Returning a tool for repair

[jives]

Bought myself a new Makita 18V cordless set for my Christmas present, and this summer I am giving it a workout. Been cutting plywood sheets with the circular saw, that is, until I dropped the saw and bent some of the parts holding the base plate square and the adjustment guides are also wonky. It definitely needs new parts, and someone who has done this before. There are a gazillion little parts that could be bent.

The nearest factory authorized repair shop is nearly an hour away. I'm not sure the price to fix, and they cannot, of course, give my any sort of estimate over the phone.

What would you do? New saw? Try and fix yourself? Bite the bullet and take to the store? Mail it in? It was purchased at Home Depot, not sure if they have a policy.

By the way, 40 years of setting down my old Skilsaw (same saw) ingrained in me a certain movement pattern when setting the saw down that does not work with the Makita. Entirely different weight and balance, and that is what caused the thing to roll off a table. Arrrrrggh!

 

[BillK]

Not sure exactly which saw you have but . . . . by the time you pay shipping ($25 ?), the repair cost ($$$ ???) and shipping back ($$$ ???), it might be less expensive to just buy a new one ? It looks like you can buy just the saw for a little over a hundred bucks. You could probably put your present one on Ebay for parts only and re-coupe some of it.

Or you could figure out what parts you need and see what they cost to fix it yourself and decide from there.

 

[Stadger]

Don't waste your time. Buy a new one.

 

[vavet]

Is there an option to buy a new makita saw without a battery and charger? Maybe that’s the way to go. In the meantime, I’d put the bent up saw on a shelf with a mental note to take it with me to drop off at the repair shop whenever I’ll be heading in that direction for something else.

 

[Professional Tool User]

If it is out of warranty and the whole tool is probably messed up, unless they can flat rate repair it at a reasonable price, get a new one.

 

[jives]

Yes, a bare tool can be had for about $100. . . but buying a replacement after less than a year sticks in my craw. . .

 

[BillK]

Yes, a bare tool can be had for about $100. . . but buying a replacement after less than a year sticks in my craw. . .

I feel the same way but it is getting to be more the norm

I have an ancient Dewalt 12volt drill at the shop that I love but the batteries I have are just about dead. Batteries are $65 each. I can buy a new 20V Dewalt with 2 batteries for $100 on sale.

If I had your saw I would be trying to fix it myself, but that is me.

 

[Handyfarmer]

I don't know if e replacement would have parts, or not, there are a few on line parts depots for tool parts, I would guess they would cover makita as well.

https://www.ereplacementparts.com/makita-saw-parts-c-97_98.html

 

[engineer2]

I've had mine roll off the sawhorse a couple of times. It's top heavy. Now I lay it on its side or use the rafter hook. I would examine it and replace or straighten the bent parts. They are not that hard to work on.

 

[jimmyin3D]

Open it up! If it’s just a few bent parts and it’s not critical give it a shot. It’ll give you piece a mind once you dive in and see what’s really broken. Just take pictures of where what screws parts go and it shouldn’t take long.

 

[RKA]

I would inquire about the cost of parts (at least the major bits you know need replacement). If it’s reasonable, think about a DIY fix. If it’s not, buy a replacement.

I called Makita exactly once for parts and my eyes popped out of my head. Generic part with Festool prices. They have no interest in keeping your old tools working (and they aren’t alone).

 

[toplessHO]

my solution to saw storage on the saw horse is 5 gallon bucket.
My skil fits nicely in it with saw handle sticking up enough for easy pick up.
That said I do have a couple of notches in the bucket because the blade was still moving,so make sure its tied in a way the metal handle wont get eaten up.

 

[The Cobbler]

I'm old school, I would try to figure out what obvious parts it needs & price them . see if it's worth the gamble.
then decide if you want to buy a new bare tool.
also set up an auto search on ebay and might find one for parts ( burned armature or whatever) that you could swap over.

 

[Danglerb]

If you enjoy taking stuff apart and optionally fixing it, have some fun, otherwise buy a new one.

 

[jives]

I pretty much fix everything -- or at least attempt to. But with the saw, I'm just afraid that hours and $$ into it, and it still won't cut straight.

 

[scubadoober]

How far did you drop it? It can't be that bent other than the base plate. It only has two mouthing points to allow it to pivot. Check the base plate with a square against the blade and then a straight edge across the corners and X/Y axis. How much is a new base plate? That would be my deciding factor. Buy a base plate for $55? Replace it. Buy a base plate for $89? Replace the whole saw.

 

[jives]

Thought I'd update. Finally go around to taking the base plate off and noted at least one bent part -- the depth adjuster. Got online (Parts Plus?) order 5 different parts just to hedge my bets for a total of 8 bucks. Yup, $8 plus about $8 in shipping. Took 3 weeks to arrive, and about a week before I had time.

Assembled it this weekend and waddaya know, it works great. A few adjustments to dial in the 0 and 45 deg, and she's back in business.

Think I got lucky this time.