Looking to upgrade to a better miter saw

[HomerLee]

If you are doing precision work such as picture/mirror frames or other miter cuts I would recommend you get a good used miter saw for the money you want to spend.  It is very difficult to adjust a miter saw to consistently cut a perfect 45 degree every time so IMO a used saw  should be close enough. I have a 12" Milwaukee slider and a 12" DeWalt non-slider. I do not worry about perfect cuts, simply cut the material slightly long and then tune the cut to perfection with a hand plane and shooting board. A quality hand plane is a joy to use, and you do not have to fiddle for hours trying to adjust a miter saw only to find it doesn't stay "perfect" anyway.

My 2 cents, worth price charged.

[KingwoodFan1989]

If you are doing precision work such as picture/mirror frames or other miter cuts I would recommend you get a good used miter saw for the money you want to spend.  It is very difficult to adjust a miter saw to consistently cut a perfect 45 degree every time so IMO a used saw  should be close enough. I have a 12" Milwaukee slider and a 12" DeWalt non-slider. I do not worry about perfect cuts, simply cut the material slightly long and then tune the cut to perfection with a hand plane and shooting board. A quality hand plane is a joy to use, and you do not have to fiddle for hours trying to adjust a miter saw only to find it doesn't stay "perfect" anyway.

My 2 cents, worth price charged.

Not to derail the main topic, but I need to get my plane irons ground evenly and get a honing jig. I have a two-sided sharpening stone, so I can get it REALLY sharp. I've never had good luck with hand planes since I haven't done these things with them. I'm doing dovetailed drawers by hand on my current project, and although I'm trying to glue them up perfectly flush, I might need to plane a TINY bit off at the meeting place of the joints.

Also, I've managed to get consistent results on 45's with my current miter saw (which isn't a super good saw, as I said before), so I'm sure I'll be fine with a better one. Still, I'm sure doing a long bevel or compound cut can be an opportunity for inconsistent cuts (as miter saws get awkward to use when beveled IMO), so a shooting board is likely something I'll have to make for touching up stuff like that.

Lastly, how do you like the Milwaukee? The reviews overall seem pretty good (4 stars on Amazon, with the bad ones sounding like they're just because those people got defective units), and I've been able to see them in person at Home Depot before. They feel (and look) pretty smooth. Is yours' the relatively new one with the digital gauge? Not sure if Milwaukee made miter saws before that one, so I'd be interested to know. I honestly don't mind if that digital gauge works well or not. I'm used to using non-digital tools anyway.

EDIT: I also e-mailed DeWalt about the seeming discrepancy in the 709's 90 degree cutting capacity (9.5 or 10 inches) as well as asked about the back fence feature. Once more, that's only one of two sliders that looks good enough for what I do while also, at times, falling into my budget brand new ($350-360). I already think the 12" Milwaukee looks good. They have a new 10" battery powered one, but the reviews look semi-mixed. Not sure why exactly, though. If you recommend it, that's just one more reason for me to keep an eye out for that one used, refurbished, or on sale. Thanks!

[museumguy]

I've used an older version of the Makita 8 1/2" slider and it was impressive. I've used the Milwaukee 12" slider and was not as impressed. I have the Bosch 12" glide saw and love it, the best I've used. We have only Dewalt's at work and they are not of high quality in my opinion. We have sliders and dual compound miter versions and they all have issues. Based on your requirements, I would look at the 10" Bosch glide. It's pricey but solid built. If someone has the 8 1/2" versions of the Makita and Hitachi, they may be able to comment on them, I have not used the current versions.

[KingwoodFan1989]

I've used an older version of the Makita 8 1/2" slider and it was impressive. I've used the Milwaukee 12" slider and was not as impressed. I have the Bosch 12" glide saw and love it, the best I've used. We have only Dewalt's at work and they are not of high quality in my opinion. We have sliders and dual compound miter versions and they all have issues. Based on your requirements, I would look at the 10" Bosch glide. It's pricey but solid built. If someone has the 8 1/2" versions of the Makita and Hitachi, they may be able to comment on them, I have not used the current versions.

I'd have to get it used if I went with either of the Bosch gliders. I looked at that Makita, and it seems like it'd be an okay option. I'll have to keep doing research over the next few months, but I'll keep it in mind. Which DeWalts do you have at work? Some are probably better than others. The 8.5" Hitachi sounds like it might have too many quality control issues, but I'll still keep it in mind, along with Hitachi's 12", which I've seen go down in price during specials. Highly rated, too!

So far the only new sliders in my price range that have awesome reviews are the DeWalt 709 and the Hitachi 12" slider. Also, are there any refurbished tool sellers that don't have such crappy reviews? That CPO place doesn't seem trustworthy, and the other places I checked out either weren't much better or didn't have a very good selection. I'm still keeping used in mind, so feel free to suggest any other good models that can cut up to around 10" wide boards and I'll do some research on them!

[museumguy]

I'd have to get it used if I went with either of the Bosch gliders. I looked at that Makita, and it seems like it'd be an okay option. I'll have to keep doing research over the next few months, but I'll keep it in mind. Which DeWalts do you have at work? Some are probably better than others. The 8.5" Hitachi sounds like it might have too many quality control issues, but I'll still keep it in mind, along with Hitachi's 12", which I've seen go down in price during specials. Highly rated, too!

