Best Miter Saw
#21
(01-11-2019, 02:09 PM)jteneyck Wrote: I specifically said a miter saw has it's place if you need portability.  The jobs you cited are exactly what they were designed for.  

John

And....??
Laugh  I wasn't commenting to you John. Sorry if it seemed that way.
Steve

Missouri






 
The Revos apparently are designed to clamp railroad ties and pull together horrifically prepared joints
WaterlooMark 02/9/2020








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#22
I think the best miter saw depends on the work you do. For me, the weekend hobby guy who really values accuracy out of a MS, I bought a smaller Dewalt 8.25” slider probably 13+ years ago. Believe it or not but this Dewalt is Italian made and it’s a super nice little saw that’s capable of 12” crosscuts. For what I do, stock that’s almost always less than 3” thick, it’s perfect. In my experience, the smaller blade is less likely to deflect when not abused. I do all my crosscutting on the mitersaw, including miters. I still kept my 12” DW for the occasional 4x4 or custruction grade lumber but it barely gets used. If you’re trim carpenter, a 12” would be a must, IMO. If Bosch and the others could refine their DC like Festool, the Kapex would be in trouble. The only reason I’d ever buy a Kapex would be for the DC.


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#23
I have the last 1030 round arm vintage Dewalt made and a Dewalt 708 SCMS. I'm working on a design for keeping both, but it's a struggle with shop space at a premium.

Re: the options on the market, the new multi voltage (cordless option) Dewalt gets solid marks, as does the Bosch. What I've heard is that the Kapex DC is above average, but not superb so you're going to solve that if you're into good dust collection regardless of logo (with a behind the blade, large opening DC hood.)

The Bosch has the best foot print while retaining good stock capacity. I don't recall all of the details, but one of the gripes I've read from owners is the capacity is less than 12" peers by a bit, not sure it matters to most for woodshop needs though (carpentry, absolutely)

Key questions:
Will it ever come out of the bench?
Will you plan for additional DC for the saw & RAS you're keeping or just let it fly?
How important is depth of bench? (Bosch rocks here is why I'm asking. I LOVE my DW708, but holy heck it requires a massively deep bench due to the swing and arms, something like 32")
If it's for rough lumber vs. precise cuts, that will also determine which direction you go. Plan to upgrade the bench with a fence for it, Kreg is cool, woodpeckers is also cool, Tiger is droolworthy, but outside the pricing for all but production shops (doesn't stop me from lusting after one though
Smile)

Good luck with your pursuit and congrats on the new shop! I find the effort rewarding, though it begins to wear on ya after a while and the itch to build IN the shop vs. ON the shop.

Michael
Every day find time to appreciate life. It is far too short and 'things' happen. RIP Willem
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#24
(01-14-2019, 11:57 AM)MichaelS Wrote: Re: the options on the market, the new multi voltage (cordless option) Dewalt gets solid marks, as does the Bosch. What I've heard is that the Kapex DC is above average, but not superb so you're going to solve that if you're into good dust collection regardless of logo (with a behind the blade, large opening DC hood.)

This is my experience with the Kapex.  I've had it awhile now.  It might do a "great" job of collecting dust... but I'm telling you... There is still dust all over the place after making cuts.  Don't think spending $1600 on the kapex, and another $700 on a vacuum is going to leave you with a clean work area... because it wont.   


For a normal person, in a normal situation, it's not necessary to own a green miter saw.  But then again... it's not necessary to drive a BMW over a Honda.
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#25
I currently have miter saws, a 12" Bosch glide, a 10" Hitachi and 7 1/4" Craftsman slider. The Bosch is my favorite by far. The reason that I bought the Hitachi was to have a smaller, lighter saw for smaller moldings. I thought that I would like the Craftsman more but the spring is a little too strong for me, makes for difficult cuts. I use a Dewalt at work and dislike it immensely. It's the newer version, 12" dual bevel compound d miter, not a slider. That's about it for my knowledge of newer saws. I have used many others over the years but they are no longer made.
I no longer build museums but don't want to change my name. My new job is a lot less stressful. Life is much better.

Garry
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#26
I upgraded recently to DeWalt's 709 model...basically a 12" slider with shorter rails, which allow for up to just over 9.5" wide at 90 degrees standard and about 2 inches more than that if using a special setup. I only foresaw myself needing a bit over 8" on average (with a standard 12" usually only cutting up to 8" or maybe even a hair less), so I didn't go for a bigger one.

One thing I've learned over the past few weeks in working with this saw...most current models other than the newer Bosch and Hitachi ones tend to have a one-piece fence that is secured with some kind of screws that don't allow for fence adjustment beyond a few thousandths or so. I ended up having to get my own screws and washers, which was a cheap fix and allowed me to make much more adjustment, but I now have to machine a hair off the bottom of the extension wings to compensate for the screws sticking up too far. So far, it's cutting perfectly on one side and within around .005" on the other over its full standard width of cut, but only time will tell how accurate the saw remains.

Would I recommend the 709 model to you? Highly, but with the slight reservation of having to get my own screws to take the saw from "accurate enough" to pretty much perfect. Again, though, I've heard from some that these saws can start to go out of alignment over time. Will that happen to mine? Hopefully not by much if it does. I certainly hope the shorter rails on mine prove a bit more bend or warp resistant than the longer ones on other models, but before I write any reviews I'm gonna build at least a few more projects with it. Thus, this current recommendation of my particular saw doesn't hold as much weight as it will in the coming months or years. If the accuracy issues show up with my saw, though, I'm sure they're bound to show up for others as well.

At the end of the day, there seem to be many great choices out there which you should look into and weigh against your needs before deciding on your purchase. However, as a person who tries to be frugal (not overly cheap, though), I'm certainly turned off by the price of some models such as the Kapex and cordless models.
Near future projects:

-Curly Maple display case
-Jatoba and Quilted Maple dresser
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#27
Here's a good price for a Hitatchi 12".  $169

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Hitachi-12-in-1...170a1c0e0e
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#28
(01-15-2019, 11:53 PM)Juss1 Wrote: Here's a good price for a Hitatchi 12".  $169

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Hitachi-12-in-1...170a1c0e0e

That is a good deal. I have had excellent luck with Hitachi.
1st class birdhouse builder/scrapwood mfg.
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#29
When I shopped for miter saws years ago, only Dewalt had the detents for the various angles stamped in a flat plate.  I judged that to be far more accurate than the un-machined detents in the rough castings of the other saws.  

I have not shopped for saws lately, but if the other saws are still using rought castings (not machined) for the detents, then I would choose the Dewalt all over again.

Note:  The stamped plate on the Dewalt can be adjusted for accuracy of cut.
No animals were injured or killed in the production of this post.
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#30
I recently bought a Hitchi 12" SCMS to replace my twenty year old Makita/Tradesman saw.   A friend, who passed a year ago, had one of these Hitachi  saws, and I really liked how well it cut.  

I put my SCMS and RAS on a single 43" high, 8' bench next to one another, and they are very convenient to use.   I've been a RAS fan for a long time, my first stationary WW tool was a sears unit.  Never had a moment's trouble out of either of the Radials, or the miter saw.   Now I have to squeeze this bigger saw onto the bench, replacing the old 8-1/2" unit, but it'll be a nice addition.

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