Makita 5007MGA Review

The Makita Magnesium 5007MGA features raw power, solid design and good cutting capabilities. Pulling 15 amps, the saw has a maximum speed of 5800 rpm, allowing you to cut through your material quickly, cleanly and efficiently.

Top Ten Reviews Verdict

The Makita 5007MGA is fine choice due to its well-balanced design, and exceptional cutting capabilities.

Pros

  • +

    The Makita Magnesium 5007MGA has a great design that includes a rubber grip, attached blade wrench and dual LED lights to illuminate your cut line.

Cons

  • -

    Makita only includes a one-year warranty with this circular saw.

Why you can trust Top Ten Reviews Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.

The Makita Magnesium 5007MGA features raw power, solid design and good cutting capabilities. Pulling 15 amps, the saw has a maximum speed of 5800 rpm, allowing you to cut through your material quickly, cleanly and efficiently. The saw has a 56-degree bevel capacity with two positive bevel stops at common cutting angles, both of which make it versatile. It’s a fine choice for a circular saw.

At 10.6 pounds, this isn’t the lightest saw we tested (which was the Black & Decker CS1015), but it is still maneuverable and easy to control. Like most other sidewinder circular saws, the Magnesium 5007MGA’s blade is located on the right-hand side. This makes the tool comfortable and balanced, but it also makes it difficult to see the edge of the blade and your cut line.

One of the best design elements on this circular saw is its rubber-grip handle which makes the saw more comfortable to hold and the often-repetitive task of sawing wood a bit easier. Another feature worthy of note is the oversized number and ruler markings – which makes settings easier to read while the saw is in use.

This circular saw uses a 7 1/4-inch standard blade and a 5/8-inch arbor blade, both of which are common – you can pick up replacements at any hardware store. It comes with a convenient spindle lock, which locks the spindle in place with the press of a button, so you can use a single hex key to safely remove the blade. You need two wrenches to change the blade on a saw without a spindle lock.

The dust chute guides sawdust away from your work area so it doesn’t obscure your view of the blade or jam the saw. The chute does a good job of blowing sawdust away from your cutting line, which helps you keep your cut clean and straight.

Although this circular saw doesn’t come with a laser guide, it does include two LED lights that illuminate your cut line. These lights help you make an accurate cut, but a laser guide would be even more effective.

This tool can make cuts at a maximum depth of 2 1/2 inches at a 90-degree angle and 1 3/4 inches at a 45-degree angle, so you can cut through any 2x material. Its maximum bevel capacity is 56 degrees, which means you can cut bevels at any angle between 0 and 56 degrees. This tool also features two positive bevel stops to quickly adjust it to make 22.5- and 45-degree bevel cuts.

The Makita Magnesium 5007MGA is very easy to handle because of its raw power and speed. The 15-amp saw produces up to 5800 rpm, which is fast enough to cut through most any material smoothly, cleanly and quickly. Like other saws, this power tool runs off standard 120-volt electricity, and you can use a generator if an outlet isn’t available.

The Makita 5007MGA comes with a one-year warranty in case of manufacturer defects. Although this isn’t the longest warranty in our review, it is enough time to notice any defects right out of the box. The saw comes with a manual, but you can download an online version on Makita’s website. You can also speak to a customer service representative over the phone, but the company does not offer email or live chat support.

Summary

There’s not much negative to say about the Makita 500MGA. It’s a fine saw with great power that makes a nice smooth cut. It’s comfortable to use, versatile and keeps dust out of the work area effectively. However, the tool could be even better if they included a laser guide and longer warranty.

J.D. Chadwick
Contributor

J.D. Chadwick started writing articles for Top Ten Reviews 2008 and, after filling the role of Multimedia Editor, the keen video creator and expert in software was one of the most prolific members of the TTR team, authoring articles on things like antivirus software, video editing apps, and more.