miter saw advice

[Hoover]

I have an older Hitachi 10" miter saw, similar to the $59 dollar reconditioned one mentioned on several posts prior to this one. It does a great job, cuts square, and does a nice job of mitering. I would buy a Hitachi again.

[FromWack]

Sorry about not mentioning my price range......ideally I want to spend between 200-300.....preferrably less. I did see the 10" Hitachi at reconditionedsales.com, but passed, I think I read some bad reviews. Just recently saw a good deal on a recon 12" Dewalt at tylertool.....Right now Im leaning toward that or possible the hitachi slider if I can figure out a way to outsmart lowes with the pricematch.

[pacwind3]

Two more comments..

I forgot to mention: the craftsmen 10" sliding miter is the EXACT same saw as the taskforce. Go look at one at sears and one at Lowe's and you'll see what I mean.

Also, Ryobi has a 10" sliding miter coming out soon.
For my money, I have had excellent luck with ryobi tools. Bosch is the only other tool company I have gotten excited about lately.

[Gator95]

I've got a DeWalt 713 10" CMS and it's been great for me so far. Very solid feel, base and fence nice and flat and square, miter stops have a nice feel, and cuts are smooth and reproducible. You really can't go wrong with this saw if it's in your budget, and you should be able to find it somewhere under $200 with some patience.

For 'bang for the buck' the reconditioned Hitachi looks like a great deal. If I was really looking to strech the dollar that would be a great choice- can't really go wrong at that price... about on the harbor freight level of price but probably good quality.

[91FE]

I have a 12" Ridgid that I am completely happy with.

[Schleeper]

Not sure who makes it (the Craftsman 10" slider)but it looks like the same saw that Lowes sells under their Kobalt name. I picked up up on Craigslist (new and unopened) for $130 a couple of weeks ago and after initial tweaking of the fence setup it seems to be a pretty decent saw. The laser is near worthless since it the lens gets covered with sawdust every cut and the dustbag needs some redesign to have any function at all, but those are the only issues I have come across so far. (I solved the dustbag problem with a PVC 90 degree elbow. Still doens't catch much, but that's life with a miter saw)

I own that saw. It was purchased it at Lowes, but the name on it is Task Force, not Kobalt.

I agree with the dustbag comment, but I actually have found the laser to be useful. It does get covered with sawdust on occasion, though.

[wbsettle]

I own that saw. It was purchased it at Lowes, but the name on it is Task Force, not Kobalt.

I agree with the dustbag comment, but I actually have found the laser to be useful. It does get covered with sawdust on occasion, though.

With the previous generation Crafstman 10" SCMS, I've never noticed a problem with the laser getting covered, especially from just one cut as another post mentioned. Naturally, everthing's going to get covered in dust given enough time between cleanup. FWIW, I do vacuum the saw completely when done with a project, somtimes during the project, but it's never been motivated by the laser. A lot of my most repetitive cutting was MDF as well.

Agreed on the dust collection bag, but if I'm going a lot of cuts, I bungee the hose for my ShopVac to the base of the saw near the back of the cut line...actually helps quite a bit. Might also be why I don't see the problem with the laser getting dirty that some do.

Another thought...I don't think the OP mentioned how he plans to use the saw. If it's a portable job site saw, spending more for durability is probably a good idea. I'm just a weekend warrior so my saw is essentially a bench saw, albeit one attached to the $80 Craftsman miter saw stand instead of a fixed bench. As long as it can be tuned once, it should (and has) stay that way with occasional maintenance.

-Brent

[messmaker]

Sorry about not mentioning my price range......ideally I want to spend between 200-300.....preferrably less. I did see the 10" Hitachi at reconditionedsales.com, but passed, I think I read some bad reviews. Just recently saw a good deal on a recon 12" Dewalt at tylertool.....Right now Im leaning toward that or possible the hitachi slider if I can figure out a way to outsmart lowes with the pricematch.

It is your money and please buy what makes you happy but I am interested in the bad review you saw on Hitachi. I was planning on upgrading to to the 12" doube bevel saw but I would like to know of any potential problems. I thought Hitachi was second only to Dewalt on the 12" models.