Is A New Makita Cordless 18V Framing Nailer On The Way? Here's What We Know

Makita, founded in 1915, recently ranked at the very top of SlashGear's worst-to-best list of major power tool brands, based in large part on its impressive line of 300-plus 18-volt LXT battery-powered tools. Two tools from that line landed on another SlashGear list, one that named five essential Makita tools that no handyman should be without. At the World of Concrete exhibition in Las Vegas this past January, Makita unveiled several new tools, including an 18-volt LXT series framing nailer that promises to provide the performance of a pneumatic nail gun without the need for a compressor or hoses. Its release date and retail price are unconfirmed as of this writing, but it is expected to be available for purchase later this year. 

Multiple sources are reporting that the new framing nailer will drive nails from between 2 and 3½ inches long. Rob Robillard, of A Concord Carpenter, showed a demo model on his YouTube channel, saying it weighs a hefty 10.9 pounds with a 5.0 amp-hour battery installed. On an Instagram reel, Matt Bangs Wood cited the ability to drive 1,200 nails on a single battery of that size. Makita's current line of 18-volt LXT nail guns consists of a finishing, pin, and brad nailer that weigh between 5.1 and 7.7 pounds with batteries installed and hold up to 120 nails at a time.   

Makita's official YouTube channel showed a 13-second clip of the new tool in action and described it as a 21-degree nailer, and Tools and Stuff said the upcoming models will be labeled as the XNB03 and XNB04 in the United States, and the DBN900 and the DBN901 elsewhere. The model demonstrated at World of Concrete had a DBN901 model number on its tag along with metric measurements, leading the New Zealand-based host of Tools and Stuff to express hope that non-US markets would be the first to get it. He could barely contain his excitement in his profanity-laced clip, exclaiming that everything else Makita presented at World of Concrete was insignificant when compared to the new 18-volt framing nailer, adding that this event marked the only time he had ever wanted to be in the United States. Despite the international-standard label on the demo model, he expects it to be released first in the United States and Europe, then elsewhere in the world. 

Tools and Stuff stated that a 30- to 34-degree magazine suitable for international use would also be available later in the year and could be mounted on the nailer via a threaded brass insert near the head. He added that it would be user-serviceable if the pneumatic chamber goes empty, unlike many of the nailers from competitors like Milwaukee Tools' M18 Fuel finishing nailer, which landed on our list of the best Milwaukee power tools for woodworking projects.