# All-singin' all-dancin' Makita RTO700CX3



## JCJCJC (May 15, 2012)

Just wondering if anybody has bought and used one of these new Makitas, which seem to offer all sorts of wonderful possibilities and things to play with?










I'm sorely tempted but I'd like to read honest reviews first.

JC


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## Phil P (Jul 25, 2010)

Hi John

So would I. They went on sale in the UK last month, but we aren't being allowed the CX3 kit, only the CX2 kit (same as the CX3, but without the offset base?). I've asked a couple of mak dealers around here, but they haven't even seen one yet. On the other hand if I'd like to order one..... I'm up near another less local dealer who has a massive wall of Makitas later in the week so I'll keep my eyes peeled

Regards

Phil


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## harrysin (Jan 15, 2007)

John, if this was to be your only router I'd suggest that you give it a miss and instead buy a Makita RP2301FC, however because you already have other routers my advice would be go out and buy it before they up the price. As members here could tell you, Makita is my fovourite brand and I have four of them which are in regular use, The 3612C being the main one for freehand use but now replaced by the RP2301FC.


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## JCJCJC (May 15, 2012)

harrysin said:


> John, if this was to be your only router I'd suggest that you give it a miss and instead buy a Makita RP2301FC, however because you already have other routers my advice would be go out and buy it before they up the price. As members here could tell you, Makita is my fovourite brand and I have four of them which are in regular use, The 3612C being the main one for freehand use but now replaced by the RP2301FC.


Thanks Phil & Harry. I'm fortunate to have a regular means of getting new toys in from the USA, so I can buy at US prices. It means the voltage will be 110, but that isn't a problem because I have a 110v transformer running my table saw and chop saw already. I actually have a Ridgid EB4424 oscillating edge belt sander on the way this week, it's much sought-after by guitar builders and is considered to be the best by consensus on the American guitar forums. I think that Makita will be next...


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## greenacres2 (Dec 23, 2011)

JCJCJC said:


> Thanks Phil & Harry. I'm fortunate to have a regular means of getting new toys in from the USA, so I can buy at US prices. It means the voltage will be 110, but that isn't a problem because I have a 110v transformer running my table saw and chop saw already. I actually have a Ridgid EB4424 oscillating edge belt sander on the way this week, it's much sought-after by guitar builders and is considered to be the best by consensus on the American guitar forums. I think that Makita will be next...


Why the Ridgid for guitar builders? I'm in the market, leaning at the moment toward the Grizzly with the 20 x 14 rectangular table (it LOOKS more usable to me than round--but no real experience to base that on. It could be psychological!!). I've got a 6" belt sander, not quite seeing how i'd use the belt function on the Ridgid. Would appreciate any info you can share. Thanks!!


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## jschaben (Jun 21, 2009)

JCJCJC said:


> Just wondering if anybody has bought and used one of these new Makitas, which seem to offer all sorts of wonderful possibilities and things to play with?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Hi John - I haven't got the Makita but I have got the Bosch Colt installers kit and just got the plunge base. Looks like about the same capabilities all told; offset base, angle base, fixed base and plunge base along with edge and roller guides. Looks like the offset base is the same as the Bosch; belt driven and no capability to adjust depth of cut. It will, however, get in where nothing else fits. So far, that has been my biggest complaint with the system. Extremely versatile, and for $228 a steal compared to the Bosch. I've got about $275 tied up in the Bosch and still haven't got dust collection.


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## JCJCJC (May 15, 2012)

greenacres2 said:


> Why the Ridgid for guitar builders? I'm in the market, leaning at the moment toward the Grizzly with the 20 x 14 rectangular table (it LOOKS more usable to me than round--but no real experience to base that on. It could be psychological!!). I've got a 6" belt sander, not quite seeing how i'd use the belt function on the Ridgid. Would appreciate any info you can share. Thanks!!


Well, it's mostly for the concave curves on electric guitar bodies - what else will sand plumb and square inside the horn of a strat, tele or SG? It also makes the sides perpendicular to the top and back in general shaping of body blanks. It's also used for the headstock transition. The fact that it oscillates, ie up-and-down as the belt is moving, means it won't (I hope anyway) leave linear striations - that's lawyer for scratches - on the wood. The biggest limit I can foresee is that belts aren't made with fine grits, so some hand-finishing is still inevitable.

