: Brian,

: Just curious - I've got the same Makita 10" saw. I'm just curious what
: kind of finish you get on your cuts, mine leaves a pretty ragged cut, esp.
: with the stock blade that came with it. I cut the strips for a canoe and a
: kayak with a 7 1/4" Matsushita blade that left a little better finish
: but still pretty rough. Didn't really matter since the strips were getting
: sanded and planed smooth once they were on the boat. There's a lot of
: side-to-side slop in the blade arbor i.e. with the power off when I wiggle
: the blade I get probably nearly 1/16" of play.

: I'm wondering if this is normal for these saws or did I get a bum one? I
: didn't expect cabinet saw quality work of course but I can't believe
: anyone could do finish carpentry with this saw - you'd have to take 6 or 8
: passes with a block plane on every piece just to get the saw marks off. I
: can't figure any way to tighten it up either.

: On the plus side it does have tons of power, I can tear through 5/4 white oak
: or green treated lumber no problem.

: Steve

Hi Steve

Sounds like your saw needs a tune up!! I doubt it's the blade(s). Check out a couple of items and see if your blade is running true. With the saw off of course...... Measure the distance from the first tooth at the front of the blade, where it is going down into the table. Mark that tooth with tape or chalk and rotate the blade back to the rear and down to the table top, and measure it again. Measure from the mitre guage slot. That measurement should be "Exactly" the same. Difference in either direction will cause the blade to cut at an angle and leave teeth marks in the shape of arcs either on the work piece or the scrap. Or both!! Then lock your fence in place an inch or two from the blade and measure the same way, only go to the front and rear of the table and measure from the slot to the fence. Those should also be " Exact ". If either is off, that is where you are getting your rough cut. You may also be experiencing some pull, either away from the back of the fence or away from the front. That is the blade trying to correct the line of travel of the wood. You might want to check them out and let us know and usually, it's an easy fix, albeit a little time consuming on some saws. Not familiar with your particular model though. Hope this helps!

Rehd