So far the only new sliders in my price range that have awesome reviews are the DeWalt 709 and the Hitachi 12" slider. Also, are there any refurbished tool sellers that don't have such crappy reviews? That CPO place doesn't seem trustworthy, and the other places I checked out either weren't much better or didn't have a very good selection. I'm still keeping used in mind, so feel free to suggest any other good models that can cut up to around 10" wide boards and I'll do some research on them!

There is nothing to get used to with a Bosch glide saw, they cut the same. As for which Dewalts we have, I believe it's the 780's and the 716's. The problem with the 716 is they moved the fence back to gain crosscut capacity. the problem is the blade is actually spinning on the up cut if you will near the fence. Everything laying flat splinters near the fence. We occasionally cut small moldings and you need a 3" spacer to get the blade the to cut on the down cut of the teeth. I hope this makes sense. Alignment issues are a huge issue as well. Accuracy is also not consistent.

[Stwood_]

I have the older dewalt versions. DW708's (2) and a DW705 (1).
All of them are over ten years old and I've been perfectly happy with them.
I wouldn't hesitate to buy dewalt again if I needed a new saw.

[KingwoodFan1989]

I have the older dewalt versions. DW708's (2) and a DW705 (1).
All of them are over ten years old and I've been perfectly happy with them.
I wouldn't hesitate to buy dewalt again if I needed a new saw.

I went back and re-checked the reviews on Amazon for the 709 model and out of 117 reviews, it only has 1 single star review, and it sounds like it was because that particular unit was defective. The 2 and 3 stars were mostly just complaints about the lack of certain features I don't need (like no depth stop). The others were either vague or, in one case (won't go into detail right now), it seemed that the reviewer's lack of knowledge of the saw's workings could have contributed to his dissatisfaction. In any case, I'm not discouraged with this saw. I think the make or break for me will be DeWalt's reply about the max capacity discrepancy I found as well as the back fence info. Amazon's review statistics say 81% gave it 5/5 stars, and 10% gave it 4/5. Plus, I quickly perused through all the customer questions to see if anybody asked about the accuracy. On the one question I found, every response was positive, so this saw could be the one I end up with. I still want to do deeper research on the Hitachi 12", and if someone can suggest a well-reviewed refurbished tool seller (NOT CPO, please), I'll still keep used tools in mind. The only caveat with the 709 or the Hitachi 12" slider is that, at least with new ones, one or both needs to go on sale before they'd go into my price range.

[BloomingtonMike]

Love the led shadow blade cut line on my DeWalt 10 scms and would make me buy another if I needed one.

[KingwoodFan1989]

Homer, were you meaning to respond to my post you quoted? I don't see anything else other than what you quoted.

[HomerLee]

Not to derail the main topic, but I need to get my plane irons ground evenly and get a honing jig. I have a two-sided sharpening stone, so I can get it REALLY sharp. I've never had good luck with hand planes since I haven't done these things with them. I'm doing dovetailed drawers by hand on my current project, and although I'm trying to glue them up perfectly flush, I might need to plane a TINY bit off at the meeting place of the joints.

Also, I've managed to get consistent results on 45's with my current miter saw (which isn't a super good saw, as I said before), so I'm sure I'll be fine with a better one. Still, I'm sure doing a long bevel or compound cut can be an opportunity for inconsistent cuts (as miter saws get awkward to use when beveled IMO), so a shooting board is likely something I'll have to make for touching up stuff like that.

Lastly, how do you like the Milwaukee? The reviews overall seem pretty good (4 stars on Amazon, with the bad ones sounding like they're just because those people got defective units), and I've been able to see them in person at Home Depot before. They feel (and look) pretty smooth. Is yours' the relatively new one with the digital gauge? Not sure if Milwaukee made miter saws before that one, so I'd be interested to know. I honestly don't mind if that digital gauge works well or not. I'm used to using non-digital tools anyway.

EDIT: I also e-mailed DeWalt about the seeming discrepancy in the 709's 90 degree cutting capacity (9.5 or 10 inches) as well as asked about the back fence feature. Once more, that's only one of two sliders that looks good enough for what I do while also, at times, falling into my budget brand new ($350-360). I already think the 12" Milwaukee looks good. They have a new 10" battery powered one, but the reviews look semi-mixed. Not sure why exactly, though. If you recommend it, that's just one more reason for me to keep an eye out for that one used, refurbished, or on sale. Thanks!

I have had the Milwaukee since they first came out and it has been a great saw, no problems for the nine years or so.  It has the digital display and the "headlights" to illuminate the cut. No laser, IMO they are just a gimmick. I've had Delta, Ryobi, Bosch, Makita and the DeWalt and I like the Milwaukee over all of them.

Good to hear you're doing hand cut dovetails. Very pleasant work compared to dovetail jigs, they make me nervous. I picked up a Leigh dovetail jig for $75 at an estate sale; the instructions were 150+ pages so it went to Craig's List and made someone else happy.