A couple of months ago, Nathan asked for some miter saw recommendations. I had jotted down some notes for a post, but somehow it ended up idle and collecting dust. Whoops, sorry Nathan!
Nathan had asked specifically for DIYer miter saw recommendations. He wrote:
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I told my sister i was watching tool deals and asked if she needed to get anything for her husband. Unfortunately, she said “chop saw”. Unfortunate because I haven’t followed table and miter saws at all, as mobility is paramount for me. I had been following more handheld tools.
So, what would you recommend for a relatively skilled DIY in a miter saw at this time, especially if one or more might be coming on sale? I saw this one from last year, so I’m hopeful.
It will be a few more months before holiday season miter saw deals roll around again, so I’m only going to look at currently available models.
My first miter saw was a Craftsman, and it worked well. My budget was strictly $150, even a little less if I recall correctly. Maybe it was $125.
If I had to buy a DIYer miter saw right now, it would likely be the Hitachi C10FCE2. This saw has dropped to $99 during holiday seasons, and is regularly available for around $120. I haven’t tried it before, but given Hitachi’s status is a value-oriented professional tool brand, I would put more faith in it than similar-priced offerings from DIY brands such as Craftsman and Skil.
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Things to Keep in Mind
Here are some factors that you should look at when choosing a budget miter saw:
Blade Size: 10″ saws are much more affordable than 12″ saws, and so are the blades. If you don’t need the capacity of a 12″ saw, keep in mind that 10″ saws are also going to be smaller and more portable.
Smaller sized 7-1/4″ saws are also available, but unless you know you’ll only be working with smaller stock, a 10″ saw will offer much more cutting capacity.
Adjustments: Look for a saw with comfortable knobs and controls.
Squareness: If you’re able to look at miter saws in a store, head to the layout and measuring aisle and pull out a square. Is the miter saw blade square to its base at 90°? Is the fence squared to the blade? If not, are they easy to adjust? If the miter saw is not square, which I’m sure happens with store demo models, and you can’t square it up easily, perhaps consider a different model.
Features and Add-ons: Does the saw have a laser? We don’t like lasers very much for cut line guidance, as they can be off by a little bit, defeating the purpose. Most if not all saws come with a [barely useful] dust bag. Some come with workpiece extensions and hold-down clamps, but sometimes you have to buy these as optional accessories.
Single Bevel: Lower priced saws often offer single bevel adjustment. If you want dual bevel, prepare to spend a lot more.
Sliding Mechanisms: If you have a larger budget, you might start considering sliding miter saws. Personally, I would rather use a better non-sliding miter saw than an entry-level sliding miter saw at similar cost. With a budget sliding miter saw, the cost is spread among additional components and complexity, sometimes resulting in compromises.
Don’t Forget the Stand: You don’t need a miter saw stand, but you might find one to be very useful. $100 to $150 will get you a good stand, $200 will get you the last miter saw you’ll ever need.
The Little Things: Ease of adjustment, common angle detents, and quality of the angle scales can greatly influence the user experience. Take all these things into account.
The Better Starting Point
If buying my first miter saw all over again, I would go with the mentioned Hitachi. But if I had a little more budget flexibility, I would go with the Dewalt DW713 (10-inch) or DW715 (12-inch), both of which can be had for $200 to $220.
With these saws, there’s no compromise. I have a DW713 test sample from a few years ago, and it’s still going strong. It’s pretty much my go-to when testing new miter saw blades. It’s more compact than sliding saws, and definitely more portable.
The DW715 has greater capacity, and usually costs a little less, which would influence me if I were buying my first miter saw. $200 is a lot more than $100-125, but the benefits are hard to ignore. You get better build quality and components all around.
Just keep in mind that a 12″ saw is going to be a little less portable than a 10″ saw, and that the price of a good blade is going to be slightly higher.
Buy Now(10″ via Amazon)
Buy Now(12″ via Amazon)
Which miter saw would you consider to be a good choice for DIYers?
Chris L
One thing I would love to see is a simple chart that shows what sizes of common dimensional lumber that can be cut with a non-sliding 10″, non-sliding 12″, sliding 10″, and sliding 12″ miter saw (both straight and at horizontal/vertical bevels). That would go a long way into deciding what size saw I need. The manufacturer specs are usually not clear on this subject, especially when it comes to how a lumber’s height affects the maximum width it can cut.
