I made some modifications to My Makita MLT100N table saw which fixed certain quality problems that I was experiencing. These improvements are shown in this video
Thank you Geoffrey. There are a few videos out there for this machine but I guess the volume of videos going up on You Tube each day makes them harder to find. I get lots of use from my machine.
Thanks for sharing your improvements. I just bought my Makita MLT 100 today even though I heard a lot of bad things about it. I am sure it will be a good work horse once the upgrade/improvements are done to remove its flaws. Again, Thanks for sharing. Greetings from the Philippines.
Glad you liked it David, I hope you get as much satisfaction from yours as I have derived from mine. Basically it is a good machine & can be used right out of the box. I did find that a sled does make things easier but I guess it depends on what you use it for. Good luck & be safe!
Doug, I've been battling on with this saw for the last 7 years repairing and building guitars. While I knew at the time when I bought it that it was designed as a bit of a site saw I didn't realise how much mucking around I'd need to do the make it work for me. Long story short, like you, i pulled the guard and riving knife off and jury-rigged a sled. After seeing your fence extension that's the next thing I must do. You're a scholar and a gentleman.
I'm glad the video was helpful Andrew. The saw has been a bit of a disappointment when comparing the older MAKITA stuff to the modern. I had to replace the gearbox on mine as it stripped the threads on the up/down mechanism. When that happened I actually went out & bought an OZITO cheapy from Bunnings. This was only $199 at the time but it actually rips better than the Makita! If you are going to build a new fence, there is an aluminium profile shaped like an X in cross section which could be modified to make a better version than mine. I cannot remember the video name but it looked to be the 'bees knees' of mods but it took an awful lot of modifying to make the finished item. Good luck with your mods.
Hi again Andrew. I just found another video where the guy used the profile I mentioned in my previous answer. The video is titled, 'Modify Makita MLT100 fence' & is on a site called Industrial Hope. I have searched for this profile here in Western Australia but so far without success. I am driving to Brisbane next week so I think there are a couple of suppliers over there where I might be able to get my hands on a length. The problem I found with these fences is the inability to anchor them at the other end of the saw. The gripping mechanism is not strong enough to keep the fence square when ripping which is why I put a piece of aluminium angle on the end of mine to act as a 'hold down piece' Hope this helps. Doug
Hey why wouldn't you make a runner for the mitre jig like on the base of the sled ?? I know it wouldn't lock in but it would slide and be much "tighter" in the slot.
Yes Peter, I think so too. It does everything I need it to do & was cheap enough to replace if something really major went wrong with it. I looked at many more expensive alternatives & could not go past it for the money.
Own the mk100, abit disappointed with it, but I've done quite alot with it. Have done a few improvements similar to yours but my cross cut sled still needs improvement....
Sorry for taking so long to aknowledge your comments Horrie. I get a lot of use out of my machine & I also think that I might have to upgrade my cross cut sled as I dropped it & split the end of it !
Hi Stefanos. I have never had an issue with the blade not being parallel to the slots. I assume that is what you mean when referring to the 'bed rails?' If that is the case then I am not sure if the saw can be adjusted from below. If there was a noticeable misalignment of the blade when you bought it then I would advise you to take it up with the people that you bought it from. I did have to replace the 'gearbox' on mine recently due to a stripped thread which stopped me from raising & lowering it. I put a video up showing how I did that but the saw blade did not go out of alignment. There may be videos on You Tube covering out of alignment blades but I could not be sure. Sorry that I cannot help you on your query. Regards.
I did exactly the same things. My aluminum table of the saw is wavy with a difference of 1.2 mm from the the outside bords to the centre! I am very disappointed of the bad quality.
I find most of the so called 'Quality brands' have been 'cheapened' when they switch to manufacturing their products to low labour cost countries. The quality control goes out the window in the chase for ever larger profits. Sadly Rainer that is the world we have somehow created. We can turn these quality disasters into useable tools with a little creative thought though.
This is the second video I've seen of owners having to fix the issues that come with this saw, so I won't be getting it. When I pay for a tool, I expect it to work right out of the box, but quality problems seem to be standard now. Can't buy Bosch, because the motors burn out, according to a number of reviews. What brand of table saw isn't a coin toss when it comes to quality?
