miter saw problem

Tony · October 23, 2007, 02:40:51 PM

My chinese miter saw finally bit the sawdust. Soooo I need to purchase another one. My problem is, as always, budget.

What are the pros and cons of a 10" sliding compound miter saw vs a 12" compound miter saw (non sliding) ??? ??? :

???

Have looked at craftsman and dewalt smiley_whacko

Tony 8)

DanG · October 23, 2007, 02:57:04 PM

I'd take the 10" slider over the 12" non-slide for my purposes. I guess a lot depends on how you will use it, though. The 12 will obviously cut thicker stock, but the slider will cut wider stuff.

Personally, I'm still quite pleased with the Harbor Freight 12" slider I bought a couple of years ago. I know it is "Chinese Junk", but I knew that going in. It was either that or nothing at all. You can usually find it on sale for $170, so you could buy 4 of them for the price of a Dewalt 12" slider. I was surprised at the accuracy of both the fixed stops and the miter guages on it. I can't find any flaw with anything I have to check with.

If I were trying to make a living with my woodworking tools, I would have bought the Hitachi, though. ;)

Radar67 · October 23, 2007, 03:02:18 PM

Tony, I'm looking at miter saw myself right now. The biggest difference between the sliding 12 inch and the non-sliding 10 inch is the size of the material they will cut. I'll be cutting 10 and 12 inch wide material, so am leaning heavily toward the 12 inch sliding. The 10 inch is limited to about 6 inch wide material depending on the brand.

It looks like the Rigid 12 inch will be my choice.

What are you going to be cutting the most of with it? the answer to that question should determine what you need. The short answer is the thickness and width of the material the saws will handle is the biggest difference. Each saw is different, so you need to check the specs on each.

TexasTimbers · October 23, 2007, 03:27:14 PM

Go for the 12" slider. ;) But if you can't - take the 10" slider over the 12" non.

AFA brands go you will get the gamut of advice. My advice is to do as much reading online as you can and look at features, and user reviews. Amazom.com is a great source for user reviews whether you buy there or not.

Larry · October 23, 2007, 06:16:16 PM

Quote from: Tony on October 23, 2007, 02:40:51 PM
What are the pros and cons of a 10" sliding compound miter saw vs a 12" compound miter saw (non sliding) ??? ??? : ???

There is not much difference in capacity between a 10" slider and a 12" non slider. The sliders have two big drawbacks. First most of them take a lot more room front to back for the slide to operate. Second there is more parts to wear and get out of adjustment.

The only real drawback to a 12" saw is the blades cost a little more and are subject to more flex if pushed hard.

If you do much wood working there isn't a miter saw made that has enough capacity for all crosscuts, so your going to end up with another saw anyhow.

Dewalt was the name in miter saws but I think there quality has slipped in the past couple of years. If I was in the market today I would be looking at Hitachi, Makita, and Bosch in that order.

Just for the sake of full disclosure...I own a 4410L 10" Bosch slider. It has ran 8 hours straight with the trigger taped in the "on" position chopping basswood carving blocks. It probably ran more in its first month than most saws run in a lifetime. Other than belts, blades, and batteries for the lazer it's been trouble free. Before that I had a 10" Rockwell...no slide...no compound. It was dead on accurate but I got tired of the limited capacity.

hiya · October 23, 2007, 07:52:30 PM

I have a makita 10" slide compound saw. I've used for years. I can cut 12" shelving with no problem. Right now we are cutting vinyl siding. The cost a little more than some, but do a good job and last with some hard use.There was times it was used every work day for a couple of weeks at a time.
Richard

clif · October 24, 2007, 02:22:23 AM

I bought a 10" sliding compound Bosch about 4 months ago with a Rigid collapsable extension table and I am very satisfied with it. I am able to change the bevel without reaching behind it and it is good and solid. I went with the 10" because of the better accuracy on trim cuts yet still able to cut wide boards accurately. It is used professionlly and I have a friend who has one ( he suggested I look at it) and he uses his professionally also. I also have a 14" Makita miter saw that is now 30 some years old and I believe it will cut through a 6x8 square cut and has been an accurate faithful tool, hard to find parts any more. One time when it was being repaired I bought a Delta for a spare (cheep) and it will not cut accurately, but I am quite particular, especially on miters. Clif

