Yes or no on the Makita LS1016L sliding miter saw?

[peter gagliardi]

It's good that you returned it! They really, really under thought and under engineered the 1016! The location of the miter scale under the workpiece when cutting- well stupid is not a strong enough word!
Add to that an absolutely paltry fence design with no back support on the right, and a movable wing on the left susceptible to bending and damage that can't be repaired if a piece or chunk gets thrown into it, which WILL happen with enough use!
Oh, and let's not forget the minuscule bevel protractor, with markings so small you need a microscope to see them, and built in stops that can't seem to hold their accuracy.
Oh, yeah, I almost forgot, the miter table stops working smoothly after about a year or so, and gets sticky, so you have to dismantle and clean up!
Yup, yessir, Makita really got that one right!!!!
Nothing more than yard art if you ask me!
I bought the Bosch 12" slider thinking it would be good, but the fences weren't square to table. Miter settings were off, etc.... I brought it back!
We bought a bunch of years ago now, a Ridgid, that I laughed at till I used it. It still works good and is a decent machine for the money!
We used the Dewalts for years before that, but when it got wore, we tried several new Dewalts, which were terrible- vibration, inaccurate etc.. So we settled on the Ridgid at the time- while not the best saw on the market, definitely a good quality, user friendly unit with good legible scales and lasting accuracy that is well worth the asking price.
I currently have a Kapex as well, it is hands down the best, easiest to use, most accurate, cleanest, easiest to read and set the scales, AND most expensive!!! I would have bought it years ago, had I known, or been able to tolerate the insane price jump from the other machines at almost 1/2 the cost!
For comparison, I use the machines day in and out as part of my business doing high-end residential and commercial install work from our custom woodworking shop.

[Mike Carino]

I use an old Hitachi C10FS...Those are great saws the new ones are junk IMO. The Bosch is decent but there are a lot of plastic knobs and levers to break off. If I were in the market for a new saw it would probably be DeWalt. Its very simple, tough and it will do anything you need to do with a slider. The Bosch would work well for a dedicated shop saw where it wouldn't get banged around.

[Matthew Hills]

I have cancelled the 1016....thanks for all the help and input.

And then something else to chew on: the new Bosch 10" glide...

http://www.popularwoodworking.com/wo...lide-miter-saw

Matt

[Tom Ewell]

Put the 1013 through probably 10 or so full house trim/siding/kitchen jobs and enumerable remods, it's a stout machine, bought a Kapex and offset the cost by selling the 1013 over three years ago to another crew, it's still going strong and those guys don't baby their tools.

Shame to hear that the 1016 seems to be of lesser quality.

[C Scott McDonald]

I have one and would buy it again. I used it to remodel an entire house plus my hobby woodworking stuff. The laser is more of a distraction so I dont use it. Dust collection is non existant. Once i got it dialed in it has stayed put and I have lugged that thing up and down stairs, in and out of the van etc.

[Val Kosmider]

Not to hijack the thread, but I am in the market for a compound sliding miter saw, and thinking that the Bosch 5312 is the ticket for me. I am a hobby wood worker--lots projects, but not a person who woodworks for a living. My preference is to try and buy the best tool I can afford.

My question: why do people here (apparently, from the posts in this thread) prefer the 10" saw over the 12" saw? The 12" seems like a no brainer as it gives you a 'bigger' cut--depth, and width.

Yes, I get that the 12" costs more, but is there another reason why people prefer the smaller saw which I am missing?

[Tom Ewell]

Yes, I get that the 12" costs more, but is there another reason why people prefer the smaller saw which I am missing?

bigger is usually heavier
larger blade amplifies vibration/run out
larger capacity can increase inaccuracy.

if you're not mobile much being heavier is not really a disadvantage in the shop environ
high quality blade can minimize vibration, but 12" high quality blades get top dollar and often disproportionate to same at 10"
dial in the saw to refine accuracy best you can to minimize effect of larger capacity.

unless you're cutting 'fat' or wide stock regularly, there is no real reason to go big

I've never gone to 12" on a slider but I do use a 12" compound miter for framing, decks and most construction type scenarios, once into the finer work, I try to get into the smallest saw that'll do the job efficiently and don't think I've ever been tied up by not having a 12" slider.

[Tim Morton]

Not to hijack the thread, but I am in the market for a compound sliding miter saw, and thinking that the Bosch 5312 is the ticket for me. I am a hobby wood worker--lots projects, but not a person who woodworks for a living. My preference is to try and buy the best tool I can afford.

My question: why do people here (apparently, from the posts in this thread) prefer the 10" saw over the 12" saw? The 12" seems like a no brainer as it gives you a 'bigger' cut--depth, and width.

Yes, I get that the 12" costs more, but is there another reason why people prefer the smaller saw which I am missing?

Not a hijack at all...and i too would either go 10" slider, or 12" non slider. With a 10" slider however i can cut 12" wide boards in one pass...as opposed to flipping the board over. So thats less wear and tear on me and the saw.

And like it was pointed out, i would expect a 12" slider to weigh a lot more than a 10" slider...and cost more.

Update...i did cancel the saw today and it is on its way back to amazon....not sure what i am going to buy now, but i think i will just keep my eyes open for now.

Thanks for all the help and advice...both pro and cons.

[Larry Edgerton]

.
My question: why do people here (apparently, from the posts in this thread) prefer the 10" saw over the 12" saw? The 12" seems like a no brainer as it gives you a 'bigger' cut--depth, and width.

Yes, I get that the 12" costs more, but is there another reason why people prefer the smaller saw which I am missing?

There is a lot less blade deflection in a 10" saw. I use both a Makita 12" and a Hitachi 10 " sliders on site as well as my favorite old 10" Delta straight chop. If I could only have one saw, god forbid, it would be the Hitachi 10" slider. Its not the one with all the gizmo junk you see in the BORG.

Larry

[Peter Quinn]

There is a lot less blade deflection in a 10" saw. I use both a Makita 12" and a Hitachi 10 " sliders on site as well as my favorite old 10" Delta straight chop. If I could only have one saw, god forbid, it would be the Hitachi 10" slider. Its not the one with all the gizmo junk you see in the BORG.

Larry

Ditto what Larry said about deflection. And on a job where you have to pack out every day, you quickly realize how much weight difference there is between a 10" and a 12". I'm not carrying a 12" in and out of the van if a 10" will get the job done. I've been using an old 8 1/2" hitachi on the garage build I'm doing because I can pick it up with one hand, easy going up a ladder as required. Also ditto the 10" hitachi's, the foreman I work under has one, I've put plenty of hours on it doing side jobs, fine saw, very accurate, good trim saw, good weight to power balance.