Recommendations for a miter saw (which will be on a flip top stand with planer)

[Alden Peterson]

I've had a giant footprint miter saw for years and I finally realized I don't have space for it - the 12" cobalt saw from Lowes on top of a mobile stand.

I'm looking for a replacement which is smaller. Price isn't too much of an issue here (I'd be ok paying for a Festool one) but the footprint matters because I plan on having this on a flip top cart with my Dewalt 735, for space reasons.

I am leaning towards something like the Festool ones or the Bosch GCM12SD but those still seem to have big footprints.

I am also going to try to make the outfeed on the planer about the same height as my table saw, which makes me wonder if I could do the same thing with the miter saw - it'd be super awesome if I can get the miter saw surface to be the same height as my table saw so I can trivially line up bigger boards on my table saw/outfeed table.

Any recommendations/suggestions? Is this idea crazy to begin with?

[Marc Fenneuff]

I can recommend the Makita LS1019L for its compact size, accuracy, and dust collection.

[Stephen Rosenthal]

I have a Makita LS1013F, which I believe is an earlier version of Marc’s LS1019L. Great saw. I’ve also got a Dewalt 735. Not mounted on a flip-top stand, but dimensionally looks like it would be a good mate with the saw.

[Aaron Inami]

I did a bunch of research in the last year on miter saws. I previously had a big Dewalt 12" sliding-compound miter saw. This was huge and extremely heavy. It cut accurately and great!, but it was damn heavy and hard to move around. Dust collection is pretty much crappy. The first thing you have to ask is "do you really need a sliding-compound miter saw". Are you cutting smaller boards and mouldings? Or do you need the ability to cross cut bigger 8-12" wide planks? Do you have a cabinet saw or sliding-table saw that will do this? Most sliding-compound saws are in the 55 to 68 lbs. range. This is a very heavy and cumbersome tool unless it's permanently mounted.

If you absolutely need a sliding-compound, the Festool has the best dust collection, but it's expensive at $1500. The Makita LS saws are almost as good for dust collection, but they have two negative. First, the miter scale plate with the pre-set notches is made from aluminum and the notches will wear out quickly and become less accurate. Second, some of the Makita saws were not properly aligned at the factory and may cut a skewed line with the sliding mechanism. You can re-adjust this, but it is a pain in the butt and difficult.

If you decide you don't need a sliding-compound, I would go for a Metabo 10". Dust collection is going to be just as good as the Festool and this only weighs 25 lbs. and is about $170 or so. If you need a bigger cut, you can do a Metabo 12", but it is twice as expensive at $300 and weighs 44 lbs. (not as bad as a sliding-compound, but still a lot heavier).

[Alden Peterson]

I do have a 36" cabinet saw but it's sometimes a pain to cut longer things in - for example I have some 6 foot 12" wide panels I need to cut to about 49" in length and while I can manhandle them onto my crosscut sled sometimes its.... unwieldy to need so much free space on both sides of the saw to make those cuts.

I will say I've gotten away with not needing a miter saw now for some time since I sold mine.

I don't know if I need a slider or not. I suppose the $170 vs $1500 price range might make that decision for me Though I've regretted nearly every time I've compromised for price like that, hahaha.

[Pat Germain]

In case you're not aware, the guy who hosts the Shop Nation YouTube channel sells an improved dust collection adapter for the Bosch miter saw. He 3D prints these parts and sells them at a reasonable price. Apparently, the Bosch is an excellent miter saw which has so-so dust collection and installing the Shop Nation dust hood makes it a much better saw. You can watch the Shop Nation videos on YouTube and decide for yourself.

[Michael Rutman]

I just replaced my Ridgid with a Kapex (Festool) and was surprised that the footprint feels smaller. The Ridgid (and many other miter saws) have the bars slide behind the saw meaning you have to have space behind it. The Festool has stationary bars so you don't need that space behind it.

The Festool stand for the miter saw is actually really good. During my shop rebuild I was having to bring it out and put it away due to severe shop space limitations. I found it surprisingly easy to do. Won't work as a flip top though. Then again, I'm surprised you can get a flip top stable enough for those tools.