Hf 12" scms

[Chadwick]

Chadwick and Chiz:

For $100, I like mine ... tell myself so, every time I use it.

PROS -
> Price (on deal)
> Powerful
> Sider w/12" blade can cut wide boards
> Slider moves smoothly
> Accurate, after I attached an aux fence. See below.
> Laser works for rough cuts. I don't use it.

CONS -
> Thin castings, probably not good for a job site saw.
> Fence is warped. I corrected with aux fence. See below.
> Blade doesn't make satin-smooth cuts. Can't bring myself to buy a blade for more than I paid for the saw.
> No brake.

re: 45deg miters
I use my BT3000 when absolutely accurate miters are required.
http://www.bt3central.com/showthread.php?t=36227
However, I just made a 45deg test cut and checked it against a 45deg drafting triangle. It was good.

Aux fence
The fence was warped just enough to cause me to not trust it for accurate cuts. I attached a plywood face to the fence with hot glue. Held it exactly 90deg to the table while the glue cooled. Hot glue fills the void between the plywood and the warped fence. Afterward, I adjusted the fence/aux fence to make square cuts. It is dead-on for 90deg cuts. 30-min fix. And the stops seem OK, too.

Link to details of Aux fence ...
http://www.bt3central.com/showthread.php?t=32781

I also replaced the insert with a piece of 1/2" plywood.

- Lonnie

So then Lonnie, after your adjustments is the saw accurate? Or could I ask how accurate are you able to get with it?

Also, you suggested that it may not be good for a job site saw due to thin castings, if it were mounted on a mobile miter stand, would you say that it would stand up well enough for home owner use with reasonable care?

[Lonnie in Orlando]

Chadwick:

After adjustments, the saw is probably as accurate as most sliders. I'm pretty fussy and it's good enough to satisfy my "fussy gene." If you are making picture frames, a top brand CMS is probably better than any SCMS.

I'm a home owner and I give it reasonable care. That's a decision that you must make.

HF quality control is not the best, but the return policy is tops.

- Lonnie

[Chadwick]

That's what I was wondering Lonnie. Thank you for your help.

Chad

[theminor]

Lonnie's review is dead-on. I use my 12" HF slider all the time and with an added auxiliary fence the accuracy is completely usable. I got mine foe $119 a couple years ago. Accuracy out of the box is terrible, and as Lonnie stated, the fence is warped (both sides of mine had bows along the length of the fence). The auxiliary fence corrects this.

The only other issue with this saw is the blade guard which sort of "sticks" as you push the saw down some times. The track holding the blade guard - at least on my unit - has a hard time getting started as you start a cut. I think this would be easily corrected with some lube or shortening the track just slightly but I've never taken the time to do this - it really isn't a huge problem.

Other than these initial tune-up issues, having a 12" sliding compound miter saw is great! I use mine as a portable "out of the shop" cutter since I have a dedicated RAS in the shop for cross cutting. I'm currently building a deck behind our house so I brought the SCMS out into the yard to use "on-site" and it does great!

[Chadwick]

Purchased the 12" SCMS using a 10% off coupon. Looked at the 10" model and had one of the earlier versions several years ago. It was very smooth and accurate, sold it a couple weeks later after finishing a project. The 12" however, seems smoother than the current 10", and has more features (more powerful, positive stops, and laser). It does seems like it can be flexed a little easier than the 10" model, but being aware of this when making cuts should help avoid it.

The fence inaccuracy Lonnie mentioned is not present with mine. After checking everything with a square, it looks like mine is dead on out of the box. I need to make some more test cuts to verify the cutting accuracy, but short of the lousy blade (which is not all that bad - decent for rougher work, I got spoiled by a friend's DeWalt) it looks like I might have a keeper. It seems very powerful, and for the limited number of projects that I have now, it should work well.

Will keep you posted.

Chadwick

Update: ****After some initial cuts, I noticed that right hand side table on my saw is a little under an 1/8" off from the rest of the table. I can correct for this. OTHERWISE, everything else on the saw appears to be dead on square to the blade, fence (fences are straight & on same plane to each other), and table. Miters and crosscuts are very acceptable, and would likely improve with a better blade. The few short comings in this saw, would not be acceptable if it were a Hitachi or similar, but very respectable with all consideration. Since I also have a good table saw, I think this should prove to be a decent purchase. So far so good, will keep you all posted.

[Chadwick]

New HF 12"SCMS

Was in the local HF and saw the ad for the upcoming sidewalk sale. They had a SCMS listed for $119, and that happened to catch my eye, even though I have one. It turns out to be an updated 12" model, similar to the Kobalt 10" scms at Lowes. They did not have one in stock to check out, but I did happen to look online to see if the current model is being phased out. Instead, both models are listed online, and after looking over the specs, it appears that the newer version has a higher rpm and uses a 5/8" arbor and has a horizontal handle. Not sure if there is much of a difference, or if this saw is actually a 10" and Hf misprinted it. Had I not purchased mine, I would be interested in this newer one, since the handle position would better suite me as a left hander, and I like the rail system a little better. That having been said, not sure about the 5/8" arbor as most 12" blades appear to have 1" holes, and there is a fairly large satisfaction base for the current model. Also, from the picture, the base looks like it may be a bit smaller on the newer saw. Look forward to hearing from anyone who purchases the newer one. It could be a bargain for $119 - 15% off coupon, which would bring it to about $100 for final cost.

Chadwick

[theminor]

Is this the one?
http://www.harborfreightusa.com/usa/...bCategoryName=

If so I'd bet that is a 10" saw. It just looks too small to be a 12 inch!

[Chadwick]

Yup, that's the one! And that's what I was thinking, that it was a 10" instead, especially since it has a 5/8" arbor.