which miter saw

I have had a DW 12’’ SCMS for a long time. I have had no troubles with it. IMHO no matter what one cuts, 45d angles it is still necessay to go to the shooting board to put the miters spot on.

-- Jerry

I have been pretty happy with my Makita LS1016L. My choice of 10” over 12” was blade availability and cost. Have not been hindered by the 10” yet.

Depends on the sort of cuts you expect to make with the tool.

A 12” slider accurate enough for building decks and installing crown?
Sure. But cutting tenon shoulders maybe not.

I also have the DeWalt 12” SCMS and It’s the best one I have owned. Get, you won’t be sorry.

-- "Courage is being scared to death -- but saddling up anyway."

If the old 10” CMS has served you well, there is no good reason to replace it unless it can’t handle your current usage. I have an OLD B&D miter saw and it works well for my intended purpose, which is framing and general cutting-to-length wood. It is light enough to be portable, unlike today’s 12” CSMS’s. To get the same features and accuracy that I have with my saw, I would have to pay probably 4x more. All I would get for the money would be the cost of inflation, and a few bells and whistles. My philosophy is to stay with tools that have proven themselves over the years, especially in this time of economic woes. I know; it’s nice to go out and buy the latest and greatest, but the novelity will wear off quickly.
Remember, the quality you get today will cost you a lot more than it did 10 years ago. You may be able to afford the $600 for a new saw, but do you really want it that much?

I have the DeWalt cms and I think it’s great. I also got a good stand for it that opens to over 8 feet. I’ve never had a cms that I would trust with a 45d, so always use an aluminum miter block to set it up just to be sure. I really can’t see the need to have a slider on it unless you’re cutting widths more than 8 inches though.

-- Failure does not stop me, it makes me try harder..... because I'm crazy.

a big part of wanting the slider is that i often am cutting boards up to 12” wide, but maybe I should investigate a track saw. (which would also be good for cutting up sheet goods in my smaller shop)

as for why i want a new cms mine has a sticky guard and the compound part only goes one way and the adjustment is hard to use accurately.

I, too, found myself in wanting a slider for wider woods. So I sold my old DW705 and scored a DW718. Haven’t looked back. A fine saw.

My only issue with the DW718 is Dewalt’s sorry attempt at dust control. It’s pretty pathetic. But the saw does everything I have asked it to do otherwise. The saw comes with a number of presets that were spot on right out of the box. To control the dust I just put a larger dust port on the bottom of the enclosure I had made for the 705.

Sometimes the big blue box store will include the Dewalt stand for free.

Happy shopping.

...rookieII

I have a Bosch 10” 4410L SCMS and it’s very accurate. The table is very flat and the angle adjustment is perfect. It’s very easy to use. I paid 450 for it at Rona because it was “Discontinued”, obviously someone made a mistake there. As far as I know they’re still being made. I think it’s around 600 dollars. The laser isn’t very good for fine work as it is too fuzzy and only turns on when the blade is spinning, it’s a bit dangerous to be moving some moulding around while the blade is spinning a couple inches away from your hand.
The blade guard is very good and works flawlessly. Manual is excellent and explains everything in great detail. The saw is very accurate. It is also quieter than most SCMS’s I’ve used(Two Hitachis, Makita and DeWalt). It’s made in Taiwan which in my opinion is a step or two above China.

-- Tyrone - Canada, BC

Hey…am i the only one that really has a JMS 10 SLIDER….with a laszer ..had it for 4 years no complants works fine….the biggest thing is ….the blade u choose…. thin kerf tends to have a lot of flex…thicker blades give u a better cut…..maby is in my shop pics? i do like the jet tools…

-- IF YOUR NOT MAKING DUST...YOU ARE COLLECTING IT! SOUTH CAROLINA.

I have the 12” Dewalt 715R and a 10” Festool Kapak. They are both excellent saws, are very accurate and reliable.

-- Roger M, Aiken, SC

I picked up the DW718 and got the the light that projects a shadow cut line. Though it was not dead on from the box. the adjustments were very precision. It is now under 0.2 deg. Hard to tell since the wood I am using is not to that state of perfection. Some people that have only played with it have complained about slop. There is an adjustment screw that allows you to fine tune the slide clearance for a snug fit without binding. I would defiantly buy this saw again and the shadow cut line is the best thing to come along in a long while.

I have the Makita LS1214F and absolutely cannot say anything but…........ GREAT.

Here is a review:

”:http://lumberjocks.com/reviews/589

I bought the LS 1016 and have had great luck and no complaints at all. My thoughts on buying a 10” slider was interchangablity in blades with my table saw or ease of finding blades in general. After having it a while I think I mught get the 12”. It’s not like I have ever changed blades except when the blade is dull and it’s time for sharpening or changing, and the blades I have been buying are the Frued made for miter saws anyway…so I think my theory for 10” is flawed.

Moke, you are right on the 10” vs 12”

Why have a great slider and limit it with 10” ????

I have found SOOO many uses for the 12”

just my $0.02