Hi Geoffrey. Like you, I also expect a tool to work right out of the box. This saw will in fact work 'right out of the box,' but to get the best out of it, the improvements I suggested allow owners to get more from it than they might otherwise do. Sadly in this world we are victims of manufacturers who see the bottom line as more important than quality. Makita are guilty of this as are many other brands who elect to have their products made in countries where labour costs are less but quality is not necessarily of great importance. Unfortunately as consumers we are left to choose what is available & I chose this saw because it was, in my opinion, the best of a poor bunch of alternatives in my price range & which suited the type of work that I intended for it. The fact that some of these modifications require some drastic alterations (eg the riving knife) which might compromise safety is only necessary if you intend to use a crosscut sled & you therefore have to remove the existing plastic 'safety guard' in order for the sled to work properly. I think you will find that most table saw owners do this to get the most out of their saws irrespective of the brand name. I hope that this does not prevent you from buying a table saw if you have a need for one, and that you find one of the quality of which you require.
Thanks for vid mate , I did not research any saw and just got this one because we have all Maktita power tools ... The fence is shocking , we only have just started out learning, now I have to make a mod... You don't have a template for the fence mod to make it easy , haha ... Cheers mate
Hi Eric, unfortunately I dont have a template but the main problem is getting sufficient pressure on the handle to hold the whole thing in position. After I enclosed the fence with the pine I added a piece of aluminium angle at the far end. This grips the lip of the table when the handle is pushed downwards & locks into the slot. The whole design of these saws is really quite crappy & quality control is shoddy. I recently bought an el cheapo Ozito TBS 2000 when the Makita gearbox failed on me. I have a video about repairing the Makita up there somewhere. Now I have 2!!! The Makita is a good enough saw for the price but the Ozito was only $199 & is a much cheaper alternative if you dont require pinpoint accuracy,(not that the Makita gives you that anyway!) Good luck with it.
@@dougrorison1211 cheers mate , is bloody annoying .. ill have to get onto it straight away... Oh well , its just a starter table saw for fun ... next saw will be the real deal ...
I am wondering about your thoughts about trimming the tabs of the mitre slots on the top ? Its looks like the section is solid and would open up the slot (without the T) to a full 16 mm approx. I did see a guy on UA-cam clean up the T slot with a Router which gave me the idea. These T slots are useless as NOTHING fits them. ANy thoughts pls ??
Hi Tony. My first question would be what would you use if you did successfully machine the slots out? You would end up with a 17mm channel in your table. This would be ok if you were just going to use a cross cut sled as you could cut 17mm (or half a mm under) rails to suit. I thought about doing much the same & using a more readily available T track but any that are available are 30mm across the base & they are usually about 12.5 mm high. My saw measures in at 17mm at the widest part of the base, the height is 6.5mm & the narrow top section is 13.5mm so an off the shelf track is no good either. If you are looking to anchor a home made jig to the slots on this saw I have found that you can modify a coach bolt which has a head wider than 17mm by grinding down opposite sides which will then fit the slot. I would be wary of grinding down the slots unless you have a plan regarding what & how you will use the channels that you have created. I have made a number of home made jigs using coach bolts to anchor them to the table but I don't make all that many angle cuts so my cross cut sled is probably the most useful thing I use. I have had reason to use the protractor but have found that it is sloppy in the T slots. Sorry that I cannot offer more solutions.
@@dougrorison1211 HI Doug, thanks for the reply. It was just a thought. I got some coach bolts today so I am going to grind them down. I wanted to make some feather boards which is why I need something to fit the slot. BTW I purchased a spar riving blade and the mitre slide base section from a supplier in the UK. If you email me tonyrkitching@gmail.com I will send you their details. They have most spares for this machine and are VERY cheap
Hope you enjoy it Mark. I've been using mine regularly for the past week or so & with some minor improvements you will get the most out of it. A crosscut sled & a couple of jigs make such a difference. Good luck with it.
Hi GK, I modified the existing riving knife, which has the guard attached, by cutting it down with an angle grinder. Once you do this your warranty goes out the window. The only reason for the modification was so that I could make & use a crosscut sled.
Have just recently purchsed one of these. it's not a bad machine generally. yes, it has it's faults but it can be made workable. The main problem that I had was that the blade was out of line and there are no instructions in the manual as to how to rectify it. Any suggestions please??
