A new line of Makita 40V Max XGT cordless power tools are launching this month in the USA, following the lineup’s international launch a couple of months ago. A reader (thank you Trevor!) sent us a tip that Makita has already started to expand their XGT product selection with a new cordless brad nailer design.
Learn More: Makita 40V Max XGT Cordless Power Tools USA Launch Details
Note: The new Makita 40V Max XGT brad nailer has only been announced overseas and has NOT yet been announced in the USA. Since the 40V Max platform is just launching here, the brad nailer won’t be immediately available, although I do expect a tool like this to be on the USA roadmap.
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Makita’s XGT cordless brad nailer can work with nails 15 to 40mm in length (~5/8″ to ~1-1/2″). What’s interesting is that the maximum nail size falls short of the specs for Makita’s 18V cordless brad nailer, which is said to be able to drive nails up to 2″ long.
However, the new XGT brad nailer appears to be much more compact than the 18V nailer. In fact, it more closely resembles the size and ergonomics of Makita’s 18V cordless pin nailer than their brad nailer.
Makita’s 18V brad nailer was announced internationally in August of 2014, and so the XGT model benefits from nearly 7 years of cordless tech advancements. The new XGT nailer also (of course) features a brushless motor.
The XGT brad nailer is said to be ultra-compact and lightweight, weighing 2.6 kg (~5.73 lbs).
Makita says that a counterweight mechanism offsets the rebound force for a high quality finish. This should help to prevent the nailer from bouncing off the worksurface and then impacting it again, after firing a nail and before the user can release pressure.
It also features adjustable driving depth, a 100 nail magazine with capacity monitoring window.
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Key Features & Specifications
- 18 gauge brad nailer
- 5 nail sizes, 15 – 40mm nail range (~5/8″ – 1-1/2″)
- Weighs 2.6 kb (5.73 lbs) with 2.5Ah battery
- Counterweight mechanism to reduce rebound force
- Spring drive motor
- Drives over 5,000 nails with 2.5Ah battery
- Depth drive adjustment
- 100 nail magazine capacity
- Anti-dry fire mechanism
- LED worklight
The runtime seems especially impressive.
Makita’s 18V nailer (XNB01) is said to be able to drive up to 1,660 nails per 5.0Ah battery charge. Their 40V Max XGT 2.5Ah battery has the same energy capacity (watt-hours), and can drive over 5,000 nails. This is a huge difference!
The 18V version also weighs 7.7 lbs with battery, and so with the 40V Max version Makita managed to shave off 25.6% of the weight. Or, looking at things from the other direction, the existing 18V brad nailer is 34.4% heavier than the new XGT nailer.
To sum things up, the Makita 40V Max XGT series cordless brad nailer is more compact than the 18V version, it’s appreciably lighter, and it boasts improved runtimes.
The 18V nailer’s runtime is for attaching plywood to Douglas fir with 5/8″ to 2″ nail. There are no details for how the 40V Max nailer’s runtime claims are determined, but given the brushless motor a runtime efficiency boost is expected.
There is a tradeoff as the 40V Max XGT brad nailer can only drive brad nails up to 40mm in length (~1-1/2″).
40mm could possibly translate to a maximum driving depth of 1-5/8″ rather than 1-1/2″, but it’s still not the 50mm/2″ capacity of the 18V nailer. However, the size, weight, and runtime benefits more than make up for that for users that don’t quite need to be able to sink 2″ brad nails.
Bare Tool: FN001GZ
Kit: FN001GM102
The kit comes with 1x 2.5Ah battery, rapid charger with LXT adapter, and Makpac 3 tool case.
It’s interesting that the kit comes with the XGT to LXT charging adapter, although it’s probably baked into the price. This way, if an 18V LXT user buys the kit, they’re ready to go without having to hunt down the accessory as an add-on.
There’s no word as to the price.
One last time, this new Makita XGT brad nailer was NOT announced in the USA, it has only yet been announced overseas. Still, it presents a clue as to the direction the XGT is heading, at least with respect to handheld cordless power tools.
See More: Makita 40V Max XGT Cordless Power Tool News
Here’s an intro video by Makita Japan:
Jared
Interesting. Good sign that non-core tools are already coming out too.
The reduced nail size isn’t really a drawback so long as you don’t need the extra depth and probably helps with the compact size. Interesting choice though – makes it less of a do-it-all nailer and probably a better tool for specific tasks.
Kind of curious choice though. I regularly use my Porter Cable 16ga to drive 2″ nails – so it’s not like the extra capacity isn’t useful. My nailer is HUGE in comparison – so this has obvious benefits. Just weird for it to come out when there isn’t a larger nailer already.
