Makita LXT600 Drill

I have had makita equipment in the past and was happy with it so decided to stay with the brand. The jump to the 18V stuff was no mistake.

The tools;

Hammer drill. Excellent balance and controlability in your hand. The all metal chuck snaps onto the drill bits and holds tight (but make sure its tight). I was comfortably drilling through a piece of mild steel the other day with a HSS DeWalt 13mm drill bit (with a 10mm chuck) and there was no problem. The depth guage and light are really helpful additions. Cant fault it at all.

Impact driver - first one I have had but what a powerful little beast. For doing heavy rough stuff like carcassing its perfect but definitely too powerful for using on anything delicate. Nothing seems to stop it. The quick chuck has a nice clean mechanism and the balance of the unit is perfect. On both the impact driver and the drill the belt hook is also really useful but the drill does tend to pull my jeans down.

Mini Grinder - re-roofed the house two weeks ago. Fitted a diamond blade and used it all day to cut through blue slate. With heavy cutting the battery does tend to go quite quickly but there is a handy light to tell you that its getting low. The trade off in battery life to weight is well worth it. You cant run up a ridge with a corded grinder to cut a rough bit off a slate too easily. It was easy enough to just keep the charger handy and keep swapping. The actual balance of the unit is great and with the separate handle is easy to use. It got covered in dust but seems to have come through completely unscathed.

Recip saw - was worried about getting this as I didnt think it would be powerful enough. Boy was I wrong. Its got good speed control so you can work with it slowly but open up the revs and its a real monster. It makes light work of reasonably heavy tree branches. The blade is changable in 5 seconds without tools and it has a nice balance to it. Most surprised by this one of the entire range.

Circular saw. Probably my favourite purchase. The blade is really thin which means that it goes through anything right down to its max cut depth with ease. All of the guides and plates adjust quickly and easily and hold tight. It feels great to work with and gives you a lot of confidence. The electronic brake also brings the blade to rest in about 1 revolution i.e. instantly so no worries about cutting yourself or having to wait for it to stop spinning to put it down. Excellent battery life off one charge. Was sawing some old wood battens for about 30mins non stop on 1 charge.

Torch - its a torch. Would have been nice to have been LED but with the battery it will last for ever anyway. feels nice to hold and is well built but I do think its a bit cheeky marketing this as one of the 6 "tools". At least its clearly stated.

Charger - really quick and good information about charge state. Also cools the batteries as it charges. Other than that standard charger. Would like to have seen a slightly longer lead though. Only about 5 feet.

Bag - well made and handy for lugging everything around. Nice feature is the ability to pull it. Ideal for end of day when you dont feel quite like lifting it.

Overall - very very pleased. If you see this set for a good price you wont be disappointed. I am glad that I stuck with Makita. 100% satisfied.

Excellent quality tools. Circular saw very good and has some nice touches although seem a litle thirsty on the batteries compared to other similar saws. Had problems with batteries not charging but Makita service excellent and replaced within 4 days. Impact driver very powerfull and light to hold on your belt but a little noisey.

i bought 6pcs. Makita Kit, All equipments are super... powerfull and long lasting li-ion batterys, working guite well even at -25 degr. good tools with low price.