Which Miter saw to buy? Need help.

[Carlos]

Ok, I'll add to the old thread. I picked up the Hitachi 12" SCMS about two years ago. It was expensive, but it's one of those tools that makes me happy every time I use it. High precision, great power, huge capacity. The laser and digital angle guage seemed gimmicky but have proven to be very valuable. We've cut through nearly a houseful of laminate flooring and have been so happy to have it. Makes quick work of even 8/4 hardwoods. I've got two blades for it and had to resharpen both twice so far, but the saw itself is working just as well as day 1.

[180x]

Ok, I'll add to the old thread. I picked up the Hitachi 12" SCMS about two years ago. It was expensive, but it's one of those tools that makes me happy every time I use it. High precision, great power, huge capacity. The laser and digital angle guage seemed gimmicky but have proven to be very valuable. We've cut through nearly a houseful of laminate flooring and have been so happy to have it. Makes quick work of even 8/4 hardwoods. I've got two blades for it and had to resharpen both twice so far, but the saw itself is working just as well as day 1.

That's good to hear. I bought one in January (got it from Amazon for $390). I had purchased a Makita 10 slider that I never took out the box to replace the Craftsman (non-professional) that I got a couple of years earlier. The more I used it the Craftsman, the less I liked it. Took the Makita back to BORG because I felt the Hitachi deal was just too good to pass up! Time will tell though.

[JimD]

Since my first post on this thread, I've switched to a Hitachi double bevel non-slider 12 inch CMS. I got it, rebuilt, for $149. Because it is a double bevel, you can do wide crown upside down and backwards on either side. It is also belt driven - that is why the motor is up and out of the way. I have a RAS so if I need wider cross cut I have it but for most things, 8 inches is enough. It has a laser but is not the digital angle display version - that would be kind of nice for the bevel which is little hard to read and position real accurately.

Jim

[drumpriest]

My Makita is still going strong. Floored my house with it, a lot of trim, and I use it to rough out stock. I don't really use it for furniture cross cuts, because I use the TS for that, but I have used it for frames a bunch, so it's still very accurate.

[Hoover]

This thread needs to die!!

[tseavoy]

At the low end, I bought a 10" Ryobi at HD for about $100. It has suited me well. The blade was not good though. A 10" nonsliding will not cut standard width laminate. I use a Bosch jig saw for that.
Years ago, the rage was for radial arm saws. Sears sold thousands. It turned out that the table saw is much more accurate -- slop in the radial arm saw was the problem, as well as deflection. My vote would be for a non sliding 12" miter saw.

Tom on Marrowstone

[chopnhack]

Tom, they do a lot of dredging on that island of yours? ;P

Here's a puzzle, descramble for hidden meaning:

tle ihts dlo rdehat edi!

Answer to be provided tomorrow

[footprintsinconc]

..........tle ihts dlo rdehat edi!

its not ridgid 10" or 12", cant be hitachi, is it a GMC?

[chopnhack]

no no, Omar

something more descriptive of what was alluded to in the first line....

each packet of letters is a word..

ok... now, no more hints until tomorrow!

[dkerfoot]

Personally, I hardly ever use my miter saw anymore. Crown molding is the only thing I can think of that I wouldn't rather use my table saw - mostly because of the impossibility of dust collection with a miter saw.

I keep the MS in the garage now and only ever use it for outside projects.

I installed bamboo flooring that came in 7' lengths and was able to cross-cut it without problems by using the sliding rails of my Craftsman 21829 (upgraded BT3100)

.

[dkerfoot]

Just noticed how ancient this thread is. It is amazing how they get resurrected sometimes

[radhak]

Personally, I hardly ever use my miter saw anymore. Crown molding is the only thing I can think of that I wouldn't rather use my table saw - mostly because of the impossibility of dust collection with a miter saw.

I keep the MS in the garage now and only ever use it for outside projects.

I installed bamboo flooring that came in 7' lengths and was able to cross-cut it without problems by using the sliding rails of my Craftsman 21829 (upgraded BT3100)

.

Agreed - I am feeling guilty that nowadays I turn the TS on for all sorts of cuts and the Mitersaw is sorta ignored, mostly : for repeatability, accuracy and of course the dust.

Just noticed how ancient this thread is. It is amazing how they get resurrected sometimes

and Chopnhack has been begging people to let it die, but it stays alive .

[tjr]

Hey Tom, how wide is laminate? If it's like 6" x 3/4" or 5/8", I think my 10" would cut it.

[BrazosJake]

Depends on what you're gonna do with it.

I own a 12" Makita CMS and have never felt deprived. Maybe if I need to crosscut something really wide that is too long from my tablesaw, it'll be an issue.

Yes, absolutely buy a throwaway blade from Harbor Freight for laminate flooring, it is brutal on blades. I dulled my stock Makita blade that way. Fortunately, some pretty good Hitachi blades went on sale at Amazon right then, so it now wears one.

If purchasing a slider, I'd go with 10" rather than 12". Blades cost less, and I don't think the extra diameter of a 12" buys you much on a slider.

[jabe]

I bought the first Hitachi 10" C10FS slider years ago and did not have room at home for it so I took it to the high school shop where I taught. The kids used & abused it everyday for 9 yrs, finally took it home when I retired in 03. It still cuts accurately today and runs great. Only thing I did was to change the brushes. Any brand tool that can last 3yrs in a high school shop was what I bought for myself.