I was going to get the Bosch 4000 and saw the Makita at a local Home Depot. I looked over the saw for an hour and decided I would get it. Here is the number 1 reason to get this saw: the fence has allen screws on the top to fine tune it parallel to the blade. Once it is adjusted it stays parallel. As far as I know no other saw offers this. Undercarriage is all metal and the bevel gears are METAL not plastic like the Bosch and every other saw. 3 5/8 blade depth is good. Power is very good ,I cut thru 8/4 white oak without a problem and the cut was relatively smooth.The saw is almost as quiet as my General cabinet saw. The cart is very good and easy to use. The only drawbwck is that when stored on it's end it extends somewhat beacause it uses gas cartridges and as far as I can see does'nt have a locking mechanism. It has a unique 2 lever locking system for the extension table (25 inch cut) The only downside is that it doesn't have provisions for a outfeed table and is 38 inches tall (about the same as the bosch. The weight is a little high but was easy to get on my tailgate to roll in my pickup. Don't confuse this saw with the 2703, this is a new design. I believe this saw will beat out the bosch when the reviews come out.

This is a fine table saw. It's easy to set up, smooth running, stable and sturdy, and it's easy on the back as it rolls on sturdy wheels. The few quibbles that I have are relatively minor and since the saw is new I may find other solutions over time. First, the fence adjustment is not as easy as it sounds and the manual is severely lacking in information. There are 4 allen screws on top of the fence and not two as the manual states. I had to play hit or miss to make the fence parallel to the blade. The scale layout for the fence is very ambiguous even with the magnifier. The centimeter scale is seen better than the inch one. The fence lock and adjustment is better on the Dewalt 10"; I like their rotating knob adjustment. Now the good stuff. The table itself is firm and steady and ready to rip full sheets of plywood. With the blade recessed I use it as workbench for sanding etc. because it is so big and steady. The table extension is great. The blade goes up and down smoothly and easily and the best part is the smoothness of the motor. It's quiet and strong and goes through 4x4 pressure treated stock like butter; hardwoods too. And the brake works perfectly. I haven't tried the miter guage yet so I can't comment but with minor tweaking this could be the best and smoothest portable on the market. Oh, and best of all I got this saw for under $500 with free shipping from Tyler Tool. What a deal.
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br /After using this saw for a while I want to downgrade it for several reasons mostly the fence. The adjustment is haphazard and inaccurate and does not stay square to the blade when clamped. I see no way to remedy the problem. The Dewalt has a great fence adjustment and tightening system but the table is too small for sheet goods. Also the blade insert is not stable and is hard or impossible to get to sit flat on all sides and the blade cannot be adjusted parallel to the table. All in all the saw has much promise but fails to fulfill in all the important ways.

I recently purchased the Makita 2704 table saw with rolling stand after seriously considering the new Bosch 4000.
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br /I chose the Makita because it has metal gears that raise and lower the blade, 3 and 9/16'' rip height capacity and T shaped slot for stock miter guage and aftermarket accessories.
br /I am impressed by the saws smooth powerful motor and brake, accurate fence and well designed sliding extention table. The extention table is strong and I like the dual locking lever system. I have no doubt that this saw will offer several years of reliability if treated with care.
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br /I am dissapointed with how the plastic base is designed and constucted. The saw boasts onboard fence, spare blade and wrench storage, however they dont fit tightly in the storage areas. The fence rattles around alotwhen stored and the wrenches will fall off and get lost in your van. The cord wrap knobbs feel flimsy and the cord exits the base where the cord is to be wrapped. To wrap the cord you must bend the reinforced cord base over itself which stresses it. A 45 degree cord base should have been used, I anticipate replacing the cord several times. The saw doesnt include a dadoe or zero tolleance insert and the blade guard is mounted through the stock insert weakening the insert. I never use the blade guard and when it is not installed you are left with a 3/4 by 1 inch hole in the insert. The insert flexes with the slight pressure of a finger. The Bosch insert and base are much more thoughtfully designed. I am concerned with the bevel adjustment knobb and gears, both are plastic. The bevel locking lever feels flimsy and will bend if over tightened. The stand is nice but doesnt lock for vertical storage . Both the Makita and Bosch saw and stand require plenty of room in your van and two people to load them. Forget rolling them down the basement stairs, their too akward and the saws are too wide. I plan on selling my stand and purchasing a Rousseau stand table. The Instruction manual is reminisant of Ikea pictograms and contains vague and often inaccurate descriptions.
br / I chose the makita for its rugged sliding top, metal gears, fence, best in class rip height capacity and its quiet powerfull smooth motor and brake. Those qualities are the most important to me and outweigh the design flaws of the base and insert.