JC
As a general rule of thumb:
10″ non slide is
2×6 @ 90
2×4 @ 45
4×4 is the height max
12″ non slide
2×8 @ 90
2×6 @ 45
4×4 is the max
10″ slide
2×12 @ 90
2×10 @ 45
4×6 is the max
12″ slide
2×14 @90
2×12 @ 45
4×6 is the max
These are typical specs for miter saws. On occasion like with Dewalt you get a different spec because you can use a sacrificial piece of wood and make use of the back fence giving you more capacity.
Hope this helps.
For a first saw, if you think there is even a chance you will use it with any regularity (and you will) I’d say someone should go with the dewalt DW716. I know it’s a costly saw but on occasion you can find it for $299. Your first saw may very well be your last with this one. I like to buy tools only once if I can help it.
Jimmie
I agree on the DW716. It’s good enough that it may well be the only CMS you ever buy.
Put a better blade on it, add the Dewalt LED light system (there are several DW716 variants…so make sure it fits your particular model) and add a miter clamp and you have a very capable saw that can take some abuse.
Chris L
Thanks for that info! I was between that or a DW717. I’ve heard a few people say that a 10″ slider is the way to go.
abnormalist
Honeslty, harbor freight chicago electric 10″ sliding mitre saw
the one without the laser, can usually be had for under $100 without blade. Add a decent blade and you have a good saw
JC
I considered this route recently. For me it would have been a second saw used strictly for framing projects around the house.
I’m not too sure about its accuracy for fine trim work or picture frames and the like. My uncle has the 12 slider from HF and seems to like it.
Justin Phillips
They have recently revised their chop saws. The new ones have a ton of adjustments and can get squared up nicely. I have the 12″ slider and am very happy with it.
johnny miter saw
It a piece of junk new model that is, Older ones are a real bargain if you can find one
Pat
I’ll second the Hitachi. I love my Makita slider, but bought the hitatchi so I’d have something more portable for trim work around the house and I haven’t pulled out the makita since.
Nick
Same. I really like the Hitachi.
BigDan
Got my first chop saw, Craftsman 7.5″, like new at a garage sale for $25.
Most chop saws for DIYers are in great/unused condition and some guys buy the fancy ones. Could find better brands for the same prices as the HF or Hitachi model.
Might be worth checking out if you have the time on Saturdays!
Benjamen
You need to ask these questions: (and probably a few more)
– Is the saw going to have a home, or is it going to be moved from place to place?
If the saw is going to live in one place, a bigger heavier saw doesn’t matter, but if you have to move it around 65+ lb 12″ sliding miter saw can be heavy and awkward to carry compared to a 10″ chop saw. Even if it has a permanent home, you still might have to move it on occasion when you are cutting longer material. They way I had my shop setup I could cut anything up to 10 feet, but if I had to trim a few inches of a 12′ board I had to move the saw to get room.
– How accurate do you need your cuts to be?
Are you cutting construction lumber or making miters for picture frames? A quality 10″ non-sliding miter saw will probably give you a better cut quality than a 12″ sliding saw.
– Do you need dual bevel?
I rarely even use the bevel angle. It’s a real pain to adjust and it doesn’t have nice stops like the miter angle. New saws are getting better, though. Unless you are doing a lot of crown molding or other projects that require compound angles, a single bevel might be a better fit and cheaper.
-What capacity do you really need?
I bought a 12″ miter saw because I had a project that required me to cut a bunch of 4x6s, but I rarely ever use anything that large. I spent way more money on a saw than I had to. I didn’t require the accuracy, I could have just cut the 4×6’s with my circular saw and saved a whole lot of money on a 10″ saw.
But if you are cutting larger material on a regular basis, you might get frustrated that you can’t cut it on your miter saw.
– Would a table saw be a better option?
A lot of people eschew cutting miters on a chop saw and use the table saw instead. It gets awkward for long pieces, but if you are making a frame, a home made miter sled is a cost effective solution.
fred
I prefer to cut picture frames on the table saw with a sled that insures both sides of the corner match. If I need an even finer cut then I’ll resort to doing the miter by hand in a framing vise with the final trimming using a plane on a shooting board. The alternative would be to use a Lion Trimmer.
