Miter Saws Reviews

This is not a Forrest blade and you should not expect "glass smooth" edges from every cut. This is a great all-purpose blade at a very reasonable price.

It does very well at both ripping and crosscuts.

The crosscuts I've made show little or no saw tooth marks and no tearout on plywood.

Rip cuts are easy and very smooth.

I'll say it again, this is a great blade at a great price.

this is a great blade for a table saw. no it is not a forrest, but for a limited investment, this is a very versatile blade. it rips a very smooth and clean edge. it is not real fast on ripping but it will do the job. does a great job crosscutting. for rough work or general stuff, this is a must in my shop.

This blade is not a flat tooth design. It is rather an alternating bevel design. One with sharp little peaks on the outer edges in an alternating fashion. The listing currently states that it is a flat tooth design.
It does a decent job, but not as smooth as an older Freud 60 tooth that is no longer available. Of course a 60 tooth will give you a smoother edge than a 40 tooth, but both blades will rip a 3/4" piece of oak on an old Sears 1HP saw without a problem. The Freud TK306 in addition to not being flat toothed, also left a line about every eighth of an inch in the cut face. It was only a couple of thousandths deep, but deep enough to change the cut edge if sanded out. When their are other alternatives out there, I would rather not have to sand and alter my edge. Maybe it was just the one that I received, and others might not have that one protruding tooth, that probably is the cause of the problem.

This is probably the best accessary you can buy for your table saw. It is very easy to use and best of all very trustworthy. I have built loudspeakers for a hobby for the last 15 years. I use to only build square and rectangular cabinets before buying this tool because I never had any luck cutting angles with any repeatabilty. Since buying the Osborne I build truncated pyramid cabinets with 10 degree angles all around. With the Osborne, there is no need to test the angle or squareness everytime you adjust the miter. If your blade is parallel to the miter track, the osborne is 90 degree square to the blade when it detents to zero, 45 is 45, 30 is 30, etc. You can believe the scale! If you want to cut a 15 degree bevel on your table saw, just set the Osborne to 15 degrees, and saw a scrap board. Then, set the saw blade angle to the cut board. That easy and best of all it really is 15 degrees. The 26 inch fence, which has 80 grit or so sandpaper on one side, is long enough to support long heavy cuts without twisting due to the unique triangle design. The adjustable stop is also easy and reliable to use and can be flipped out of the way. The only complaint I have with the Osborne is it needs more expansion adjustment screws in the miter bar for removing any slop in the table saw track. It only has two. A third one in the middle would be nice for very wide cross cuts.

Bottom line... buy one you won't go wrong.

If you're looking at this miter gauge, then you know the flaws with cheap miter gauges that usually come with your table saw. They are incredibly inaccurate, hard to use and do not support stock very well.

I am very happy to say that the EB-2 is the best miter gauge I've ever used. It is extremely well built, strong and accurate.

The unit comes disassembled with instructions. It's fairly obvious how it comes together so there should be no issues with confusing instructions.

On the face of the miter gauge there's a layer of sandpaper like substance. This layer is very helpful for gripping your stock.

Across the top is a t-track that takes the slidding stock stop. The stop is strong and does not wabble when clamped down. This is important if you want to make repetitive cuts.

The notched angles, 45, 22.5 and 30 are dead on. They are very easy to lock into.

The guide that fits into your table saw tracks is adjustable so you can make sure that you have a snug fit.

Overall, I am very happy with this miter gauge. My only regret is that perhaps I should of spent the extra money and got the EB-3. I kind of like the idea of the extension that you can use for a stop block on longer cross cuts.

I have tried about eight kazillion of the various miter guides on the market, from the "precision ground" steel guages with the reference holes to the ones with the keyed compass scales and "micro adjustments" et cetera. Frankly, none were all that precise (nor, based on outside factors, could they be) and, even if you did get them perfectly set, they all lacked the requisite stability to keep the wood in alignment! This is the beauty of the Osborne; the stock is supported from two points, one of which is well away the blade and closer to what will be a reasonable location for longer stock.

This item is superbly made, switches from left side to right side with one screw, and has a great stop (easily removable). But, mostly, it is stable, stable, stable. If I am doing anything that requires precision mitering I will either use setting blocks with known angles to set the guide and/or trim each piece until it fits (Forrest WWII, thin kerf!), but I have found that the Osborne presets are almost always right in the money.

It is great to see the best product be simple and logical in design, well made and reasonably priced instead of some kind of high-tech wizardry.

Purchased this 12" compound miter saw on the reccomendation of a friend and I regret that now. The saw itself is ok. It is easy to adjust, smooth to use, and has plenty of power to cut framing lumber. However, I find this saw to be WAY too big for my needs. Iyt is big, very heavy, and the base is very deep making it hard to fit on a miter saw stand. Instead I wish I had bought an 8", or perhaps 10", compound SLIDING miter saw.