There's a danger that I'll be accused of turning this router forum into a guitar forum - that's not my intention and as a noob here I don't want to upset the status-quo - there's a lifetime of reading on guitar-making on tdpri.com/forums/tele-home-depot for anyone who wants info.


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## JCJCJC (May 15, 2012)

jschaben said:


> Hi John - I haven't got the Makita but I have got the Bosch Colt installers kit and just got the plunge base. Looks like about the same capabilities all told; offset base, angle base, fixed base and plunge base along with edge and roller guides. Looks like the offset base is the same as the Bosch; belt driven and no capability to adjust depth of cut. It will, however, get in where nothing else fits. So far, that has been my biggest complaint with the system. Extremely versatile, and for $228 a steal compared to the Bosch. I've got about $275 tied up in the Bosch and still haven't got dust collection.


Well, you have to ask yourself how different are these things anyway since some manufacturers come straight out and say they're made in China. Look at these planers for example:


























I somehow doubt that three design teams in three different places all came up with their own idea of a small planer. The Bosch and the Makita may very well come from a common assembly and/or manufacturing facility in China, so they may not be very different.
Dust collection is something I've been careless about - I have a concrete yard just outside my shed and I have most of my gear on wheels, so on nice days I work in the open air and let the wind take care of the dust. 
Maybe after the Ridgid and this Makita I'll buy a shop vac ;-)

JC


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## greenacres2 (Dec 23, 2011)

JCJCJC said:


> Well, it's mostly for the concave curves on electric guitar bodies - what else will sand plumb and square inside the horn of a strat, tele or SG? It also makes the sides perpendicular to the top and back in general shaping of body blanks. It's also used for the headstock transition. The fact that it oscillates, ie up-and-down as the belt is moving, means it won't (I hope anyway) leave linear striations - that's lawyer for scratches - on the wood. The biggest limit I can foresee is that belts aren't made with fine grits, so some hand-finishing is still inevitable.
> 
> There's a danger that I'll be accused of turning this router forum into a guitar forum - that's not my intention and as a noob here I don't want to upset the status-quo - there's a lifetime of reading on guitar-making on tdpri.com/forums/tele-home-depot for anyone who wants info.


I'm making some Christmas ornaments, and didn't think about how thick the blocks were (they'll be resawn to about and 1/8" thickness) until i pulled out my sanding drum kit and learned that 4" drums will work better on 3" thick stock!! Concidentally, they are acoustic gutars (adapted from a ukelele plan) so it's sort of my first guitar build!! I hadn't understood that the belt oscillated too--that's pretty cool.

Router content--the neck slots were cut on my router table, and the photo was taken on the same router table, with a 1/4" Whiteside zero clearance attached. Further, i was pretty set on picking up a Bosch Colt and plunge base, but that Makita kit looks like a great value--will have to look in person!!


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## papawd (Jan 5, 2011)

I have 5 different sanders and yes the Ridgid is the one I use the most....


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## cagenuts (May 8, 2010)

Phil P said:


> They went on sale in the UK last month, but we aren't being allowed the CX3 kit, only the CX2 kit (same as the CX3, but without the offset base?). I've asked a couple of mak dealers around here, but they haven't even seen one yet.


Wow, can't believe this. Here in deepest darkest Africa they are available. I bought one in September already. Like in the UK, we only have access to the CX2 kit but to be honest I don't think the off-set base is that useful. I have off-set Milescraft plates for my bigger routers so I doubt I will be missing this feature.

The router is absolutely beautiful to look at and to hold. Very comfortable in my hands and the feature I like most is the small plunge base. Very smooth action but the lever to lock the plunge is on the left side which is possibly a problem for those who are semi ambidextrous.

Anyway, looks great next to my other new Makita, the LB1200F Band Saw.

Can we post reviews on this forum?


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## Phil P (Jul 25, 2010)

cagenuts said:


> Wow, can't believe this. Here in deepest darkest Africa they are available. I bought one in September already.


Believe it, Hilton. They went on sale in September, but checking round this week nobody within about 25 miles of me has one, or has even ordered stock. Odd when you consider that within that radius we have two cities and several large towns. Makita items sometimes come late to the UK (e.g. the LS1016 SCMS saw) because Makita's UK manufacturing arm is bidding for assembly here (which is why we had to wait for over a year on that saw - at least they'd debugged it by the time we got it!)

