Miter Saws Reviews

For a used, reconditioned unit, it's a mighty fine saw. Too bad it was advertised as new, and too bad there is no mentioned of "reconditioned" except when it arrives on the doorstep in a box marked "reconditioned" and you see the wear & tear on the unit.

So, BUYER BEWARE ! Amazon is not selling a new unit. These are old, used, good condition reconditioned saws, which are fine, but worth $$$ less than Amazon is selling them for....

USED ..... RECONDITIONED ..... NOT NEW !!!

POORLY SHIPPED ! The very heavy saw was just thrown into a big box with a bunch of air filled packing cushions. It is no wonder that many people have noted damage to their saws in the other reviews. So, again, WARNING WARNING BUYER BEWARE !!!

And AMAZON, I thought your standards were higher.

I purchased the Makita LS1212 two years ago. Since then, I have cut hundreds of board feet of various types and this saw is the best I've ever used. I still haven't replaced the blade and after all this use, it still cuts like new! If your in the market for a fine cutting machine, don't hesitate buying the Makita LS1212! You will not regret it, by no means.

I had been waiting to purchase this saw from Amazon for about two years. The saw is wonderful (I have used a friend's LS1212 several times because my chop saw is an 8" and cutting crown molding on a small saw is a real pain). Just before Christmas I priced this saw again from Amazon ($579.00 on December 23, 2004) which was comparable to the prices from all of the other discount tool sources.

Today the price for the LS1212 had risen to $699.95 on the Amazon web site - that is a $121 increase in one week! Needless to say I went to another discounters web site and purchased the saw for last week's price of $579.00.

I don't understand a 10% price increase (in one week) on this saw (from the largest tool discounter in the world) but I suggest that if you are looking to purchase the LS1212 you might want to shop around.

I am a relative novice woodworker and I purchased this saw to frame a 6in. wide partition wall; split up a larger room to make a bedroom and smaller play area. The ceiling was at an angle, not always 45deg, and this saw helped get the job done right. The sliding, miter, and dual bevel features facilitated many of the cuts I had to make. I've used a 12in dewalt (without sliding) and felt the bosch was at least as good, but the addition of the sliding feature on the bosch is worth the extra cost and cheaper than the dewalt 12in sliding miter. I only considered bosch and dewalt as options due to a combination of product experience and cost.

I have worked as a carpenter and Industrial Arts teacher for over twenty-five years. I have used many miter saws and recently, many compound sliding miter saws. This one, by a wide margin, is the best one I have ever used. The controls are intuitive and the scales readable. The manufacturing is first class. This is the saw I decided to purchase for myself. I highly recommend this excellent saw.

This is my first miter saw and I am very pleased. For 30 years I have used a 60's vintage Craftsman 10" radial arm saw. I got tired of having to set it up every time I wanted to get an accurate cut. I've been recovering an above ground deck with composite and have needed to make 15 +- degree cuts on a lot of boards. I decided to bite the bullet and spend the money on a good saw. The reviews on Amazon said this is the best and Bosch's free jigsaw promotion combined with Amazon's price closed the sale. Amazon delivered before promised. I also bought a 12" True Angle Finder and it was wonderful to measure the angle, cut the piece and have it fit every time.

After much drooling and hoping, I was finally able to purchase the Promax router table. Only problem is now the drooling has intensified as I can't wait to go use it again!
The 40-031 table is a very well built table that just feels solid and well made. It attached to my new Delta hybrid table saw in 30 minutes or less and is saving me space AND increasing the quality of my routings.
One of the bolts for the fence was machined improperly, but one call to Bench Dog had one in my hand within a week. They definately have quality customer service.
Although it's not cheap, the 40-031 is worth every penny. You will not go wrong with this router table!

Happy Routing!

I was concerned that this would be a problem installing on my Jet tablesaw -- no concerns now...it is a perfect fit.
This is a great piece of metal and really enhances the tablesaw.

The concept of saving space unites with this item! Not only does it help me save space by mounting my router on my unisaw.But it extends my workspace. I gave it 5 stars because of its intent , but the unit i got bows on the top, so i had to grind it to level out with my unisaw.And the phenolic plate from bench dog was predrilled backwards(wierd?) so it would not line up with the holes in the extension. Amazon had me call Benchdog and i am still waiting for the correct top.

