I Need New Miter Saw Any Recommendations?

[kmmcrafts]

Well I have a pretty old Hitachi 10" miter saw that I bought online probably 12 or more years ago as a refurbished unit.. Guess I got my $50 worth, LOL  The switch went out on it.. and I took it all apart and found the contact points about fried as they get, LOL  Looked for a new switch and turns out it's NLA... Yeah I'm smart enough to get around all that if I needed to by wiring up an old toggle switch or something.. Which I may do just to keep around as a back-up or something.. I use the saw almost every day just chopping lumber to length for my scroll saw projects etc.. so not having it will be a pain for me as it was my go to saw for chopping.. anyway.. I bought it back before the sliding ones came about.. so anything more than 6" wide I couldn't chop without flipping the board around etc.. One reason why I'm not too pressed to repair this one.. LOL

Anyway what saw do you have or recommend.. I was wanting to buy a high end something but not sure after looking at some of the DeWalts at better than $500.. I can spend that much.. but is the yellow plastic casing worth the extra cost over Hitachi or other lower cost models? My old one had a laser beam.. which I really found useful so that would be a plus for me.. Kind of looking at a Kolbalt from Lowes they have a pretty nice looking 10" and 12".. really like the 12" but then I'd probably need to buy all new blades, LOL... 10" is nice because my tablesaw is also 10" and I can swap blades around if needed..    

[Bill WIlson]

I have a DeWalt 12", single bevel, compound miter saw.  I like it a lot.  It was around $300, I think, when I bought it a few years back.  I also have a radial arm saw, so I don't necessarily need the cross cut capability of a sliding CMS.

My son-in-law had a small Kobalt slider.  I wasn't impressed with it at all.  This was 3-4 years ago, so maybe they've improved the line, but based on that experience, if I were in the market again today, I wouldn't even look at them. 

If you are considering a slider, then I think you should stick to the better brands.  I know they are much more expensive, but there are so many moving parts and opportunities for slop to be introduced into the equation, that you would never be satisfied with a budget slider.  For a basic CMS, that will be used for cutting construction materials, you might be able to get by with a Kobalt or even a Harbor Freight model, but I'm not convinced that they have the quality to deliver consistent accuracy, over time for woodworking purposes.

[tomsteve]

my opinion? if you dont need a slider or dual compound, look at the dewalt DW715 or a makita ls1040

 

[OCtoolguy]

I bought a used Dewalt 12" compound miter saw. It's a beast. Way too much saw for what I need anymore. I suggest a 10" just because of the weight. If you are going to put it somewhere and leave it, then a 12" has a lot more capacity. If you are just using it to do mostly straight cuts to length, not much else matters. I bought the 12" thinking about doing crown molding. I forgot that we no longer had that need. I've been looking for someone to swap a 10" with. For my two cents worth, I don't think you can beat Dewalt for most mid-range priced power tools. And, I'd probably just buy through Amazon because of convenience. Anymore, I hate driving around where I live.

 

[kmmcrafts]

I searched yesterday for a good couple of hours looking to find a source for the switch.. Couldn't find any info.. 

Yesterday when I took it apart.. I seen some numbers on the switch.. but I cleaned up the contacts as best I could and put it back together.. and it worked for about two more cuts and then wouldn't shut off, LOL.... SO... the contacts shorted and melted together.. I just left it alone for the rest of the day.. Just a few minutes ago.. got to thinking about those numbers on the switch.. as we all know... Hitachi didn't make the switch and probably didn't make any custom switch that just had to be bought through them... where there is a will there is a way.. I just took it apart and punch in the numbers on the switch on google... wahla.. just ordered a new switch for $20 shipped.. 

After reading all your replies.. I think I'll stick to my guns and save a little more and buy the nice yellow DeWalt one that I wanted to begin with.. I just didn't want to but my bank savings down so low right now.. maybe after the holidays   which will give me some craiglist research time etc.. I use the darn thing so much i'd be lost without it.. but if needed I suppose the table saw or bandsaw would work in it's place for a short time but.. I normally keep my table saw set up just to chop BB ply to size.. and would be a pain to keep swapping blades around etc..

 

Thanks for all the replies.. and look forward to hearing more since I'm probably still going to buy a new one that'll cut more like a 8" board in half without flipping the board around etc..  which I think a many of the 12" ones without the sliding feature will do. 

[MrsN]

All of my school shops have had Dewalt miter saws, and they have never given me any trouble. 

I have loved all of my Hitachi tools. Someday I will replace my little tool-shop miter with a Hitachi.

