Professional Tool Reviews for Pros

Makita has come out with a brushless solution for making fast and accurate cuts on threaded rod that won’t leave you with a bunch of pesky rework to do. It differs in style from its main competition and should make overhead cuts much easier.

The biggest talking point about the Makita threaded rod cutter revolves around the tool’s design, size, and weight. The compact design can be toted around pretty much anywhere.

There’s a hang hook onboard, but Makita advises against using it on your belt to avoid potential injury. Instead, they make a shoulder strap to free up your hands when you’re climbing with it.

Considering its 7-lb weight (with the battery attached) and the angle of the handle to the cutter, this tool’s design really makes overhead cutting easier.

Using a 5.0 Ah battery, the weight balances out really nicely for overhead cuts and leaves your wrist in a neutral position. It’s more forward heavy when you’re cutting horizontally, though.

The Makita XCS03Z can tackle all your 1/4″ and 3/8″ course thread mild and stainless steel threaded rod using reversible, double-edged cutting dies.

Like other shearing systems, this threaded rod cutter leaves your rod burr-free and nut-ready. No more deburring a bunch of shrapnel from the end of your cut rods, no sir.

The easiest cuts are when you’re trimming installed rods. Line up the threads on the inside die and pull the trigger. Thanks to the compact design and auto-retracting dies, it’s a completely one-handed operation.

If you make cuts while holding loose threaded rod, you feel the shearing action try to pull the rod to the side. It’s not difficult to keep hold of and the cuts are still easy to make.

In the event of a jam, the XCS03Z has a reverse feature that throws the motor into reverse, similar to how it reacts at the end of a cut. Just flip the rocker switch like any drill or impact driver and pull the trigger.

The battery runtime is impressive for this tool as well. On one 5.0Ah battery charge, the XCS03Z’s brushless motor will make up to 1,300 cuts on 3/8″ mild steel threaded rod or 1,200 on 3/8″ stainless steel threaded rod.

You need the onboard hex wrench to swap out the 3/8″ and 1/4″ dies. It takes a few changes to get used to how the dies fit in. Once you do, though, it’s just a matter of removing the bolts, making the swap, and screwing them back in.

The only thing I really come away wishing for is onboard storage for the second set of dies. The OCD side of me just likes keeping everything together.

This Makita threaded rod cutter retails for $489 as a bare tool and comes with a 3-year warranty. There’s no kit option available right now.

When he doesn't have his hands on tools himself, Chris is often the man behind the camera lens making the rest of the team look good. In his free time, you might find Chris with his nose jammed in a book, or tearing out his remaining hair while watching Liverpool FC. He enjoys his faith, family, friends, and the Oxford comma.

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