Mike
Hitachi is absolutely the best choice here. The Hitachi C10FCE2 Stuart mentions is WAAAY better than any HF saw and is arguably better than DeWALT saws costing twice as much. DeWALT miter saws are good. Makita miter saws are even nicer, more precise/accurate, but better for interior finish carpentry. DeWALT’s saws tend to be a bit more suited for rough and tumble, exterior and framing use. Slightly cheaper than Makita and certainly more widely available at Home Depot and similar stores. A simple way to think of it: DeWALT miter saws are at home in the bed of pickup trucks and Makita is more at home in vans. Bosch saws are arguably superior to both, though they are typically priced a bit higher than both brands. Their new-ish axial glide saws are undoubtedly a superior system. All these brands are pretty close in quality. Except for the Bosch axial saws, I still would suggest Hitachi. DeWALT saws that have the shadow marking system are nice in their own way. FWIW, Festool Kapex saws are truly superior-but cost over $1400 of course. One of Festool’s best tools for sure.
As far as double-bevel and slide rail options: great options when needed. Which is almost never for most users. Tool companies market these capabilities to expand sales, but most people have no need(or training) for such features, plus non-sliders are more durable for sure.
Similar situation with the constant one-upsmanship in cordless drill torque ratings-who really has a need for a cordless drill with 1000 inch-pounds+ of torque, especially one with no clutch? Not many users at all.
One last point: When talking about nail guns/pinners and miter saws, Hitachi is pro grade all the way. No DIY label applies. I’ve seen countless Hitachi guns in pro-level daily service that are 25-30 years old. Of course, parts get replaced now and then, but still, those are some pretty tough tools.
Drum
I’ve been in the building and finishing trades since the late 80s — and a DIYer even longer — and I agree: Hitachi, 10″ or 12″, sliding or not, pro or DIY use.
Where quality + performance + affordability = value, they are tops.
You’re also spot-on about Hitachi pneumatic nailers. (Hitachi compressors, on the other hand, aren’t as good, but are still good values.)
BonPacific
My first (and current) miter saw is an old and beat up Hitachi C12FA. It was free from a family member used. For everything shy of picture frame miters, its a perfect workhorse. I often see similar used Hitachi’s on Craigslist, being retired by contractors. The price drop for used isn’t as much as you’d expect though, speaking to the durability of a decent miter saw.
Styling aside, Hitachi’s design is great. Strong and simple seems to be their ethos. I would recommend their saws to anyone looking for a starter.
It’s also worth noting, you can often get a stand free with some saws during sales.
If I were shopping for a new saw today, and were willing to spend a few hundred dollars, it would be a DeWalt 12″ with the shadow-line feature.
julian
I’ve had Bosch and Dewalt non-sliders and Dewalt and now the new Bosch Glide slider.
The new Bosch 12″ glide slider is a decidedly mixed bag. In the end, I’ll probably replace it with something else very soon. Pros – GREAT dust collection with a vac, ability to hug a wall, super smooth action. Cons – HEAVY, and no good way to carry for transport.
Its a F-ing aircraft carrier and has no intelligently designed way to carry it. But most importantly, (mine at least) I’ve had many issues with getting it to cut accurately. I’ve read through the manual and tweaked every adjustment I can try numerous times and am still not that happy with the results.
The Dewalt saws have always been both durable, easy to carry (weight aside) and pretty easy to adjust and calibrate. May go back to them, but haven’t really seen a newer Makita in person either.
I’ve modified my Bosch glide to accept the Dewalt LED shadow light pretty much seamlessly – super handy addition, but the saw only gets pulled to a job if I absolutely need it – HATE transporting it.
I get by with my cordless Bosch 10″ miter saw that has been adapted to use my Makita LXT batteries. I wouldn’t build a deck with it, or frame a basement, but for basic base/case and even kitchen finished trim work it does a great job and is super accurate in addition to weighing maybe 24lbs.
It spins a full kerf 10″ blade at around 4700rpm with no issues and gives glass smooth cuts on solid maple and cherry cabinet trim.