Stuart
But also remember – this is an 18 gauge brad nailer.
If I need a 2″ nail, I generally reach for a 15 or 16 gauge finish nailer. It seems Makita did their research and found that many (most?) users don’t really need the full 2″ capacity of their 18V nailer. This tool would likely be larger and heavier if designed to drive 2″ nails.
Leo B.
I suppose so, but when you’re shooting crown on cabinets, generally 2” ends up being pretty close to what you need. 1/2” of crown or so, plus 1/2-3/4” cabinet carcass, into a 1/2-3/4” backer for the top that extends to the bottom as well. Since the crown lays out, because of the spring angle, there’s some air distance too, which the nails cover as well. Some may prefer to shoot 16 gauge though, which is okay.
Kent_Skinner
I just shot thousands of 2″ 18g brads, installing 2,000 sq ft of 1×6 t&g pine ceiling. My 16g gun was blowing the tongue off the board, so I used 2 18s at each intersection with a truss. 1 1/2″ brad wouldn’t penetrate very far when shot at a 45* angle.
I wouldn’t have purchased it with a lower capacity.
RI Guy
Yep. Silly to make this without full 2” capacity. I imagine they will in the future.
Rafe
Trim guys typically use 15 and 16 for 2 1/2″ nails, 18 for 2″ and 23 for 1 3/8 and under. I haven’t seen an 18 on site that doesn’t shoot 2″ in a decade. The Milwuakee 18 is larger than pneumatic but itsn’t a substantial drawback insofar as normal use is concerned. Not sure why they’d spec a larger battery to sink a smaller nail.
Rob
Makita doesn’t have a reliable compressed gas mechanism ala Hitachi and new Milwaukee. They have a 2” 18ga, it’s not good. This 1.5” 18ga uses the same mechanism as most of the cordless 23ga and T50 staplers. It’s neitherHitachi/Senco/Milwaukee/Ryobi style nor flywheel aka SBD. It actually uses the battery’s power to drive the nail (the other designs do not). If they’re using 18v batts to drive 23ga, it’s possible they really do need all of that XGT magic to drive multiple 18ga nails. I’m presuming there is no 2” version because they can’t accomplish that with the mechanism. 2” 18ga became a defacto here, but I’ve taken notice that European manufacturers like Omer tend to move more 35mm units than 50mm+. So maybe it’s just a regional preference thing.
Rob
I’m going to presume that pretty much all modern trim jobs in the USA involve primarily 2” 18ga. Mouldings keep getting beefier while thicker materials keep showing up attached to the framing. 16/15 gauge is a big hole. As soon as the 2” 18ga came about, that’s what the customer and painter began to expect.
Doug N
I wonder if something was lost in translation from the overseas listing you mentioned. Because this sure looks like a 23 gauge pin nailer, not an 18 gauge brad nailer. Based on appearance and specs.
Stuart
And that’s why it’s so exciting!
They call it an 18 gauge brad nailer, with this spec repeated several times. The specs are in English (Makita New Zealand).
The current 18V pin nailer XPT02 weighs 4.9 lbs: https://toolguyd.com/makita-18v-cordless-pin-nailer-xtp02z/
rob
It’s an 18 gauge using the same mechanism as their own cordless 23 ga and the Hitachi 23 ga. So, instead of a flywheel or a tank, it’s straight boom boom.
Derek
I can’t imagine when you would need to shoot 5,000 nails on a regular basis on 1 battery. If you can stop to reload the gun 50 times I imagine switching a battery out a few times wouldn’t be a big deal.
That many nails I’d probably rather use a pneumatic nail gun at half the weight, even dealing with the compressor/hose.
Stuart
Maybe not, but a lot of users might swap that one battery between different tools, such as from a saw to an impact to this nailer.
Switching out a battery isn’t a hassle with any brand, but longer runtime can reduce the number of batteries and chargers users must invest in. It also takes more effort to nail into hardwoods than softwood.
Derek
Not having multiple battery platforms is the real benefit.
Have you seen the battery adapters for different platforms? I have a Dewalt to Ryobi adapter that I use with my Ryobi 18ga brad nailer. For the frequency I use the adapter it works fine.
Doc John
But the added wt of a heavier battery “outweighs “( ha pun intended) of extended use. So every 1000 nails you exchange a 2 amp battery. The save on muscle fatigue wins
Mike
Realistically, it’s really not about how many nails the gun will shoot but more about the need to charge the battery. All Li-Ion batteries have a certain number of charge cycles (from fully charged to flatlined) and, more often than not, they get charged before they die and only to a point of being just over 80% charged. So, almost every time we put our battery on to charge we are wasting between 15-20% of a charge and using one of our battery’s finite number of charge cycles. Do that 5 times and….. well the math really won’t lie.
