Makita 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.

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

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.

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 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.

A very well designed and manufactured tool for cutting holes/openings in drywall or quickly removing a lot of drywall without making a huge mess. The adjustable depth of cut is invaluable -- no more worrying about pipes or electrical wiring within the wall. I initially thought that centering the blade in the base was a disadvantage -- the blade is 1.5" from the edge of the base -- exactly the thickness of a 2x4. But after removing a lot of drywall, I've realized the blade location is just where I want it -- just inside all the nails/screws along the wall edges. You have to deal with the 1.5" border by hand, but you have to do that anyway. With blade depth set appropriately, the rate of cutting is excellent. Dust collection is outstanding (when connected to a shop-vac). I'm using the Makita 192108-A 10-ft hose to connect to my shop vac hose). I could wish for better blade visibility when cutting but that would diminish dust collection; as it is, the blade position is well-marked on the front/sides of the base. The built-in light is very good. The hand grip is very positive and flexible -- depending on the direction you're cutting, sometimes it's easier to activate the trigger with your little finger instead of your index finger. The blade will cut through nails/screws, but it's faster to backup slightly and ease around them. All in all, it's a great specialty tool.

Best tool ever for cutting drywall to open walls. Dust-free when attached to a vacuum.

Amazing tool. Makes cutting drywall more fun than it already is! I echo the positive comments of other reviewers- saves time, effort and simplifies the cutting process. Love that it plunge cuts!

Works great to remove existing gyproc. We snapped a gride line (centered between each stud or joist) on the walls and ceilings and crossed it every 3'. Cut panels were them easy to pull down and carry to the dumpster. Depth gauge on the blade ensured that we only cut the gyproc and not the studs. Saved a lot of time cutting with a knife or gyrpoc saw. I taped a vacuum hose to the exhaust and hardly any mess was created. It would have been real nice if the exhaust outlet fit inside or outside a standard shop vac hose, as it was I taped it together with masking tape and it held for at least 4 hrs of useage. Removed a 168sqft ceiling yesterday (including snapping the grid lines, removal of gyproc and removal of screws and nails) in 45 minutes. I would recommend this to anyone doing more than a one room reno. I removed 2 ceilings (550 sqft) and 1 wall (190 sqft) and only had to charge the battery 3 times. I really saved a lot of muscle power and sore muscles by using this tool instead of doing it by hand. Super glad that I bought the tool. Shipping was about 10 days from order date.