Power is good (takes a few seconds to come totally up to speed) and included blade is better than expected - I got additional blade at initial purchase becuase I assumed like most saws the included blade would be crap but standard blade is good general purpose. Dust collection sucks, though some reviewers have not been as "candid." Does not fit any standard dust collection connection I know of (i.e. have), and the provided "bag" holds enough dust to be worth a Tinker's "Damn." For an extra $50 next time I would go for 12" for the extra height on miter cuts concurring with other review that says guard (and dust bag) get in the way sometimes.

Though table seemeed expensive I bought it anyway (needed portable platform for job-site) and it was definitely worth it. Extendable supports are convenient (wouldn't say "invaluable" because I avoid hyperbole ;-) for long pieces of molding, flooring & 2x's for framing. If you clamp the saw past the stops and extend one end support to limit you can handle 12' cuts. Haven't seen a need for sliding as I always need a table saw for long rips, so having short slide doesn't eliminate an extra tool. Laser might be nice, but I guess I trust my eye and a solid pencil line enough...

This saw replaced a Ryobi 10" miter saw that was highly recommeneded to me at Home Depot and which lasted a little over a year before the motor gave out. The DeWalt is on an entirely different level of home power tool. The quality of construction, ease of use (especially setting the miter table), excellent included blade, and the power and accuracy of the tool makes me wish I'd spent the extra money for this saw when I listened to the idiot at Home Depot. I'm using it for everything from light trim to 4X4s and rafters and have no complaints. I wonder about the stock people are cutting when they say this saw has a hard time with pressure treated lumber---must be soaking wet from the treatment process. As long as you let the motor get up to speed the DeWalt with the standard blade can handle deck building with ease. I didn't calibrate it, just set it up and started cutting. I'd give it 5 stars if the basic kit came without supports and clamps (the Ryobi did), though I highly recommend buying a miter saw stand for it anyway.

This is my second DW703 because my first one was stolen. I liked it so much that I never considered any other brand. The quality of the saw, the table, the adjustments, even the blade, are all top-notch. Good value for the price. Lately I've seen it for $189 at Home Depot and Lowe's. The dust collection could be better, but I just stick the shop vac hose in the back and it gets probably 60% of the dust.

I recently purchased this saw at a discount from Lowe's. It is completely assembled and only needs the dust bag pushed in. Since I will use this saw in my woodshop, I will mount a dust hood behind it and a hose to the dust back connection. This saw has an amazing amount of torque. I love it that the motor is very quiet as compared to my old Delta. Granted the motor was mounted directly to the blade. I love this saw!!! Set up time is 30 seconds. The saw was set to perfection. Fit and finish was wonderful. Only one gripe. The knob on the back was very hard to pull out the first time and once pulled out it was okay. I don't like the way the knob is made at all.

I love the saw and I hope the new models perform just as well. I won't know. I intend on this saw lasting me many years.

I've had this saw for about 2 years now. I wanted the DW708 Sliding miter saw, but $399 was more attractive than $599. For me, that was a good choice.

1) AMERICAN. I like to try and buy American first if possible. This one has more American content than most (The box said so, anyway).

2) RELIABLE. I use this thing all the time, and always has been excellent.

3) ACCURATE. Mine was aligned well, and I have not found anything that assembled improperly due to this saw's alignments. I have built several custom cabinets from Maple and Walnut, and all the joints I got from this saw were square and tight.

4) UTILITY. Functions great and easy to use. I wanted the 12" slide saw, but this already would make 95% of the cuts I need, and costs a lot less. It has a good-sized table, and the table is not two-thirds removed for the miter gauge, so it supports smaller pieces more completely as well as longer pieces.
I see that Hitachi has a digital readout saw now, but I'm not sure I would want that. More complexity than I would want. The only thing I wish this saw had from DeWalt was a laser guide.

Summary.
Mine has been excellent. I picked carefully from the above points and have not been disappointed. If you like to woodwork and have never used a compound miter saw, this will become your favorite tool quickly.

