Makita 14" Miter Saw - Opinions?

[Matt Hutchinson]

Hey all!

I have a great old 14" RAS that I just never put the time and money into getting running. I need to cut 4.5"-5" thick glue-ups accurately, and they are a real pain to twice cut using a sled on the TS. (They sometimes are 5' long made out of maple.)

Does anyone own/use a Makita 14" Miter Saw, model LS1430 or LS1440? Are they any good and can they cut 5" at 90*?

Thanks!

Hutch

[Larry Edgerton]

Not familiar with the Makita 14", but I have a Hitachi 15" that I use for log home work that will cut a 6" D log with ease. Didn't even know Makita had a 14". I'm slipping.....

Larry

[John TenEyck]

For the cost of a new miter saw, or less, now might be just the motivation needed to fix up that RAS. Unless you need a CMS for jobsite use, it's hard to beat a good RAS for accuracy and versatility. I just used mine today to trim the tops of some 14" dia. conical glueups - horizontally. Try that with a CMS! Really, if time isn't forcing your decision, it might be a better choice.

[Matt Hutchinson]

Unfortunately time is forcing the decision. To get the RAS up and running I need to procure a 10hp motor to run the RPC, not to mention re-leading the RAS motor to 230v, running more electrical, etc.... I want to get it running eventually, but it may not happen until I get into a different space with 440v 3ph.

I was thinking that the Makita could serve as a good stop-gap tool.

Hutch