12 Useful Makita Tools That Serve An Everyday Purpose

Makita is a leading manufacturer of cordless power tools, pneumatic nail guns, drills, saws, and many more, from the familiar to the niche. 

Established in 1915, Makita didn't enter the American market until 1985. Today, the company has three different cordless power tool platforms: CXT, LXT, and XGT. The CXT platform uses 12V batteries to power more compact tools for everyday jobs. The LXT lineup is mid-tier between 18V and 36V. Finally, the XGT line is where you'll find Makita's most powerful options. Batteries in the XGT line offer 40V or 80V, enough capacity to power demolition hammers and other power-hungry tools.

Some of the tools Makita offers might only be useful to a select few who encounter specialized scenarios (most of us probably aren't breaking up concrete very often), but many of the company's offerings are likely to be useful to lots of folks on a fairly regular basis. 

Powerful and dynamic, drills see plenty of action in most workshops or households. This Brushless Cordless 3/8-inch Hammer Drill-Driver is a compact hammer drill powered by Makita's 12V CXT batteries, which feature a built-in protection circuit to prevent overloads, overdischarging, and overheating.

In addition to common materials like wood and drywall, a hammer drill can drill into dense materials like concrete and brick. To meet these harsh demands, the drill features Makita's extreme protection technology (XPT), designed to protect it from dust and water damage.

It weighs just 2.4 pounds, including a 2Ah battery, and delivers up to 280 inch-pounds of torque. The drill has two speeds, with slow getting up to 450 RPMs and fast going more than three times as fast at 1,500 RPMs. The hammering mechanism moves even faster, delivering between 6,750 and 25,500 blows per minute (BPM).

When it's your job to make or fix things, you might be expected to work in all sorts of environments and conditions. When the summer heat settles over your humble workshop, a good fan can be one of the most universally useful tools, no matter what job you're doing.

Makita's 12V Max CXT Lithium‑Ion Cordless/Corded 7‑1/8-inch Fan weighs just 3 pounds, including a battery. According to Makita, is engineered to operate quietly by reducing wind noise. The fan features an oscillation selector and tilt settings, helping you to aim the flow of air where you want it. You'll also find an adjustable hook for hanging the fan from a wall or ceiling, either while in use or for storage.

It also has three speed settings and can run for more than 10 hours with one of Makita's 4Ah 12V Max CST batteries, on low. With the same battery, you can get up to 275 minutes of operating time on high, 380 minutes on medium, and 630 minutes on low. Or you can run the fan indefinitely using the included AC adapter and a wall socket.

Good lighting is vital when you're working with small parts, complex systems, or doing precision work. Makita's Adjustable Beam LED Flashlight weighs just 1.3 pounds with a 2Ah battery and 1.7 pounds with a 4Ah battery attached. Using the larger 4Ah battery, the light can run for up to 12 hours.

It provides up to 190 lumens, and you can transform it from a flood light into a spot light by twisting the flashlight's focusing ring. It also has a pivoting head with 12 positions, so you can customize the orientation and focus of your lighting.

The aluminum flashlight head is durable and built to handle a little bit of workshop abuse. The battery and charger are sold separately, but if you have any other 12V CXT tools from Makita, the batteries are interchangeable. While you're picking up a charger and batteries, you can also get an optional detachable magnet that lets you mount the flashlight to metal surfaces.

Makita's 12V Max CXT cordless self-leveling red beam laser can help you align materials and objects along several different axes. It can run for up to 40 hours connected to one of Makita's 4Ah 12V batteries and comes with a few accessories, like a carrying pouch and target card. There's even a low laser brightness mode to conserve battery life and extend runtime. It has a visibility range of up to 82 feet, depending on the environmental conditions of your workspace, and it's accurate to within an eighth of an inch at a distance of 33 feet.

The laser has a simple one-button user interface with several different modes, including horizontal lines, vertical lines, and cross-reference lines. It has a self-leveling function that corrects for up to 4 degrees of tilt, so you can work on uneven surfaces, and it achieves self-leveling stability within three seconds. It has rubberized housing molded over the tool to protect it from damage, and the laser windows are recessed for added protection.

This sort of tool could be useful for everything from large jobs like putting an extension on your house to hanging family photos or painting geometric patterns on the walls.

Oscillating multi-tools were invented to help doctors remove plaster casts from patients without cutting the soft flesh underneath. While your average saw will cut pretty much anything in its way (provided the blade is strong enough), an oscillating saw works differently. In order to cut, an oscillating blade needs adequate resistance, which is why they cut through rigid plaster casts without cutting the comparatively squishy skin inside.

In recent decades, those same technologies expanded beyond the medical field and into the workshop. Today, you can attach a multi-tool to a collection of different blades to do a wide range of jobs, from cutting and scraping to sanding, cleaning, and more. The 12 Max CXT Oscillating Multi-Tool is compatible with Makita brand multi-tool blades, and it comes with adapters to make it compatible with most competitors' accessories. When you're ready to change the blade, do it with the included hex key.

This lightweight multi-tool weighs just 2.4 pounds, including the battery, and a built-in LED work light helps to illuminate your workspace. Variable speed control adjusts the blade's movement rate between 6,000 and 20,000 oscillations per minute. Multi-tools are powerfully effective if you know how to use them.

When working in your garage or workshop, you probably don't want a lungful of metal shavings, pulverized rock dust, or tiny wooden slivers. Wearing a mask or respirator and eye protection can be a good first line of defense, but some scenarios or working environments might benefit from a dust extraction system.

The 36V LXT brushless backpack dry dust extractor uses two 18V 5Ah batteries and runs for about an hour on a full charge. It can be worn as a backpack and there are no cords, so you can clean up messes even without access to a socket.

