Makita Cordless Steel Rod Flush Cutter

Jul 16, 2023

The Makita Cordless Steel Rod Flush Cutter takes a typical grinder design and adds a shroud to let you cut rebar and steel rod as close as 1/8″ from the surface. It uses an 18V battery to power its brushless motor. The Makita XCS06 almost identical to the XCS02 with an upgrade to the blade configuration.

The big deal is the tool’s ability to cut through rebar and threaded rod nearly flush to your surface. The design of the shroud means the Makita Steel Rod Flush Cutter can cut up to 1/8″ flush.

The cutter uses a 4-5/16″ carbide tipped blade spinning at 2,200 RPM with very few sparks. It’s much slower than a standard angle grinder and gives you cooler cuts that you can touch with your bare hands. The blade also leaves smooth, burr-free cuts.

The Makita Steel Rod Flush Cutter has a stopper that holds your rebar or threaded rod at a 90° to help you make an even cut.

There’s almost no difference in the appearance of the Makita XCS06 and the previous XCS02. The new 06 has an inner gear flange with positioning pins with no pre-fixed arbor. The 02 has an arbor that’s attached to the blade.

Other than that, they’re the same tool.

Not sure where you might need the Makita Cordless Steel Rod Flush Cutter? Here are a few areas where it makes a lot of sense:

… and anywhere else rebar is sticking out where it shouldn’t.

The new Japanese-made cutter is still making its way to retailers and you can preorder now. Acme Tools has the bare tool for $1058.82 and the kit with a 5.0 Ah battery for $1176.47.

The only tools that really compete in this class are Makita’s previous XCS02 and corded models like BN Product’s Cutting Edge Saw varieties (they also have a cordless one). The BN models are significantly less expensive, but you’re either dragging a cord or on a very limited cordless platform.