Miter Saws Reviews

At first I was a little skeptical, A 12" double bevel miter saw for $199 is unheard of! But after using this saw I can assure you first hand that with its 15A motor it gets the job done. Compare at Delta $300+ for similar saw. This saw is a great addition to any weekend warrior's workshop.

Well finally did something right, was looking for a present for the man that has everything and decided on a new miter saw.

I researched all the major brands (DeWalt, Bosch, etc) and stumbled onto this one the GMC model. I hadnt heard of them before but with some more research found their website and some good information about them. They are an Australian company that sell all over the world but seem to be new to the USA.

They have won awards at the Chicago hardware show for their Redeye laser tools ( this is one of those) and they look cool.

The price of this is less than half the cost of the others so I thought why not so I bought i for my husband and he has not stopped thanking me ever since.

I am not the most technical but he keeps telling me the features on this are better then the DeWalt and it cost about a third of the price. He likes the laser line but I think he likes the fact that it"double bevels" whatever that means.

So if you are looking to win some brownie points I would definitely recommend buying one of these.

So for the $40 shipped this really is a great deal if you time isn't extremely valuable and you can adjust the saw. The insturctions include info on how to adjust the alignment of the saw and miter but nothing for the laser which for me was a full 1/8 off but it turns out that a cover snaps off and this too can be adjusted.
Having an miter saw this inaccurate out of the box is sort of pointless so unless you plan on saving the $30 over the saw from the local hardware store by adjusting this saw to be accurate skip it.

I own many power tools, including a 12" DeWalt miter saw, but I bought this for small jobs when I don't want to haul out the big boy.

When the saw arrived my first impression was that it wasn't all that great, very lightweight, a bit wobbly, not that sturdy. Then I took a look at the manual, it is very well written with clear color pictures illustrating everything you need to know. The manual also gives you step-by-step instructions on how to properly align (calibrate) the saw. After proper alignment and tightening of all bolts and knobs, the saw was much steadier. The more I played with it, the more I liked what I saw (no pun intended).

Bottom-line, you have to keep in mind this is only an 8 1/4 saw and it costs less than $50, it is designed for light use. Then I remembered this is why I bought the saw, for those small projects, or when I only have to make a few small cuts. This would be perfect for picture molding, small door and window trim, weather strip, etc. This is not the tool of choice for doing crown mold, custom cabinetry, stair rail or any other high-end fine detail job. Also, please note that the saw comes with a 24 tooth 8 1/4 carbide blade, a 40 tooth blade would be a better choice, but could cost as much as the saw!

If you have ever bought a plastic miter box with accompanying cheap back saw, you would do yourself a favor to buy this saw, all in all, a very good purchase for less than $50.

This saw arrived early this afternoon and I just finished about 4 hours of use replacing porch trim. I am new at using a miter so take that into account. I have been looking for a 10" slide miter but kept waiting to see if the Hitachi or Makita would come up on a super sale (below $300) and no such luck. I also was considering the GMC 10" slide based on the price. I hesitated though as very little information/reviews on the net for them and I have never seen their products at a local store. But when the small GMC went on sale for $40.44 shipped to my door 2nd day (Amazon Prime) I could not resist. I figured I could get all but one or two pieces I needed for the porch cut with this saw.

The good:
Price for performance, off the scale.
The laser is right on.
The low weight and ability to move easy

The ok but:
Saw miter calibration is off, the 0 indent was more like 3. For what I needed to do today, it did not matter. I was just copying angles of wood that I was replacing, so for me with limited experience, I used the old wood as a template, drew a line, adjusted the miter to match and all came out perfect.

The bad:
The combination of Amazon packing and UPS torture drops had the internal GMC box partially open and contents a little shifted. Maybe this is why the miter angle adjustment is so far off.

Overall:
If you need something to do trim and plain cross cuts that a 8 !/4 will handle, this is your saw! Not something for making cabinets, but I would suspect this does as well if not better that the $150 to $200 second tier saws.