Has any one looked at the Makita Chain saws?

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elkimmeg

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A while back I got to use one. I own a Stihl Farm Boss and have used most of the better saws Husky John Deere. Jonsenred. and for those that can remenber, a Sweeda, all good saws. The Makita (my opinion is every bit as good) as the Stihls or Husky's. Makita bought out Dolar Sacks. These saw are German made. and very high quality. The best electric saw I ever used was the Makita.
Point being the Dolmar and now Makita saws should be considered when purchasing a quality saw. My too arsenal has a strong contingency of Makita tools 3 Circular saws, drills. drywall gun, Sawzall, 8.25 bench saw, and my crown jewel the LS12 12" compound sliding miter saw. Why? They make a quality tool I can depend on day in and day out. Makita is one tool that Homedepot sells that is the same quality as bought elsewhere. Their reputation for quality tools is such Home Depot needs them on their shelves and so far Makita has not cheapened the models for Home depot. There are many other brands as good or better and it is hard to argue which are better, but if you have been on as many construction site as I have, noticeable is the pressense of Makita tools.
 
The Japanese certainly have the engineering and manufacturing expertise to build a quality chain saw. What they lack that their competitors in Sweden and Germany have, is a substantial forest products industry for testing and R&D. It makes a big difference. Hence the acquision of Sachs-Dolmar, which is a well-respected brand among professional loggers.

As a side note, Komatsu recently bought the Valmet line of mechanized logging equipment. The machines are still designed, manufactured and tested in Sweden, Finland and the United States, but Komatsu is calling the shots. From my vantage point, they look committed to a future in the forest products industry, so you may well see some more quality logging equipment (including saws) coming out of Japan.

For what it's worth, here's a news item that gives some insight into how the Japanese plan to make a very efficient plant in Umea, Sweden, even better:

"Komatsu Forest Increases Production Capacity

Komatsu Forest is expanding production at its Umea Sweden plant by 30 percent. The investment of more than $3.7 million USD will provide more efficient production with improved quality assurance and shorter lead times.

Strong demand for Valmet forestry machines drove the project. "With the growing global market we want to be sure we can meet our customers' demands," explains Hideki Yamada, CEO of Komatsu Forest. The project will be completed in March next year. Moreover, the entire reorganization is being implemented without interrupting current production.

The expansion design is the result of cooperation between engineers from Komatsu Forest (Valmet) and from Komatsu Ltd of Japan. The work includes adopting "paced production" with set assembly time intervals. Further, the number of workflows will be reduced in machine and head production.

Paced production will cut the build-time for each machine in half. Pre-assembly
activity will be increased. This means that a large number of machine components will be pre-assembled and quality-assured before reaching final assembly. As a result, final assembly will require fewer steps. Production is to be strengthened by a quality assurance group to test and tune completed machines to further improve quality. Yamada concluded, "Having access to the strength and expertise of Komatsu Ltd of Japan, especially in quality assurance, is a real advantage. Komatsu has successfully completed many projects similar to this one."
 
I have two Makita/Dolmars. a 401 and a 540. Both are very reliable and light. The 401 has the carb and muffler modified, which made it a little dream saw and the 540 has had considerable more done. It is a very strong 10lb saw.
 
Eric Johnson said:
... explains Hideki Yamada, CEO of Komatsu Forest.
Click to expand...

The name 'Yamada' is a bit disturbing... That was the name of the Japanese top secret Super Battleship in WWII, considered by Japan to be its ultimate secret weapon. It was sunk on its first mission, before it ever fired a shot.

Like having the CEO of an English company named Mr. Titanic.
 
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