# Help me choose a compound miter saw!



## rpearlberg (Nov 16, 2010)

This would be to do basic crown molding for now. Eventually would be for regular household projects/repairs, etc....

Want to stay under $300.

Right now I'm looking at the DW713 (about $180)...

Any recommendations....

10 or 12
sliding or non sliding
brands to avoid?


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## housegsx (Oct 21, 2010)

I have a Dewalt 10" non-sliding and I like it when I can use it. I did vinyl siding on my dad's house last year and it cut great, but the siding was double-5 so I had to flip each piece to finish a cut. So it all depends on what kind of projects you think you'll get into down the line.

When I was 90% done my neighbor offered to loan me his saw to finish the job, same saw, but it was a slider. The motor didn't sound as powerful and didn't cut as neatly.


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## ratherbefishing (Jan 13, 2011)

For doing molding upstairs, you'll enjoy having something small and light. For all your projects in the future, you'll REALLY enjoy having a 10" slider. But they aren't much fun to carry. Brands? I avoid HF, Ryobi, B&D, Skil, most Craftsman. 

Makita, Dewalt, Bosch, Milwaukee, Porter Cable have all worked for me. Not sure about Ridgid. 

Look for 13-15 Amps, good build, and easy adjustments. You'll be swinging the adjustments more than you think.

My miter saw's a Delta. I like it. But I'm not sure they make 'em anymore. The Shopmaster line isn't built as well.


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## woodworkbykirk (Sep 25, 2011)

if your going to be installing crown your going to need a dual compound mitre saw.. meaning it bevels both left and right. if all your cutting is moldings a standard compound mitre saw is fine but if your getting into wider materail such as mdf shelving or 2x10's and want to cut it in one swipe you'll need the slider

personally i own a bosch and wont hesitate to buy another, makita's are very good saws.. dewalts are ok but require tuning upon taking them out of the package along with replacing the bearings more frequantly


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## oh'mike (Sep 18, 2009)

I have an older older Delta 12" that is a great saw---The Dewalt 12" is a good light weight tool

I had the Bosch -another strong heavy duty machine--although the one piece fence needed replacing twice as it wouldn't stay straight--

Get crown stops for what ever brand you get and cut it nested against the fence and the crown stops. You do not need the compound feature for most crown moldings---only huge profiles.


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## titanoman (Nov 27, 2011)

For the longest time, Hitachi ruled the radial arm mitre saw world.
Nowadays, it's hard to find anything better than a Dewalt
(although, most people don't know, that B&D own Dewalt).

Sent from a Samsung Galaxy S2


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## BigJim (Sep 2, 2008)

In the 70s Black and Decker made a fair mitersaw believe it or not but after that good one the rest were junk. I have had just about all brands of saws over the years, I agree that Hitachi was the best of everything there for a while but not any more. I have the Dewalt 708 right now and it is as good as any saw I have ever owned. I don't like the 718 it is nowhere the saw the 708 is IMHO. I also have the 10" Hitachi for light and small cuts, it does an alright job but nowhere as good as the 708.


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## titanoman (Nov 27, 2011)

jiju1943 said:


> In the 70s Black and Decker made a fair mitersaw believe it or not but after that good one the rest were junk. I have had just about all brands of saws over the years, I agree that Hitachi was the best of everything there for a while but not any more. I have the Dewalt 708 right now and it is as good as any saw I have ever owned. I don't like the 718 it is nowhere the saw the 708 is IMHO. I also have the 10" Hitachi for light and small cuts, it does an alright job but nowhere as good as the 708.


You know black and Decker makes dewalt, right?


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## forresth (Feb 19, 2010)

12" can cut one heck of a lot more than a 10" 

sliders are pretty expensive, and you can't get a cheap one because the slider mechanism must be precise.

I have one like this
http://www.craftsman.com/shc/s/p_10...Power+Tools&prdNo=10&blockNo=10&blockType=L10
It is a much better saw than Dad's 10" Makita


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## titanoman (Nov 27, 2011)

forresth said:


> 12" can cut one heck of a lot more than a 10"
> 
> sliders are pretty expensive, and you can't get a cheap one because the slider mechanism must be precise.
> 
> ...


But if you have the money, radial arm is the cats meow FTW!


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## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

I would not trade my 12" slidding compound double bevel Hitachi mitre saw for anything.
I bought a Dewalt and it would not travel as far, had no lazer, and just was not as powerful.


