ryobi sliding miter saw

[thestinker]

I saw this at the BORG today for 169.00 There was no other 10 sliding miter saw even in the same ball park cost wise. I have a 10 in delta that is fine, bit have been drooling over a slider for some time now. Is there a reason why this critter is 169 bucks? Any one buy one, and does anyone know of one thats close to this one in price, but is a better saw because of features?

Thanks for the input.
Riley

[dbhost]

Harbor Freight has the Chicago Electric 12" SCMS which is similar in design, and I believe Lowes has a similarly priced / featured Kobalt saw. Each of which regularly retail for $199.00. The HF has had coupons out lately for $119.00, which is a great price for a 12" slider, and yes HF quality can be dubious, however the reviews I can find on them seem to be pretty positive...

All in all, I would tend to lean toward the HF due to the extra capacity of the 12"... However expect to swap the blade for a decent one before you make the first cut...

[herb fellows]

While I agree about the extra capacity of the 12", the quality factor with HF would give me pause.
If the Ryobi is on sale and you're afraid of missing out on it, get it and then have a good hard look at it without using it. Do your research online and look at the manual. Manuals are usually very telling about a product in terms of compromises made to get that price point.
The Hf, if past experience holds true, will always be on sale again, it's just a matter of time. The Ryobi, not so much. I'm sure you could look at the manual in the store, if not online.
Take a real good look at it and compare the two. The HF model is more than likely out on the floor and you can make a real good comparison regarding appearance, fit and finish etc.
Obviously you can't tell actual performance without firing them up, but research plus a good hard look will tell you a lot.
While Ryobi tools are definitely on the lower rung as far as price point goes, I find that value is usually pretty good.
If your needs don't compel you to get a 12", I'd seriously consider the Ryobi before making a decision.
+ 1 on the blade, no matter which one you buy.

ps: If you do 'take the plunge' (pun intended), let us know which way you went and why, I'm always interested in that!

pps: Just to confuse the issue further, I just saw this in my email. No experience with Northern tool, but this is a 10' slider with a laser for $139 with free shipping, and if the review statistics are to be believed, people seem to like it. Happy hunting!

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/too...e=&marketcode=

[leehljp]

I picked up a 10 in HF CSM in 2005 while back in the States for a year. (My 12 in Makita was over here in Japan.) Honestly, the HF cut fine but it just felt cheap, had a fine vibration and an extremely loud tinny noise as if it was running on metal to metal bushings without lubricant. It scared me every time I started it. But it cut fine. And I got it with a 20% off coupon while it was on sale. Seems like I paid about $70.00 total. In a pinch, it did fine, but I sure will be glad to see the Makita depart here in December, and it will be one of the first tools that I open when it arrives in the States in January.

On the Ryobi, I have never been disappointed in a Ryobi tool. I know that Ryobi tools are not DeWalt, Milwaukee, PC, Makita, Bosch, etc, but to me Ryobi has always been at least a couple of steps above any HF tool. Don't get me wrong, I do and will continue to use HF tools also.

[aggrex]

IMO at that price point give the Ryobi a shot. Ryobi has a 30 day No-risk satisfaction guarantee and two year warranty. Align the saw and make a few cuts with a good blade to see if the accuracy meets your needs. Check out the smoothness of the sliding mechanism on all three saws. If you do not need the extra capacity ten inch blades are less expensive. Use a good blade with the right hook angle.

[Whaler]

I have only owned 2 Ryobi tools and have no complaints. The RA200 gave me 20 years of service and about 10 years for the BT3000 and they were still running when I sold them.

[luteman]

Ditto for what Whaler said! I wish I had never gotten rid of my RA200,but Ryobi scared me when they sent me the recall notice for possible safety issues in the head casting.
Ryobi has another gem out now: it is a 71/4 chop saw with folding stand which I bought last month at local Borg for 99bux. It's a great little saw for those small remodel jobs and it has the capacity to cut thru a 2x4. IMHO, Ryobi tools deserve a much better reputation than what they have received.

