sliding coumpound chop saw which is better

[cody michael]

i want a sliding miter saw to do the bulk of my crosscutting hopefully to set up tablesaw with rip blade. are they accurate enough for that? i'm far from a pro.


the first one at sears
http://bfads.net/GMC-10in-sliding-compount-miter-saw-at-Sears

the other one

http://bfads.net/10-Sliding-Miter-Saw-at-Menards

is the sears one worth the price difference? if i don't buy one of these i probably won't buy one at all for a long time. are they to cheap to work okay? any better idea in same budget range?

[Joe Spear]

A Bosch sliding, compound, dual-bevel 10" miter saw for $79.99? If that is not a misprint, grab it. The Bosch is much better than that Sears saw. However, unless there is some strange merchandising promotion going on, that Menard's price has got to be a mistake. For example, the price at Ace Hardware online in $440. Of course, it could be one of those super Black Friday deals that you have to get in line for today and camp out until you have a shot at it next Friday morning.

[scott vroom]

I didn't see a Bosch saw in either link. Did I miss something?

[Richard M. Wolfe]

There is an ad for a Bosch at the top of the Menard's link but the saw advertised at 79.99 appears to be something else. I checked Harbor Freight, notorious for cheap prices, and the cheapest 10" slide miter is about $120. That said, having used a cheap one for years, the formula is: inexpensive + miter saw = frustration. I will use a variety of inexpensive tools and be satisfied with the results but a miter saw isn't one.

[Steve Leverich]

I strongly second Richard's assessment - I checked out one of HF's sliders a couple years ago. Moving the saw on the "rails", it felt like the bearings (and I use this term VERY loosely) were made of crushed gravel lubricated by sand. Also, the amount of overall slop convinced me I could freehand cut with a coping saw and get a straighter cut.

Ended up buying the 12" DeWalt slider at Costco - with the STOCK blade, I've trimmed ends of boards so thin the offcut was almost transparent and feels like it was already sanded.

I know that grade of saw is 'way over the prices of the two you linked, but if you want accuracy it isn't gonna be cheap... Steve

(Oh, for a 10" NON-slider try the Hitachi - I bought one for a more portable chop saw, put it on one of the Ridgid MS-UV rolling stands the orange borg occasionally has on sale for $99, and it works great for the price. Around $149 IIRC.)

[scott vroom]

I have a cheap Craftsman 10" that I use for cross-cuttinging construction framing lumber at job sites...it's lightweight and does the job. I would never consider it for furniture or cabinet making, however. For my new cabinet shop I recently purchased a Hitachi 10" combo slider mitre saw for around $450. Just depends on your application and budget. I say get the best you can afford.

[Brian W Evans]

I used a Sears CMS for a few years and it worked OK, but only for construction-type work. Once I tried to use it for something with tighter tolerances like crown molding or crosscutting for cabinetry/furniture, its limitations were immediately apparent.

I now own a Makita 12" SCMS, and there really is no comparison with the Sears. Even so, I still prefer my table saw for accurate crosscutting. Changing blades doesn't take that long and I find it to be completely worth the time.

[Mr. Jeff Smith]

I now own a Makita 12" SCMS, and there really is no comparison with the Sears. Even so, I still prefer my table saw for accurate crosscutting. Changing blades doesn't take that long and I find it to be completely worth the time.

Similar experience to mine, except I have the 12" SCMS Milwaukee. Night and Day. The nice thing on the Milwaukee is that the dust collection performs significantly better than my friends Bosch.

[JohnMichael Schlim]

I have the 12" Bosch SCM saw on the Ridgid miter saw stand. I use this saw almost exclusively for crosscuts and mitering of course. It is a super accurate and a very finely tuned saw. I had the delta 10" prior to this saw and it was ok but nothing compared to the Bosch. I crowned my entire kitchen in less then 3 hours with this saw. The stops are very accurate and the laser guide makes setup a breeze. Teamed with the Rigid stand mitering 10' crown by yourself is a snap. I saw the Hitachi 12" SMC at Cosco for 499.00 the other day and that seems like a good deal.

[Ray Newman]

I have an older 10" Hitachi SCMS saw. It is dead-nuts-on with its adjustments. The down sides: takes up a great deal of room in the back for the slider bars and like 95% of all SCMS, the dust collection is lacking.

The newer Hitachi 12" SCMS have a compact slide system allows the saw head to slide along fixed rails, eliminating the need for rear clearance, a feature that is worth serious consideration.

As one poster said, the more inexpensive SCMS leave a great deal to be desired and lead to frustration. Since you want to do the bulk of your cross cutting on a SCMS, the more expensive saws might be the only viable alternative.

Visit a few tool suppliers and examine the saws on display. You'll soon find out which SCMS will have the features you want and need. Also check carefully how easily the scales can be seen and the settings changed.

I noticed the Hitachi saw at COSTCO but have never bothered to look at it. If it is the 12" SCMS with the new slider bar system as well as the LCD angle displays and laser, US $499.00 is an outstanding price for that saw!

Now having said all of that, if money is now object, go to a Festool (AKA Fe$tool) dealer and ask about a demonstration of their SCMS. I saw one in action the other week and it is amazing saw. More than a bit on the hefty side price wise, but probably the only SCMS that a woodworker would ever buy & the it gathers about 95% of the saw dust.

[Eric Roberge]

(IMO) The new Makita http://makita.com/en-us/Modules/Tools/ToolDetails.aspx?ID=219666

A 10" that cuts like a 12.

[Dar Lounsbury]

Makita 12" with lazer. Does not get better, for my money. I understand the Bosch is very good but I have not used one. Quality in a mitre saw is going
to be costly.

Dar

[mike wacker]

If you do more large framing type stuff, buy a Dewalt 12"

If you do more fine finish type stuff, buy a Hatachi 10"

If your in the middle argue

If you don't agree argue anyway, :p

[Josh Reet]

I've got the Dewalt 10" and am quite happy with it. I decided to stay away from the dewalt and hitachi 12's because of weight and size. Plus, my need to cut 6x6's is pretty minimal. The 10 (especially the dewalt 10 which has really good capacities) does everything I need. Overall, I don't think you can go wrong with anything from dewalt or hitachi. People speak highly of them all.

FWIW, I have it on a Ridgid rolling stand that I really like. I picked it up for $99 last xmas at HD. If you don't find it on that sale again, the $99 Ryobi stand is a reasonable option.

[johnny means]

That Menards ad is definitely misleading. The saw for sale is not the Bosch you could win for free.

Anyway, if you have a table saw you would be better off using some sort of after market miter gauge and your saws tilt mechanism to get quality miters. I have a pretty nice mitersaw and I still choose my table saw when my miters need to be super clean. Cheap miter saws are usually pretty sloppy, if not down right dangerous.

[Matt Meiser]

I just got a Makita 12" with the laser. I haven't had time to dial the laser in yet, but for the first time I think I'll actually be using the miter saw for more than rough crosscutting of boards. It cuts very smoothly and checking my cuts with a quality square, very accurately. On my previous saw (a non-slider Porter Cable), I was never satisfied with the cut for final cuts. Now some of that might be the blade I had which was a TK blade and for a 12" might have been to flimsy.

And that ad is hardly misleading. First of all its a scan of a part of an ad that is posted on an independent web site. Second, the mention of the Bosch saw is clearly in a Google Ad at the top of the page which clearly shows the URL of another web site. No where that I can see in the actual ad does it even mention Bosch and the picture clearly isn't of a Bosch saw. Not trying to start an argument, but I don't think its fair to bash Menards for anything here.