changes have matured at this point. Though I will give you that it may also have been a size-related design decision; but most other manu. have figured out how to do tool-less in a small jigsaw so that doesn’t really fly.
JT
Benjamen
The more secure blade holding thought was mine, Stuart added the space and cost consideration.
Maybe secure wasn’t the best word, maybe I should have said foolproof. My only reasoning is that maybe they though the tool-less blade changing chuck is another point of failure, whether it’s mechanism, or junk getting into it. The blade clamp is the simplest possible configuration and will always grip the blade securely. It’s hard to beat cranking down on the plates that hold the blade with an hex key for simplicity.
At the time I wrote this I wasn’t sure that it could be cost or space…there seems to enough space for a Bosch 12V Jigsaw type blade holder (or another type) and I had a hard time believing that Makita would cut costs on one of the most important parts of the saw.
Nathan
one weight and balance of the tool
two – that extra reciprocating weight that the motor has to move reduced overall cutting power. or specifically increased battery drain – so increase the run time by leaving it out.
Honestly I don’t trade jig saw blades much in a project – but when I do it’s often only once. tool free isn’t a major deal for me.
Benjamen
That’s a really good point about the amount of weight the motor has to move. With reciprocating motion the “chuck” will be under acceleration the whole time.
BikerDad
Motors? Brushed or brushless?
Benjamen
They don’t say, so I’d assume that means brushed.
If you look at the parts breakdown for the jigsaw they show a two terminal can type motor:
http://makitatools.com/en-us/Assets/Output/ProductFileHandler.ashx?Filename=VJ04R1_PB.pdf&Url=http://cdn.makita.com/apps/cms/doc/prod/VJ0/ca26ca78-2d98-4ae3-8a61-e246920b6a89_VJ04_PB_Breakdown_VJ04R1,VJ04Z_6-16.pdf
same for the tile saw:
http://makitatools.com/en-us/Assets/Output/ProductFileHandler.ashx?Filename=CC02R1_PB.pdf&Url=http://cdn.makita.com/apps/cms/doc/prod/CC0/71a554fc-0d04-46c0-9de8-6f403fbdb7db_CC02_PB_Breakdown_CC02R1,CC02Z_6-16%5D.pdf