So, being able to complete a job in one charge cycle might not seem like such a big deal but, in reality, it can be a game changer. That’s one of the main reasons to buy a “bigger” battery that has a longer run time and tools designed to utilize that battery economically.
In the long run, most of the batteries out there have somewhere between, say, 300-500 cycles. So, I always leave my battery on for anywhere from 15-30 minutes past when the little green light comes on. Every tool rep I have met in the 9 years I have sold tools says the same thing: “That’s exactly what I do.”
Stuart
I could be wrong, but I read a couple times recently that for modern battery tech, such as in an Apple Macbook laptop, a partial charge is not the same as a full charge.
That is, if you’re at say 50% charge capacity and recharge it to 70%, that doesn’t count as a charge cycle.
You really shouldn’t be charging batteries just to top them off, but this usually also happens at a slower rather than the bulk of a full charging cycle.
Frankly, if you have a battery at 75%, and you want to ensure it’s a max capacity for the next day, just charge it up to 100%. If you’re done with lunch or a break and your battery isn’t fully charged but you don’t want to wait and whatever the charge capacity is at will suit your needs, just pull it off the charger and use it.
I am one of the most obsessive and nitpicky people I know. Follow manufacturer’s battery guidelines, but besides that, just use your tools and batteries. Batteries are consumable and replaceable.
Regarding pulling batteries off a charger, some chargers will indicate 80% or higher charging rate, and a 100% charging rate. At 100%, leaving them on the charger won’t do anything.
Let’s say you’re eating dinner at a buffet. You fill up with large forkfuls of food. Then you’re mostly full, and enjoy your dessert with smaller forkfuls. When you’re full, you’re full. If you are full, you’re done eating, even if you go through the motions with an empty fork.
Leaving a battery on the charger can help it cool down after a fast recharge cycle, but I don’t believe brands recommend that.
Let’s say we’re talking about an 18V tool system. A 3Ah battery is priced at $60, a 4Ah battery at $80, and a 5Ah battery at $100.
That 5Ah battery might give you greater charge capacity in the same number of cycles as a lower capacity battery, but based on cost-per-amp-hour there’s not much economical advantage.
Additionally, lower capacity Li-ion battery cells are often more tolerant of current draw and heat than higher capacity batteries. Meaning, in heavy duty tool use a 5.0Ah battery might wear quicker due to higher heat than a 4.0Ah battery – in theory. This is why you don’t see a lot of 18650 form factor 6.0Ah batteries, because the best cells are not as high-performing as the cells found in 4.0Ah and 5.0Ah batteries.
In high demand tasks, 4.0Ah and 5.0Ah batteries might provide proportionate runtime specs, but a 6.0Ah battery might be a bit lower if it cannot cool enough and maintain the same temperatures, and it might even overheat and shut down entirely.
I could be wrong, but all of the brands I know that have 75% or 80% charging cycles have indicators to let you know you’re in the final charging stage.
It could be that some chargers stop short of full capacity and never go further. Sony has a setting on one of their video battery chargers that allows toggling between an everyday charge and a maximum capacity charge that takes longer and presumably adds additional wear to a battery.
Li-ion batteries don’t like to be at 100% for long periods of time, but power tools generally don’t have storage modes.
Ego’s 56V batteries do have a self-deplete storage mode, which kick in after a month, and I’m assuming this is because there are a lot of seasonal users who might put a recharged battery on the shelf and not use it again for 6+ months.
Lance
Topping the battery off and letting it sit a while on the charger is (I believe) the only time cell balancing takes place.
Agreed 100% that short cycling li-ion battery cells is the best thing for their longevity, but multi-cell packs do require periodic balancing.
Stuart
Why would you think that?
I have not (yet) seen that cell balancing takes place after a charger sends out a “charge complete” signal for a connected battery.
I don’t have a good argument against what you’re saying, but I also haven’t seen support in favor of it.
It’s possible balancing takes place as part of the final charge sequence, I’m not sure.
I typically assume that balancing is part of the BMS process that’s invisible to users and that no special waiting or top-off efforts are ever necessary.
John
Any price predictions based on overseas launch?
Stuart
Not that I have seen, and there is no basis for speculation.
Rami
Makita has had a compact 18v 18g brad nailer for several years in Europe, model number DFN350. It fires up to 35mm (1 1/2″) nails. This new 40v looks exactly the same, just a bigger battery.