When you say,"out of line," do you mean not square (90°) to the face Noel? If it is that you should be able to get it to exactly 90° using the adjusting wheel near the on off switch. If the blade is out of square with the faceplate that could mean that the whole assembly is faulty. If that were the case you would have to take it up with the store who sold it to you.
Sorry Doug. I meant that the blade is not paralell to the mitre guage grooves. It's approx 3mm out of parallelfrom front to back. The MLT100n Manual does not cover adjusting the blade back to parallel. There are a number of videos that explain how to determine if your blade is not parallel but none that describe how to rectify the problem. I may have to try Makita themselves ( and I can hear you saying "good luck' ) and see if they are able to help me, otherwise it may be back to Bunnings for a replacement or refund.
@@noelborchers7150 Hi Noel. After I replied to you, I too began to investigate how to adjust the blade alignment. I could not find anything specific on the Makita. I was not at home over the last 2 days so I could not access my machine to see if the alignment was adjustable. I would take it back to Bunnings & ask for another machine especially if you only just got it. They are usually pretty good & should replace it without question. I am home now & will have a good look over mine to see if any adjustment can in fact be made I have never even removed the blade on mine yet so it will be an interesting experience. If I can come up with a solution I will let you know. In the meantime 3mm sounds a bit much for it to be off so I would just ask for a complete replacement. Hopefully there is provision for adjustment.
Thanks Doug. I appreciate your interest. I did actually call Makita re the issue. The chap that I spoke to was very helpful. In his opinion, with a new machine straight out of the box I shouldn't have to do any adjustments at all. The machine should be ready to use straight away. He maintained that it would be more likely to be the chassis that is the problem rather than the blade. He has strongly recommended that I return the machine for either a replacement or refund. I actually spoke to Bunnings this morning and received a positive response. They are more than happy to furnish me with a replacement machine or issue a refund. I can't ask any more than that. I would however, be interested in your findings re adjusting an 'out of parallel' blade should you come across any information. You'll appreciate that I am somewhat aprehensive about receiving a replacement machine and will do so with my fingers crossed. Thankyou again for your responses.
I must confess that I could not solve the problem of 'slap' in the slots Daniel. I did make a mitre jig for cutting 45 degree angles when making picture frames which worked ok for my purposes. I have used the existing mitre set up for other jobs which do not require a high degree of accuracy.
Hi there. I made the fence from 19mm x 90mm dressed pine. 2 long sides are 700mm with a middle piece 60mm wide forming a U shape over the existing aluminium fence. Bore holes through to attach wooden pieces using bolts. Hope that helps with your build.
Hi Andrew. I have seen some Americans use their saws without riving knives ar all but to do this is at your own risk. I agree that they are a pain in the proverbial but they have to sell them this way for safety reasons.
Currently refurbishing the older model mtl100 and have come across the same issue with the rail slot!! I can't find any rails anywhere that size to make my own tools and clamps etc with. Very frustrating, even Makita didn't make them which is crazy. Why they did this I don't know. Have considered taking the table to a machinist and getting them milled out to a mitre gauge standard but as I only paid $100 for it I don't want to go that far lol. How did you make the rails for your crosscut sled? Just cut some wood to size and attach to the bottom? I have a good mitre saw so don't really need one but iy might be fun to make anyway. Thanks for the video.
I did make some hardwood rails which were cut to the width of the slots. On another sled I made, I found some aluminium angle at Bunnings which fitted quite well into the slots & then I only had to cut one slot in the base of the sled for each vertical face of the angle. This was tricky to line up though.
![MAKITA MLT 100 - СТОИТ ПОКУПАТЬ? [ОБЗОР]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Xm7zKERHvxk/mqdefault.jpg)
Great ideas to a common set of problems with this saw. Nice video, thanks for taking the time to post.
Thanks Jon. I also made an aluminium faceplate to replace both the plastic one supplied & an MDF one I made which is shown on this video.
Great modifications and awesome to see another aussie on UA-cam! Cheers mate!
Thanks for sharing. This is the first vid I have seen for the 100N.
Thank you Geoffrey. There are a few videos out there for this machine but I guess the volume of videos going up on You Tube each day makes them harder to find. I get lots of use from my machine.