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## titanoman (Nov 27, 2011)

joecaption said:


> I would not trade my 12" slidding compound double bevel Hitachi mitre saw for anything.
> I bought a Dewalt and it would not travel as far, had no lazer, and just was not as powerful.


That's a beautiful tool you got there.


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## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

I looked on Amazon.com and knew what the price should be. I went into my local Lowes and there was 4 sitting on the floor still in boxes. I saw the price and it was lower then Amazons so I put it in a cart and started to leave. An employee came over and told me to put it back because it was shipped to there store by accident and was being sent to a larger Lowes because they did not sell that model in that store. Talk about a dumm [email protected]@. I kept on walking and went to the register. Not only did I buy it cheaper I got a rebate from Hitachi for $50.00.
I can cut 2 X 11-1/2" wide stock, siding or stair treads in one pass.


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## jschaben (Mar 31, 2010)

I've used a Hitachi C10FCH for years now and it's been a decent saw. They can be picked up for $165 new or about $100 reconditioned here:
http://bigskytool.com/Hitachi_C10FCH2_10_Compound_Miter_Saw_(With_Laser_Marker)___i391.aspx

I retired it from the shop a year ago in favor of a Triton 10" slider but keep it around for times I need to transport it somewhere, sons place, neighbor, backyard. Thing only weighs about 30#. I didn't want to get into 12" saws as the blade prices are quite a bit higher than the 10" and the slider gives me enough crosscut for 1x12 anyway. Haven't tried any 2x12 on it yet. 
Anyway, have no complaints with the Hitachi, quiet, powerful enough for anything I've thrown at it and it's held it's setups admirably.


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## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

I also bought a 10" and brought it back the same day. Not enough travel for me.


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## jschaben (Mar 31, 2010)

joecaption said:


> I also bought a 10" and brought it back the same day. Not enough travel for me.


As a contractor, I can understand that. As a homeowner/diyer I can't remember ever needing to crosscut a 2x12.


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## forresth (Feb 19, 2010)

titanoman said:


> But if you have the money, radial arm is the cats meow FTW!


The OP suggests a $300 cap. You wont find a slider you'd actually want for that price.......or maybe this one; 
http://www.tools-plus.com/hitachi-c8fse.html?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=froogle&utm_term=HTCC8FSE
that price doesn't seam right though.:whistling2:

ps. I've had need to crosscut 2x12, and even a 3.5x8 dimensional beam. Its better to have excess capacity than too little.


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## BigJim (Sep 2, 2008)

forresth said:


> The OP suggests a $300 cap. You wont find a slider you'd actually want for that price.......or maybe this one;
> http://www.tools-plus.com/hitachi-c8fse.html?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=froogle&utm_term=HTCC8FSE
> that price doesn't seam right though.:whistling2:
> 
> ps. I've had need to crosscut 2x12, and even a 3.5x8 dimensional beam. Its better to have excess capacity than too little.


Man that is a low price, you have to be careful who you buy from online now days, you may just be giving your info to a place in Nigeria so they can clean you out. You are also right about the $300 cap, looks like I just let that slip my mind, sorry.


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## woodworkbykirk (Sep 25, 2011)

titanoman said:


> For the longest time, Hitachi ruled the radial arm mitre saw world.
> Nowadays, it's hard to find anything better than a Dewalt
> (although, most people don't know, that B&D own Dewalt).
> 
> Sent from a Samsung Galaxy S2



its very easy to find saws better than the dewalt, read some trade magazine tool reviews. both the bosch and makita rank higher than the dewalts.. and if you have the cash the festool kapex. ive used over a dozen different dewalts. only one was accurate for trim, ive used brand new dewalts right out of the box which i had to spend half an hour settting up just to have them cutting square also they were underpowered . running at close to 1000 rpms slower than my bosch.


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## jschaben (Mar 31, 2010)

forresth said:


> The OP suggests a $300 cap. You wont find a slider you'd actually want for that price.......or maybe this one;
> http://www.tools-plus.com/hitachi-c8fse.html?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=froogle&utm_term=HTCC8FSE
> that price doesn't seam right though.:whistling2:
> 
> ps. I've had need to crosscut 2x12, and even a 3.5x8 dimensional beam. Its better to have excess capacity than too little.


