Gary Drew
11-03-2009, 1:27 PM
It's time to replace my old hand-me down-Ridgid 10" miter saw. I have a small workshop, 1 car garage with a 14" bandsaw, cabinet table saw, Joiner, planer, and dust collection shoehorned in already. Although space limited I have found myself needing the capacity of a slider often enough that I am willing to make room. I have been trying to figure out a fixed miter station layout that using the 12" Hitachi SCMS because it needs less depth due to the design of the slider (and can be had for $449 in Anchorage). I thought about the new Makita 1016, but after playing with it at the Borg I am not convinced that it is an improvement over the 1013. The top bearings were rough and I have read hear about some runout issues. I also took a gander at the new Milwaukee, but it did not have a laser; I thought a laser might be useful. The slider was very smooth on the Milwaukee, better than any of the other saws on display. The table pivoted easily and smoothly. The bevel adjustment LCD even seemed like it might be useful, but at $649, out of my league. Then last week they drop the price of Big Red to $499. Then yesterday while getting some sandpaper I see a coupon near the sliders and it is for a free Ridgid miter saw stand with the purchase of a Ridgid or Milwaukee sliding miter saw (11/2/09-12/31/09). The Ridgid MSUV goes for $179 up here, so this seems like a crazy deal. I like it better than the Hitachi laser or no, but the Milwaukee is BIG. I am thinking that having it on the MSUV might give me the flexibility to make this work. What do you think?