[Woodmaster1]

I gave my son my ridgid 10" miter saw because I never use it. I have a radial arm saw that is my saw for cutting boards to length. I use my table saw for everything else.

[tomsteve]

something else you could do,kev:

holidays are comin. subtle hints now and then to family.  subliminal messages. 

[oldhudson]

Who have you tried for a replacement switch?  I have a 10" Milwaukee that I got 2nd hand. It was so long ago CL wasn't invented yet. I've never regretted going used, saved a bundle. But if your shopping new I'd check all the on-line reviews. I pay special attention to Fine Woodworking, Wood Magazine and Popular Mechanics. There are certainly advantages to a slider but unless you get one of those that a specially articulated, don't forget all the extra room you'll need. Good luck.

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

I just read this posts Kevin so I will add a few comments. As Far as the switch goes do yourself  favor and buy the correct switch and forget about trying to fix it. Not worth the effort and could become a hazard down the road. 

If looking to buy new saw you have questions to ask yourself as with all tools. How much room do you have?? How large of work needs to be cut on it (10" vs 12")  Do I need a slider or just compound. Always buy a compound cutter instead of a standard chop saw. Any time you start adding moving parts accuracy decreases but will still get decent cuts. The Dewalt line is about the best in that price range with Bosch a close second. Again if you go with a slider then you need more room. The Bosch takes less room and does what a slider will do. 

I have not used a miter saw in so long it collects dust in the corner of the shop. My go to tool is always the tablesaw.

You mentioned sharing blades with your tablesaw. That is a no-no!!! A miter saw requires different blades than a table saw. Do people interchange yes they do but run the risk of injury. A miter saw uses a negative rake blade or a blade with no more than a 3 degree rake on it as opposed to a table saw blade which uses a positive rake. The reason is with a miter saw you are applying the blade to the wood as in a tablesaw you apply the wood to the blade. The wood will have a tendency to climb or jump in a miter saw if using a positive rake blade. Something like when you run a router the wrong direction of the grain when routing. The router will want to pull from your hands. Highly recommend buying a good multi-purpose blade for the mitersaw The teeth count depends on material cutting and smoothness of cut. Miter saws tend to have runout in the arbors but when are new usually does not show up. People lift the saws with the handle and do not lock them down and things get wacky. Thin kerf blades help to not tax the motor so much because it removes less material when cutting. I use thin kerf blades in my tablesaw all the time. As I said the decision of 10" vs 12" is a matter of material size being cut. If you go with a slider then you make up for the size that way or unless you want max depth then 12" slider is the way to go.

 

Handles. Most people do not consider this when buying but comfort is something not to take lightly. "D" handle as opposed to "T" handle. I prefer "T" handle, because I feel more natural pulling down on the handle. Just a matter of feel. But use it for a long time all day long and it does matter.

The best miter saw on the market in my opinion is the Festool Kapex saw. It is dead on accurate, quiet, and a precision tool. Over $1200 so not cheap.

Many things to consider when buying any tool. But do not skip just because one is cheaper. Buy once and be happy. By the way those lasers are good for close but not dead on so do not use them for real accurate cuts.   

[OCtoolguy]

1 hour ago, JTTHECLOCKMAN said:

I just read this posts Kevin so I will add a few comments. As Far as the switch goes do yourself  favor and buy the correct switch and forget about trying to fix it. Not worth the effort and could become a hazard down the road. 

If looking to buy new saw you have questions to ask yourself as with all tools. How much room do you have?? How large of work needs to be cut on it (10" vs 12")  Do I need a slider or just compound. Always buy a compound cutter instead of a standard chop saw. Any time you start adding moving parts accuracy decreases but will still get decent cuts. The Dewalt line is about the best in that price range with Bosch a close second. Again if you go with a slider then you need more room. The Bosch takes less room and does what a slider will do. 

I have not used a miter saw in so long it collects dust in the corner of the shop. My go to tool is always the tablesaw.

You mentioned sharing blades with your tablesaw. That is a no-no!!! A miter saw requires different blades than a table saw. Do people interchange yes they do but run the risk of injury. A miter saw uses a negative rake blade or a blade with no more than a 3 degree rake on it as opposed to a table saw blade which uses a positive rake. The reason is with a miter saw you are applying the blade to the wood as in a tablesaw you apply the wood to the blade. The wood will have a tendency to climb or jump in a miter saw if using a positive rake blade. Something like when you run a router the wrong direction of the grain when routing. The router will want to pull from your hands. Highly recommend buying a good multi-purpose blade for the mitersaw The teeth count depends on material cutting and smoothness of cut. Miter saws tend to have runout in the arbors but when are new usually does not show up. People lift the saws with the handle and do not lock them down and things get wacky. Thin kerf blades help to not tax the motor so much because it removes less material when cutting. I use thin kerf blades in my tablesaw all the time. As I said the decision of 10" vs 12" is a matter of material size being cut. If you go with a slider then you make up for the size that way or unless you want max depth then 12" slider is the way to go.

