5 Clever Makita Accessories You Can 3D Print At Home

If you’re an avid Makita user, you’re probably already aware that the tools manufacturer offers loads of must-have accessories and attachments to fit your every need. Tool accessories can include all kinds of things, from power tool attachments or components to mini organizers, and even some smaller hand tools. They can be as simple as something you need to make using your tools easier, or in some cases, something that totally overhauls what your device usually does.

What you might not know, though, is that you can make a substantial number of them yourself with just some filament and access to a 3D printer. Whether you have a set-up ready at home to dive into your own printer projects, or regularly hang around your local makerspace, you might be surprised by just how much you can pad out your collection with a few simple projects. And, with online 3D printing communities like Thingiverse or Printables, you don’t have to worry about designing your own gear from scratch — unless you really want to, that is.

Some accessories users have come up with and shared the blueprints to show some real ingenuity. They do this by offering nifty storage solutions that help you make the most of your space, practical hacks for keeping easy-to-lose tool attachments nearby while you’re working, and sometimes, by even overhauling what you use your Makita product for. In some cases, you’ll need a few extra pieces to finish off your project, like screws, nuts, or bolts, but for the most part, you can let your 3D printer do the magic.

Moving around a Makita MakPac is no small feat once it’s full of heavy tools or equipment. Why not make your life a little easier by putting it on wheels? StainlessMike’s neat 3D printer project makes it possible for you to do just that by giving you the components to build your own wagon. You can use the Printables project to manufacture four sections, which make up each corner of the wagon. Then, once they’re printed out, you can fit them together and finish them off with a few extra components.

Besides the 3D printed base, you’ll also need a few other things. That includes a few screws and nuts for fixing your printed creation together securely, alongside some wheels, washer plates, and any fixings you need for your wheels of choice. Once you’ve grabbed those, you’ll want a 3D MakPac Clip to help keep your trolley secure as you wheel it around.

Another thing you’ll want to keep in mind when building your trolley is what kind of filament to print with. According to the project page on Printables, you’re going to need to keep in mind where you primarily plan on using your trolley when you choose what kind of material to use. If you want to use your trolley mostly indoors, like in your garage or home studio, then you’d probably be best off using a polyactide (PLA) filament, as it can be easier to use for this project. However, if you need a sturdy build for regular use on rough or uneven surfaces, then a PETG material is recommended instead.

It’s easy to lose track of just the drill bit you need, especially when it’s right when you need it. And, it’s frustrating when your drill bit is just out of reach during a tricky or fiddly project. A 3D printed drill bit holder could be just the fix you need to keep everything you need close by.

Printables user Jonathan_29983 shared a simple but effective solution for keeping ahold of all your Makita drill bits at once with the power of a couple of magnets. The holder fits onto the left side of the base of your cordless Makita drill to make room for five different drill bits all at once. Perhaps the smartest part of the project is that the drill bits are then magnetically held in place, meaning you don’t have to worry about dropping them as you do your DIY.

After you’ve finished 3D printing the holder itself, you’ll need a few other components. But, thankfully, they’re all easy enough to get a hold of, and should be easy to add. You’ll need to grab a couple of M4 14-millimeter screws to help secure your holder, and a couple of 6-by-3-millimeter magnets. All you have to do to finish it off is assemble it correctly, and you have a cheap and easy drill bit holder to attach directly to your drill.

There are all kinds of easy DIY storage options for organizing your tools, and one versatile, cheap, and fairly stylish option is a pegboard. You can hang it on your wall to display your tools, so you always know what you have and where you last put it. One challenge you might face using the pegboard organization method is figuring out exactly how to attach your tools to it — especially in the case of any larger, heavier, or more cumbersome items, like a battery charger. 

BioGuyGone3D’s homebrew Makita accessory offers a pegboard mount designed to support Makita 18 volt battery chargers. Both the DC18RC and DC18RA models are compatible with the project. It’s a straightforward build that only needs a couple of extra parts — a couple of M3 10-millimeter or 12-millimeter screws — to bolt it together. It also comes in two different designs, one rounded and one rectangular, for you to choose from. If you’re an especially deft builder, you can also remix the design to make small tweaks so it fits exactly what you’re looking for.

The size and weight of battery chargers make it more difficult to know how to store them, since they won’t easily hang without the right accessories or tools. However, that’s also the same reason why it’s so useful to have options to hang it securely out of the way. After all, it can easily take up a lot of space in a drawer or on a workbench when you aren’t even using it. As a result, accessories like this one are especially handy.

If you’ve been on your 3D printing journey for long, then you might have already heard of Gridfinity. In case you haven’t, Gridfinity is a 3D printed storage system with a slight twist: it’s completely open source and modular, meaning you can design your own storage system to fit your exact needs. Sites like Thingiverse and Printables have tons of users making their own Gridfinity-compatible builds, and perhaps unsurprisingly, many of them are designed to help keep your toolboxes organized to a T.

Makita is no exception to the trend, with a decent number of Gridfinity projects designed for use with Makita products kicking around sites like Printables. Guto’s Makpac base plate is a particularly clever accessory, as it allows you to transform your case into an organizer that you can fit any other Gridfinity projects directly into. The baseplate effectively works as a liner that helps to keep other 3D printed items in place, which you can then use to organize anything you want. 

The base plate isn’t the only Makita accessory designed for use with the Gridfinity system, either. Other users have also designed components for the modular organizer that could be slotted into the base plate, if it fits into your Makpac. A few examples include a knife and razor block, battery storage grids, and trays for larger tools like drills and grinders. And, of course, you could fit any other non-Makita themed Gridfinity builds to store your other tools and components in your Makpac alongside your Makita tools.

This quirky 3D printer project transforms your Makita 18V battery into a portable lamp ideal for working off-the-grid or using as a useful gadget for your next camping trip. Using Widerporst’s Thingiverse project, you can print out an attachment to assemble with a handful of other parts, like a lamp socket, battery plate, and a suitable bulb, to make your own Makita light fitting. Just make sure you pick up the right kind of bulb, so the Makita battery’s voltage limitation does its magic. Transforming your Makita battery into a portable lantern isn’t the easiest 3D printing project, but it could make for a fun experiment for intermediate creators. Plus, it makes for a fun way to brighten up your garage, or to keep a light going while you’re doing a major home renovation project. 

Not so sure about turning your Makita battery into a lamp specifically? You can grab other, similar 3D printed accessories to turn it into something else. In fact, the core idea for the battery lantern actually came from other 3D printed battery mounts. Usually, batteries like these are designed to provide a power supply to cordless tools like drills. Battery mounts make it possible to give your batteries a new lease of life by making them a compatible power source for all kinds of other fun DIY projects, instead of being exclusive to power tools — much like this battery lantern. So, if you 3D print the right mount, you can repurpose your Makita battery for all kinds of different projects.