It can suck up most of the potentially harmful dust in your environment before it gets into your lungs. It has a 1.6-gallon bag capacity and moves up to 64 cubic feet of air per minute. Inside, a two-stage HEPA filtration system catches the majority of particles 0.3 microns or larger.

This backpack-mounted tool weighs just 15 pounds, including two 18V 5Ah batteries and an empty dust bag. Adjustable padded shoulder straps and waist belt let you customize the fit to your body, and there are attachment holders on both sides of the harness. It can run for more than an hour on its low setting and 33 minutes on high. Then, when it's time to swap the batteries, they slide in from the sides of the harness so you can swap them out without taking it off.

Unless you do handy work for a living, it's likely that most of your tools only come out every once in a while. By contrast, if you have grass that needs mowing, you might be breaking out the mower every week the whole summer long.

Makita's 40V max XGT mower comes with two 8Ah batteries, which, when slotted together in the mower's two-bay battery system, can cut up to 1.2 acres of grass before a recharge. If you've only ever used gas-powered mowers before, switching to a battery-powered electric mower can be a game-changer, even if it only saves you from a few trips to the gas station. Also, they're often quieter and need less maintenance.

The mower features variable speed cruise control, allowing speeds between 1 and 3 miles per hour. The nine-inch wheels help to roll over rough and uneven terrain, and the whole thing is IPX4 weather-resistant to help it stand up to the elements. When you're mowing, you can adjust the blade height between 1.25 and 4 inches and choose between mulching, bagging, or side discharge of grass clippings. And when you're finally finished (until next week), the handle folds forward to make the mower more compact for storage.

They say that a large part of success is having the right tool for the job, and that's seemingly true of tool storage as well. Makita's MAKPAC storage system (not to be confused with MakTrak) is modular, with differently designed modules each capable of connecting to others in several combinations and formats. MAKPAC users can ostensibly create a unique tool storage setup to fit their individual needs, and adjust that setup as those needs evolve and change.

Within the MAKPAC lineup, there are tool boxes large and small and modules with differently sized drawers built in, all of which are stackable, interlocking, and can be transported using the MAKPAC interlocking case cart. You can customize your setup with universal insert trays, insert trays with colored compartments, customizable foam inserts, and more. There's even an insulated cooler box so you can crack open a cold one (responsibly) once the work day is done.

Anytime you're working with power tools, there's a certain amount of risk. When you're on the job or just playing in the garage on the weekend, it's important to always use tools with caution. That might mean slowing down and making a plan, it might mean having a buddy in case something goes wrong, and it definitely means wearing the appropriate safety gear.

Makita's combo safety helmet could help to protect the most valuable tool in your collection from damage. It's intended for use with Makita chainsaws and is designed to protect you against various potential chainsaw dangers. The hard hat protects your head from impact injuries, the mask protects your face from dust and debris, and the adjustable ear mufflers protect your hearing.

It weighs less than 2 pounds to help prevent fatigue, has adjustable straps to fit the user's head shape, and features a mesh face mask. The mesh offers some protection from sawdust and debris without fogging up the way a solid plastic visor might.

A pressure washer can be used to clean hard-to-reach spaces, stubborn messes, or large areas, like the exterior of your home, with relative ease. You can also use pressure to clear away debris, like flushing out your gutters. If you've got an outdoor mess, there's a good chance a pressure washer can help.

Makita's 40V max cordless pressure washer isn't picky; it can either attach to your garden hose or use its siphon function to pull water from almost any freshwater source, from pool to pond. It can generate a moderately impressive 1,300 psi, managed across three power levels. It weighs just 18.7 pounds without batteries and 24.5 pounds with them, so it's relatively easy to transport using the washer's telescoping handle and 5.5-inch wheels.

It comes with a variable spray wand, trigger gun, 16-inch high-pressure hose, self-priming hose connector, 10-inch water hose assembly, strainer assembly, water hose coupling sleeve, cleaner pin, and a cyclone jet wand designed for cleaning driveways, garages, and other concrete surfaces. It will run for up to an hour on two 40V XGT 5Ah batteries, sold separately.

If you've ever had to fill up party balloons with your mouth and lungs, you can appreciate how much effort it takes. Humans aren't really built for efficiently pumping a bunch of air from here to there. By contrast, that's exactly what an air pump is designed to do.

An electric inflator can be useful in the workshop, but it might be even more useful in your daily life, rapidly inflating air mattresses, inflatable rafts, pool toys, car tires, bike tires, and more. Makita's Outdoor Adventure inflator delivers up to 120 psi of pressure, and it automatically shuts off when it reaches the desired pressure.

The inflator comes with one 18V LXT 1.5Ah battery, a charger, a Presta valve (bike tube) adapter, a sports ball needle, and a tapered adapter. It has a backlit pressure gauge display, an LED worklight for all of your nighttime inflation needs, and a 25.5-inch air hose. Not that reach will be an issue since you're untethered from any electrical outlet.

A coffee machine won't recharge your batteries or power tools, but it could recharge you. Makita's cordless coffee maker is compatible with the company's 12V max CXT batteries and 18V LXT batteries. It can brew a cup of coffee in about five minutes and lets you take free coffee with you anywhere, even off the grid. 

Makita estimates you can brew up to three cups on a full charge of a 5Ah battery and about two cups with a 3Ah battery. For a little added convenience, it has a permanent drip filter built in, so you can pour coffee grounds (or single-serving coffee pouches) straight into the coffee maker without needing paper filters.

The machine stands at just over 8.5 inches tall with the handle folded down, can accommodate cups or mugs up to 3.5 inches tall, and weighs just under five pounds, so it's easy to cart around to work sites, campgrounds, and anywhere else you might need a fresh cup.