Compound Mitre Saw Recommendations

[Jeff Wright]

What brand, features and capabilities do you suggest for compound mitre chopsaws? I make cabinets and furniture and some home improvement projects (crown molding, wainscoting, chair rails, etc.). Do you suggest a 10-inch or 12-inch? A stationary saw or sliding model? I prefer to spend more to get quality.

[Ken Garlock]

Hi Jeff. There are 4 popular brands in the CMS area: DeWalt, Mikita, Bosch, and Hitachi. Any one of them will be a good saw. I have had, for about 5 years,the Mikita LS1013, a 10" sliding CMS. I don't use it as hard as some of the creekers do theirs, but it does everything I want it to do. The DeWalt CMS has a good reputation, as does the Bosch and HItachi. It just boils down what you think is the best. I am sure you will get lots of help here selecting the "best one."

[Stan Welborn]

I had a Dewalt 10" and replaced it with a Makita 12".Abso-dang-lutly would recommend the 12" for the added capacity. Depends on your needs though I suppose. I liked the Dewalt handle more, but the Makita feels like the better built machine. It may be just because of the more robustness of a heavier 12 inch machine, but the Makita operates like a good piece of machinery where the Dewalt felt more fragile. I've never used a 12" Dewalt.

[John W. Willis]

I've had really good luck with my Hitachi 10" cms BUT it's the first one I've owned.

[Jim O'Dell]

I had a thread recently about 10" SCMS units. The one thing I came away with is, of the 4 major ones listed here are all very good machines. Go out and handle each one if you can. I found out early on I did not like the DeWalt. Never cut a toothpick with one. I grabbed the handle on one at HD and went throught the motion of cutting, and where I instinctively put my thumb on that handle, I sliced enough layers of skin off my right thumb to bleed pretty good. I know I put my hand in the wrong place, but I have tried several other times, and each time, that is where my thumb goes. It doesn't feel right with my hand in the "correct" place. Maybe horizontal handles are just not for me. I have yet to get my hands on the Bosch, but the Hitachi and the Makita both felt right in my hand. I was disappointed that the Hitachi's table was so small. The Makita has a very large table. It looks like from the pictures on the web, that the Bosch table is similar to the Hitachi in size. Pluses for the Hitachi? 5 year warranty, 50.00 off on Amazon right now (code from toolseeker) and a 2 1/4 hp router, fixed base, from Hitachi as a mail in rebate. Also, it requires very little room behind the unit for the slider, and a larger diameter dust collection port than the Makita. Pluses for the Bosch is the handle will set in 4 positions. I've decided to wait for a good deal to show up on the Makita because of the table size. It just seems to me to be safer. If the router on the Hitachi rebate had been a plunge unit, I might be swayed to it and build my own support to augment the smaller table. The Hitachi is definately the best deal in a 10" slider right now. 399.00, free shipping, and a free router. Hope the info I've found helps.
Oh, the only negative thing I've read on the 12" units is the blade has a bigger tendancy to wobble, causing the cut to not be as precise. I suppose the 8 1/2" sliders would be even better than the 10" units on this account. Jim.

[Jeff Wright]

Ken, John, Stan, Jim: Thanks for the ideas and comments.

I am leaning towards the 10-inch rather than the 12. So far, the Bosch is at the top of my tentative list. But as has been suggested, I want to see if I can touch each of the top contenders before making a decision.

[Dave Falkenstein]

I have owned a Dewalt CMS, a Hitachi SCMS and a Bosch SCMS. All three do a good job, stay square through many hours of use and abuse, and run trouble-free. The newest one is a Bosch. It has some nice features, including an adjustable handle, tilts both ways and a laser cut line.

I use the 10" Bosch SCMS in the shop. The Hitachi was an 8-1/2" SCMS and cut evereything a 10" saw will cut, except for thicker materials. The Dewalt CMS is a 12" and I use it for deck building, where I frequently cut 4X4 and 2X8 material. The size you need depends on what you will cut. For shop work, I find a 10" SCMS perfectly fine.

Plan to buy a good blade for your miter saw. The stock blades are pretty sad. I use a Forrest Chopmaster and get excellent cuts.

