XDS01Z 18V LXT Lithium-Ion Cordless Cut-Out Saw, Tool Only

Pros The Makita XDS01Z cut-out saw is fantastic. The adjustable blade depth makes it versatile for different drywall thicknesses, and it cuts quickly while staying nearly dust-free when connected to a vacuum. It transforms drywall demo—a task I’ve always dreaded—into something fast, controlled, and clean. Cons None. Value At $229.86 (time of review), the price is in line with other Makita tools and fair for the quality. The real value comes from how much it simplifies one of the worst jobs in renovation. Overall This is the drywall tool I didn’t know I needed. It makes an awful job almost enjoyable, and I’d absolutely order it again. I’d even lend mine out just to convince others how good it is.

I put off getting this for over a year. First I own DeWalt tools and it is sold as a tool only. So the cost is very high for one tool. You've now got to go out and buy a charger and battery. That said, I'm remodeling my house. I needed to put in a lot of sockets in each room. So I cut a line below the baseboard in all the rooms. First this tool is so quiet. It cuts a 1/16" line and its perfect. No dust, cuts just through the drywall and the backer paper and you are done. I cut a 19 foot strip in my living room that took 1 minute 50 seconds. No mess. When I was done, I just attach my vacuum to the tool and vacuum out the dust. For me having the vacuum attached the entire time would be more of a pain. So I'm finding lots of project for this tool. If you are a handyman or contractor, well this is a quick way to cut into someones wall without all the mess. What I'm doing now, had I had to use a recipricating saw and cut all of this, it would have been a great deal harder. Messy, unwanted drywall damage, possible severed wires behind the drywall and broken bits of drywall. The battery and charger can be found for 1/2 the price if you search around. I'm glad I bought this, it was well worth the money.

If you do any remodeling or if you're remodeling contractor this tool is for you. It's almost dust free without the vacuum. I wish it would have came out years ago. Great for cutting out sheetrock after you found the center of your studs. Just skip over each nail or screw as you come to them.

This is one of the best tools i have bought in a long time. It is a tool fought over in our company. Only wished I could get like 5 more of these. So Makita send me this product lol. This product has worked for fire damages, water damages, cutting drywall out, making repairs to drywalls. I cant say enough for this product. This is a banger for the product

This saw is a serious time saver. It cuts 5/8 sheetrock at about 6" per second without pushing it too hard. It is MUCH quieter and faster than using an oscilating tool. The grip angle works well for vertical and overhead use. A few things to note if you are considering this saw: The Makita replacement blades are almost $15 a piece. They do work well but the first screw I hit bent and rounded off about 4 teeth. It still functioned but made a noticeably wider cut and more dust. I flattened the teeth back out with a chisel and hammer and it still works but I dont think it will take too many hits like this. You can use 18mm snap blades in this thing, I used Tajimas rock hard edge blades. You snap off 3 sections of blade and reverse the little hold-down on the blade holder. I tried cheap blades and they shattered when I tightened them so you may have to find blades that work for you. You also have to manually set the depth on the blade when it is at the bottom of its down stroke. They seem to cut about as fast as the Makita blades. Be weary that you have ~5/8 of razor blade sticking out the bottom of the tool. Here is my biggest gripe with this thing: The plastic shroud with the dust hose attachment becomes instantly coated in gypsum dust and you can no longer see the blade whether you have it hooked up to a vacuum or not. This compounds the problem (not an issue if you are just making a rough tape-able cutout) that neither the Makita blade or the snap razor blades seem to follow the V groove cut line indicator. I found that if you remove the plastic dust shroud that I could make absolutely perfect straight cuts by watching the blade. It does not produce much dust while cutting so for all but furnished interior work I will just leave the cover off. That said, this is a great tool and will save you a lot of time.

This tool works better than expected. It is almost 100% dustless with a vaccum. It is still easy to manuver and cut straight lines as the hose swivel does not interfere with movements. As a side note it can be used without a vaccum for short runs because the vendor supplies a cap for the hose swivel and the tool fan blows dust into the dust container. I see almost no dust when using this tool and it makes it worth the price. The blade adjustment could be better/easier. The bad is Makita does not give any vaccum hose adapters in the box. I had to pay $30 for an adapter to my 1 1/2 hose. Geez. This is a niche product so the blades are expensive. I only found drywall blades and none of the wood blades it is supposed to work with. On the good side the blades seems to be lasting a long time. The tool is very light and easy to handle. Makita seems to have fallen behind on the adjustments of their tools. I have other tools that are a lot faster to set height and angle.

This is absolutely the coolest tool!!! It's easy to handle. Comes with an inlet to hook a vacuum to it. The saw can be adjusted from 1/2" to 5/8" depth for cutting sheet rock w/o having to worry about hitting pipes or wires in the wall. The vacuum inlet allows you to cut with almost zero dust. Perfect for restoration and repair companies!

This cutter is fantastic. It's extremely light weight and nicely balanced. I use it strictly for Drywall repair type work. It makes a nice clean cut and so much faster and easier than a blade. No more running my blade down the center of a stud a hundred times (while trying to firmly hold a level against the cut line) so I can safely remove a piece of the wall. With this tool, I mark my line and start cutting right down the center of the stud. The blade never touches anything behind the drywall. It's just awesome. I do wish Makita would have put a quick change option for removing the blade. As it stands, you have to remove two allen screws. Kind of a pain, but I'm guessing they don't expect you to be changing blades that often (I haven't used it enough yet for a blade change). Oh and that's the other part - those blades are not cheap! -- especially the optional wood cutting blades. You do have the option of using 18mm snap blades instead of the Makita blade. Haven't tried that yet, but at least I know it's there. And I do wish it had a flush cut option (perhaps some type of specialty blade). As it is, you can't cut right up to a corner, as the blade is set back a few inches from the front of the shoe. You have to finish off your cut with a blade. That being said, I absolutely love this saw. Makita did an excellent job on this tool and that's coming from someone who owns 99% DeWalt