Thanks for sharing your improvements. I just bought my Makita MLT 100 today even though I heard a lot of bad things about it. I am sure it will be a good work horse once the upgrade/improvements are done to remove its flaws. Again, Thanks for sharing. Greetings from the Philippines.
Glad you liked it David, I hope you get as much satisfaction from yours as I have derived from mine. Basically it is a good machine & can be used right out of the box. I did find that a sled does make things easier but I guess it depends on what you use it for. Good luck & be safe!
Nice work Doug 👍
Doug, I've been battling on with this saw for the last 7 years repairing and building guitars. While I knew at the time when I bought it that it was designed as a bit of a site saw I didn't realise how much mucking around I'd need to do the make it work for me. Long story short, like you, i pulled the guard and riving knife off and jury-rigged a sled. After seeing your fence extension that's the next thing I must do. You're a scholar and a gentleman.
I'm glad the video was helpful Andrew. The saw has been a bit of a disappointment when comparing the older MAKITA stuff to the modern. I had to replace the gearbox on mine as it stripped the threads on the up/down mechanism. When that happened I actually went out & bought an OZITO cheapy from Bunnings. This was only $199 at the time but it actually rips better than the Makita! If you are going to build a new fence, there is an aluminium profile shaped like an X in cross section which could be modified to make a better version than mine. I cannot remember the video name but it looked to be the 'bees knees' of mods but it took an awful lot of modifying to make the finished item. Good luck with your mods.
Hi again Andrew. I just found another video where the guy used the profile I mentioned in my previous answer. The video is titled, 'Modify Makita MLT100 fence' & is on a site called Industrial Hope. I have searched for this profile here in Western Australia but so far without success. I am driving to Brisbane next week so I think there are a couple of suppliers over there where I might be able to get my hands on a length. The problem I found with these fences is the inability to anchor them at the other end of the saw. The gripping mechanism is not strong enough to keep the fence square when ripping which is why I put a piece of aluminium angle on the end of mine to act as a 'hold down piece' Hope this helps.
Doug
Thanks for the great video. Greetings from India
Thank you Santosh, glad you liked the video
Hallo, ich habe die gleiche Säge und kann Deine Tipps sehr gut gebrauchen. Super Video! Danke!!
Thank you Jochen.
Otimas ideias
Hey why wouldn't you make a runner for the mitre jig like on the base of the sled ?? I know it wouldn't lock in but it would slide and be much "tighter" in the slot.
It’s a contractor job site saw, and is definitely value for the money.
Yes Peter, I think so too. It does everything I need it to do & was cheap enough to replace if something really major went wrong with it. I looked at many more expensive alternatives & could not go past it for the money.
Own the mk100, abit disappointed with it, but I've done quite alot with it. Have done a few improvements similar to yours but my cross cut sled still needs improvement....
Sorry for taking so long to aknowledge your comments Horrie. I get a lot of use out of my machine & I also think that I might have to upgrade my cross cut sled as I dropped it & split the end of it !
Thx
Very informative video! Any tips on making the blade parallel to the bed rails? TIA
Hi Stefanos. I have never had an issue with the blade not being parallel to the slots. I assume that is what you mean when referring to the 'bed rails?' If that is the case then I am not sure if the saw can be adjusted from below. If there was a noticeable misalignment of the blade when you bought it then I would advise you to take it up with the people that you bought it from. I did have to replace the 'gearbox' on mine recently due to a stripped thread which stopped me from raising & lowering it. I put a video up showing how I did that but the saw blade did not go out of alignment. There may be videos on You Tube covering out of alignment blades but I could not be sure. Sorry that I cannot help you on your query. Regards.
Great video. Just wondering, where did you get the new riving knife from. I need to do the same with my machine.
Judging by the marks still on it i would say its the original one just cut down.
I did exactly the same things. My aluminum table of the saw is wavy with a difference of 1.2 mm from the the outside bords to the centre! I am very disappointed of the bad quality.
I find most of the so called 'Quality brands' have been 'cheapened' when they switch to manufacturing their products to low labour cost countries. The quality control goes out the window in the chase for ever larger profits. Sadly Rainer that is the world we have somehow created. We can turn these quality disasters into useable tools with a little creative thought though.
This is the second video I've seen of owners having to fix the issues that come with this saw, so I won't be getting it. When I pay for a tool, I expect it to work right out of the box, but quality problems seem to be standard now. Can't buy Bosch, because the motors burn out, according to a number of reviews. What brand of table saw isn't a coin toss when it comes to quality?