I’ve been half-tempted to just pick up a 12″ non-slider for larger jobs; looking at the single bevel Dewalt that Lowes has had marked down to $199 lately.
All the new Hitachi saws are just so darn hideous looking – like a 14 year old is designing them…
Julian
Ryan
How hard was it to modify your Bosch to accept the dewalt shadow system? That sounds like an awesome idea
BigDan
I have a 12″ glide also and love it. I know on release they had many complaints of the table not being square and replaced them for users with that issue. You are right about the heavy and awkward. It does weigh 65 lbs so better off as a team lift. Their gravity rise miter table is the only way to go with moving that thing around.
I hooked my ridgid shop vac to it and dust collection wasn’t impressive. I hooked up my festool extractor and now its amazing. Gets probably 80% of the dust.
I never got the laser addition to work on that thing it just didn’t fit on quite right. The shadow system sounds cool but wondering if it will have the same issue, if it will misalign the blade, and if under an led/fluorescent shop light will it still work well?
fred
We bought a batch of them (12) over a 3 year period to replace older Makitas. One had an issue with both fences (L&R) being out of square and the table not being acceptably flat. It went back. One had an issue with one fence being out of square – it also went back. The other 10 were within acceptable limits. My personal GCM12SD bought in 2013 was dead on true right out of the box – but I think the packaging had improved compared to some of the earlier ones we bought – so maybe the fence issues were in-part due to transport damage.
We had all of ours on gravity-rise stands – similar to those on our Bosch jobsite table saws. They were still heavy – but we had ramps to help get stuff in and out of our Step Vans. In my own (now retired case) I do a lot of swearing rolling it up and loading it into my truck – but I let my son or son-in-law unload it when I arrive at their houses.
BigDan
Yeah same experience. My box was beat to hell, had holes in it. Measured square and cut fine so kept it.
Yeah I’ll roll it over to my truckbed and slide it onto the tailgate when working mobile. It’s not going anywhere my truck can’t reach without another guy to help carry it. Didn’t buy the stand have nowhere in my garage to put it. I built a workbench for it that allowed for a level plank to slide across from either side and had to be wide enough at the front to allow the arm to rotate 45 either way. Sort of like this (if it formats right) where the * is the elevated workbench top level with the saw table.
***********| SAW |***********
**********/ SAW \**********
********/ SAWW \********
*******| W |*******
BigDan
Nope got rid of all my spaces. Well it’s not bad except for the 4th line which represents the handle at the front. I’ll take a picture next time lol.
John
That’s what killed the GCM12SD for me. The squareness of the arbor in relation to the Axial Glide motion (and the inability to correct it) has been the major headache of this saw. You can only adjust squareness of the the glide path to the fence or you can adjust squareness of the the blade to the fence, but there is no provided mechanism to adjust squareness to the glide path. If the blade is not parallel to the glide path, which is the major problem occurring with owners and production of this saw, you will get burning on one side of the cut and an inaccurate 90 degree cut. The forums are filled with complaints about the blade arbor’s inability to travel parallel and square to the path of the axial glide.
BigDan
You would think the nature of the mechanical glide arms that you could tweak things like that with a hex wrench to be perfect! They glide arms seem to be so much stronger than the dual pipe slider that the other brands use. And you can’t beat getting that rear space back when putting it up against the wall.
Joaquin v
I got my Rigid 10″ at Home Depot for $199 and it’s a dual bevel. DeWalt is like $20 more and single bevel. Ridgid will also back their saw with a lifetime warranty if you register. My saw has been very accurate. Don’t see how the DeWalt is better in features, price, or warranty.
Hitachi is hard to beat though at $100. Pretty good brand and a good price.
Admin Note: Joaquin works for TTI.
jaytkif
I’m mostly a DIY guy who has helped friends and family out on occasion with contracting jobs. I’ve had a chance to use a range of tools and a bunch of different miter saws.
I agree with the Hitachi recommendation, bottom line, no matter the skill level, you want a tool that does the job. I live in Canada, and the saw can still be had for a reasonable price on sale (I’ve seen as low as $129, but usually about $169). I have a few friends with it, and they like it for DIY use, doing finishing work mostly. I know two guys who upgraded to this from a Mastercraft (Canadian Tire brand), and say there is a world of difference.