 

Handles. Most people do not consider this when buying but comfort is something not to take lightly. "D" handle as opposed to "T" handle. I prefer "T" handle, because I feel more natural pulling down on the handle. Just a matter of feel. But use it for a long time all day long and it does matter.

The best miter saw on the market in my opinion is the Festool Kapex saw. It is dead on accurate, quiet, and a precision tool. Over $1200 so not cheap.

Many things to consider when buying any tool. But do not skip just because one is cheaper. Buy once and be happy. By the way those lasers are good for close but not dead on so do not use them for real accurate cuts.   

As always, the voice of reason. 

 

[kmmcrafts]

9 hours ago, oldhudson said:

Who have you tried for a replacement switch?  I have a 10" Milwaukee that I got 2nd hand. It was so long ago CL wasn't invented yet. I've never regretted going used, saved a bundle. But if your shopping new I'd check all the on-line reviews. I pay special attention to Fine Woodworking, Wood Magazine and Popular Mechanics. There are certainly advantages to a slider but unless you get one of those that a specially articulated, don't forget all the extra room you'll need. Good luck.

I started with ereplacementparts website.. they showed it NLA.. so then I took the part number from their site and googled that.. several other sites showed the same NLA.. Tried eBay with the number ( be surprised how many obsolete parts I've found on eBay by searching the part number with the brand of tool)  there was a page there but was sold out..  So.. then when I took the saw back apart and got the switch out I entered the numbers off the switch and googled that.. Guess what.. ereplacement parts had that switch.. which is the same switch for a different model saw.. with a superseded number.. a little more researching found it was in fact the same switch..   

[kmmcrafts]

8 hours ago, JTTHECLOCKMAN said:

I just read this posts Kevin so I will add a few comments. As Far as the switch goes do yourself  favor and buy the correct switch and forget about trying to fix it. Not worth the effort and could become a hazard down the road. 

If looking to buy new saw you have questions to ask yourself as with all tools. How much room do you have?? How large of work needs to be cut on it (10" vs 12")  Do I need a slider or just compound. Always buy a compound cutter instead of a standard chop saw. Any time you start adding moving parts accuracy decreases but will still get decent cuts. The Dewalt line is about the best in that price range with Bosch a close second. Again if you go with a slider then you need more room. The Bosch takes less room and does what a slider will do. 

I have not used a miter saw in so long it collects dust in the corner of the shop. My go to tool is always the tablesaw.

You mentioned sharing blades with your tablesaw. That is a no-no!!! A miter saw requires different blades than a table saw. Do people interchange yes they do but run the risk of injury. A miter saw uses a negative rake blade or a blade with no more than a 3 degree rake on it as opposed to a table saw blade which uses a positive rake. The reason is with a miter saw you are applying the blade to the wood as in a tablesaw you apply the wood to the blade. The wood will have a tendency to climb or jump in a miter saw if using a positive rake blade. Something like when you run a router the wrong direction of the grain when routing. The router will want to pull from your hands. Highly recommend buying a good multi-purpose blade for the mitersaw The teeth count depends on material cutting and smoothness of cut. Miter saws tend to have runout in the arbors but when are new usually does not show up. People lift the saws with the handle and do not lock them down and things get wacky. Thin kerf blades help to not tax the motor so much because it removes less material when cutting. I use thin kerf blades in my tablesaw all the time. As I said the decision of 10" vs 12" is a matter of material size being cut. If you go with a slider then you make up for the size that way or unless you want max depth then 12" slider is the way to go.

 

Handles. Most people do not consider this when buying but comfort is something not to take lightly. "D" handle as opposed to "T" handle. I prefer "T" handle, because I feel more natural pulling down on the handle. Just a matter of feel. But use it for a long time all day long and it does matter.

The best miter saw on the market in my opinion is the Festool Kapex saw. It is dead on accurate, quiet, and a precision tool. Over $1200 so not cheap.

Many things to consider when buying any tool. But do not skip just because one is cheaper. Buy once and be happy. By the way those lasers are good for close but not dead on so do not use them for real accurate cuts.   

JT thank you for your in depth reply.. I have to say I don't know much about any saw other than a scroll saw.. and really know very little about woodworking outside of scroll sawing.. You mentioned about the blades being different from the table saw vrs miter saw..  I'm glad you did reply... I done some research on saw blades today after reading that.. and I learned a whole lot about them.. and the reason for different designs etc.. 