Hi Geoffrey. Like you, I also expect a tool to work right out of the box. This saw will in fact work 'right out of the box,' but to get the best out of it, the improvements I suggested allow owners to get more from it than they might otherwise do. Sadly in this world we are victims of manufacturers who see the bottom line as more important than quality. Makita are guilty of this as are many other brands who elect to have their products made in countries where labour costs are less but quality is not necessarily of great importance. Unfortunately as consumers we are left to choose what is available & I chose this saw because it was, in my opinion, the best of a poor bunch of alternatives in my price range & which suited the type of work that I intended for it. The fact that some of these modifications require some drastic alterations (eg the riving knife) which might compromise safety is only necessary if you intend to use a crosscut sled & you therefore have to remove the existing plastic 'safety guard' in order for the sled to work properly. I think you will find that most table saw owners do this to get the most out of their saws irrespective of the brand name. I hope that this does not prevent you from buying a table saw if you have a need for one, and that you find one of the quality of which you require.
Thanks for vid mate , I did not research any saw and just got this one because we have all Maktita power tools ... The fence is shocking , we only have just started out learning, now I have to make a mod... You don't have a template for the fence mod to make it easy , haha ... Cheers mate
Hi Eric, unfortunately I dont have a template but the main problem is getting sufficient pressure on the handle to hold the whole thing in position. After I enclosed the fence with the pine I added a piece of aluminium angle at the far end. This grips the lip of the table when the handle is pushed downwards & locks into the slot. The whole design of these saws is really quite crappy & quality control is shoddy. I recently bought an el cheapo Ozito TBS 2000 when the Makita gearbox failed on me. I have a video about repairing the Makita up there somewhere. Now I have 2!!! The Makita is a good enough saw for the price but the Ozito was only $199 & is a much cheaper alternative if you dont require pinpoint accuracy,(not that the Makita gives you that anyway!)
Good luck with it.
@@dougrorison1211 cheers mate , is bloody annoying .. ill have to get onto it straight away... Oh well , its just a starter table saw for fun ... next saw will be the real deal ...
I am wondering about your thoughts about trimming the tabs of the mitre slots on the top ? Its looks like the section is solid and would open up the slot (without the T) to a full 16 mm approx. I did see a guy on UA-cam clean up the T slot with a Router which gave me the idea. These T slots are useless as NOTHING fits them. ANy thoughts pls ??
Hi Tony. My first question would be what would you use if you did successfully machine the slots out? You would end up with a 17mm channel in your table. This would be ok if you were just going to use a cross cut sled as you could cut 17mm (or half a mm under) rails to suit. I thought about doing much the same & using a more readily available T track but any that are available are 30mm across the base & they are usually about 12.5 mm high. My saw measures in at 17mm at the widest part of the base, the height is 6.5mm & the narrow top section is 13.5mm so an off the shelf track is no good either. If you are looking to anchor a home made jig to the slots on this saw I have found that you can modify a coach bolt which has a head wider than 17mm by grinding down opposite sides which will then fit the slot. I would be wary of grinding down the slots unless you have a plan regarding what & how you will use the channels that you have created. I have made a number of home made jigs using coach bolts to anchor them to the table but I don't make all that many angle cuts so my cross cut sled is probably the most useful thing I use. I have had reason to use the protractor but have found that it is sloppy in the T slots. Sorry that I cannot offer more solutions.
@@dougrorison1211 HI Doug, thanks for the reply. It was just a thought. I got some coach bolts today so I am going to grind them down. I wanted to make some feather boards which is why I need something to fit the slot. BTW I purchased a spar riving blade and the mitre slide base section from a supplier in the UK. If you email me tonyrkitching@gmail.com I will send you their details. They have most spares for this machine and are VERY cheap
Just got this saw today haven't cut anything and already looking to modify .
Hope you enjoy it Mark. I've been using mine regularly for the past week or so & with some minor improvements you will get the most out of it. A crosscut sled & a couple of jigs make such a difference. Good luck with it.
Do you have a video of the new fence you made?
The new fence is the one you see in the video Ross, I did not make a video of making it if that is what you mean.
where did you get the riving knife from?
