This tool is one of Makita’s 18 volt LXT Lithium Ion family. I purchased it as a bare tool, meaning no batteries or charge in the package. I hoped that I could use it for various sawing and cutting jobs that proved awkward for other power tools and were too tedious to do with hand tools. My first project was a surprise. I was removing some wood exterior window trim and found that as I pulled it off, the caulk, although probably more than two decades old, was actually pulling off some of the paint and splinters of the underlying redwood siding! I put a 2 inch scraper blade on the tool and used it to cut through the caulk flush with the siding. Ad a medium power setting, it made very short work of the job, leaving a smooth surface ready for painting!
My next use of the tool was also completely unexpected. I was gearing up to help a family member with a roofing project and saw the Dremel MM430 Multi-Knife blade. It has a wicket hook blade that I thought might have occasional use cutting shingles. I found that I could make short and beautiful work of trimming shingles in open valleys by simply running a chalk line and letting the blunt side of the blade ride on the metal flashing and just follow the chalk line down the valley! It cut through two full architectural type shingles (meaning 4 layers of shingle material) like butter! It also made short work of flush trim cuts along the roof rake edge. I’ll never do a roof without it! Especially for an amateur, this tool made short work of these jobs.
The Makita XMT03Z is a great addition to my Makita cordless family. While I bought mine at my local builder’s supply, Friedman’s, it is readily available through Amazon as a bare tool. See the previous link. I have only scratched the surface here, but the roofing use alone paid for it! This was my first experience with an oscillating multitool. This particular model is fairly comfortable to use, has power to burn for most applications, and is easy to control. Some descrptions of this particular model state that it has an LED light, which is true of the earlier 02Z model. This model does NOT have a light. I look for creativity from Makita in bulding the light back in to the next model.
Safety Warning!! When swinging the quick change lever closed, keep your fingers OUT OF THE WAY! It will snap closed with a vengeance and put a nice bruise on the unsuspecting fingernail!
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