Makita XSH10Z 18V X2 LXT® Lithium-Ion (36V) Brushless Cordless 9-1/4” Circular Saw with Guide Rail Compatible Base, AWS™ Capable, Tool Only

I bought this for a number of reasons, the biggest of which was its cutting capacity on a track. I bought a makita 18v circular saw back in 2014, and at that point in time, the maximum blade diameter was 6 1/2 inches, which worked, but definitely had its limitations. This new one by makita is quite impressive in size and power.I have been getting more and more into chainsaw milling, and I was often cutting slabs at 3 inches thick, and I typically needed to resort to my beam mill with chainsaw to edge the slabs and cut off the bark in the shortest amount of time, but dealing with a beam mill is a bit tedious and more dangerous since it requires the use of the chainsaw for the cut.I was looking at more traditional plunge track saws, including the makita, but the cutting depth was not nearly enough for most of my slabs.Then, I found this saw, with a greater cutting depth, and rail compatible. This can essentially joint an edge on my slabs, and easily cut off the bark at full depth on my slabs up to 3.25" thick or less. I do most of my slabs at 2-3 thick, so this will be able to manage for the vast majority of my slabs. I do some thicker slabs as well, which will still need the beam mill, but I won't need it nearly as much as I did before. I will also be using this to true up the ends of the slabs as well when needed.I already had many batteries since I am in the Makita 18v ecosystem, but I also needed rails; I decided to give the powertec ones a try, and they have worked great for me so far. Once I use the saw more, if my impression changes any, I'll update this review. Right now, I am very pleased.

So far, I probably used this to cut about 1000 ft of 3 inch treated lumber. As long as I shimmed the worst binding boards, this saw had no issues, which is probably more of a safety feature than a lack of power. Thanks for including a quality blade to show off this quality product, Makita; other manufacturers would be wise to folow suit. I wouldn't use it as a plunge cut saw, kind of dangerous for that (holding the guard). But as a track saw, this is everything I need.My experience with Safety: When this saw binds and starts to push the saw backwards, it makes it about a foot before the blade locks. It won't start unless the blade isn't touching the blade edge of the piece, or bound. The guard is tough, dropped it multiple times and it still slides like new. It is expensive, but I wanted a track saw that could replace a table saw and be safer than anything but a sawstop tablesaw; while I haven't worked with a table saw, this does what I need it to. Will update as I use the saw.The only things I wish they added are a second mark for track depth gauging, you run a touch shallower using a track so I had to mark a second depth mark for precise and easy track cuts, and an 0 mark on the angle that can be adjusted if/when the saw comes out of alignment over the decades I intend to use this tool for. But those can be pretty easily compensated for with a protractor and anything you can use to mark the depth gauge.

I have two other cordless Makita saws. This one, by far, is the most powerful and versatile. The fact that it fits tracks without extra parts (I am using WEN tracks -- work great) is an added bonus. Accuracy has been amazing given that it is a circular saw. I find I am using it at times I may normally sue the table saw. So far no issues cutting any ,materials to the desired depth. The track attachment fits the WEN tracks very well and most of the play can be dialed out for straight, sure, accurate cuts. The saw will cut just as fast as I am able to push it through the material.I have not tried any dust extraction or mitigation with it, and like any saw of this type, it creates a lot of dust. i am starting to wonder if there's any point in keeping my other circular saws now that this one is in the stable. It is that good.

I'm pleased with almost everything about this saw. With a speed square or other straight edge I'm using this saw more than my miter saw now. It has lots of power and generally adequate cut depth. Cuts are smooth and the saw powers through most materials.The only two small issues I have is that it's a little difficult lining up the cut marks since the blade is on the right side and I usually cut with my dominant right hand holding the handle. I should have thought about that before I bought it but it's worth mentioning although it's not a big deal. The only downside is that now I want to buy a saw with the blade on the left (which Makita sells) for some cuts. It's almost an upside since I like power tools.The second minor issue is that the blade guard will hang up sometimes making the cut more difficult than it should be. Generally I just back the saw off the wood and go for another pass but sometimes I'll just manually retract the blade guard to start the cut and then release it. Perhaps it's just me but I have seen reviews where others ran into the same hiccup.

This saw has a lot of power. I used it conjunction with a track and this thing did not bog down cutting 1 inch oak stair treads. worked very nice on the track and was able to do all my 6 stairs and 7 risers with one set of 5ah batteries. It is a very good saw and did not lack power. The blade that came on in was actually really nice blade that cut like butter.

I have the corded 6 1/2” plunge saw but have been looking for a cordless circ when I found one with a track base thatIgrabbed it before they discontinued it I’m a renovator and at my most recent house I needed to replace all of the interior doors of a four bedroom home it made the job a breeze. I just raise the blade guard and let it rest on the track(no plunge feature and retracting blade guard) and it skated right down the track effortlessly. The base has the same cam adjusters to eliminate play between the saw and the track and it has a deeper cutting depth than my corded track sawI hope more people buy these so they develop and array of these track tools they really improve accuracy and efficiency oh yeah I cut 10 doors today and it only dropped the battery charge 4 of eight bars on two 18vlt 5hr batteries