Bosch 12” Glide vs Makita 12” Miter?

[Patrick Irish]

I have an older handmedown 12” ridgid. I’ve noticed blade wobble. It also doesn’t have a guard, shroud or clamps.

I’ve been looking at the Bosch Glide 12” for $599 currently. The Makita LS1219L also looks great but is $200 more. It does have a laser and is a little lighter.

Is the Makita worth the extra $200? I’m just a hobbyist by the way.

I could also just take my dads older 12” sliding Makita but it’s missing all safety features also.

The Metabo/Hitachi 12” sliding has good reviews. It can only bevel 57 degrees left and 45 the other due to the offset sliding arms.

[Dave Sabo]

Are you moving it around from job to job? If not , light is not really an attribute.

Do you really need the capacity of a slider or 12” ? 10” blades are a lot cheaper to buy, and non sliders are generally more accurate.

Are you wanting decent dust collection with a vacuum ? If so , Makita’s 1219 (and 1019 - a 10” saw ) have some of the best around. Milwaukee’s saws are also really good. If you’re going to mount it in a box with 4” or 6” dust collection from a cyclone then it doesn’t much matter what you get because that setup will be far superior for keeping the shop clean.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

Adding to what Dave said, use is key. I don't like glides because I saw one die from a minor board bump. I prefer Makita saws for my own use, Dewalt for my more accident prone framing crew. A 10" blade is noticeably stiffer than a 12", you will appreciate that if you don't need the extra capacity of a 12". I personally use 10" saws, again the other crew gets 12". I don't mind flipping something every now and then to get a stiffer blade. A laser is really a useless feature. It's not precise enough to do you any good, even for framing cuts. Definitely not for trim or shop work.

[Andrew Hughes]

I have a 12inch Bosch glide with a Forrest chop master blade. I like it a lot my blades needs sharpening but I still get very flat cuts.
Good Luck

[Cameron Wood]

That Makita saw looks pretty great, particularly if it doesn't get moved much. I'm a Makita fan, but some of their earlier saws had ridiculously low fences.

I'm also pretty much a Bosch anti-fan, based on multiple tools that I've had over the years, so I'd say don't go that direction.

For utility use, and to haul around, the Dewalt 12" non-slide chopsaw has been good- sturdy and simple.

[John TenEyck]

There is a review of 12" sliding miter saws in the latest edition of FWW. Best Overall was the Makita LS1219L that you are considering. The Bosch GCM12SD got negative marks only on ergonomics and no LED. The Metabo also got poor marks on ergonomics, but I saw no negatives on cut quality on either of the last two. FWIW, the Ridgid R4251 was rated best value and was said to perform "excellently", if that's a word.

John

Forgot to mention, if you don't need portability and have the room, a good old Dewalt or Delta RAS can do everything a miter saw can do, plus a whole bunch more, and do them all better. Plus, they often can be had for just a couple hundred $'s.

John

[Dave Sabo]

RAS’s are very handy for cross cuts , especially really wide material. After that it’s pretty much downhill.

They take up more (wider) floor space and are slow to set for angled cuts and ridiculous to setup for compound miter cuts. Good examples like Delta or OMGA saws cannot be had for a few hundred bucks. Those that are (Craftsman) are serviceable but I’d rather have a good mitersaw instead.

[Doug Colombo]

I have a 12inch Bosch glide with a Forrest chop master blade. I like it a lot my blades needs sharpening but I still get very flat cuts.
Good Luck

+1. I have the same setup and agree with Andrew.

[Bob Cooper]

+1. I have the same setup and agree with Andrew.

Me too. I do t really move it and the space savings is nice. I do use the wide crosscut capability a lot.

[John TenEyck]

RAS’s are very handy for cross cuts , especially really wide material. After that it’s pretty much downhill.

They take up more (wider) floor space and are slow to set for angled cuts and ridiculous to setup for compound miter cuts. Good examples like Delta or OMGA saws cannot be had for a few hundred bucks. Those that are (Craftsman) are serviceable but I’d rather have a good mitersaw instead.

Quality used RAS's are out there. My friend has a beautiful Dewalt MBF, an excellent trim saw, which is what we're talking about here. He paid $250 for it. It truly is a portable saw, probably weighing no more than the big sliders being considered here in the 60+ lb range. I have a Dewalt GWI, a terrific all-around RAS. I paid $175. Another friend has the larger Dewalt RA that can do just about anything. He paid $400. There are plenty of quality RAS's out there if you look, and they often cost less than a quality miter saw.

You trade some speed for the versatility of a RAS, but you get it back in how much it can do. Try cutting dados or turning the blade horizontal with a slider. Or running molding bits or ripping if you are brave. And to your point about compound miter cuts, it takes less than a minute to set it up to do that if your saw is well tuned, which it should be no matter what kind of saw it is if you are cutting trim. Mine has detents at some common angles on both axis and is very much like using a miter saw.

If I had to get rid of one, the miter saw would go.

John

[Andrew More]

I've got the Bosch, haven't used the Makita. I bought the Bosch because at the time it was the only slider that didn't have massive bars sticking out the back, and I needed the smaller foot print. I've been very happy with the performance, though I did install a DIY zero clearance, and a sacrificial fence. I know the wood whisper seemed to think it was better than the Festool. I think the Makita came out a little more recently, maybe like 2018 or so?

FWIW, You used to be able to get a a laser washer for the Bosch, which is fine, IMHO, it's what I use. I have no idea why it was discontinued, maybe most people thought it was inaccurate. It also required you to turn on the saw to activate the laser, which might have bothered people. FWIW, if you build one, you can use the zero clearance fence/cutting surface to line up cuts.

[John K Jordan]

I have a 12inch Bosch glide with a Forrest chop master blade. I like it a lot my blades needs sharpening but I still get very flat cuts.
Good Luck

Same here, love it, i’m happy with the precision where it’s needed. I keep mine on a good adjustable stand with 2 wheels at one end and cans move it easily or move with the tractor as needed. For outdoor use around the farm I wheel it up a ramp into a small enclosed trailer for protection from the elements.

Patrick, you might also search SMC - I remember several past threads with similar discussion.

JKJ

[John TenEyck]

I liked the laser on my Bosch but it died just after the warranty and there were no replacements available. Maybe mine wasn't the only one to have a short life. The zero clearance fence works great, but I still miss the laser for quick cuts when that extra fence is not installed.

Oh yeah, the blade brake on mine only works about half the time now, too. Not a great track record for a saw used by a hobbiest. It does still cut very well, though, which is the most important thing.

John

[Dan Howell]

Just went through this decision a month ago. I bought the 12" makita. One
deciding factor was the dual dust collection. After using it, I still modified the dust collection to add two 4" hoses to it. Collects about 90% of the dust with no dust hood. Saw was a little out of square when I bought it, but was easily adjusted. Overall, happy with the purchase.

[Justin Rapp]

I had the same question back in June. I went for the Makita 1219L. I don't move it around much. It's mounted on the Makita stand and build a dust box behind it with a pair of four inch ports going into a 6" drop from my dust collection system. I was worried about the bosch pivot arm having too many moving parts.