metalspinner · October 24, 2007, 01:07:51 PM

I've got the 12" Dewalt compound and get frustrated at its lack of capacity. I can squeeze a 9" board through it by pivoting the uncut part into the blade. But that is on 90 degree cuts only. The Dewalt holds its adjustments fine, and if needed is easy to tweak.

A nice saw to have would be the old school Dewalt radial arm saws. Are those accurate at 90 degree's?

The sliding table on my table saw will cut as wide as I need. But because of space issues, I am limited to 7' to the left with board overhang.

TexasTimbers · October 24, 2007, 04:23:01 PM

I guess I will chime in with what I chose after all if it will help. I did about a week of research before I bought my 12" Makita dual SCMS. I looked hard at the Hitachi and Bosch and ruled out quite a few others early on. The DeWalt never caught my eye at all but I am anti-dewalt and quite biased against them.

The Makita was rated higher by most users and Editors review at the time I bought it, but that doesn't always chose for me so I did alot of comparisons. It has a ball bearing type slide mechanism that none of the others have and slides w-a-y easier than the other brands. Pinky finger easy and smooth. Unless you compare the others against it you will not know what you are missing.

The blade that comes with the Makita is far superior to all the other saws stock blades and this was noted in every review because the difference was so drastic. Again, until you use it you won't really appreciate it either I didn't. In fact, somewhere on the forum I posted a picture of the saw where I cut into the fence (one of the few design flaws on the saw), way into the fence, and the blade still does not leave any tearout when crosscutting. Sounds like a fish story I know. I would have thought it would've knocked out a few teeth and dulled the others to the point of trashing the blade but it went through the aluminum fence like butter and still cuts like new. Picture below.

The other drawback to the saw is having to get used to the skewed scale pointer when you pivot for a miter cut but it is not that big of a deal. It has up front control except for the bevel lock, and the Bosch lovers really like the fact that their controls, including the bevel is all up front. The Hitachi had too much plastic and just felt too flimsy for my liking.

I like Hitachi and Bosch both and own many of their tools and wanted to go with the Bosch pretty bad, since I am not a huge Makita fan, but for this tool, for me anyway having done alot of hands-on comparisons and reading online, in the end it was a clear choice for me and I have not regretted a second.

But with any of those three, IMO, you can't go wrong.

Tony · October 24, 2007, 09:14:43 PM

Thanks fellas sounds like I need to expand my research a bit :

Tony 8)

Tom_Averwater · October 29, 2007, 05:37:17 AM

I like the Hitachi slide compound saws. I have a 8.5 inch SCMS that has been going for almost 20 years. It gets used every day at work. I also have the Hitachi 10 inch SCMS .It works great .

scsmith42 · October 29, 2007, 08:57:59 AM

Tony, as far as actually "buying" the new saw, do you have a local craigslist? I scan our local Raleigh one every week for deals on tools. You can often find a great condition, name brand tool that someone no longer needs (or needs the bucks) for 50% or so of new price.

Scott

TexasTimbers · October 29, 2007, 09:11:07 AM

I gotta chime in with Scott on this. I do this too when I am in the market for a new tool and it can really pay off big.

Dangerous_Dan · October 30, 2007, 06:52:34 AM

I picked up a Makita 14 inch miter saw on craigslast for $40.
It needed brushes which were about $8 on ebay with shipping.
It's now working. ;D

DanG · October 30, 2007, 02:22:30 PM

Don't forget the pawn shops. Construction tools are among the most common items found there.

