Craftsman sliding miter saw

[Dan Gill]

Does anyone have any experience with this sliding miter saw?

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/produ...seBVCookie=Yes

It's on sale on the website and at the stores right now.

[Dan Gill]

I guess not. Never mind . . .

[Dennis Meek]

Dan

I have the 12" Craftsman Professional which is the big brother to the one you asked about and I find it to be a great saw. I checked its alignment when I bought it with my Wixley gauge and it was right on. It's a little big, but I can live with that. I use a hose for dust collection and it does a pretty good job of collection. I have it on the Craftsman stand and I would buy it again.

Dennis

[Pat Germain]

I think the lack of replies has more to do with brand preferences than you, Dan. In other words, it's not personal.

When I first wanted to get into woodworking, I went out and bought a Craftsman 10" contractor saw. At the time, it was among the best saws sold by Sears. Thus, I thought I bought a good saw with a reliable brand name.

As an early user of the Internet, I began lurking on the rec.arts.woodworking newsgroup. I learned very quickly that Craftsman was among the last choices when it came to power tools. In previous generations, Craftsman were good power tools. When I bought my saw in the mid 90's this was not the case. The quality of Crafstman power tools could be summed up as "none". In fact, these tools are commonly referred to as "Crapsman" and for good reasons. It just not an anti-Sears attitude.

In the past few years, it seems Sears has caught on to the dismal opinions of their power tools. The quality may indeed be improving. I've read a few positive experiences with newer Craftsman table saws. However, most people don't wanto to plop down a few hundred bucks just to find out. Most people would rather go with something they know and trust and that's not Craftsman.

One point I often argue about with people who "think" they know tools: Craftsman power tools do NOT come with a lifetime warranty. This warranty applies ONLY to hand tools. Believe it or not, many people really do buy Craftsman power tools under this mistaken belief. In fact, several people I talked to about this actually had to suffer the humiliation of standing in Sears with a fried framing saw and being politely told to slag off.

Thus, you didn't get any replies about the Craftsman saw because nobody on Sawmillcreek owns one. Also, the arguments and opinions about Craftsman power tools are quite tired. I think most woodworkers have just moved on when it comes to this subject. If quality has indeed improved, I expect more people will start buying Craftsman power tools again. It's awfully nice to be able to get parts and accessories at your local Sears.

[Justin McCurdy]

My dad has the regular 12" and loves it. For comparison, he has only used my old 12" Ryobi. It came with some great features that had me a little jealous. What was said before about craftsman tools I tend to agree with. They will all do the job, but how well they do it is a different story. At least you can take back anything that you don't like and at least get store credit. I have done that with a couple of their large tools. I would go for it at that price and just see if it works for you for what you will be using it for.

I can give you one frame of reference. I bought a Makita 1214FL from Amazon for around $360 (they deducted $90 for it being a little muffed in shipping) and at the time they had a free Lithium Ion drill kit for free ($200) value. That being said, I feel I paid about $160 for the saw after deducting the drill's value. Even at the same price point I would have bought the Makita without giving it a second thought.

[thomas prevost]

Accessing quality to Craftsman tools is a matter of prespective. Sears has made it a long term goal to get tools within the price range of weekend DYIers. To get the price down, they have shaved some of the durability that a professisonal would need for daily use. That said, many of the tools they sell will last the DYI many years where he may only put a few hours of use per year. The serious woodworker who spends many evenings and weekends in the shop may want to consider more robust tools such as Milwalkee, Dewalt and the like.

[Gary Keedwell]

Accessing quality to Craftsman tools is a matter of prespective. Sears has made it a long term goal to get tools within the price range of weekend DYIers. To get the price down, they have shaved some of the durability that a professisonal would need for daily use. That said, many of the tools they sell will last the DYI many years where he may only put a few hours of use per year. The serious woodworker who spends many evenings and weekends in the shop may want to consider more robust tools such as Milwalkee, Dewalt and the like.

You stoled my thunder.....you said it better then I could.

Gary K.

[Dan Gill]

Thanks for the answers. Pat, I never considered that the lack of replies was personal. I just assumed nobody had experience with that saw. It looks like I was right. Whether it's the feeling about Craftsman power tools or just a new product that nobody has had time to get and use, there's no info available. I'll wait until I hear more about it before making a decision.

[Pat Germain]

I'm glad we could help, Dan. I'm also glad you weren't thinking it was personal. I know I sometimes feel small when I have posted something on other boards and I get no reply. I was thinking you might be feeling the same way.