I am in the market for a miter saw and I wanted to see if the OB had any suggestions. So far I have been looking mainly at dewalt and makita but open to other brands with a reasonable price tag (<$300). My debate is mainly regarding necessity vs luxury. What features do y'all think are absolutely necessary. 10 in vs 12in? Singe bevel vs dual? I'll mainly be using it for DIY projects around the house so it doesn't have to withstand heavy daily use but I do want a quality product that will last.

Blindside05 said:

---

I am in the market for a miter saw and I wanted to see if the OB had any suggestions. So far I have been looking mainly at dewalt and makita but open to other brands with a reasonable price tag (<$300). My debate is mainly regarding necessity vs luxury. What features do y'all think are absolutely necessary. 10 in vs 12in? Singe bevel vs dual? I'll mainly be using it for DIY projects around the house so it doesn't have to withstand heavy daily use but I do want a quality product that will last.

---

I love my DeWalt 12" Sliding Double-Bevel.

Depends on the types of cuts you will have to make. I prefer more functionality over less, so I went all out when buying mine a couple of years ago. It actually really came in handy when making cuts for baseboards and crown molding.

I'm sure the DeWalt 10" or 12" sliding will do just fine for your needs - just think about the cuts you will be making and if you will be doing very many compounds. I would at least get the sliding one, I got away from the standard, non-sliding miter a long time ago.

I would recommend going with the 12". Mine is a 10", a hand me down Skil compound mitre. When I cut 2x6 it's just barely cuts through. 99% of the time I'm cutting 2x4's so it's not that big of a deal. Also, get the stand to go with it. Having the stand is awesome. I would hate to cut boards with out it.

Like Buck said, get a sliding one. I wish mine was a sliding one.

Was ogling the sliding mitre saws the other day. The high end dewalt one is nice because you can do tall baseboards vertically, no other sliding saw that I've seen can do that.

That said, the 12" hitachi with the vertical slides and nicely marked out pitch gauge (showing roof pitch marks [rise/run] as well as angles was very nice and seemed more substantial than the dewalt.

10" Hitachi. Works great and I've been happy with it. It doesn't slide but I don't care since I have a beastly 1952 era DeWalt radial arm saw that has an almost 24" cross cut.

This one from Bosch is fantastic. It does the same as a slider but doesn't take up the space behind it.

https://www.boschtools.com/us/en/boschtools-ocs/miter-saws-gcm12sd-33969-p/

Sliding bevel would be great. However, make sure you have room behind the saw as you need it to accommodate the sliding bar.

I've got the Ridgid 12" single bevel and after having used it over the past few years, I kind of wish I'd have spent the extra and gone with a double bevel, sliding saw from either Dewalt or Bosch.

I went the cheaper route and while it's been a great tool, at the end of the day the extra features make up for the cost, especially if you take good care of your tools and they last you 10+ years.

I haven't splurged yet for a miter saw stand, so I just drag it off my bench to the saw horses whenever I need it. If you're going to go the cheaper route and get a budget saw, definitely invest in a miter stand from Harbor Freight or similar, since the beefed up saws are a little bit heavier to haul around the garage.

V8Aggie said:

---

Sliding bevel would be great. However, make sure you have room behind the saw as you need it to accommodate the sliding bar.

---

Unless you get the Bosch linked right above you.

12 inch for sure. The sliding arm is nice but you can make cuts without it.

The Sun said:

---

This one from Bosch is fantastic. It does the same as a slider but doesn't take up the space behind it.

https://www.boschtools.com/us/en/boschtools-ocs/miter-saws-gcm12sd-33969-p/

---

I have this saw can confirm it is badass. Has every feature you could ever want and more.

It's about double the OPs budget, but it's the best home workshop saw you can buy and worth every penny IMO.

Also if you plan to move it around at all, definitely get the gravity rise stand with wheels for it. It's very large and heavy and difficult for 1 person to move.

Just got a dewalt 12" dual-bevel and really like it. Was trying to decide between 10" or 12" and I'm glad I went with the twelve. I have already regretted not getting the sliding model though. Watched Home Depot for awhile and got the saw with a nice stand for $300

Great info so far, thanks guys!!! I've been debating which saw to get for a couple weeks now. I pretty much made up my mind that I want a 12" but the bevel and sliding options are what I'm still debating. I haven't convinced myself I would do enough projects that would require the dual beveling and sliding options. Anyone have any good examples of what you can do with the sliding option that you can't do without it.