If budget is larger, I agree with the DeWalt option as well. I have used quite a few DeWalt miter saws, and they are always solid. In addition, they can often cut larger angles on miters and bevels than most DIY saws. A well built saw will last, when you think price, also think life cycle cost (two or three poorly made saws will add up).
Also, for DIYers, a sliding mitre is nice for framing too. Many DIYers I know aren’t super precise with a circular saw, and a sliding miter will easily cut 2×10’s or 12’s for beams / headers etc. I’d probably go with DeWalt here as well. Ryobi has some great deals too, but I don’t live in a place with a Home Depot and I haven’t used their current saws (so can’t recommend).
I use a 12″ sliding miter, and would probably buy a Milwaukee or DeWalt 12″ (most likely DWS709 since the 780 would be a few hundred more) if I had to buy one today. Curious to see what others would do if they wanted a 12″ slider.
If I had one thought for the average DIY guy (who probably doesn’t read this blog), it would be to stay away from the bargain basement brands, I’ve seen some pretty crappy saws, and had friends with some scary failures, like the arm collapsing during use, or the blade guard shattering (I wasn’t there and I’m sure operator error played in but, a better saw tends to have more safety features).
Nice features to have:
-Bevel and mitres capacity beyond 45. DeWalt has 50 degree bevels and 60 and 50 degree mitres.
-Detentes at common angles. On some bargain saws I’ve seen the angle change as you try to set it, sometimes by a degree or two (that will mess up any precision work, and add to material costs in a quick way).
-Shadow line (so much better than a laser which I usually turn off on every saw I’ve used with one).
Travis Mault
Which of the 10″ Dewalts can be retrofitted with the XPS shadow system. I was dead set on the DWS780, but this article has me looking at 10″ versions.
I’d like a dual bevel sliding version, but will consider any of them.
Blythe M
Unless you intend to cut 4×6 material or long miters often, most likely a diy guy doesn’t need a silder. I have one because it figured it would be nice to have 2×12 cut capacity, which it occasionally is- but the reality is with boards that big it’s much easier to bring the (circular) saw to to the work. Sliders take up a lot of space, are awkward to transport, and the lower level ones just seem to have to much flex/slop.
On the subject of stands, my keter folding table sees much more use for my saw than the dedicated stand, it’s smaller, so quick, and endlessly useful. To do it again I’d buy the keter table and two adjustable height roller stands and skip the miter stand
James C
One thing you didn’t mention was the dado ability of sliders, but does anyone actually use that? I’m legitimately wondering since I just got my first slider (Craftsman compact 10″). I don’t yet have a table saw and figured it might be a nice feature if I wanted to do dados. It worked well enough notching some 4×6’s I was using on a project.
Kurt
I picked up a used 12″ Dewalt at a pawn shop a few months ago for 175 bucks. The good one, with the vertical bars. Love being able to cut 4 X 4’s now, and the bump up in power over my old Craftsman is significant.
So here is my advice for entry level – buy used. Check out used tool stores, pawn shops and Craigslist. You will get more bang for your buck.
David
I just upgraded from a Delta 10″ that I found on craigslist to a Dewalt 12″ single bevel (DW715 I think) I found at Lowes for $200 and I could not be more impressed. The Dewalt is solidly built and I don’t worry anymore about my cuts being true and square. I went with a single bevel, non-sliding because as I thought through my typical work process, 98% of the time I don’t need the extra capacity that the sliding models offer- however moving up from 10″ to 12″ was well worth it. My feeling is that the dual bevel and sliding mechanisms introduce more imprecision over the course of a project, unfortunately the really high quality dual-bevel, sliding models come with really high quality prices. The 12″, single bevel Dewalt for about $200 is the sweet spot between build quality and cut precision, price, and cut capacity. There’s no way I could justify spending 200% – 300% more on a saw just to handle the 2% of cases where I need the extra capacity. I also invested in a Diablo blade for the new saw and I’m blown away by the difference over the stock blade I had on the Delta. If you want precise, smooth cuts, get a quality blade!
Dylan
I have that hitachi miter saw. I’ll be looking for an upgrade soon. The problem is I searched Amazon for a sliding compound miter saw, and that was the first result. I got excited bc it was only $99, but I didn’t read the description carefully enough. It doesn’t slide. It’s got plenty of power, but 10 inches without sliding is not big enough. I bought a circular saw and I use that 10x more than my miter saw, it’s just too small.