Tony · March 15, 2008, 09:32:38 PM

Quote from: DanG on October 23, 2007, 02:57:04 PM
Personally, I'm still quite pleased with the Harbor Freight 12" slider I bought a couple of years ago. I know it is "Chinese Junk", but I knew that going in. It was either that or nothing at all. You can usually find it on sale for $170, so you could buy 4 of them for the price of a Dewalt 12" slider. I was surprised at the accuracy of both the fixed stops and the miter guages on it. I can't find any flaw with anything I have to check with.

We have a Harbor Freight in Tupelo now. Went "scouting" when it first opened and found the 12incher for $180, 2 year money back included. 8) 8) 8)

Thanks again, Tony 8)

Handy Andy · March 15, 2008, 11:06:34 PM

I have a Makita 10" slider. Also have an old 12" Dewalt non slider, the old Dewalt is still ok, but the Mak will cut about 12 1/2 " wide, and the Dewalt you have to turn the board over to cut that far. I have had the best service from Makita tools, and about the same from the Hitachi tools I have. Think Dewalt is a cheaper built tool. And what Bosch tools I have seem to be a step down too. Oh, and I got a good deal on the slider at Amazon.com Check several times before you buy, seems that sometimes they have sales.

gharlan · March 17, 2008, 09:05:57 AM

Some defects in saws will not show up till you use them a while. Look for a saw that has a solid locking system for the miter presets. Some use a spring and ball system that gets weak with use and then fails to give accurate results in the cut after a little wear. Operate the miter locating mechanism from one side to the other. Is there plenty of room for your hand between the mechanism and the saw base? If you are working and flip the miter over to 45 or better degrees and it pinches you hand you will not be happy(the deltas were so bad about this).
Most good saws will work well for general use. Some excel at certain operations and ease of use. I love the bosch for cutting crown. Having the built in presets for both the bevel and miter really speeds things up( some Ridgids may have this feature too). I personally have had the best luck with Bosch Or Makita tools in general, and like Texas Timbers I am anti Dewalt(who wants to cut crown upside down). I think the original 10" sliding compound that bosch came out with before being bought by skill has come down in price a lot. I have three of them and other than a few switch replacements they have given years of trouble free service. They cut 52 degrees one way to 60 on the other side(not enough) are always accurate and take the bath in the rain fine. I also have a Makita but generally prefer the Bosch. Before these I ran the Hitatchi's (they were good saws) and Deltas. I always shop before I buy a new one and i keep buying the Bosch as I cut a lot of crown. Good luck with you new purchase----gary

Robert Long · March 20, 2008, 04:46:19 PM

I would like to talk about this topic in a different way........

How do you hook up a decent vacuum port to these sliding saws? You all know what I am talking about, that small bag at the back of most saws is a joke and to try to hook up a vac line is difficult as it must go with the slide as well as go up and down with the saw when cutting.

I am sure someone has figured this out ??? Please help!

Robert

leweee · March 20, 2008, 05:43:10 PM

Robert....It's called a Dust Collector Hood....a box or cone affair that mounts directly behind the miter saw ....approx.20 "x 20"....at the back of the hood you hookup your 4"...6" or 8"Dust collector Hose.

And..... No your Shop Vac ain't going to cut it. :

.....but you can throw the bag away once you have the hood installed. ;D

Robert Long · March 20, 2008, 11:14:50 PM

lewee ;D

Thanks for the info and I know of these types of collectors, Does it work with a free standing, portable saw? ???

It will be difficult to build a 20 x20" box with a 4" vac line at the back of the saw where I have it placed now but that's my problem :

:-\

Thanks for the help!

Robert

Handy Andy · April 01, 2008, 05:45:10 AM

Last year at the Walmart blitz, they had a shopvac for 20$. I bought one, and it didn't have a paper filter, but walmart had a kit for about 15. So put that on, and it has a small hose, of course, what did you expect for 20 bucks? but anyway tried it on the miter saw and it fit on the pipe for the bag. So drilled a hole in the bench and shoved the vac under there and plugged it in, and amazing how much of the dust it gets when I can remember to hit the button and turn it on.