Makita celebrates its centenary in 2015 and to mark this industrial milestone an additional swathe of high performance accessories has been added to this already-comprehensive range. 

Based on the thesis that there is no point in investing in a high quality tool and then buying the cheapest available drill bit or blade, the Makita accessory products are paired with the appropriate machines to deliver the maximum performance in operation.

Amongst the new range of products are thin cut-off wheels that are ideally suited to use with cordless tools but can equally be used with mains grinders to cut steel and stainless steel. These 0.8mm fast-cutting wheels are available in 115mm and 125mm diameter and deliver a fine cut that leaves fewer burrs on the material edges and less swarf residue from the cutting action.

New tungsten carbide grit-tipped hole-saws are available in seven sizes from 33mm to 83mm and are ideal for boring through soft brick, soft tile and GRP. Multi-purpose TCT-tipped hole-saws were recently introduced as a 9- or 10-piece set and have proved a high performance accessory.

These are now available as individual items in the Makita accessory range in 21 sizes ranging from 22mm up to 105mm. The body of these hole-saws is carbon steel and the TCT tips are tungsten carbide making these useful hole-saws ideal for work with wood, MDF, plasterboard, PVC, glass fibre, soft tile, brick and limestone.

The range of Makita machines utilising two 18V lithium-ion batteries to generate a mighty 36V of power is expanding quickly. Therefore the new twin-port fast charger that takes just 22 minutes to fully charge two 18V 3.0Ah batteries will prove invaluable. This new twin-port charger will charge two 4.0Ah batteries in 36 minutes.

With an LED charging display, and full charge audible alert, the Makita DC18RD fast charger has a useful USB port to charge a smart phone, a forced cooling system for battery protection and a built-in electronic current limiter for overload protection.

If taking a mitre saw on site for second fix operations, the new Makita DEAWST06 portable, extending mitre saw stand will be very useful. Compatible with the majority of popular Makita mitre saws, the stand allows the mitre saw to slide for convenient positioning.

There are adjustable extending arms on both sides of the stand and one arm has a built-in roller support making material placement easy and accurate. Fully extended, the stand supports are 2.55m wide. The individual leg height can be adjusted to ensure stand stability and when folded for easy transportation this lightweight 16kg stand has built-in castors and a carry handle.