I am looking into getting a 10″ sliding compound miter saw. Since I probably won’t be able to afford the new Festool Kapex, I was thinking of either a Bosch or a Makita. I have heard good things about the Dewalt 718, but Dewalt doesn’t make a 10″ sliding and I have a brand new Forrest 10″ blade on my current miter saw that I would transfer. Any suggestions?
Replies
Haven't used the Bosch. I have used the Makita. Makita makes a good saw and it comes with a decent blade,Tenryu, or at least it used to.
My slider is a Hitachi 8" C8FB. I have had it for about 15 years. They are really good saws. My other chop saw is the old Delta 10" 34-080, another fine saw that was discontinued.
If you need the capacity, and only want one saw, then I would go with the Makita. It slides smoothly, and the table operates well. Seems to be a very well made saw. The dual bevel is nice as well. If my Hitachi had a dual bevel then it would be, for me, the ultimate slider.
J.P.
Hi Kal,
If you have time, read these posts 30938.1 to 30938.6. There is a good tools review attached in one of them.
Good luck
Masrol
Edited 3/22/2007 9:56 pm by Masrol
Kaleo ,
I have owned the Makita 10" dual slider for 5 years or maybe more . This is a great saw that produces clean and accurate cuts in all types of materials .
I mostly use it for larger Crown and trim components especially for cutting 45° on wider parts , instead of dragging a TS to the job it works very good , I still use an old DeWalt 10" chop saw for standard size miters and chopping , old habits die hard .
You won't be sorry if you buy the Makita
dusty
I love my makita and have for the entire 3 years I've had it. Now, mind you, it's a shop fixture for me, so it's not banging around work sites or sliding around the back of my pick-em up truck. I con't vouch for it's durability under those kind of circumstances. But in the shop, it's been a fantastic dependable tool.
"and I have a brand new Forrest 10" blade on my current miter saw that I would transfer." Uhhhhhhhhh, maybe not. Sliding miter saws need a much lower (read: negative) hook angle for safe cuts. I don't own one, do can't give any testimonials, but you might want to read up on blade configuration for sliding saws (miter saws and radial arm saws).
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
If it's the Forrest "CHOPMASTER", it is not an issue:
"Specially designed for chop, sliding compound miter saws and radial saws."
http://www.forrestsawblades.com/chopmaster.htm
It is Forrest chopmaster.
When you are on the job sites most of the trim carpenters have the Hitachi 10" slider. ( Not those funky looking new space savers) Most of the cabinet shop have at least two or three Hitachis at different stations. I was in a big cabinet shop in Traverse City ( MI ) last week and they had 4 Hitachis and two Bosch. The guy I know said some guys like the Bosch, some like the Hitachis. I have the Hitachi(laser) with the Forrest Chopmaster on a Rosseau stand and I am very with it, but I don't have the Bosch so who knows ? I didn't like the feel of the Bosch handle, but a lot of guys do. Try them both and see what you like, you can't go wrong with either.
I have a 10" bosch that is about 3yrs old. Works good and the newer ones have many improvements. Adjusting the fence squareness on mine was a little bit of a pain, but only had to do it once. Bosch did very well in the last FWW review guide.
Dear K,
Terrylee is right on. As a contractor, in the last twenty years, I can say that Hitachi is the standard, with Bosch as a second. Personally, I own two Hitachi's have never "wanted" for anything.
Best,
John
I went with a 12" Makita LS1212 and an FS Tools blade. I use it for everything from rough stock reduction to detail work. The included Tenyru blade was a great thin-kerf trim blade but not up to 8" wide 8/4 white oak stock reduction. In the precision trim carpenter world I see more 8" or 10" Hitachis. Like somebody said in a similar thread DWs are for decks.John O'Connell - JKO Handcrafted Woodworking
The more things change ...
We trained hard, but it seemed that every time we were beginning to form up into teams, we would be reorganized. I was to learn later in life that we tend to meet any new situation by reorganizing; and a wonderful method it can be for creating the illusion of progress while producing confusion, inefficiency, and demoralization.
Petronious Arbiter, 210 BC
Dear John,
That's a great saw and Makita gives you a real blade. The only issues that I have with that saw are as follows:
1) The gauge is located in a different spot than most saws, although, unlike the Hitachi, it is usable.
