Thinking about upgrading to a 10" SCMS

[Jeremy Killingbeck]

I am thinking upgrading to a SCMS does any have any recommendation. I am currently using a cheap craftsman CMS. I don't like the lack of adjustably & accuracy of the saw. Unfortunately I don't have an unlimited budget for a new saw. So with that in mind what would you guys recommend? I think that I want to stick with a 10" saw so I can use my existing blades. I have been looking at a few different saws listed below. Any thought would be appreciated.

- Bosch Bosch 10 Inch Bevel-Slide Compound Miter Saw 4405
*Menards has on sale for $375
- Craftsman 10 in. Sliding Miter Saw
* $250 at sears, but I'm a little concerned about the quality.
- DEWALT DW717
* $421 with my discount at Granger

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Jeremy,

What do you want to do with the saw?

The best saw I have ever used to do finish carpentry all of the remodels I've done wasn't a SCMS. I have a SCMS.

The best saw I have used for making compound miter cuts was a plain old Craftsman 8" IIRC CMS. Super accurate....repeatable.

I have a SCMS. It's a well known respected brand. I wished I owned that little Craftsman I borrowed from my neighbor years ago!

[Jim Andrew]

Jeremy, I bought the Makita 10" slider so I could cut shelves without turning the piece over. It cuts about 12 1/2", and I got rid of my old ras when I got the Makita. It is a little different sawing than the old miter saws, as you lower the saw and then slide it into the board, but mine was very accurate right out of the box and has stayed that way. Only thing I would like to improve about the saw is dust collection. Mine is set up with a shop vac hooked to the dust outlet instead of the bag, and it could have been designed better as far as how much dust it picks up. Course it's nowhere near the price of the festool.

[Mr. Jeff Smith]

If you can afford it, and you are set on 10", get the Makita. Its the best 10" I've ever used, and I've used a lot of them.

I personally ran the 10" Makita until I recently upgraded to the 12" Milwaukee.

[Jeremy Killingbeck]

Jeremy,

What do you want to do with the saw?

The best saw I have ever used to do finish carpentry all of the remodels I've done wasn't a SCMS. I have a SCMS.

The best saw I have used for making compound miter cuts was a plain old Craftsman 8" IIRC CMS. Super accurate....repeatable.

I have a SCMS. It's a well known respected brand. I wished I owned that little Craftsman I borrowed from my neighbor years ago!

I will use the miter saw for various woodworking projects. Right now I am working on some bedroom furniture. I was looking at getting the SCMS so I can do a larger cross cut. With my 10" saw I am limited to about a 5.5" cross cut, so I end up using the table saws for larger cross cuts or flipping the board. Most of the cuts that I will do are going to be finished cuts, so I would like a saw that is fairly accurate.

[Matt Wolboldt]

I had bought the Dewalt 717 about a year ago. I returned it after a week of fiddling with it. When I used it as a CMS (no slide) it was dead on square, but when I would cut to the max crosscut, it was off a good bit from square. Hope this helps.

[Jeremy Killingbeck]

I had bought the Dewalt 717 about a year ago. I returned it after a week of fiddling with it. When I used it as a CMS (no slide) it was dead on square, but when I would cut to the max crosscut, it was off a good bit from square. Hope this helps.

Matt,
So what do you end up using for larger cross cut? Table saw? I had a old craftsman radial arm saw that I just recently sold for the same reason. I would fiddle around with it for hours and finally got a good cut, but the next time I used the saw it would be off again. Would you recommend a 12" CMS to get wider accurate cuts? I think that if I could do 8" on a cross cut it would cover most of the cuts that I need to do.

[Rod Sheridan]

Kapex.............Rod.

[Matt Armstrong]

Kapex.............Rod.

This is clearly in his price range, thanks for the helpful post

[Rod Sheridan]

This is clearly in his price range, thanks for the helpful post

I must have missed the budget restriction in the original post, my apology, otherwise I was serious.

If I were going to purchase a CMS this would be the one.

Regards, Rod.

[bill mullin]

Since no one else has brought it up, I'll recommend the Hitachi, even though it's not on the list. But, I can't compare it to others since Hitachi is all I've owned for the last 15 years or so. Have trimmed many, many homes in that time.

[Chris Tsutsui]

I got a refurbished C10FSH for like $325 shipped a while ago from this site:

http://www.reconditionedsales.com/

Right now they sell the C10FSB refurbished for $315 free shipping, but it looks like they are out of stock.

As far as the Hitachi 10" slider, it's been great. I've even did something very bad by cutting a tiny 3" cube without clamping it and it lifted up and stopped the blade in its tracks like a saw stop. I thought for sure my saw was going to be off and got tweaked, but everything measured up still and I've got the digital angle gauge, squares, and straight edges to check the settings.

It's proven to be a real workhorse and my friend who has been using one professionally for years hasn't had any problems.

Costco recently sold the 12" Hitachi sliding compound miter saw with dual laser for just $399. When it's the last one, they discount it 25% which should put it into your budget range. I would have got this saw instead of my 10" if I had to do it again...

[Jeremy Killingbeck]

So what do you guys think. Should I start looking for a good 12" CMS instead of a 10" SCMS? Do you think that it will be more accurate than the SCMS? If so what are the recommendations for the 12" CMS? I had been looking at a Dewalt 12" CMS at lowes, but I heard some mixed reviews on the Dewalt.

[James Carmichael]

I'm probably the wrong person as I don't own an SCMS.

What I do own and love is a Makita 12" CMS. It's dead-accurate, even though it gets moved and kicked around quite often as it has no dedicated spot in my garage shop. It's also lightweight and easily moved, and has pre-defined miter and bevel settings for cutting crown.

[bill mullin]

So what do you guys think. Should I start looking for a good 12" CMS instead of a 10" SCMS? Do you think that it will be more accurate than the SCMS? If so what are the recommendations for the 12" CMS? I had been looking at a Dewalt 12" CMS at lowes, but I heard some mixed reviews on the Dewalt.

You said in your 2nd post you would be doing some larger cross-cutting. With my Hitachi, I can cut up to 12" at 90*, you won't be able to do that with the 12" CMS. My opinion is get the SCMS of your choice, it will be much more versatile. I make a living with mine, it is plenty accurate.