That's probably about right for an 8 1/2" saw. Heres another for the same $$ 
http://bigskytool.com/Hitachi_C8FSE_8-12_Sliding_Compound_Miter_Saw_with_Twin_Rail___i1117.aspx


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## BigJim (Sep 2, 2008)

woodworkbykirk said:


> its very easy to find saws better than the dewalt, read some trade magazine tool reviews. both the bosch and makita rank higher than the dewalts.. and if you have the cash the festool kapex. ive used over a dozen different dewalts. only one was accurate for trim, ive used brand new dewalts right out of the box which i had to spend half an hour settting up just to have them cutting square also they were underpowered . running at close to 1000 rpms slower than my bosch.


Which Dewalt did you use, the 718s are Chinese, I agree that saw is not accurate and has slop or side to side movement. The saw I have is dead on and is as good as any saw. I might compare it to a Makita but not a Bosch and I am a big fan of Bosch tools.


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## Jackofall1 (Dec 5, 2010)

Just a suggestion and sometimes you can get very lucky with listings such as Craigs list, I would only be looking at the high end saws on there but you never know what you can pick up for 1/2 the retail new price. 

There are alot of folks that will buy something and use it for a couple of projects and then decide to sell it as its not being used. You may even get a miter saw attached to a stand for half the price of the saw alone.

Something like this http://chicago.craigslist.org/sox/tls/2758360994.html

Or this one http://chicago.craigslist.org/wcl/tls/2739843201.html

Mark


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## woodworkbykirk (Sep 25, 2011)

hey jim, ive used several models of the dewalt only 1 was accurate and had any kinda of power... i hate the 718 and laugh how dewalt has simply added a couple extras to the last version and claiming its a brand new saw.. until they completely re-engineer it and have something that can compete with the axial glide its still black and decker homeowner grade stuff


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## MooseWoodworks (Dec 30, 2010)

Just my .02, but if you're looking for something on somewhat of a budget and don't think you'll need much capacity I'd go with a Craftsman. My brother has a simple 10" model and he and I have worked it really hard on various projects and it always comes through just fine. 

_MY_ miter saw is a 12" Makita compound slider. That's a very nice saw. I absolutely love it. I know it's out of your budget, but if you were considering upping the ante I'd suggest that saw to anyone who'd listen.


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## woodworkbykirk (Sep 25, 2011)

mentioning craftsman and being on a budget, if thats the case buy the ryobi from hd. its the exact same saw that sears sells only tagged craftsman.

most of craftsmans tools are made by ryobi only their a different color plastic and have a different name on em.. just look at the shipping tags on one of the boxes next time your in sears


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## MooseWoodworks (Dec 30, 2010)

woodworkbykirk said:


> mentioning craftsman and being on a budget, if thats the case buy the ryobi from hd. its the exact same saw that sears sells only tagged craftsman.
> 
> most of craftsmans tools are made by ryobi only their a different color plastic and have a different name on em.. just look at the shipping tags on one of the boxes next time your in sears


Mind = Blown 

I had no idea.


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## ratherbefishing (Jan 13, 2011)

Usually the first 3 digits of the Craftsman/Kenmore model number will indicate who the manufacturer is.
315 is Ryobi. Sometimes knowing who really made it can save some trouble when buying parts.
http://professional-power-tool-guid...pany/sears-and-craftsman-source-product-code/


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## More Power! (Aug 2, 2011)

Several years ago I bought a Makita 10" sliding compound miter saw and have never regretted the decision. Accurate and repeatable as all get out, and has gone through everything I've fed it cleanly and smoothly. That saw is one of my favourite tools. (Use good blades. Makes no sense to have a good saw with poor blades, or vice-versa.)

A better saw will cost more. As will better blades. Better tools always cost more. What's your time worth?

Jim


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## Mills314 (Mar 21, 2011)

woodworkbykirk said:


> if your going to be installing crown your going to need a dual compound mitre saw.. meaning it bevels both left and right. if all your cutting is moldings a standard compound mitre saw is fine but if your getting into wider materail such as mdf shelving or 2x10's and want to cut it in one swipe you'll need the slider
> 
> personally i own a bosch and wont hesitate to buy another, makita's are very good saws.. dewalts are ok but require tuning upon taking them out of the package along with replacing the bearings more frequantly


Couldn't agree more. The Bosch is the way to go. But if your looking to stay under $300, Makita is a good option.


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## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

I'd skip a 10" and go with a 12". Reason being a 12" will cut alomst any thing you need to cut A 10" will limit you.


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## woodworkbykirk (Sep 25, 2011)

just keep in mind with a 12" saw you may have to deal with blade deflection.. with a larger saw the blade can warp and create a less accurate cut for larger trim peices


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