I bought the reconditioned saw (no longer available at this time) and after a few weeks, mind has developed a bad crack in the cast aluminum base. I haven't fingiured out what I am going to do with that yet - presumably bring it to dewalt for repair. In any case, I would not buy this saw again.

Excellent tool. Esthetically and functionally I couldn't distinguish from a new tool. I didn't give five stars because I think the durst collector could be better designed. Everything else is five star.

This replaced my good quality 10" after doing some crown molding. With this 12" Dually I can get my hands in close, the larger, sliding fences give me more options. It's a lot quieter than my old saw, and the 12" blade lets me do my kind of work without investing in a "slider". Incidentally, I bought this DeWalt #706 reconditioned - It had a ding on the base which didn't affect its accuracy as it was 100% square right out of the box!

You need to use some other criteria to make sure this miter gauge will fit your table besides the manufacturer's claim that "it fits all tables with 3/4" by 3/8" miter grooves". For instance, if you measure the Delta TS200 Shopmaster 10" Portable Bench Saw's grooves, they look to be 3/4" by 3/8"-- however, the 34-779 Miter Gauge does NOT fit this table. My guess is, it fits higher end tables (especially Delta) with these groove measurements. The TS200 is their lowest end table and is probably not made in the same factory as their higher quality saws.

The gauge itself looks great-- it is all metal and the markings and adjustments look and feel high quality. Just make sure it fits first!

This a perfectly good replacement for the original, and if that's all you want, go for it. However, if you want a really good miter guage that does far more than this one, and you don't mind spending a bunch more money for a lot more capable product, try the Osborne EB-3 Miter Guide. It's extremely accurate and has a much longer surface against which to place the wood. If you want perfection and high quality, it's the way to go.

I ordered the Delta 34-779 Miter Gauge from Amazon. Truthfully, for this price, I didn't expect much. First of all, I expected it to be made of plastic. When I received it, I was amazed to find that it was made of metal! Additionally, it fit precisely into the slot of my Delta sander, no play or wiggle at all. Lastly, having stops at 45 and 90 degrees means that I don't have to measure the angle over and over again. I checked out the miter gauge recommended by another reviewer and that one cost five times as much. The Delta 34-779 Miter Gauge does everything that I need at a great price. Highly recommended.

When looking to buy a 12 inch compound slide I wanted to buy the best. I have used extensively the Hitachi 8 1/4, the Bosch 10 in slide, and the Dewalt 12 inch mitre. In my opinion the Hitachi was the best. The most precise, reliable, and easy to use saw in the group. So when I found out Hitachi made a 12 inch slide I read the other reviews and ordered one from Western Tool believing I was buying the best.

After waiting 3 weeks the saw came and I brought it to the job to use. The saw had a serious arbor problem which I at first thought was the blades I tried, but they were all high dollar blades. The blade wobbled so much you could see it in your cut and feel it in the saw. Also one of the rails were loose so that you could move the head, which is adjustable but you shouldn't have to mess with a brand new [expensive] saw.

A couple of other shortcoming:
The entire head is plastic which doesn't seem to fit together very well.
Hitachis table and fence still need improvement.

I regretfully had to take my saw back and since I needed it yesterday, I could not wait another 3 weeks. So after reading and looking I went with the Makita. I am not disappointed with the Makita but rather impressed. It is a far better saw. Easier to use, more solid, more efficient design, only 5% plastic, it has a great table, superb sliding action, and it comes with a 100 dollar blade. More saw for less money.

In my opinion Hitachi is riding to much on their reputation with this saw. They are not putting the same rescource into competing as Makita or Dewalt. Perhaps after a year or so of getting saws back they will fix some of its problems and re-manufacture it. Until then, I think a person would be far better off going with something else.

Upon seeing this saw at a Florida tool show, I knew that my wait was over...Having owned the 8-1/2 model since its inception and watching Hitachi and other manufacturers try to improve on my old reliable, I finally found a saw that justifies putting my 8-1/2 to the side (even though its still cutting true and strong!)...Hitachi's newest creation has great capacity, accuracy, and is sooo quiet...Best of all, it has all the nice adjustment features of my 8-1/2 (unlike their 10" model)...It includes 60 degree mitre left and right, two bevel scales, looking directly at you when flopping left or right, and unlike Makita still builds in positave detents for common crown molding If this saw has the longevity of its predecessor, and I have no dought it will, you won't be able to beat this one for many years to come.

