Compound miter saws

[jeff phillips]

I think I am in the market for a new miter saw, and I need some advice. My current saw is a dewalt DW718, and I am done with it. It has two major flaws that are rapidly turning into deal breakers.

The first is that the fences on each side of the blade are not perfectly square, so I can only align the blade with the left or the right side of the work table.

The second problem is the amount of slop in the head. At full extension it only requires slight pressure to cause significant head deflection.

I have looked at the festool Kapex, and it seems like a great saw, but I am having some heartburn over the price.

I don't need a 12" saw, in fact I would prefer a 10", what is more important is that the saw have at least a 11.5" depth of cut ability. Good dust collection is a definite consideration, but precision is my primary concern.

Any input would be much appreciated.

[Paul McGaha]

Hi Jeff,

I have a 10" Hatachi slider that I like well enough. No complaints. I'm thinking when it goes I'd do a Kapex. I've read the dust collection on the Kapex is pretty much 100%.

PHM

[Matthew Hills]

Makita 1016LS, Milwaukee 12" glide, and Kapex seem to be current crop of high-end favorites.

Makita -- have read some reports where users had issues with arbor runout. If that isn't an issue, excellent saw. If it is an issue, get it exchanged.

Milwaukee -- initial reports pretty good for this new mechanism.

Kapex -- reportedly had a few more problems than other Festool products. Pretty much the only SCMS with useful dust collection design.

Matt

[David Kumm]

I have the Hitachi as well. The fences on mine are small and separate. Good and bad. At least I can make them parallel. I also prefer the 10" as I seemed to get deflection for small trim work with a 12. Also seems easier for me to get the blade to the line since I don't use a laser. I looked at Kapex but didn't like the funky safety. I think the blade had to be fully in the up position to start it. I am used to putting the saw close to the line before I start. Anyone can correct me if I am wrong. Look at a bunch in person. If you find a reconditioned saw at a good price, consider it. Lots of saws come out of the box with a problem and get returned. If fixed it is just as good as new. Dave

[Justin Chen]

If it cuts well I'd put a aux fence to square them up, shim it to get it square? Save some money.

[Chris Tsutsui]

I had a Kapex and a C10FSH Hitachi side by side. Now I just have the Kapex.

I am completely sure of myself when I say the dust collection is the same for these two units. I hooked up a CT33 set to maximum power to both units. To connect the Hitachi to the CT33 I used a rubber coupler from the box store in the drain pipe section. Both have minimal dust after connecting to the CT33... The Festool has a larger flare for the rubber chip gaurd, but the rubber gaurd on the Hitachi also did its job.

The quality of cuts is the same on both units, probably because I have a Freud diablo miter saw blade on the Hitachi. The Kapex has added convenience which I'll list:

1. Dual perforated lasers, hitachi has single laser.
2. Easy bevel adjustment with fine adjust on Kapex
3. More precision in the machining and the way the fence and table is all setup on the Kapex.

Sometimes i actually don't like the protruding guide bars on the kapex because I like to use auxillary clamps.

I bought my Hitachi reconditioned for $350 from reconditionedsales and it looked brand new when I received it. I used it for around 5 years or so then sold it on craigslist recently for $320.

The Hitachi is lighter, I also think it is quieter though I havn't measured... If you take an engineer's square to the hitachi and straight edge you'll find the Kapex to be superior to the Hitachi in precision.

Anyways, I was happy with the Hitachi, though Bosch makes an articulating arm saw that I never saw in person yet. Also I would check out the Ridgid and Milwaukee units from the local box store to see how you like the fit and feel. It could be a crap shoot on whether or not you get a saw with tables and fences aligned perfect out of the box, so you might want to consider buying from a store with a good exchange policy.

If you can find a brand new in box Kapex for $1,000 on craigslist like I did, then go for it because to me it's the best on the market. $1300 plus tax is sort of pushing it value wise... I've had no issues with it, I think a lot of the issues people had were in earlier 2007 or 2008 models, but the newer models should have the fixes.

[Jim Neeley]

I got the Bosch Glide "articulating arm" saw shortly before Christmas... There's *very* little movement in the hinge-based "slider" mechanism... and has a hinge lock for when the stock is 6" or so. In that event the hinges are held immobile and the head just pivots down. It's got good dust collection; just using the dust bag it fills up quickly and with a small shop vac, it's even better. Probably not up to a Kapex (I haven't given them a shootout) for DC, but it's mighty good!