DH
I’ve been thinking about upgrading lately, since it’s the tool I use the most in the shop. My miter saw is 6 or so years old, is square and works well, an old blue and yellow Ryobi 10″ sliding single bevel. I bought it refurbished for just over $100. My biggest gripe about it is the depth, it needs close to 40 inches. Minor issues like I’d rather have a safety switch because kids, even though they aren’t in the shop without me and the lack of soft start.
So do I spend the $500 or so on the saw I want (either the Bosch Glide or a Makita) or just continue to make due?
Justin Phillips
+1 to the Harbor Freight sliders.
I have the 12″ slider. I think the total price came to around $130 on sale with coupons. Its built solid and has all the adjustments you need to make it square. Out of the box its square enough to chop lumber and do some light framing, but for trim you will need to spend some time tinkering all the adjustable bits and bobs.
For me, I was happy to pay less in exchange for squaring it out myself. The only thing I wish it had was the 0 back clearance rails that Hitachi has on some of their sliders so I could put the saw directly up to the wall.
Jason R
I bought that Hitachi a long time ago (5ish years) I think because I saw it mentioned on here. I could be wrong. But that saw has served me perfectly since then with absolutely no problems. However, now Im looking at a bigger slide or glide miter saw as I think I have outgrown the little Hitachi that could…. and did. I framed and finished my entire basement with that saw. It was a couple years before I finally put it on its own miter saw stand.
Matt J
Probably not much I can add to what’s been said, hitachi nails it (get it, because they are famous for nail guns) for most home/reno use without breaking the bank or sacrificing quality, jump up to dewalt if you’re in construction or actually throwing up a shop or shed. After that you can get crazy with preferences if you’ve got money to burn.
Bob
The 12″ Dewalt is the best deal around if you don’t need the capacity of the slide.
They are bomb proof, stay true and can be had used on craigslist for $74-100.
No matter what you need to buy a good blade of the saw.
Mahalo
I own the Hitachi and got it on one of those special deal prices also. I am pleased with power and performance thus far for all of my DIY applications. Double bevel, more than enough power, etc.
The gauge markings themselves are okay, but I set my blade by other, more accurate means any way as I am sure most of you do.
julian
I’m pretty sure not many people set their miter settings via an external square or angle unit. That’s the whole point of getting a good one – you buy one and adjust it once and know it’s cutting at 90 at that stop and at 45 at that stop…
The Bosch glide saw Dewalt XPS shadow light mod worked pretty cleanly, did have to shave off some of the thickness of the alum light body to allow it to clear the Bosch’s blade guard, but it just works. I’d send in pics to Stuart but no doubt he’d not exhibit them due to liability concerns….
email me at julian AT juliantracy DOT com and I can send you a few pics.
JT
Mahalo
No, I’m not saying the gauge is bad. 90, 45, , etc. all good settings. Just I’m not sure how durable it will be long-term because it is stamped or printed on a thin piece of metal that is attached to the saw. I’ve seen the display models at the blue store have this thin metal strip lifted and bent. If you take care, this should occur, but it does speak to durability. Still, at the price the Hitachi sells for, it’s a great value and gets the job done.
Mahalo
*shouldn’t* occur
BikerDad
Serious DIY’r?
A 10″ slider. The crosscut capacity is why. I’d recommend a 10″ slider over a comparable 12″ CMS every day of the week. The CMS wins in absolute DEPTH of cut, and takes up less space while generally costing a bit less, but I’ve far more often run out of crosscut capacity on my 12″ CMS than I’ve even come close to the depth capacity.
WHICH 10″ slider? Well, I’m waiting for DeWalt to come out with a Flexvolt 10″ slider, although I may jump on a Bosch 10″ Glide first. Or more likely, a Bosch 12″ Glide, simply because the price difference between the 10″ and 12″ is less than the cost of buying new 10″ blades rather than using my current 12″ blades. My personal situation aside though, the Makita 10″ sliders have been consistently very well reviewed, so I would suggest starting by looking at the LS1016, LS1018 and the Bosch 10″ Glide.
