rbarb1111

i am looking to buy a miter saw. Any suggestions?? I have never used one with the laser. Is the laser really useful?

dbhost

It CAN be, but I have found that I don't use mine often. I simply line up the blade with where I want the cut, take the kerf of the blade into account, and cut...

I have the B&D Firestorm FS100L, and yeah I know I am going to get grief for owning a Black and Decker, but this has been a pretty good / accurate saw so far...

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-- Trying to follow the example of the master...

MrRodeoCC

We have a Hitachi 12" with laser and digital degree readout at work. I like the digital readout but the laser is useless. I always align the blade with my pencil line. The laser is set up to cut left of the line only so if I need to cut to the right of my line I'd end up with a short piece of wood. The wood gets marked with a line with an X on the side to be removed, put on the saw, aligned to cut on the X side of line and rechecked before cutting. ( I usually cut a lil big and then sweeten my cut once I'm satisfied the cut is what I want, can always trim down, but you cant add back)

firefighteremt153

I have the Ridgid 12" MS with the exactaline laser. My laser is pretty much useless but the saw is excellent and will recommend it.

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........................www.Jeremydillardwoodworking.com.........................

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TheStairguy

I'm a DeWalt fan. I have two 12 inch sliders a 10 and a 12 chop. I also have the 6 and 12 inch Hitachi's. The Hitachi is alright but the fence sucks, Ridgids are too big and clumsy, the Makita cuts okay but again the fence sucks and the foot print is too big, the Bosch is an over priced junker, craftsman (crapsman), and none of these aforementioned models have clamp downs worth a sh#%t. What I like about the Dewalt is it has a great fence setup and the detentes are adjustable. Just in case ya knock'er outta whack when your are pitching her into the back O da truck, you can adjust it back. It has one of the greatest clamp downs in the industry, however the crown stops are flimsy. Simply they are a versatile, light, tight, heavy duty, great saw that will last you for years of hard work and I wouldn't recommend anything else. All saws have pros and cons but the DeWalt's cons are minuscule to say the least. WoW! Am I opinionated S.O.B. or what! Heh, heh, heh . ROLe.

Graphiti

I have a 12" Bosch thats about 10 years old built into a 16 foot long cutting station. It looks new because it only gets used for rough cutting, the body of the saw has too much flex and so will not cut as straight as I need. I only mention this because I recently went shopping for a replacement hoping to find something tougher with less flex. What I found was EVERY saw I looked at had more flex than my current saw. I have since built custom sliding jigs for my table saw and re-setup my radial arm saw. As far as miter saws go, I'd agree with TheStairguy, the DeWalt is a solid saw and the sliding feature allows you to put less stress on the saw causing less flex making for truer cuts. Whatever you buy, check for flex. It'll probably suprise you just how little force it takes to move and shift the blade.
Hope hat helps,
R.G.

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Be it by finesse or force... A square peg will go into a round hole.

weirdbeard

Not sure what you will use yours for but a sliding miter saw is the best way to go but not the cheapest. You can cut 13" with most 10" saws and you don't need the crappy laser, you just slide the saw and put the blades tooth on your mark. It does not get any better!

djonesax

I have a dewalt 12 inch and love it. It cuts straight, quiet, and plenty of power for me. I believe it comes with a good $40 blade too. I see the laser as one more thing that will break eventually. I am not a big fan of electronics on tools. I am sure they have their place but I don’t need a laser or a digital read out on my miter gauge. Also, I know myself and I'd end up double checking it all the time anyway.

TheStairguy

Amen brothers. I use my slider for specific purposes like skirt boards because I need to make long angle cuts. You try to hog on a thick piece of solid and you will get chatter. When making the majority of my cuts I use the 10" or 12" standard chops. I've always maintained that there is no such thing as a one size fits all saw. If you are a hobbiest, fine, however if you do it for a living you need different saws to work different situations. Since I am a tool fanatic and I spend thousands every year to get the latest and greatest, maybe I'm not the best person to listen to since ya might get in trouble with the wife. And yes I'm an idiot that is always happily broke and my wife busts my chops for spending to much. Oh well. I'm always on the look out for antique tools. Lemme know if you have something you guys wanna part with. Any body in the crowd know how to build a free standing curved stair? I'd like to compare notes. Check out thestairguy.com Have a great week. ROLe.