MAKITA 18V LI-ION Grass Trimmer (Product Only) - DUM604ZX

This is very much a first impression feedback which, I hope, addresses a couple of points in some other reviews. Firstly. As noted more on the sales page this is supplied as a BARE UNIT. Some buyer missed that there is no battery or charger. As with other professional equipment companies, items are sold this way as many users already have sufficient batteries. If you need a battery and charger they can together cost more than the tool. Secondly, changing from grass cutter to hedge trimmer is very easy and takes less than two minutes. You do need to read the instructions. They could be slightly clearer but all the information is there. The part that seems to confuse is that when the cutter has been removed a small rotating disc can be seen. For use as a grass trimmer it should show two concentric discs of different sizes. For use a hedge trimmer the discs are the same size. See photos with review. To change from one to the other just pull the disc off the pins, turn it over and push back on the pins. It is easy to pull off but grease makes it slippery so I use a pair of pliers to grip it. The instructions show the small locating pins lined up along the length of the tool for the grass side and across the tool for the hedge side. Rather than trying to turn the disc just leave it where it is and when placing the new blades in place slide the cutting blade a little (wearing gloves) and it will drop into place as soon as it lines up correctly with the disc. Now down to impressions of the tool itself. I have tended to standardise on DeWalt kit as I could also buy bare units to use my existing set of batteries. I have however purchased a Makita mower which came with batteries and charger so buying this grass trimmer was an economic decision. If I had no batteries and no intention of buying other Makita kit maybe the economics would not be so clear cut and I would have looked at cheaper options. Maybe one which came with a built in battery although they tend to work at a lower voltage and have less power. There is however no doubt that this is a quality made item and the extra power from 18 volts makes it a pleasure to use. I mainly use it as a grass trimmer but have tried the hedge trimmer and on thin growth it is OK. I guess I will still get my larger trimmer out on occasions especially if the growth gets heavier. The instruction do make it clear that any growth over 10mm should be removed with shears. A couple of small criticisms. The grass tray that fits on the bottom is not fantastically useful but it does act as a guide so the grass is not cut too short. It is a shame though that th size options do not match the mower size options. I have the mower set to 50mm but the longest option on the shears is 25. The principle of a guide is quite good though and I am looking at either sticking or screwing a spacer on the bottom to lift it to 50mm.The cuttings tray on the hedge trimmer is even less use. It is only an option if working horizontally and although it helps to keep cutting from dropping into the hedge its not fantastic. Both these items are really just lumps of plastic so not using them is hardly a big issue.

I am a big Makita fan, owning a lot of their products but this was one that ALMOST went back from out of the box. The problem...the instructions! To switch from the cutting comb to the trimmer shears seems at first glance to be straight forward, unlocking the base plate removing the grass cutting fingers and then neatly dropping the trimming shears into place. All seems simple until it proves impossible to fix the locking plate back. The instruction manual seemed confusing although it mentions " remove the cam". To get the shears to work the cam (a round silver plate on the base) has to be pulled off and then TURNED OVER and realigned. At which point the shears drop into place perfectly. An hour of my life struggling to resolve this, even packing the thing back into the box - all for the sake of a little more clarity in the instructions. Once it's reversed the shears work flawlessly - as you expect of Makita. The product is great, the manual - well NAFF is the best description.

Handy for edging the garden grass. Works well against timber frames. Oil it now and then. Good blades for grass shearer but the system is totally let down by what could be a much better mini hedge trimmer. The hedge trimmer is weak, weak, weak. Advertised as a hedge trimming unit but the hedge would have to be fine, extremely fine. Mine is not ! Sadly ! Do not mix up the rotation of the drive unit or you will get a huge loss of power - can happenwhen changing from shears to trimmer.

Very nice I love it

This is a amazing tool although small it’s very powerful with a great cut out to stop it from damaging the motor. I took out all of my hedges with the tool and it makes light work in both modes. Just remember to flip the locator piece (it looks like a coin) and it needs flipping between swapping form hedge trimmer to grass cutter the instructions are unclear

The hedge cutting blade does not work at all. No action or movement. Very disappointed, very un makita like.

Powerful, easy to use, lightweight. Bought this to trim hedges, grass banks etc where I can't use a strimmer - easy to use and powerful too.

I absolutely love this tool it’s so useful! I use it to cut tricky edges, shape bushes, trim plants etc.,

Prima graskant schaar en buxusschaar

Kanon

Klasse Gartenschere. Makita hält, was es verspricht

Muito boa a ferramenta. Útil para cortar a grama em pequenos locais e podar a cerca viva.

I was a little hesitant to purchase because of a few negative reviews but more than glad I did. It far exceeds my expectations and was easy and fun to use and wish I had more cedars to trim. It reminded me of trimming my boys hair without having to tell them to keep still. One of the best tools on the shed and runs for a very long time with a 6 amp battery.