I'm a cabinetmaker and finish carpenter by trade and currently own, and have previously owned, a variety of powered compound miter saws from Hitachi, Milwaukee, Porter Cable, and DeWalt. My DW706 has been my absolute favorite miter saw! In fact, I also own a DW708 and that clumsey beast never leaves the bench, but the DW706 coupled with DeWalt's saw stand have provided me with 4 years of excellent service! Even though I also have a 10" unit, I prefer to take the 12" DW706 on just about every field project I have!

This past weekend my local Home Depot was clearancing the old DW706 inventory to make way for the replacement model, the DW716, so I bought 2 new DW706 mdoels for myself and my son! Couldn't beat the deal at $249 a piece while everyone else is still selling the old inventory at least $100 more! I hope the DW716 can fill the big shoes of the DW706!

I originally purchased mine for toting up and down some scaffolding on a siding job, but in retrospect it's not worth the cost. I recently found the Makita 7.5" sliding miter saw which only weighs 28 lbs. Buy the Makita if you must have a lightweight saw. Also, the Hitachi mitering stop mechanism needs a serious rethinking and redesign. It's just way too sloppy to stay at zero. Mine has a little play which is annoying. Zero means Zero (90^deg)!!! I appreciate a stop mechanism that is sure and snaps into place with no bones about it, like the Dewalt. While the 8.5" may be the 'original' slider, you will be better served with a 10" that bevels left and right....

I know that there are probably better sliders out there but I had some specific needs that this unit filled nicely. Number 1 was compactness and portability. At 38 lbs I can easily get this into my van and up to the top shelf where it fits just right. I added an after market laser guide by Irwin - sweet. I just love it. I just got done with a pretty good sized crown molding job (I always cut my crown laying flat, using the compound miter). Every board just fit like a glove. I may be getting better with experiance, but it was my best job yet. I love this saw. But get the laser!

I live in Santiago, Chile, and bougth this little miter saw from Amazon 5 month ago. I ended up paying 35% more than the Amazon price including shipping to Chile and custom taxes. Still less expensive than the price you get from a chilean distributor. It arrived in perfect conditions. I have been remodeling a small country house that my wife bought 450 miles from Santiago. My job allows me very few opportunities to go there but whenever I can, I load this small Hitachi marvell with other tools in my SUV and work there for two or three full days. The job is a pleassure with this saw, it cuts beautifully straight and in angles and the motor seems more powerful than it looks. I am very, very happy with this saw. I must add that I use it with a big 220 to 110 transformer since here our line voltage is 220 volts, and it works great.

Absolutely the best value out there in miter saw stands. I've had this stand for 3 months now, using it almost daily. It's almost unbelieveably well built for the price.

First the positives. This stand is very sturdy and has very little flex, even with the arms fully extended supporting a 12 foot treated 2X6. I use it with a Milwaukee Magnum 10 inch compound miter saw, so the saw itself is not light.

Also, the stand sets up LEVEL. I mean all 4 legs sit on the ground. It was unbelieveable the stands I looked at in some home centers that had a slight rock in them even with a saw on board, and some were twice the price.

Assembly was easy and took less than 15 minutes. Oh, and not least of all, this baby is American made.

Possible issues with this stand are few. First, it's heavy. Honestly, when the box arrived it was difficult to wrestle into the basement. It's a little easier once it's put together so it's more compact, but if you'll be moving it a lot, the weight could be an issue.

Secondly, the adjustment knobs are plastic. I haven't had a problem, but anything that you need to use to tighten a bolt should be steel, not plastic. I'd be willing to pay an extra $5 to have real steel.

So there you go. Rock solid, American made, and does what it's supposed to do. 5 Stars!

I can't imagine a sturdier saw stand than this. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the shipping carton kept this behemoth in place and intact during its travels to my home. The setup was simple, taking perhaps 10 minutes. It is obvious one can pay twice as much for a stand which may be lighter and sexier, but the value is here.

Note the mounting setup is such that the holes need to be parallel. The mounting holes on my Hitachi C10FSB are in a triangular pattern, necessitating my first having to mount the saw to a plywood base, and then to the mounting bars for the stand. Perhaps a more expensive stand would accommodate either mounting pattern, but I was unwilling to spend the extra $$$, and am content with the result.