[Robert Chapman]

+1 on the Bosch Glide. I really like mine. It's very rigid. Dust collection is good for a miter saw. It's a 12 incher and it costs about $800. Don't think that I will ever have to buy another miter saw.

[Bas Pluim]

+1 on the Bosch Glide. I really like mine. It's very rigid. Dust collection is good for a miter saw. It's a 12 incher and it costs about $800. Don't think that I will ever have to buy another miter saw.
According to Bosch, a 10" version of the Glide will be out 'some time this year'

[Doug Colombo]

+2 on the Bosch Glide - the Bosch engineers did themselves proud with this saw !!!! 14" cross cutting capability and yet sets flush to the wall. I agree with Robert, I can't see any reason for me to ever buy another miter saw !

[Forrest Bonner]

Love to have either of them - Kapex or new Bosch! For dust collection, my old 12" Bosch CSMS was not at all dust collection friendly. I put on a FastCap dust hood and the shop has stayed very clean. Just about all dust is caught by it and a few taps at the end of the day sends it all down the bottom chute into a box for disposal. Have not even hooked up the dust collector since. Had to modify the mounting rods by using pipe and flanges screwed to the table so that the saw could be swung through its complete range.
Forrest

[Billy Trinh]

don't have a miter saw but i'm curious how often do you use one? It seems best for crown molding, but is it worth buying for other use?

[Don Morris]

I have a 10" Hitachi and it's solid even at full extension. The fences were too short for cutting the tallest crown in the upright mode IMHO. So I added tall hardwood on each side. I'll match my cuts with anyone, but dust collection is not it's selling point. I once read that a high end contractor went back to 10" from 12" SCMS's because of the wobble at full extension. The Kapex is only 10" and that should tell you something. I like what I've read about the new Bosch but haven't tried one. Sure would be nice if you could find someone with one who would let you try it. Hate to buy a car without first driving it. Have to say, I got a significant improvement in cut was when I put a Shopmaster blade on my SCMS.

[Don Jeansonne]

I have the Makita 1016L. I think it is great saw. It will cross cut 12"+ and extremely accurate. I don't have any regrets. This saw hasn't been highly rated in several tool reviews for no reason.

[Bill Wyko]

I have the Kapex, I will say, it's by far the best miter saw I've ever used.

[Charles Buhler]

My Dewalt had the same problem. I took the fence off & using a long piece of sanding belt clamped to mt TS. I also clamped a block of wood to the fence to hold it square. I ran the fence back and forth until the fences were straight. I used a sharpie marker to see where the fence still was high. It took awhile, and I had to vacuum the dust at regular intervals to keep the large gouges down. Now it cuts straight from both sides.

[William Burgess]

I just recently upgraded my craftsman 10 inch to a Makita LS1016. I have zero complaints, I hooked up a shop vac to the d/c port and it seems to do a decent job getting most of the dust. It can cross cut 4x4's which is nice. I haven't done much work with it, but I built a sandbox for my daughter using 2x8 / 2x6's and it made them a breeze. The laser is accurate and very useful, just gotta remember which side the blade cuts on. I haven't done any miter angles yet with the Makita, but so far I have been very happy with it. But, I was coming from a cheapo 10 inch craftsman. The kapex was just too expensive for me.

[jeff phillips]

I took the plunge this afternoon and bought a new saw!

I really wanted to like the Bosch, as it seemed to get high praise and was much less expensive than the Festool; however, no one around me had one in stock, and I'm not real enthusiastic about buying something that large and expensive over the internet sight unseen.

I ended up going with the Kapex. I have had it out of the box four about four hours now. It was very close to being calibrated and square out of the box, it only took me about an hour and a half to get it fine tuned to my liking, and a good deal of that time was spent not necessarily adjusting, but trying to figure out how to work with the saw.

So far I am very pleased, still not sure if I am $1300 pleased, but it cuts a perfectly square line across a 12" board from both sides of the fence, the head has minimal play, the laser is pretty slick, and the dust collection isn't half bad.

I've got a staircase I am rebuilding in my house which is a pretty good sized project, so it will provide ample opportunity to see just how well this thing works over the next month, and hopefully when I am done, I won't feel a need to exercise the 30 day return window.

Thank you all for your input, it was very helpful.