BigDan
Love my 12″ glide my favorite tool in the shop. See our comments on it halfway up the discussion. Initial quality issues a couple years back but a solid machine. Biggest concern is weight/mobility at 65 pounds.
Think the 12″ has a 14″ cutting capacity? Was cutting some prefab shelves the other day and they were 14″ depth if I recall, just reached the last edge at the front. Not the biggest deal could always flip it around and finish the cut but wouldn’t be as clean as a one and done.
Bosch’s stock blade is surprisingly clean cutting, butter smooth edges, but I’ve got a Forrest II Woodworking blade waiting to get used. Figured I”d jack up bosch’s blade before I start using the Forrest.
Scuba Steve
I’ve had that same Hitachi and it’s great. Awesome warrantee, and great price. Plenty of power for standard dimension soft lumber….i have to flip 2×8’s, etc to get a complete cut, but no big deal. I find I use it waaay more than anything else when doing various projects around the house…beds, tables, shelves……quite frankly, I couldn’t function without it.
Marty
I have that 10″ Hitachi and it’s great for punchlist stuff that I typically don’t want to drag out my big saw to complete. The weight and accuracy are what sold me. I think it would be a great DIYer saw depending on what it will be used for. I’ve done things with it that I should have left for my bigger saw, but it gets the job done.
Jerry
If one is on a budget, and just a DIYer who won’t use it heavily, I’d suggest going with a more DIYer brand than pro brand, and use the money saved to buy a slider. I dont use mine heavily but when I do, I seem to use it more for things like cutting 2x8s for a deck frame, than I do for things like picture frames. Even the more modest priced saws can be squared up pretty nicely with good machinist squares and a little patience.
Roger
For DIY, A 10″ blade type is good enough to cut most thing. Even better if with sliding system. Compound cut isn’t going to be used often. If you can afford the initial price then a brushless cordless type could save some electricity. Most table saws also use 10″ blades so that’s a plus. One blade two tools.
I use a basic features Skil 3316. It fits all my base needs. Not too small. Not too big and easy to transport. When properly aligned, it cuts trim and molding well. Only few gripes are the screw down miter lock shifts the angle and the fence is a little short.
I would some it up as choose a saw within the budget that uses a miter clamp lock.
Cr8ondt
I often use “the other guys” saw on the job site, typically the Billy bad Bosch, but often DeWalt and Hitachi, of the 3 I use most I LOVE the Hitachi granted it’s a high dollar model (not sure the model #). My personal one is an old hand me down Black & Decker 10″ that works surprisingly well, so much so that even when I’m at the store looking at the shinny new ones I find fault in every one compared to it. It’s just made that well! The only way I’d buy a new one is #1 it broke(I don’t foresee that) or #2 I run out of “other guys” to work with…… That said the cheep Hitachi is the best dang buy for the $!
Chris Fyfe
If I had to do it again , a Bosch sliding mitre saw . M first mitre saw was an 8.5 ” , sometimes not enuff saw . I also like the Bosch gravity rise stands .
Chris
Dean
I know I’m late to the party. I’m looking for recommendations for a 12″ sliding dual bevel miter saw that will be placed in a woodshop and moved very little. I’ve narrowed my choices to the Milwaukee 6955-20 12-Inch Miter Saw and the Bosch GCM12SD 12 in. Dual Bevel Glide Miter Saw. I obviously value precision way more than transportability. So weight issues aren’t important. If you were buying one for a woodshop which would you get? And no, the Festool is way out of my budget so Im not even considering it.
fred
We had some mixed results with the GCM12SD’s we bought. Maybe some of the problems resulted in earlier models having QC issues at the factory or damage in shipping. 2 out of 12 had issues and were sent back. The replacements were fine. My own – bought more recently was fine and cuts accurately enough for crown molding and furniture trim work – not having any of the misalignment between the arbor and glide path reported by others. That leads me to believe that Bosch may still have manufacturing issues that leave some saws flawed. If you decide to buy a GCM12SD then my advice is to make sure your vendor has a liberal return policy – then test the fences for square to the table and alignment left and right, check the table for flatness and then do some test cuts to make sure the blade tracks true along its entire cut path.