I was slightly concerned about purchasing this product after reading reviews describing assembly problems and durability issues. When I received my StableMate, the assembly was a breeze. The unit is very well constructed and easy to set up for use. I had looked at other brands, but for the money this unit beats the others hands down.

Read the instructions very carefully before assembling, especially regarding the roller height adjustment. A redesign of this feature is needed to make it easier to change the height to accomodate different miter saw table heights. As it is the square steel tubing holding the rollers can only be raised or lowered with a hammer tap once you assemble the stand. A second minor fault is the latch holding the stand together in the folded position. The latching mechanism disengages easily causing the stand to unfold. This is both unsafe and frustrating while transporting. Also, storing the stand upright against a wall is difficult as the tires make it roll out. This a quality built stand. The roller height adjustment problem seems curiously out of line with the otherwise great design of this stand.

Simply said, it's excellent. I'm tall, so the only know I would have is that when toting it around, I wish it was a little longer so I wouldn't have to bend.

This stand makes our work go much more quickly and accurately. I just about don't know how we ever got along without it. If you do a lot of cutting 2x4', 2x6's, etc., to length, then you will love this Miter Saw Stand.

I was searching Amazon's prices on Freud products when I noticed the reviews for this blade. Don't think of yourself as settling for Freud's blades because Forrest cost too much. The carbides will stand up to "mild" abuse on a Freud, but with a Forrest expect to pay $ when the unexpected happens. The $ is my local cost for a replacement carbide & service. This review goes for all full kerf blades, thin kerf is for under the coffee cup!

Does averything I hoped it would do , very stable have cut plywood, oak ply, pine solid oak works great with all.

I haven't used it for crosscutting yet, but when ripping, you can't tell that the edge wasn't ran over a jointer. In fact, sometimes it's even better.

I was excited about this saw when it first arrived, and it worked well until the warranty expired. When it went out of square, the autorized repair shop, with direction from Bosch, quoted over $350 to fix and said even that might not do it. They said it had been dropped or run over by a truck, both of which would be difficult since the saw had been on a stand since it was new. The shop recommended the Makita which surprisingly is made in America. I won't be looking to Bosch for quality equipment.

If you are like me, you do alot of reaserch before purchasing ANY product.

Let me start off by saying this, I have been a carpenter for over 20 years now and I have used plenty of power tools in my time. I would choose a product by Milwaukee over all others. I have purchased a good amount of Bosch tools in the past few years and my choice has been swayed from Milwaukee to Bosch. Don't get me wrong, Milwaukee makes fabulous power tools, durable and reliable, but the tools I have purchased from Bosch seem to have the same quality's I liked from Milwaukee but have some more thought put into the design of their tools.

This saw was perfect right out of the box. I went to calibrate it and everything was right on the money, bevels, miters and straight cuts. The design is SOOOO SWEET!! The bevel lock is right up front where it should be rather than behind the saw as all others are. They have conveniently placed any wrench needed for adjustment of this saw into the back of the saw in a hideaway compartment where the other brands put the bevel lock. I like the micro adjustment it has to fine tune the miter angle if I need an angle just off of the norm. The built in extention arms are a great feature that other manufacturers will make you buy seperate (although roller stands are essential for long lumber or trim) and the angles I can cut are greater than the 45 degree angles you will get on most saws (50 degrees left miter, 60 degrees right miter, 47 degrees left bevel and 46+ degrees right bevel). The workpiece clamp is one of the best I have seen on any jobsite mitersaw I have ever used. The only thing I didn't like on this saw was that if you set the bevel to the right more than 30 degrees, the saw won't cut all the way through lumber or trim unless you placed some scrap 2by lumber under whatever you are cutting, the beltdrive housing hits the fence even when the fence is in the extended position. Of course if anyone is familiar with cutting miters and bevels on a single bevel saw, any miters and bevels can be made on the left side of the saw to avoid using 2by lumber under the workpiece easily. If anyone isn't familiar with that procedure....practice man, I had to before I had a dual bevel saw :). (It is a little bit of an inconvenience at times but not hard to accomplish.)

All the same, this saw rates 5 stars in my book. This saw should make ANYONE satisfied that purchases it. Take it from me, Big D.

I am very pleased with the 4410. It isn't cheap, but it is worth the money. Easily one of the best 10" slides on the market.