Word is that Makita’s going to soon be coming out with a new cordless 7-1/4″ Rear Handle circular saw – the Makita X2 Brushless 7-1/4″ Rear Handle Circular Saw XSR01Z / XSR01PT . This saw was just announced at the World of Concrete trade show over in Las Vegas and Makita claims this is the first cordless rear handle circular saw. Because it’s an X2 power tool it belongs to the already huge line up of Makita LXT 18V power tools but is actually a 36V tool because it uses two 18V batteries.
I’m not sure what the term rear handled means on a circular saw as I thought all portable circular saws whether corded or cordless are rear handled because you grip the handle on the rear but it appears this term is more closely associated with worm drive saws if I’m not mistaken. The new cordless Makita X2 Brushless 7-1/4″ Rear Handle Circular Saw XSR01 sure does look very much like a worm drive circular saw with it’s elongated shape that makes it appear as if though it was a worm drive but if you look at the back of it, the motor placement appears to be placed horizontally near the center of the blade. So it appears to have direct drive motor placement making this a sidewinder. Also Makita doesn’t list it as a worm drive circular saw but instead describes it as a rear handle circular saw.
It’s going to power a 7-1/4″ blade just like the current Makita XSH01 but unlike the XSH01 the XSR01 model is sporting a brushless motor. Hopefully it’ll gain more performance because of the brushless motor but if it’s as powerful as the current brushed XSH01 it’ll be great for sure because the XSH01 is one of the strongest cordless circular saws I’ve tried. Either way the brushless motor should help it get even better runtime than the brushed X2 model.
Speaking of runtime, we can expect up to 558 crosscuts in 2×4 lumber with two 5.0ah batteries which is very impressive – just remember that it’s packing two 18V batteries. I was already impressed with the 345 2×4 cuts with the brushed XSH01 running on a pair of 4.0 ah batteries and this new model pushed the bar in terms of runtime.
Other features include a magnesium shoe and blade guards, 0-53 degree bevel, electric brake, a built in loop on the handle to tether, double fuel gauges on top one for each battery (although it’s hard to tell based on the picture as they might also be simply low battery indicators like the current brushed model), and an oversized rafter hook on the rear. It’s going to have a 2-9/16″ max cut capacity at 90 degrees which will allow users to cut 3x material in one pass.
Not all the info is out yet such as weight and length but Makita has a video out on their Facebook page with other tool reviewers trying out the saw and claiming it feels lighter than it looks. I’ll let you guys know of any new info when it comes through.
Specifications – What we know so far:
- brushless motor
- 5100 no load RPM
- 36V power tool uses two Makita 18V batteries
- 2-9/16″ cut capacity at 90 degrees
- dual low battery indicators or fuel gauges
- magnesium shoe and blade guards
- 0-53 degree bevel with stops at 22.5 and 45 degrees
- electric brake
- rafter hook
- tether notch
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