I'm an occasional weeked do-it-your-selfer. I've owned my Makita 2704 for about 8 months, and I've completed several projects with it, including three nice pieces of furniture. I bought the saw because of the stand, the T slots in the table, the adjusting wheel for the blade bevel, and the large rip depth. All those are very nice features.
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br /So why only three stars? I know the 2704 is a contractors saw, but that seems a poor excuse for leaving off any way to adjust the alignment of the table to the blade. The Bosch allows such alignment, why not Makita? There's also the nuisance of putting on or removing the blade guard. I know some people say they don't use guards. I hope they're not ripping without one, because if they are they will soon enough eat a board. It's possible to wiggle your arm under the saw base to reach the button for releasing the blade guard latch on the Makita, but there has to be a better way.
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br /Some further complaints. The throat plate is very flimsy, which can really affect accuracy when cutting small pieces. And finally, my biggest aggravation -- the fence and the table extension. The fence locks onto the table extension, which is not very securely held in place by the supposed locking levers. So the fence (actually the table extension) wobbles from side to side as you push your work through the saw. I managed to fix the problem by using two small Irwin clamps to hold the table extension solidly in place, but it should not be necessary to jury rig a fix like that, and it it wouldn't work very well for ripping anything more than a foot wide.
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br /The bottom line is that some inexcusable design flaws have marred what otherwise would be the state of the art best portable saw on the market. It's a real shame.

I Bought this saw about a year ago and thought it was wonderful. Everything on it worked great. A couple of months later the handle to tighten the miter adjustment stripped out. I ordered replacement parts from Makita and received them in a very timely fasion. Shortly after that it stripped again so I made my own replacement parts that work much better. Unfortunately other cheap plastic parts on it are starting to fail and fall apart. I am a big believer in Makita tools and own many for my contracting business, but I strongly suggest buying a different saw. The best part on the saw is the folding stand which I now use to hold my old De Walt rack and pinion table saw.

A month ago I bought this saw from Tyler Tools to replace the old Delta 9" I've been lugging out to jobs. Now that I've used it daily I feel that I'm qualified to write this review. This is a very good little saw. My opinion of Makita tools might be biased because of past good experiences with their other tools (though their cordless tools don't impress me much) however there is just no denying that this is a well designed machine. All the tools store on-board the saw base - tightly. Just like the Bosch - the blade storage is also on-board the base. I bet the machined aluminum table will long outlast the Bosch and Rigid as will the metal gears. I hooked up the shop vac to the saw's dust port and was relieved of 90% of the dust generated during the ripping of MDF. Another reviewer commented that the bevel release levers were flimsy. Well - you really don't need to crank on it that much to release or lock it. Unfortunately the saw doesn't come packaged with any finesse. That you have to bring to work yourself.
br /This saw has more than enough power to handle ripping most any materials. The fence is sufficient. You got to remember it's not a cabinet saw and your not buying a Biesemeyer fence. The table extension works great.
br /The reasons I didn't give it a fifth star:
br /1. Makita greased up the front and rear fence rails with what appears to be cosmolene. Why? I had to wipe the thing down when I first unpacked it and I'm still wiping it off.
br /2. Although the stand seems to be working just fine - I don't have that kind of faith in it - yet. The jury is still out.
br /3. The plastic push stick is pure home owner crap. Makita could have spent the cost of it by adding 1 foot more to the length of the power cord.
br /So, all you contractors and big dollar carpenters, hurry on down to your favorite on-line store (Tyler Tools) and get yourself this mighty fine saw! You won't regret it.

The makita table saw is a great all around saw. It is easy to move around and is very stable with the portable stand. The only bad part of my deal was with amazon. The checkout is confusing and if you need to talk with someone about a mistake or a problem good luck. CUSTOMER SERVICE HERE SUCKS.

Well after running some wood thought it I am glad I got it. Works great and runs super smooth.