IMO the GCM12SD is not perfect – could use better hold-downs (comes with only 1 – but you can buy a second, needs the gravity-rise stand, would benefit from soft-start, has a bit cumbersome safety button – but you get used to it, comes with a worthless dust collection bag – but is great once you connect it to a dust extractor, is not as easy as some saws when it comes to adding a zero-clearance backup on the table or rear fence and its laser add-on is not worth much in outdoor sunlight. Nonetheless we liked ours for trim carpentry, and my personal saw suits my needs for cabinetry, casework and some furniture building. BTW I use mine with a Forrest Mitermaster Blade MM121006 for fine work and their Chopmaster blade CM12806115 for general trim work.
tcmault
Any reason you have eliminated the DWS780 from you list?
I just saw that HomeDepot has it on sale for $499.
Dean
anti yellow!
julian
The 10″ Bosch glide is the same exact footprint (ridiculously large and unwieldy) as the 12″ so no space and not much $$ savings either.
The Dewalt 12″ sliders come in two variants, one is $599 and has the shadow light, the $399 has no light and isn’t wired to accept it either. Note that the $600 saw had a promo where you’d get the Dewalt mitersaw stand for free at both HD and Lowes – those promotions may have expired hence the drop in price ref. above to $499 maybe.
Of the two Dewalt mitersaw stands, I’d definitely recommend the folding one, not the other one with wheels. The folding one is very compact and literally stores (without the saw) in a 5′ x 6″ x 6″ space — hangs right on the wall. The wheeled one is a huge monstrosity with NO benefit other than leaving the saw attached and transporting. But it’s a crappy overbuilt design much like their ridiculous storage box system cart which is similarly huge for no good reason.
I checked out the Milwaukee 12″ slider years ago when Home Depot was clearing them out for $299. It had the digital display for the miter setting, but to my eye it looked the the display from a $4 digital watch. It had the LED shadow light and was the first on the market to feature that.
Never been accused of not having an opinion….
JT
johnny miter saw
Me have a older 12 inch dewalt slider and she cut perfect ever time. don’t fool around get er done wit dewalt of course
Andrew W
I owned the 10″ Hitachi for a weekend but returned it after the support bracket broke. Good concept, lots of features, but cheap execution. I now own the DW 715. For my needs, it’s definitely worth the upgrade. I can do 4 x 4s, 1 x 10s, and it feels much more sturdy than the Hitachi. It has less features or if the box, but I feel like the money saved on those features went into making a really rugged, powerful compound miter saw that will last for decades.
My experience with the Hitachi was one of a series of purchases which convinced me it’s better to get a mid range to professional grade power tool rather than go cheap (the others being a harbor frieght oscillating saw and a Ryobi circular saw).
Mahalo
Out of curiosity, which support bracket, the left side extension? I haven’t had any troubles with the Hitachi build quality personally and I’ve cut all sorts of stuff with it.
Andrew W
It was a piece of the base, that allows the left side extension to be tightened into place. After it broke, the bolt would not tighten and the side extension was essentially useless.
It could have been a manufacturing flaw in just that saw, it could have been a weak design or I suppose I could have over torqued it.
I just want very impressed with it after borrowing a friend’s DeWalt for previous projects.
I also with with 4x4s somewhat regularly so I needed a 12″ anyway.
Mahalo
Oh, I could see that. Thanks for answering, I was really checking just so I could watch out for this on my own saw. I’ll be sure to take care of that extension. Although, I was thinking about ditching the extension in the future and building myself a dedicated rolling miter saw table with the fold out leaves.
I would definitely have gone with the DeWalt but the price difference at the time got me into the Hitachi.
David Holland
The Kobalt 12″ Sliding Dual Bevel from Lowe’s is a good choice
Chris L
Stuart, do any of your contacts at DeWalt anticipate upgrades to their corded miter saws this year? I see they FlexVolt saws have brushless motors and I’m hesitant on buying a new saw considering how long in the tooth their current models are. Any thoughts?
Saint
Here I follow your content and some people’s reviews and get idea. I have a question to you that what is the performance of Hitachi C10FCE2?
Hope you will answer me as soon as possible.
Stuart
I haven’t used that model yet, but it should be at least average for a 10″ saw. What materials would you want to use it to cut?