2) The spring that raises the saw head is located right in the line of fire from sawdust and will pack up, from time to time.3) The dust collection is nonexistent.The Makita has a much better slide than any other saw, and the controls are much better as well. The Hitachis have their low points as well. The scale is pretty much useless and there is something about the pitch of the motor that wears on me. All in all these are all very good tools.Best,john
The 80 T Tenyru blade was good, but I noticed some deflection in the first job I used it for. I was cutting compound 15 Bevel / 45 % Mitre scarfs in some 5" hard-as-stone beech base I milled for my house. The FS Tools 100T HD Mitre saw blade I replaced it with is great, Plus I sold the like new Tenyru for $40 so the FS cost me about $85 :)
1) Never bothered me either.
2) Hasn't been a real problem.
3) With the bag you're 100%. With my Fein hooked up it's 80%.
The only problem I've had with the Makita is that periodically the break is real slow to kick in. Somebodt told me they do that when the brushes wear down, but that didn't seem to be it. I open it up and blast the switch w/ compressed air and that helps for a while.John O'Connell - JKO Handcrafted Woodworking
The more things change ...
We trained hard, but it seemed that every time we were beginning to form up into teams, we would be reorganized. I was to learn later in life that we tend to meet any new situation by reorganizing; and a wonderful method it can be for creating the illusion of progress while producing confusion, inefficiency, and demoralization.
Petronious Arbiter, 210 BC
Dear John,
I have found that the brakes on most of the tools are pretty lousy. Now, given, I must set off the brake on the miter saw a couple of hundred times a day, but still. The only tool that I have that the brake is very consistent on is my Makita 10" tablesaw. That seems to kick in immediately and constantly.Best,John
A Makita tech told me the brakes are soft to make sure they never loosen the nut. The problem I have is that when the switch is 'dirty' the brake doesn't kick in for a couple of seconds after releasing the trigger. Once it activates it works as well as ever. I should just replace the switch and see if that takes care of it.
John O'Connell - JKO Handcrafted Woodworking
The more things change ...
We trained hard, but it seemed that every time we were beginning to form up into teams, we would be reorganized. I was to learn later in life that we tend to meet any new situation by reorganizing; and a wonderful method it can be for creating the illusion of progress while producing confusion, inefficiency, and demoralization.
Petronious Arbiter, 210 BC
Edited 3/26/2007 2:58 pm by Elcoholic
Kaleo Custom,
I would save the forest for your table saw.. (same arbor size) Buy Dewalt blades for your Dewalt.. why have much less capability than is available? MY experiance has been the Dewalt blade does such a fine job when sharp that I don't feel the need for a Forest.
I mean glass smooth cuts with the 80 tooth blade. and brutally fast cuts with the 32 tooth blade. (DeWalt sells the package). I even have one I use for just cutting brass or copper tubing. Does an OK job of it too.
I've got some Forest blades and they are nice but then so is the 80 tooth Dewalt blade.. maybe the Dewalt doesn't remain as sharp near as long but you can't prove it by me..
I have two Makita 10" (1013) -- one for the shop the other for job site work.
About two years ago, when I decided I wanted a second 10" saw, I first bought the Hitachi -- mainly because it was lauded by many trim carps at Breaktime.
It is a fine saw, but after about two weeks I took it back and got the second makita.
Why? There were a few minor, but nonetheless bothersome things about the Hitachi -- such as the fact the angle markings are at the front of the saw (Makita's are on the right side). That meant every time you wanted to change the settings, you had to bend down and blow off the scale markings, which you never have to do with the Mak.
Also, the Makita comes with a really high quality blade that I think is the equal of the Forrest Chopmaster.
Using the same blade, the cutting performance between the two was ####toss up -- it was the small design features that made the difference for me.
So my advice is to look carefully at the features of each saw in your top group, and pick the one that you like the best. As far as cutting/performance differences are concerned, I think they are all pretty much equal.
One other thing: if you are moving the saw around a lot (as for job site work), be prepared to periodically readjust a SCMS. A regular CMS is much less prone to these problems.
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"It is what we learn after we think we know it all, that counts."
John Wooden 1910-
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