# Ironton 10 in Multi-Sliding Compound Miter Saw



## NormG

Sounds like you may have just purchased a saw that will provide you with great service for the foreseeable future, congrats, thank you for the review, I was not aware Northern sold a saw like this


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## OldCoach

Since this review, I fiddled around with it and got it to .001 of square using the 5 cut method. I repeated the cut 3 times and each time it came to .001. That is about as close to square as I need in my little shop.

I fanagled with the dust collection and so far I have not seen any improvement. It is by far the worst thing about this saw, much worse than my old Ryobi chop/miter saw. If anyone has any ideas I would welcome your suggestions.

So far I have designed extensions out of a variety of plastic containers with not much luck improving the dust collection.


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## BenDupre

Menards sells this saw under the Masterforce brand. They go for $299 but recently it was $229 on sale. I had never heards of this ironton brand before. Glad to hear its a descent saw. I have been waiting for Menards to mark it back down but i might have to buy this one instead. Thanks for the heads up


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## sjonesy1

Just was curious how the saw was doing since you have had it for a few months now? Any quirks to mention or any reason not to buy it? This is really the only review I can find online concerning it and I was thinking about buying one.
Thanks,


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## builtinbkyn

I asked about this saw last year in a thread I made. And like you found, there's wasn't much info. I ended up with the Bosch 10". Keep us posted on how it performs.


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## BenDupre

Its back to $229 at menards. This week. I actually tried to buy one and had to take back. It wouldnt square up. Not enough fence adjustment. I would have had to wallow out the mounting holes to make it square.


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## sjonesy1

builtinbkyn-thanks for the response. I had read your comment about it a year ago and noted nobody knew much about the brand. I am surprised nobody seems to know much about them, that is probably not a good thing.

BenDurpe-I looked at it at menards online-thanks for posting that above, and I do not have one close by to go look at it. Are the two the exact same saw? It seems as if there are some differences, I do not know if it would affect the fence or not though.

Northerntool currently has a promo for $50 off making this saw $199.99 with free shipping.


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## BenDupre

Idk they look the same. Sometimes there are minor differences between brands importing the same product. It would probably be a good saw if you can get the fence square. Like the other guy i decided to move on and get a bosch. Have to save a little more for that one. BTW it is also on sale this week at Menards. If you are game i would get the northern tool for $200 that seems like a real good price. One feature this has is up front release of the trunion.


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## sjonesy1

I looked at the Harbor Freight one and the plastic piece which holds the positive lock was a big negative, but you cant beat the price at $139.99. It also had alignment issues which could be fixed if you put locktite on the adjustment screws.

I have looked at the Kobalt but for the 12" which is $299 (a little more than I want to pay if I can avoid it) looks interesting but I know it can be had for cheaper ($199) and it seems it has alignment issues.

I may wait and see if I can get an update from OldCoach to see how this saw is holding out before I pull the trigger and purchase anything.


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## OldCoach

I have been using the saw for a few months now, not everyday use though. Like I said in the original post, the dust collection is awful, even though it is connected to my dust collector. I have not been able to improve it so I have resigned myself to break out the shop vac at the end of each use.

I have only used the double bevel on one project. I had to re-cut the corner because of a math error, but the saw made a perfect corner when I got the angles right. The 45* detent on the bevel cut is very accurate, both directions. I mitered some 2×10 SYP and there was some loss of power through the cut. But I am still using the same blade I had on my old miter saw. I'm sure that a new blade would help alleviate some of that problem. Anything smaller, I have not experienced any power loss.

Overall, I am pleased with the saw. For what I do in my shop, it is better than I had and I find I use it more now than I did my old Ryobi chop saw when I would use the table saw for the larger cuts. With the 13" crosscut capability, I don't have to use the table saw sled near as much. I feel that it was $150 well spent. I would pay $200 for a new one.

I did get an email when Sears had a sale on their compact saw for $189. If it was dual bevel I would have been tempted to take a look. If you are patient a good deal will eventually turn up on Craigslist for a saw that you can add to your shop. If the Ironton shows up, I would not hesitate to pull the trigger for the right price.


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## sjonesy1

OldCoach-thank you for the update. I do not intend to use the saw much just the occasional home owner type stuff. With that being said, the dust collection is no big deal to me, I will likely never hook it up.

My wife has recently asked me to build a coffee table, 2 end tables, and a buffet bar which I did with a 15+ year old Benchtop 8 1/4 that is just extremely basic and functions but that is about it. At some point, which dad never did use it when he had it, there have been several pieces go missing so all I basically have is the saw itself, none of the extra fences or clamps or even the miter set screw. But now she is wanting me to build a crib, changing table and dresser for our upcoming child and after I realized just how basic mine was, it was time to buy a new one.

If this saw is good and precise, which from your review it seems to be, it could very well be the best bang for the buck. I plan to buy an arbor laser for it just basically since I think it could assist and it is a fairly cheap add-on for about $20.

I appreciate the update and I plan to buy mine tonight. Thanks for all the input.


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## BenDupre

Fwiw the Masterforce has a laser. Still $30 cheaper the northern tool version is better value. I have an irwin laser on my HF and it is always dead on. Only drawback is it only marks the left side of the cut.


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## sjonesy1

The masterforce I would have to pay shipping (they do not offer a ship to store and the closest one is 1.5hr one way away) which was 21 and I'd have to pay sales tax too where there is one in my state. There is not a northerntool in my state so I dont have to pay sales tax on it.

I was looking at buying the Oshlun LG-M01 Miter and Portable Saw Laser Guide from amazon for $22, it has good reviews and is half the price of the irwin which is $48 on amazon. I appreciate the input once again.


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## BenDupre

My Irwin is going out. Had it for 10 years and two saws. Worked great until it didnt. Replaced batteries and it still wont work well. The inertia switch is sticky.


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## XLNguyen

I saw this on sale at Northern Tool and after reading this post I think I found my next purchase.


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## OldCoach

Been nearly two years since I got my Ironton miter saw. Being what you call a hobbyist, I don't use it everyday. But for what I do it is one of the best tool purchases I have made. I finally put a new blade on it from HD about 7 months ago, not a high dollar blade mind you since I'm pretty chea…er, frugal, and it cuts much better than the old blade I had on the Ryobi that I sharpened at least twice that I recall. Had I spent a few more dollars and purchased a Diablo blade, I'm sure it would cut even better.

Like I said in my original post, the dust collection is the worst thing on this saw. I have resigned myself that it's as good as it's going to be. The best thing is that it sits close to the wall and doesn't stick out into my small shop space. That was my main requisite when I decided to get a sliding saw. I have made numerous angle cuts, and if I do my part correctly, they are spot on. 90% of the time I use the detent stops and they are solid. I have only used the bevel cut once.

All in all it was worth the $150 I picked it up for in a pawn shop. I haven't looked back. It does what I need it to do and it cuts when I pull the trigger. What else could I ask for?


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