I'm interested in the Makita as an alternative to the Bosch GKF600 (Colt), partly because it comes with a plunge base out of the box - the GKF600/Colt plunge base doesn't yet have an expected date to the UK - and partly because it has an 8mm collet available (the GKF600/Colt only goes to 1/4in). To my mind the DW isn't suitable as it has no offset base available - and I need that for wall scribes - so the choice is between the Mak and the Bosch. Allthough that's not looking like much of a choice at present!



cagenuts said:


> Can we post reviews on this forum?


That would be great. There are "reviews" on the net, but as they're from the manufacturer who's to say there's no bias?

Regards

Phil


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## JCJCJC (May 15, 2012)

*Makita 1-1/4 HP* Model # RT0700CX3*

Hi guys - I haven't been very active on this forum lately. I now have a friend going to Portland OR. next week, so I have a chance of getting one of these Makitas. Can anybody tell me what are the outer dimensions of the carry-bag, and do you think is it secure enough to load on a plane with ordinary luggage - ie will it withstand the humping and banging of airport baggage-handing? The bag need not arrive here in mint condition, but I don't want to over-burden my friend.

JC


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## cagenuts (May 8, 2010)

The bag is packed in a normal cardboard box with the router and accessories within that. I think it should be fine.

Mine is the CX2 as it doesn't have the offset base but I doubt Makita made a different sized box for the CX3.

Dimensions of the box are 440mm x 330 mm x 330mm.

The bag fits snugly in the box so even if you take it out the overall dimensions won't change that much, maybe 5mm if that.

Hope this helps.


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## JCJCJC (May 15, 2012)

cagenuts said:


> The bag is packed in a normal cardboard box with the router and accessories within that. I think it should be fine.
> 
> Mine is the CX2 as it doesn't have the offset base but I doubt Makita made a different sized box for the CX3.
> 
> ...


Hilton - it helps enormously, thank you my friend. JC


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## Mike (Nov 22, 2004)

John, I urged Makita to participate in our small router review but they did not respond. I have the Colt and can tell you I really like it. I think the smaller size and the ability to use the Colt with one hand are big pluses; we all have our bigger routers for jobs requiring more power. I am sure the Makita will perform well. I think it would be easier to get parts for the Colt in your neck of the woods. Decisions, decisions!


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## harrysin (Jan 15, 2007)

If you haven't yet committed, take a look at this video. If I didn't have routers for all purposes I would definitely give serious consideration to this Makita kit.

Makita RT0700C Router Trimmer with Alan Holtham - In Depth Video Of The New Makita RT0700C Compact Router


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## cagenuts (May 8, 2010)

harrysin said:


> If you haven't yet committed, take a look at this video. If I didn't have routers for all purposes I would definitely give serious consideration to this Makita kit.


That's exactly the video I watched last year which helped push the go button.


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## JCJCJC (May 15, 2012)

harrysin said:


> If you haven't yet committed, take a look at this video. If I didn't have routers for all purposes I would definitely give serious consideration to this Makita kit.
> 
> Makita RT0700C Router Trimmer with Alan Holtham - In Depth Video Of The New Makita RT0700C Compact Router


I don't think any collector of gadgets could watch that video and not want one. I have a fairly reliable scout going to the US in the next few weeks, I think I'll put Homer's Depot on her itinerary ;-)

Harry - parts? you mean it'll need parts? ;-)


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## Woodrocket (Sep 11, 2013)

Just wondering how many of the specialty bases etc that you will actually use? Some of the goodies in an installers kits are pretty specialized for their needs. Just like buying a router bit set, some of the items will just sit in a drawer collecting dust and burning storage space. Just saying...


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## cagenuts (May 8, 2010)

For some reason, Makita has decided that US consumers need the off-set base but those who use Metric and drive on the left hand side of the road are not clever enough so we don't get it in the box.

You can always buy the router without the bases. Just saying...


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## harrysin (Jan 15, 2007)

Look what I received first thing this morning from America in just four days, DHL sure know how to move things really fast.


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## cagenuts (May 8, 2010)

Nice Harry!

Is it just me or do others prefer the rubber power cord over the plastic coated cheap ones?

Maybe I just have a fetish........


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## harrysin (Jan 15, 2007)

Hilton, one objection that I've had with my old Makita trim router and it's repeated on this new one is that the power cord is thick enough to power my whole shed! It also becomes very rigid in cold weather (no wise cracks guys!)


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