Metabo AC-DC miter saw?

[Jim Andrew]

Anyone have one of these new battery or 120v miter saws? 240-9110 C3610DRAM Metabo. Saw one on the shelf at Menards, priced at 299. 10" sliding miter saw, looked at a review on Utube, they liked it. Have no plans to use it outside, just noticed it takes a large vac hose, and was thinking about the mess behind my old Makita.

[Ronald Blue]

I have no knowledge of this but it's on clearance out so apparently it's discontinued.

[Jim Becker]

I don't know that product specifically, but I'm seeing a lot of folks using battery powered miter saws on job sites and some even in large shops where they want to be able to move the tool around. I even saw a battery powered table saw in a video this past week and it was impressive. Battery power has come a LONG way in recent years for sure.

As to dust extraction, even the "best of the best" miter saws are going to make a mess just due to their nature. So if that's the only reason you're considering a new saw, it doesn't take away the need to accommodate the environment around it to contain and collect dust and chips.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

We use Dewalt's version of a battery powered SCMS a lot. I have a 7 1/4" and a 12" version, both using the Flexvolt batteries. Those batteries are available in 6, 9 and 12 amp hour, and are significantly more powerful than Milwaukees batteries of the same amp hours that we also use. When using a 6 Ah battery in the 7 1/4" saw it will cut 2x4's pretty much all day in moderate use. The much beefier 12" version uses two batteries, so 2 - 6 Ah batteries will cut more. The pic in my profile of the framed building was cut with one of these Dewalt saws. We swapped batteries at lunch for the two days it took to cut it all, so 4 times in heavy use.

Basically, batteries have gotten really good, but.... I see the Metabo saw uses a 2.5 or 4 Ah battery. That is significantly less than the Dewalts I'm comparing to, so expect the Metabo to need more frequent changes. Not a big deal, just have a spare battery. Also, not all battery tool motors are created equal. That little 7 1/4" saw that I referenced, is weak. It's effective and super convenient to pack around, but you can bog it down with fast feed. The 12" saw is completely different, it is more powerful than the corded cousin in the Dewalt line. I don't know where the Metabo motor fits in, but probably between the two. In most shops that is far more than enough though. Price is certainly good.

I am a fan of new cordless, especially the higher Ah batteries. They have changed my industry.