Hi GK, I modified the existing riving knife, which has the guard attached, by cutting it down with an angle grinder. Once you do this your warranty goes out the window. The only reason for the modification was so that I could make & use a crosscut sled.
Have just recently purchsed one of these. it's not a bad machine generally. yes, it has it's faults but it can be made workable. The main problem that I had was that the blade was out of line and there are no instructions in the manual as to how to rectify it. Any suggestions please??
When you say,"out of line," do you mean not square (90°) to the face Noel? If it is that you should be able to get it to exactly 90° using the adjusting wheel near the on off switch. If the blade is out of square with the faceplate that could mean that the whole assembly is faulty. If that were the case you would have to take it up with the store who sold it to you.
Ps Noel, Google MLT100N manual & you should be able to download a pdf file for it. Good luck with it.
Sorry Doug. I meant that the blade is not paralell to the mitre guage grooves. It's approx 3mm out of parallelfrom front to back. The MLT100n Manual does not cover adjusting the blade back to parallel. There are a number of videos that explain how to determine if your blade is not parallel but none that describe how to rectify the problem. I may have to try Makita themselves ( and I can hear you saying "good luck' ) and see if they are able to help me, otherwise it may be back to Bunnings for a replacement or refund.
@@noelborchers7150 Hi Noel. After I replied to you, I too began to investigate how to adjust the blade alignment. I could not find anything specific on the Makita. I was not at home over the last 2 days so I could not access my machine to see if the alignment was adjustable. I would take it back to Bunnings & ask for another machine especially if you only just got it. They are usually pretty good & should replace it without question. I am home now & will have a good look over mine to see if any adjustment can in fact be made I have never even removed the blade on mine yet so it will be an interesting experience. If I can come up with a solution I will let you know. In the meantime 3mm sounds a bit much for it to be off so I would just ask for a complete replacement. Hopefully there is provision for adjustment.
Thanks Doug. I appreciate your interest. I did actually call Makita re the issue. The chap that I spoke to was very helpful. In his opinion, with a new machine straight out of the box I shouldn't have to do any adjustments at all. The machine should be ready to use straight away. He maintained that it would be more likely to be the chassis that is the problem rather than the blade. He has strongly recommended that I return the machine for either a replacement or refund. I actually spoke to Bunnings this morning and received a positive response. They are more than happy to furnish me with a replacement machine or issue a refund. I can't ask any more than that. I would however, be interested in your findings re adjusting an 'out of parallel' blade should you come across any information. You'll appreciate that I am somewhat aprehensive about receiving a replacement machine and will do so with my fingers crossed. Thankyou again for your responses.
How’d you go with the mitre improvement?
I must confess that I could not solve the problem of 'slap' in the slots Daniel. I did make a mitre jig for cutting 45 degree angles when making picture frames which worked ok for my purposes. I have used the existing mitre set up for other jobs which do not require a high degree of accuracy.
Can you provide the measurements of the fence please
Hi there. I made the fence from 19mm x 90mm dressed pine. 2 long sides are 700mm with a middle piece 60mm wide forming a U shape over the existing aluminium fence. Bore holes through to attach wooden pieces using bolts. Hope that helps with your build.
How much price where I get
$779 AUD Tool Kit Depot
Really don't like the riving knife on my saw
Hi Andrew. I have seen some Americans use their saws without riving knives ar all but to do this is at your own risk. I agree that they are a pain in the proverbial but they have to sell them this way for safety reasons.
Currently refurbishing the older model mtl100 and have come across the same issue with the rail slot!! I can't find any rails anywhere that size to make my own tools and clamps etc with. Very frustrating, even Makita didn't make them which is crazy. Why they did this I don't know. Have considered taking the table to a machinist and getting them milled out to a mitre gauge standard but as I only paid $100 for it I don't want to go that far lol. How did you make the rails for your crosscut sled? Just cut some wood to size and attach to the bottom? I have a good mitre saw so don't really need one but iy might be fun to make anyway. Thanks for the video.
I did make some hardwood rails which were cut to the width of the slots. On another sled I made, I found some aluminium angle at Bunnings which fitted quite well into the slots & then I only had to cut one slot in the base of the sled for each vertical face of the angle. This was tricky to line up though.
Where are you based? I just got mine today and am planning to design and 3d print some rails for a tighter fit.