Makita 8¼" Tablesaw, & HI!

[Todd Burch]

Hey all. I haven't been following the forum too much lately as I've been busy setting up my business and chasing work. Busy, busy, busy.

Last night I finally put together my Makita portable tablesaw that I bought at auction a few years ago. It's model 2708 and I got the steel stand with it. I checked Makita's web site and it's not even listed anymore - it's been replaced with the 2702/2703 models.

Does anyone have this saw? How would you rate it? Do you "port" it?

Thanks, Todd Burch.

[Ed Falis]

Todd,

My girlfriend had the 2703, which is the 10" version. It was eminently luggable and had very good power for its size - a very decent site saw. But it did have some accuracy problems with the fence, and the miter gauge is a joke. I've heard tell that the one you have was a bit better than the 2703. Bottom line - probably a pretty good site saw.

- Ed

[Jim Fuller]

IMHO, it is a great portable saw, I have used it for many projects. I have a cabinet saw in my basement, but the Makita has seen much more use. I can take it anywhere I want by myself and the saw has always done more than is expected from a saw this size. At one job site I even wired it up to 240 volts (unintentionally), but after rewiring it correctly it doesn't seem to have hurt it any.
Negatives, are the blade raise mechanism and angle adjustment.
I took the knob off so I could install a nut 3/4 wrench size, so I could use a half inch ratchet with 3/4 socket to make raising and lowering easier. Changing the blade is also a challenge, but nothing you can't over come easily. I made a bushing to go over the arbor so I could use a dado blade larger than 5/8 inch.
All in all this is the saw I would buy again if I needed another portable.
Jim

[Michael Cody]

Got the 270x 10" model. Got a Tenryu blade on it. Sucker don't weigh much over 45lbs, great portable that will rip 2" oak all day.

Mitre is useless, it's got shallow miter slot so I made a cross cut table for use in my shop/garage. No problems with fence and I have a custom plywood base on it so it clamps in my B&D Workmate for a table.. can't beat it with a stick.