Richard Fischer
That’s correct except for the 40V has a brushless motor. I have a DFN350 And I love it
Charlie
This is the second time I’ve heard very positive things about endurance for 40V. Too bad the packs will always be somewhat large as there doesn’t seem to be any good size-down alternatives to 18650 cells (if anything they are getting bigger).
dave jones
the 2.5ah battery uses 18650 cells so the size will be roughly the same as a full-height 18v LXT battery.
Julian Tracy
The Pontiac Aztec of cordless nail guns. Wtf is Makita doing, and I say that as a diehard LXT user that fills in the gaps with Dewalt 20v.
This new 40v system is about as unneeded and unbeneficial as their new proprietary arbor cordless grinders… who here thinks THOSE are a good idea?
Hans
THIS is THE comment. Thanks.
dave jones
40v is needed for saws, sds drills and garden equipment so they created a 40v battery platform. You can still buy new makita tools in 18v so i don’t see your problem.
lava
swapping a grinder wheel without breaking out a wrench – I think that’s a good idea.
x lu
Today i pitched all the Makita cordless tools i own in the trash. The fourth of 4 (and final) batteries failed. These tools were hardly used and perhaps the batteries had less than a dozen charging cycles. A few replacements would be half+ the cost of the tools. Nearly new tools and nearly new batteries. Appalling.
Julian Tracy
What’s appalling is that you threw away perfectly useful tools instead of giving, donating or selling them; what a waste.
Aside from their earlier non-star LXT batteries, I don’t know that I’ve heard of any prevailing issues and I myself haven’t had any significant battery issues and I own at least 7-8 of them in 2.0, 3.0 and 5.0 variants.
I know lot’s of folks treat their batteries like crap = charging them in the hot sun, working them till they die, etc. Just like some ignorant folks that run their 15amp job site tablesaws off 100’ runs of 16ga extension cords and complain that the motor burned out LOL.
X Lu
You never sell or give away tools-period. Indeed I smash and bin everything no just tools -no garage sales ever. Successor liability. Someone gets injured-you get sued and you pay. Cost my Uncle high 5 figures out of pocket the first and only time he sold some. But feel free to sell, give away or donate yours. Just don’t grow too attached to your home.
John S
Most ludicrous comment yet about not selling or giving used tools. Put that tin foil hat back on.
Dcl
I wonder how it operates. My gen. 2 Fuel has been back to Milwaukee 3 times to recharge the cylinder. Works great when it works, but that’s not often. I have the Hitatchi too, which is reliable but a huge beast of a thing. This looks quite small.
Chris
Based on this, it seems to me like Makita is going to eventually copy/upgrade all of their LXT tools into XGT. The XGT versions will be better than LXT, so the only reason to buy LXT is if they are significantly cheaper than XGT.
I really feel like LXT is near the end of its life. Is Makita really going to continue to make versions of each tool in both LXT and XGT? Hopefully we’ll at least be able to buy LXT batteries for years to come.
For any new tools, I’m not considering LXT at all. I will either drag my feet as long as possible to see if an XGT version is released (I like Makita tools, so I’m not opposed to buying XGT), or look at Milwaukee or DeWalt. Maybe it’s irrational, but I just don’t like the idea of buying new tools in what seems like a declining system.
To be clear, I’m not complaining and I still like Makita. I like the innovation. I’m not going to throw all my LXT tools in the garbage. But the way it’s being rolled out has been a bit confusing.
Andrew
People have been complaining about Makita nail guns for years because they are so far behind. New battery platform, new gun. I think thats our answer on if LXT will continue to be supported, innovated, ext.
J Co
I find the 40v brad nail gun disappointing.
At the very least this should have been a new 18v tool. The current US Makita brad nailer is garbage.
Realistically who needs a 40v ,1 1/2″ max brad nailer?
I have the makita pin nailer and it is just ok. I have to use Grex 1 3/16″ pins and it still jams. And no tool free jam clearing? The tool jamming would be palatable if you did not have to loose and then re-tighten 3 allen wrench screws.
For me the brad nailer is the tool that is lacking in my cordless set up. ( not heavy construction – cabinetry and trim – the 18ga brad nail gun demographic)
I actually have the ryobi brad nailers and some makita to ryobi battery adapters. Honestly I have had no problems with them and they get used a lot.
The 40v thing might get me onto dewalt flex volt. Maybe when the sales come out I might start the migration.
With the performance of most of the tools so competitive Makita is not giving me a lot of incentive to stay.
Richard Fischer
I think it’s a good idea. If you had 40v xgt you wouldn’t need to fill in the gaps with dewalt in theory . I know that they don’t have a very full line yet but makita hasn’t been one to take long to do that . And I think the X lock is the future for grinders