Also, though I mentioned a $300 budget in the op I'm willing to spend a little extra if I can justify the amount of usage I'll gain from the extra components

Bought this a few months ago: http://www.homedepot.com/p/DEWALT-15-Amp-12-in-Sliding-Compound-Miter-Saw-DWS779/206541015

I love the saw and couldn't be happier. Would buy again and highly recommend. Only downside is you have to buy online and have it shipped to the store or your house, both of which are free. The saw is the same as the DWS780, except it does not have the XPS light that casts a shadow of the blade. IMO, the XPS light doesn't work well if you're in a brightly light environment.

Bought this stand: http://www.homedepot.com/p/RIDGID-Mobile-Miter-Saw-Stand-with-Mounting-Braces-AC9946/206992161

The stand is great because it has larger wheels (12") which makes it easier to roll around the shop or outside. Only downside are the support stands don't have rollers, but that wasn't a deal breaker for me.

Blindside05 said:

---

Great info so far, thanks guys!!! I've been debating which saw to get for a couple weeks now. I pretty much made up my mind that I want a 12" but the bevel and sliding options are what I'm still debating. I haven't convinced myself I would do enough projects that would require the dual beveling and sliding options. Anyone have any good examples of what you can do with the sliding option that you can't do without it.

---

The primary gain is in cutting capacity. You are basically adding a radial arm saw to your shop by going with a slider/glider.

One of my complaints about my miter is maybe picky but to me it makes total sense in design. It is not one with a stand so i make cuts on the ground, flat surface. The dimension from the bottom of the feet to the cutting deck is not a 2x dimension (1 1/2" would be perfect). So, when I make cuts on long pieces of lumber i have to stack a 2x plus whatever bast*** pieces of wood to get the piece of lumber to feed level onto the cutting deck.

yeah, pet peeve

The dewalt sliders have a base elevation of 3.5", so you can fab a table or stick a 2x4 on edge to support what comes off each end. I didn't measure the hitachi slider base, but I bet it was closer to 5.5".

I used a 10" craftsman for years, but the handle finally broke with about 10 boards left in my laminate flooring installation. I went with a 12" rigid because the handle was part of the saw and much more heavy duty. If you are short on space, I'd recommend getting a folding stand for the miter saw. It has been wonderful and makes the saw much easier to use

I'm going to throw this out as another option, but it is really only a good one if you already have and use Milwaukee's 18V Tools.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Milwaukee-M18-18-Volt-FUEL-Lithium-Ion-Brushless-Cordless-10-in-Dual-Bevel-Sliding-Compound-Miter-Saw-Kit-with-Free-9AH-Battery-2734-21HDP/207114512


Picked this up on special (still available) at Home Depot. You get the saw, a charger, and 2 High output batteries for $599. The batteries are normally $200 each, and they really give my other M18 tools some @ss.

The saw itself is really nice as well. I wasn't sure about a battery powered miter saw, but it actually works great.

drummer0415 said:

---

The Sun said:

---

This one from Bosch is fantastic. It does the same as a slider but doesn't take up the space behind it.

https://www.boschtools.com/us/en/boschtools-ocs/miter-saws-gcm12sd-33969-p/

---

I have this saw can confirm it is badass. Has every feature you could ever want and more.

It's about double the OPs budget, but it's the best home workshop saw you can buy and worth every penny IMO.

Also if you plan to move it around at all, definitely get the gravity rise stand with wheels for it. It's very large and heavy and difficult for 1 person to move.

---

I have this set up now including the gravity rise stand. I really like it and recommend it but it is outside the price range you mentioned. I have had or used other saws ranging from a 10" miter saw with no bevel to the Bosch with all the bells and whistles.

If you do not get a sliding saw, get a 12" blade. If you go sliding, you can get by with a 10" blade. Double bevel is nice but you can make a single bevel work. It just takes some thinking and sometimes operating the saw with your off hand. Don't worry about a laser guide. If you really want one you can buy an after market one.