After useing my 8-1/2" for as many years as it has been out and waiting for an Hitichi 12" (been strugling to avoid the urge to go with the Makita 12), I finally spotted the newest and best saw on the market at a Florida tool show...I new immediately, that it wasn't the old Hitachi 10" and was drawn to ogle the beast. It has the smooth engineering of all Hitachi saws, but goes beyond that. My friends 10" was a smooth cutting and quiet saw to use, but that adjustment knob for the bevel fought me at all times...not so with the 12" (smooth and comfortable as my old reliable 8-1/2). Best of all , the new saw has two! bevel gauges, riding on each side of the barrel...looking directly at you when the head is shifted left or right! Their 10" model won't even allow you to see the gauge when beveling on one side. The abilty to mitre 60 degrees left or right, now gives this saw the capacity to exceed my 8-1/2 in more ways than vertical cutting depth...I had to have it, couldn't justify staying with my old saw all the time(even though its still going strong). Best of all, the noise level is so much lower...I don't care about turning my stock end-for-end...been doing it for years! For the demands required in the field (or shop), YOU CAN'T BEAT THIS SAW!

I have to say up front that I do own a number of Systimatic blades and with this one exception am pleased with all of them. So why not this? I ordered it specifically to do what the manufacturer says it does - nice smooth rip cuts in hardwood. Without being some kind of saw blade genius and getting into tooth offset angle and all that I can't sufficiently explain WHY it doesn't do that, but I have tried it on Oak, Mahogany, and Walnut. Each time the cut I got was not particularly smooth. The tooth lines were clearly visible to the degree that your average woodworker would be forced to use a jointer to clean the edge - even if the edge weren't a joint (like the outside of a table top). Think it would simply take too long to try and sand all of that out. I have an 80T FS Tool trim blade that cuts the same thing like glass, which makes me think it isn't the saw. Ironically, though I don't see it offered here at Amazon, Systimatic makes a "Safety Rip" blade which, in my experience, puts a much smoother surface on rip cuts with fewer teeth than this one has done to date. And it's a little cheaper. It only has 20 teeth, I believe, and I've made full depth cuts through 8/4 rough sawn Red Oak with that blade with 0 complaints.

I used this blade to rip some 8/4 cherry, 5/4 mohogany recently and very pleased with result. It makes ripping on my 1-3/4hp saw effortless and surface is much better than from the other rip blade (DeWalt series 40, 24 teeth) I have. The other reviewer's problem may due to feed speed and fence alignment (square not parallel), just a guess.

It's a whole world better than the standard carbide 24 tooth blade that came with my saw. It went through 8/4 cherry easily. I've also ripped 4/4 curly maple and even cross cut the curly maple too.

I don't know what problem the other reviewer had, but this blade cuts really smooth for a rip blade. Yeah, my 60 tooth blade cuts smoother, but it has 60 teeth. This cuts quickly, effortlessly and very cleanly.

When I recieved my unit and attempted to mount my new LS1013 Makita compound slide miter box. I found the table supplied was too small. Being a little creative I built a new one out of 3/4" birch plywood. I also wrote back to Tracmaster about their products shortcomings. Within a week I received mounting brackeys that allowed me to use the original table. I am now mounting my older makita chop saw on the OEM table. Thank you very much Tracmaster. You have a very happy customer for supplying the hardware in such a brief time.

This is one solid table that is extremely well designed. Unfortunately the table top is too small for my Makita LS-1013 sliding miter saw; the mounting holes are an inch past the rear of the table top. Amazon should mention this given the popularity of the LS-1013.

One solution is to cut yourself a bigger board like the previous reviewer. Instead, I called the 800 number and spoke to customer service, who quickly sent me a adapter kit which contained some metal brackets to mount my saw. This solved my problem, but I needed to substitute a pair of shorter bolts so that they did not extend past the plastic feet on the bottom of the table.

The table is definitely worth buying, but it would be nice if all the parts were included in the box needed to mount my saw.

The TracRac 24300 is a well made miter saw stand. It provides a wide, sturdy base for your saw. Sitting on it, my 200lbs didn't even make it flex. The hardware on this saw is all first rate and heavy duty. The sliding stop and lumber support, work great and are both infinitely adjustable. You won't have any problem adjusting them for your brand of miter saw.

The TracRac is light and knocks down quickly for transport. The mounting board with saw attached, slides on and clamps down firmly. It won't budge. When detached, saw and board can be used on its own. It normally sits on my work bench and is used for those quick sawing requirements where I don't need to support and cut 8'lumber. The mounting board has rubber feet giving you an inch clearance so you can lift and move it. It also keeps it from sliding. In this mode however, you will have to rely on your saw for a stop adjustment and some extension support.

All in all, I am almost completely satisfied with the TracRac - almost. I gave it 4 stars but really 3.5 would be more appropriate. Unfortunately, 1/2 stars are not an option on Amazon. Why not 5 stars? It's the mounting board.