To be honest.. I knew there was a difference in a cross cut vrs rip blade.. but honestly didn't know what that difference really was.. I always thought it was more about number of teeth more than anything.. and I've never been able to get a nice clean cut on my miter saw.. I always played it off to the fact I run some cheaper blades.. which could be part of it but more so.. I am really not using the right blade for the job at hand.. 

Anyway.. I learned a lot today about saw blades... and my next purchase is some good blades correct for the jobs I intend to use them for.. they will be mounted to my saws Table and miter before I use them again.. 

BTW, I ordered the 2" clocks today.. they usually arrive in just a couple of days.. so i'll get a couple pictures of what they are for you..    

[scrollingforsanity]

I actually have a Hitachi 12in. Have hade it several years. No problems but if I had a choice I would choose Dewalt. I believe they are worth the money and if you ever do any molding or anything where you need accuracy I think they are more accurate. I just didn't have the money to buy the yellow saw when I bought the green one. Sounds like you have a fix for your old saw anyway. 

grizz

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

57 minutes ago, kmmcrafts said:

JT thank you for your in depth reply.. I have to say I don't know much about any saw other than a scroll saw.. and really know very little about woodworking outside of scroll sawing.. You mentioned about the blades being different from the table saw vrs miter saw..  I'm glad you did reply... I done some research on saw blades today after reading that.. and I learned a whole lot about them.. and the reason for different designs etc.. 

To be honest.. I knew there was a difference in a cross cut vrs rip blade.. but honestly didn't know what that difference really was.. I always thought it was more about number of teeth more than anything.. and I've never been able to get a nice clean cut on my miter saw.. I always played it off to the fact I run some cheaper blades.. which could be part of it but more so.. I am really not using the right blade for the job at hand.. 

Anyway.. I learned a lot today about saw blades... and my next purchase is some good blades correct for the jobs I intend to use them for.. they will be mounted to my saws Table and miter before I use them again.. 

BTW, I ordered the 2" clocks today.. they usually arrive in just a couple of days.. so i'll get a couple pictures of what they are for you..    

Oh Kevin you do not know how many different saw blades are on the market and the designs. Just the teeth set is a huge deal. Number of teeth. Angles of teeth. Pitch of teeth. Yes different rip blades as opposed to crosscut and that goes for all blades including handsaws. Materials being cut will determine type of blade to choose. This goes for bandsaw blades as well. Scrollsaw blades are in the same category and that is why they make so many different styles.  I have tried many blades from different companies but for my money Freud has done and carry any blade I need in whatever configuration I need. The relief cuts in a blade are important too. Much experimenting has been done from each company as to what is their best design. But they will keep the noise level down and tension relieved on the metal of a blade. It is always good to buy good quality blades from a reputable company. Cheep blades can have failing weld spots and one thing you do not want is a carbide tooth flying around the shop. Never lay a blade down flat. Always place back in sleeve or hang from arbor hole. Blades can warp especially thin kerf. Treat a good saw blade well and it will perform just right for you. Keep them clean. 

[Sparkey]

I sold my Hitachi 10 inch and bought a Kobalt 10 inch double compound sliding miter with laser. It was $200. I am very happy with it. It cuts perfect angles. I adjusted the laser and it is dead on.

[kmmcrafts]

12 minutes ago, Sparkey said:

I sold my Hitachi 10 inch and bought a Kobalt 10 inch double compound sliding miter with laser. It was $200. I am very happy with it. It cuts perfect angles. I adjusted the laser and it is dead on.

That looks like the one I was thinking about... 

[new2woodwrk]

I have the same one as @sparkey - got it from Lowes.

It's a very reasonable priced saw and does what I need it to do - I'm using it less these days, but it is still setup and ready for action.

[Bill WIlson]

I'll add a comment about the DeWalt.  Mine has an LED light that serves the same purpose as a laser.  IMHO, it's a better system than a laser, because it shines a light directly down on the edge of the blade, which then casts a shadow of the blade across the board, right where the blade will contact.  The shadow image is quite distinct.  You can actually see the set in the individual teeth of the blade.  Most lasers mount alongside the blade and are not precisely in line with where the blade will cut.  This is readily compensated for, but unnecessary with the LED.  Now mine didn't come with the saw when I purchased it.  I had to buy it separately.  But the saw was pre-wired to accept it and installation was simple.  I think some of the newer models may come with it factory installed, but I'm not sure of that.  I haven't looked at them for a few years.