Sliding miter saws: New Makita Vs. Bosch Glide

[Chris Burdick]

Hello all,

I'm looking at replacing my old Rigid miter saw and I'm interested in the new Makita Slider (LS1019L, with rails in front) or the Bosch Glide.

I'd appreciate any feedback, comments and observations from owners of either saw regarding:

Quality and accuracy of cuts
Dust Collection
Overall useability

Thanks!

Chris

[Sam Beagle]

I’ve heard a lot of good about the new makita saw. If you can swing a kapex, please consider that too. I never sweat any cut using it.

[John TenEyck]

I think there was a thread here recently about that saw. If it was for the same model some folks were noting some issues with it the blade not being parallel with the rails.

John

[Earl Rumans]

I can't say on the Makita, as posted there have been a few issues noted with the early ones. I can say that I have the Bosch Glide and it is a great saw. I haven't found any problems with it, except dust collection could be better. I made the DC much better by making a new larger deflector piece behind the blade.

[julian abram]

I've owned (2) Dewalt miters and one 10" Makita for several years but purchased a Bosch Glide last summer. It's a great saw, accurate, repeatable cuts would definitely buy again. I like how easy all the controls are to use by being located up front. Dust collection is not great, think it was better with the Dewalts but dusk collection is always a challenge with miter saws. If space is a consideration, as you know the Glide requires the least space. I kind of view the Glide as a shop type saw. If I needed to tote one in to the job site it would be one of the others.

[Tim M Tuttle]

Hello all,

I'm looking at replacing my old Rigid miter saw and I'm interested in the new Makita Slider (LS1019L, with rails in front) or the Bosch Glide.

I'd appreciate any feedback, comments and observations from owners of either saw regarding:

Quality and accuracy of cuts
Dust Collection
Overall useability

Thanks!

Chris

The Wood Whisperer got one of those Makitas and had an issue with the bars. They were angled. While the was square, it would drift one direction on the slide. Makita sent him a new one but it had the same issue. Just FYI. I have the Glide and like it a lot but the dust collection sucks.

[John Kee]

I believe they have updated the Makita and while there were reported issues on non parallel cuts they were easily adjusted by anyone with a brain. Agreed they should have caught the issue before shipping but it's not a non adjustable defect. We have a Bosch glide that's used commercially and its set to get the boot. One of our favourites is still the LS0714, dust collection comparable to the overpriced Kapex.

[Derek Stockley]

I have the Bosch 12" glide mounted in my mitre saw station. I quite like it. Just for perspective, I'm a home owner/hobbyist and I have used it for framing, trim work, furniture and a couple of builtins. I'm pretty happy with the accuracy when the glider is locked, it cuts nice mitres. For longer cuts that require the glide, it's adequate in most cases but I prefer to use my table saw when I need a really perfect cut. I'm told this is also true for traditional sliding mitre saws, but I haven't owned one of those.

Dust collection using just their hose connection and a shopvac is not very good. There's a little flap of rubber to catch the dust, but a fair bit of it will miss or bounce off of that instead of getting sucked into the hole. Expect a lot of sweeping after using the included bag instead of a vacuum. I built a hood behind it and added a 4" dust collector pipe under the back as well as being hooked up to the hose and that catches a lot of the spray (but not all).

The way I have mine set up on my mitre saw station exposes the front locking knobs to being bumped as I'm moving around, and whenever I do bump into it, I knock the angle detents out of alignment. Wouldn't be a problem if I had designed my table to protect it from bumps, but I would say that is a concern if you plan on moving it around much. I try to remember to leave it set at a 60° mitre when I don't plan to use it for a while so it isn't sticking out.

I think it's a bit heavy for portable use, so I kept my little 10" dewalt for portability.

[Reinis Kanders]

I have a portable Makita SCMS, the one with two batteries. I tried two saws, both were off square by a significant amount when used in sliding mode, but fine when used in chopping mode (first 5" or so). Cuts made in sliding mode would not match with the chopping mode, e.g. while cutting a 12" board if one first chops down, then retracts and moves the head back for a sliding cut then the two cuts were off by about half a kerf. If one just did a full sliding cut then my first saw actually was cutting more in the middle then at the either end.

Basically a mess. I was willing to put up with it because dust collection is alright, it takes up less space then normal saw and is powerful enough with batteries.

I got it to cut more or less square, but after a lot of trial and error, one has to stick a piece of wood between the sliding bars and wrestle it a bit, tighten, test cut for square, repeat. It now has a tiny bump (<1/64) in the middle of the cut for 12" board. Since adjusting it is not incremental, I stopped at that:(

[Dave Sabo]

I’ve heard a lot of good about the new makita saw. If you can swing a kapex, please consider that too. I never sweat any cut using it.

And if you are going to consider it , please carefully research the issues some guys have with the motor burning up.

Multiple times.

Pay particular attention to the company’s response, or lack of one really.



Makita has been made aware of their saw’s alignment issue, acknowledged it, and said they are taking steps to remedy the production error. There is also a how to guide if you want to align it yourself. An entirely different approach to the other co.

[Charles Wiggins]

Love my Bosch. No nothing about the Makita.

[Sam Beagle]

I don’t care what other people say. My saw is perfect. I own almost every tool Festool makes. Never had an issue. Every single tool company has issues w tools. Festool has always treated me right.

[Art Mann]

I have the Bosch 12 inch saw and I have only one significant complaint and I knew it from the beginning. The saw is much, much heavier than my 10 inch Hitachi SCMS and isn't all that good as a jobsite saw for that reason. I never planned on putting it anywhere besides my shop.

[Dave Sabo]

I don’t care what other people say. My saw is perfect. I own almost every tool Festool makes. Never had an issue. Every single tool company has issues w tools. Festool has always treated me right.

And the guys with saws that have burnt up motors (some multiple times) don't care what you say.

It's all sunshine and roses until it's yours that goes tits up and Festool just shakes their head and says they have no idea.

Bottom line is the saw is too expensive for a prospective purchaser to not really think about how they'll feel about facing a repair bill that is 1/3 to 1/2 the cost of a new saw after three years. No other miter saw that I'm aware of has penchant for smoking motors like this one. I've got saws that are decades old with lots of use gang have only required brushes.

[Anthony Whitesell]

On the Bosch, I agree with everything that has been said. I have wanted the Bosch glide miter saw since it hit the market at $1200. The 10" can be found for $600 and the 12" for $650, less if you look hard or wait for a sale. I had borrowed my father 10" Bosch slider, when he took it back I decided it was time to get my own. I ended up with the 12" glide (planning on it to be a one-time buy so I spent the extra $50) and got the "matching" Bosch gravity stand. Combined they are pushing 150 pounds. It looks like a beast. Weighs as much as a beast. But works great. No buyers remorse (yet). It is the fastest scrap wood maker I have ever owned.

I researched all of the saws and decided this was the Bosch glide miter was the saw for me. Your mileage may vary.