Makita CS with brake

[Paul Greathouse]

Hello

Has anyone had the opportunity to use one of the Makita circular saws with the blade brake. (7 1/4" 5007FA or 8 1/4" 5008FA)
I would like to know how well the brake works and also any other features of the Makita saws that you like or dislike.
I've always used Skil Professional and Bosch saws which are pretty much identical so I'm not to familiar with Makita.
Also, at least one other SMC member has adapted the bosch dust port to his Makita saw for vacuum collection. Has any of you done this and how did you go about attaching it.

[Nissim Avrahami]

Hi Paul

I have 3 CS’s and all the 3 are with brake, one of them is Makita but old model.
I can comment only about the brake.

The blade stops in less then a second and I feel so safe that I’m using it without the guard

niki

[Paul Greathouse]

Thank you Niki

I was afraid, there for a while, that no one was going to reply to my post. Thanks for your reply. I've seen several of your posts but I never noticed that you had a Makita. How did you adapt the dust control to the Makita? I'm assuming it wasn't original equipment.

[Nissim Avrahami]

Hi Paul
Here is the Makita. I adopted the dust port. If you want pictures showing the DC from inside, just ask, I’ll go and take them.

You can see the DC installation here
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=37289

Best regards
niki

[Mack Cameron]

Hi Paul; Just got the 7 1/4 5007 FBA (lucky me, I have a friend that works at Makita). I just finished using it to cut up 2 4 X 8 sheets, and the brake works so well I had to run out to the garage to see if mine stopped as fast as Niki's.

In the time it took to take my finger off the trigger, and set the saw down, the blade had stopped spinning.

[Paul Greathouse]

Nikki and Mack

Sounds like the Makita is the way to go. Smooth & quiet running motor, quick blake brake and relatively easy dust port adaptability. Looks like I'm going to have to spend some money. I'm leaning toward the 5008FA for the extra depth of cut. Thanks for the dust port installation link.
What a different world we live in today when a guy from Louisiana can talk to two other guys from Poland and Canada about saws and it doesn't cost anything other than internet access.