[Eric]

I've got the 10" Ryobi slider. The laser is useless I couldn't get it adjusted the various times that I tried.
As far as capacity I could cut a 4x12 without a problem. I used it to cut my floor joists for the shop. When setting a joist on it I ended up breaking the handle that changes the angle of the table. So it's not super robust, but it was capable of doing what I needed it to do the extra capacity is very nice.

[thestinker]

Thanks for the input fellas. I saw it and was curious. I would like to get it, but its not a necessity right this second, and with Christmas coming up, I need to get stuff for my kids and wife before I buy a new toy for me. Also, I just bought a grass catcher for my weedeater riding lawnmower, and a new random orbital sander, both of which I really needed. I have 13 large oak trees and they are beginning to drop leaves and after 12 years of raking, I am looking forward to sucking them up with the riding lawnmower

I just hated to put this tool on the maybe list if it was a dog. I am right there with all ya'll as far as liking ryobi. I have the BT#3100, the 18V drill, impact driver and caulking gun, and love all of them. For the price you pay, the value you get it pretty tough to beat. It was time to get new batteries for my 14.4V dewalt drill. I was wanting an impact driver, but dewalt didn't make a 14.4 V to match my existing drill. I got the ryobi 18V drill and impact driver, charger and batteries for less than the cost of the the impact driver from dewalt. And for my day to day use around the house, I will need to wear out a bunch of ryobi tools to justify a dewalt.

Once again, thanks for the input fellas, this is still the best source of info on the net....and once and a while, we even talk woodworking

[bullethead1964]

Ryobi

I think Ryobi is a good value in tools. Their quality seems to really come up in the past couple years. I recall when the Ryobi plunge router for $99 was considered a gem by many tool reviews.

I would consider that saw for sure. What a nice price!!!

[dbhost]

FWIW, I went to Home Depot tonight after work. Mind you, I like Ryobi, but the miter saws they made that I had seen in the past were, well... I just didn't like the "feel" of them. They felt rough...

Well I went to Home Depot and took a look at this slider... Very nice...

[tung tied]

I've got one. Unlike Eric's response, my laser works accurately enough so far. I've only used it to install hardwood flooring, its not a fine woodworking project. But the angle adjustment was satisfactory. The common angle stop points could click in more aggressively, but that is maybe a bit snooty. Mine was cheap enough for a birthday present! My only criticism is the dust bag is fairly useless.

[dbhost]

I've got one. Unlike Eric's response, my laser works accurately enough so far. I've only used it to install hardwood flooring, its not a fine woodworking project. But the angle adjustment was satisfactory. The common angle stop points could click in more aggressively, but that is maybe a bit snooty. Mine was cheap enough for a birthday present! My only criticism is the dust bag is fairly useless.

It is a miter saw after all... I thought by definition they are supposed to design them so the back catches 1% of the dust, while the blade spews the other 99% into the air... Which is why my miter station is a portable stand.

[Relative]

Harbor Freight has the Chicago Electric 12" SCMS which is similar in design, and I believe Lowes has a similarly priced / featured Kobalt saw. Each of which regularly retail for $199.00. The HF has had coupons out lately for $119.00, which is a great price for a 12" slider, and yes HF quality can be dubious, however the reviews I can find on them seem to be pretty positive...

All in all, I would tend to lean toward the HF due to the extra capacity of the 12"... However expect to swap the blade for a decent one before you make the first cut...

Bought the 12" slider from HF a few months ago and it (and its original blade) are happily cutting 2x4, 2x6, 4x4 lumber just fine and at all kinds of angles. Probably wouldn't use it on moldings, but I use a manual miter saw for that type of work.

Depends on the type of work you want to do with it. Works for me.

Mike

[Cochese]

Never been disappointed with any Ryobi purchase, and I probably own the most here.

I was looking at the HF models, and the sliders just didn't feel worth the discount. I ended up going with a standard 10" Hitachi.