If you have one of those large compound sliding saws like I do, you may not be able to mount it properly. The mounting board is 30" X 15". Your saw can't realy be much longer than 24" or it will intrude on the board's hold down knobs. In my case, I can align the saws hand hold cutouts over the knobs so they are reachable but akward to use. My Bosch sliding compound saw (the older saw with the slides on top is a great saw - on sale at Amazon.com is 2" wider than the board and long enough to cover the boards hold down knobs.

Note: You can reverse the mounting board which has more overhang to one side then another. This provides some flexibility for mounting various miter saws. Unfortunately, not enough for the Bosch!

To add injury to insult, the manufacturers troubleshooting guide discusses this issue and suggests that you just cut a larger board to resolve it. Duh! I'm a woodworker. I can surely do that but why should I have to! I'm spending ($$$) for the TracRac. Why should I now have to spend my own money and time to fix their problem?

Okay, I was ready to send the TracRac back to Amazon.com, just on principle. However, I had bought it here when it was on sale for ($$$) - far cheaper than advertised anywhere else. I had a piece of baltic birch and cut it to 31" X 17". Using the original board as a template, I rounded the corners of my new board with a router and then eased all the edges. Again, using the original, I duplicated all mounting and guide holes. After a two part sanding and three coats of gloss polyurethane, I had a new board - almost.

Next problem - the aluminum slide that mounts to the underside of the board is not quite long enough for the additional length. You also need to get the hold down knobs further to the edges of the mounting board. I landed up drilling a hole about 1/2 inch into the lead-in tongue (engages the track on the stand) on the slide and buying another bolt. That gave me an additional 1.5" inches length to rellocate the hold down knobs.

The original carriage bolt fits into a square hole. I don't have a drill that does that! So you will need to look for a hex head bolt to facilitate this and to allow you to tighten things up.

All in all, creating a new mounting board was a 2 hour exercise. Okay, I'm fussy. I could have just cut a 31x17 rectangular board and mounted the original hardware and been done with it. However, why are we woodworkers? Anyway, 2 hours of my time, my materails and some new hardware - it should not be. For me, this miter stand turned out to be more expensive than it should be. Yes, it's a hobby and I will soon forget this. The end result turned out to be terrific. Between the Bosch saw and the TracRac, it's a very nice setup. A 5 star setup thanks to my efforts but not TracRac's.

If you don't have a large sliding compound miter saw, you probably won't have the issues I had. The mounting board that comes with the TracRac does have some flexibility to fit a variety of saws. I can highly recommend the saw stand if your miter saw fits. Even if it doesn't, you will be happy with the result if you don't mind building your own mounting board. Hopefully, TracRac will do something about this and provide a larger board in the future. Until then, 3.5 stars is the best rating I can give.

The dimensions listed are slightly inaccurate. The depth of the plate was not 3/8" (.375) but .344 as measured with a micrometer. Check your measurements! Also it is not listed on the package but the rounded corners for the plate were cut with a circle of 3/4" diameter as relayed by their tech support. Important if your making your own template.

And yes, the placement of the holes means that your Bosch 1618 D-Handle will have to be removed in order to fit.

All the holes line up, and it strong enough to hold the router without bending or warping. Really not much to this, but I have no complaints.

This gauge is easy to set up and easy to position. You may have to make a few adjustments to true it all up but, when your finished this thing is rock solid.The T-track system allows you to extend your gauge well beyond the edge of your table for larger pieces.Made with a combination of aluminum and steel this thing is built to last.I do recommend coating the bar with a dri-cote type product if rust is a concern. Now get out there and cut some miters.

This miter gauge has stops which you can be set and will cut exactly on that stop position every time without any slippage. It looks simple but is a very good and precise gauge.

Not quite the polished cut of a good 80T blade, but very good as a general use blade, as the Freud on-blade ratings suggest. If you are looking for a finish cut blade, get an 80T. The chrome is really nice and it has yet to heat up or bind, which is great!

I am a fairly serious woodworker. I had a need to buy a new blade for my table saw. My old blade was a Forrest Woodworker II. I cut laminates Birch plywood, Ripped thousands of feet of oak, cherry and other hardwoods. . I have to admit that the Forrest was an incredible blade. The problem was that it was rusting because my shop is in the garage. I had a Freud Teflon blade in my power miter box. I have been always impressed by the glass smooth cuts. I was a bit apprehensive because the price of this blade was about a third of the Forrest, but I liked the idea of the chrome finish. I have now completed a few projects and I am surprised to say that it compares very closely to the Forrest. I have cut melamine and found a razor sharp edge on both sides of the cut. I have ripped a few hundred feet of oak with it and I have yet to see any burning or tear out. At this price I should have bought 2 and gave one to a friend!