[Allen Bookout]

I have the Mikita LS1013, a 10" sliding CMS and am impressed with it. Extremely accurate out of the box and it came with a very good blade so I was not out that cost right away. Worth a look when you get to your hands on evaluation.

[Chuck Burns]

I've got the Bosch 5412 12" CSMS and it's great; except for DC and it seems all miter saws are weak there. I've got a Forrest Chopmaster on it and it cuts amazingly well.

[Rob Will]

Jeff, instead of a 10", I would get a 12" belt driven saw. You will be amazed how much added capacity the belt drive adds by getting the motor back out of the way. You can see the work better too.

I think you will use the capacity all the time if you have it.

As for brand, go with what "feels" natural in your hand (and you can get good service for).

Good luck with your decision, maybe Santa will bring you one.

Rob

[Todd Jensen]

I went through 3 10" Makitas before I got the Hitachi C10FSH(I know it by heart). I've now had 3 of them and still believe it to be the best value in a trim saw. The Makita cups a little on its wide miters, i.e. tall base cut on the flat or skirt boards. The Hitachi has a very solid slide producing very straight cuts. I can use an above average blade on the Hitachi and create excellent results - the Hitachi with a Forrest Chopmaster is a mean machine indeed. Good luck with your choice; I use my Hitachi DAILY for stairs, mantles, and custom casework, and am not willing to trade for anything else that is currently offered. That said, the Dewalt, Bosch, and Makita are all decent saws. IMO, though, the Bosch is much too heavy and cumbersome, the Dewalt is also too heavy for my liking(I don't have firm numbers, it might be lighter than the Hitachi but just feels heavier I don't know), and the Makita is great for light duty work but just not accurate enough. I guess another thing that I like the Hitachi for is it feels safe to me, it feels very controllable and the times I've made mistakes with it, while very scary of course, it hasn't completely exploded. Also, you asked about 10 vs 12 inch - while capacity is nice, I think you'll find the greater accuracy of the 10" invaluable. Less runout and less blade to ease into delicate pieces. There's my soliloquy, have fun with decision and let us know what your findings are.
and p.s. forgive the inelibigle ramblings; my wife makes a wicked friday cocktail.

[Paul Girouard]

I agree with Todd . Hatachi 10" Hands down the best .

I've had mine for sine 1995 , back when they cost almost $700.00 bucks due to some NAFTA deal about where it was built. Maybe pre NAFTA , but it was spendy due to a tariff of some sort at the time.

I've used other saws , Makita , DeWalts a good Site saw for a siding crew , exterior trim out , large trellis work . But none will be "AS GOOD" for what you say you'll be doing as the Hatachi 10".



The biggest advantage is in the saw head locking mechanism , all the others do not hold the head true for the odd rabbet/ dado cut.

I will say my saw is older , the "new improved" Hatachi that is out now I've only seen on the shelf at the lumber yard . They did some tweaking of the Sliding bars to shorten the saw up but retain the same length ( or close to ) cut. I don't know what else they may have changed, some times changes is NOT good .




This one was "free hand" rabbet cut for a toe space / base piece on a CD / stereo shelf unit.

[Jason White]

The new Festool KAPEX miter saw is due out early next year. I'd hang on and take one for a test drive before you commit to something else.

JW

What brand, features and capabilities do you suggest for compound mitre chopsaws? I make cabinets and furniture and some home improvement projects (crown molding, wainscoting, chair rails, etc.). Do you suggest a 10-inch or 12-inch? A stationary saw or sliding model? I prefer to spend more to get quality.

[Randy Cohen]

i just got a Hitachi SCMS, the one with the laser. I would recommend it without any ifs ands or buts.
if you do a little search you can find a recent thread about these saws...the thread was started by Jim Odell i think.

[Matt Lentzner]

The new Festool KAPEX miter saw is due out early next year. I'd hang on and take one for a test drive before you commit to something else.

JW

Only if you're willing to pay the $800 to $1200 price tag. Given Festool's track record, if you really want the best and money is no object, then I would agree that waiting would be the right move.

The big weakness that the current crop shares is poor dust collection - which supposedly the Kapex is up to Festool's high standards in that regard. For in shop use it may very well be worth it (I have the Bosch 12" SCMS, but I'm watching for when the Kapex hits N. America).

Matt