12" Miter Saw

[Clark Harbaugh]

I am in the market for a new miter saw, after I destroyed mine in a moment of utter knuckleheadedness. I was very happy with my Hitachi 12" but was thinking of upgrading to a slider. My big concern is the size, and if it will fit in my miter saw station on my workbench. If anyone out there has the Hitachi, can you give me som measurements? I know that it is longer in the front, but how about the back? The big measurement I need is the distance behind the fence that is needed.

I would also be open to other suggestions for slider dual bevel miter saws. I definitely need one that is copmact in the back, so the slider rails/mechanism would have to be in the front.

[Jim Finn]

I have a 12" DeWalt slider since 2000 works great but it does take up a lot of room. If I were to replace it I would look into a 10". Which brand has one that has a hinged mechanism instead of rails to slide on?

[Joe Angrisani]

.....Which brand has one that has a hinged mechanism instead of rails to slide on?

The Bosch.

[Jim Foster]

If you want to spend the money, the Festool looks really good as well as compact. I'd like to get one, but the price tag keeps chasing me away.

[shane lyall]

Which brand has one that has a hinged mechanism instead of rails to slide on?
on't own the Bosch mentioned but Idid play around with it for way too long last time I was at Lowes. It sure looks/feels sweet. If I were in the market, and I tried to find a reason to be after seeing this, thats the saw I would buy.

[Chris Rosenberger]

The new Dewalt DWS780 is a very nice saw. It cuts well & instead of a laser, the Dewalt has a bright LED light the casts a shadow of the blade on the work piece. I like that better than the lasers.

The only sliding miter saw I like better is the Festool Kapex when I do not use the lasers. The Dewalt will cut larger stock than the Kapex.

[Greg Portland]

If you want to spend the money, the Festool looks really good as well as compact. I'd like to get one, but the price tag keeps chasing me away.
If $1k+ prices don't scare you away and you're sticking the saw in your shop (i.e. no job site work / moving the saw) then also consider used CTD, OMGA, & Mecal saws in the same price range. They weigh a ton but are ultra accurate and powerful.

[Van Huskey]

#1 Festool Kapex but is IS expensive
tied for #2 Milwaukee 6955-20 or the Bosch GCM12SD the "glider"

I have and love the Milwaukee but the Bosch is very nice and has some great features but some unusual limitations and had/has some QC issues but those may have dried up but I would research it.

[Patrick Galpin]

I picked up the Bosch before Christmas and have been using it daily while I start to build out my new shop. Love it. Out of the box it was set up perfectly, easy to use, no resistance from rails to slide on and no play in the mechanism so it cuts true every time. Originally looked at it because I didn't want the wasted space behind the fence with the rails and have not been dissapointed at all. My two cents at least.

[Robert Chapman]

+1 on the Bosch. I have one and it takes up very little room front to back compared to railed miter saws. Check it out.

[Brett Robson]

I have no experience with either saw but I saw this DeWalt video which compares a few points on the DeWalt 780 and the Bosch glide. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqCMquiX6wo

[Chris Rosenberger]

I have no experience with either saw but I saw this DeWalt video which compares a few points on the DeWalt 780 and the Bosch glide. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqCMquiX6wo

That is a very good video. It does a great job of showing the differences between the Bosch & Dewalt saws.

[Curt Harms]

Hitachi has an interesting slider. It can work sorta like the Kapex requiring little room behind it. There's a Youtube video about it and price was reduced in the Lowes I was in to $399. I know nothing about it except the sliding mechanism looks interesting. I think it's a heavy sucker though.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zNnkoR54uo

[Mark Ashmeade]

One more for the Bosch GCM12SD. It's a winner. I too am using it to expand my shop, it keeps making me smile.

I have a length of old vacuum hose attached to the "DC" port. No vacuum, just a chute to direct the chips. It makes a very neat pile on the floor underneath it, and that's without any suction. Amazed. Sits close to the wall, no wasted space, which is good for my revised shop, which is narrow, but long.

Like anything else Bosch, not cheap, but back to the old adage about crying once.

[Doug Colombo]

One more for the Bosch GCM12SD. It's a winner.
+2 for the Bosch. I have had the saw for about 6 months and have no issues with it - I am very glad that I purchased it ! Here is a pic that shows you the rough dims of it from the wall so that you can compare the space needed - it is a much tighter package to the wall than any other 12" slider that I saw. The dim missing from the picture is from the back of the saw to the front of the fence, which is 13". Hope this helps.

220166

[Marty Paulus]

I just bought the Bosch 5312 Slider on clearance at Lowes. Upgraded from a 10" Craftsman. So far with only limited use of rebuilding my miter stand to accomodate the larger saw I have to say it is like night and day difference. The saw is dead nuts on out of the box and the capacity of the slider makes me wish I had bought this sooner. The Bosch was less expensive then the DW780 but more then the Hitachi. I just couldn't convince myself to buy that green plastic saw. I do have to admit that I almost tried the HF 12" slider as some folks on here have them and say they are good saws once you put a good blade on them and true them up. I figured for $150 and a liberal return policy how could I go wrong? However that drive to the HF store never happened.

As far as room goes, for me at least, it doesn't really take up more room than my 10" did because I have it mounted on a homemade moble stand. Turn the miter to 45 and the stand still fits in the same hole it did before. If I had it bench mounted then yes it does take up a lot more room. However from the little I have used it I would be willing to give up that space for the accuracy and capacity.

[David Hostetler]

All sliders that I know of except the new Bosch, and the Festool take up GOBS of space. 12 inch models seem to vary in depth my no more than an inch from the models i Have seen. On my HF 12" slider I have to have a 3) working depth from the front of the saw base to whatever is behind it (bench has to be 30" if it is going to be agaisnt a wall etc...). Generally speaking, they are monsters... Yes, if I had the budget for one, I would own a Festool... but WOW that price tag!

Oh, for what it's worth, yes I am one of those nuts that got the Harbor Freight / Chicago Electric 12" slider, trued it up, and slapped a good blade on it. Other than the size of the beast, I am happy with it...

[Chris Parks]

#1 Festool Kapex but is IS expensive
tied for #2 Milwaukee 6955-20 or the Bosch GCM12SD the "glider"

I have and love the Milwaukee but the Bosch is very nice and has some great features but some unusual limitations and had/has some QC issues but those may have dried up but I would research it.

The Kapex has had some QC issues as well, at least it has in Australia.

[Don Morris]

That Hitachi video was impressive too. Anybody out there using that one? I've been using an older model 10" Hitachi and it's been bullet proof. Neither of them said much about dust collection. But with sliders less than good dust collection must just be part of doing business. The comment on the number of joints in a Bosch makes me worry about lateral movement over time. Moving parts wear over time. More moving parts > more wear > more lateral movement. New machines no problem. After some usage.....?

[Chris Parks]

The comment on the number of joints in a Bosch makes me worry about lateral movement over time. Moving parts wear over time. More moving parts > more wear > more lateral movement. New machines no problem. After some usage.....?

There is a built in adjustment to allow for this, in fact the pull/push resistance can be changed to suit the user. None of the conventional sliders which use tubes and are bushed can be adjusted, has the Kapex got roller bearings? I seem to recall it might have. Mind you it would take a dedicated hobbyist to get any good saw to the point that wear would become an issue I would think.

[Peter J Lee]

Regarding dust collection, I don't know how other sizes of their sliders do, but someone was jazzed enough at the dust collection of the small Makita slider that they made a youtube video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtmGHPjyWQo