Kobalt 10" sliding miter saw - good enough?

[Eslader]

Hi guys. I need to pick up a miter saw that won't see all that much use. I need to repair a wood floor (probably a total of 10 cuts or less) this year, and next year I'm planning to build a deck. Since it's not going to be a daily-use tool like my automotive stuff, I'm not really looking to spend $500+ on a really good one.

The Kobalt is reasonably priced, and I'm seeing mostly positive reviews, but a few negative ones. It's hard to tell if the negative ones are from people used to high-end pro tools, or people with "legitimate" complaints that would effect a very occasional use guy like me. I'll be buying a different blade than the one it comes with anyway, so I'm not really worried about reports of low blade quality. And I have a pencil and a straightedge, so if the laser is off, I won't be upset.

Anyone here have any experience with it? Any other recommendations in the less-than-$250 price range?

 

[signcrafter]

I've used one at a buddy's house and it was a pretty nice saw for the money. I have and always used the more expensive bosch and dewalts for the last 15 or so years and was still impressed with the kobalt. The kobalt isn't a 500 dollar saw but it is more then fine for the average home owner. I'm also a firm believer in good blades are more important then having the best saw. Get a new blade and spend a few minutes setting up the saw and you will be fine. Even the bosch and dewalts need some fine tuning when they come out of the box.

 

[KaHuNaZ]

My buddy and I both just built our desks with one. We both looked around and the kobalt and craftsman (on sale) seemed to be the best bang for the buck. The kobalt won out as it was a dual bevel saw. I would pick up a nice diablo blade and forget about the laser.

 

[cole_CT]

I can recommend this Craftsman Sliding Miter Saw:
http://www.sears.com/craftsman-10inch-single-bevel-sliding-compound-miter-saw/p-00921237000P?prdNo=1&blockNo=1&blockType=G1

I got mine 6 months ago for $150 because some sort of a Craftsman Club savings and the box was damaged in which the sales associate took of a whopping $30 for. I am very pleased with it and have zero complaints.

 

[WhyMe]

if you have room for it than its good. the sliding part takes up a lot of space and is easy to knock out of wack. a slider come into its own when doing stuff larger than 2x6. if you don't intend to do that, i would just get a regular 10", or better a 12".

 

[Coach James]

The carpentry class at my high school has 7 sliders with four of them being Kobalt. The instructor likes them except for the handle which he said is hard to use on some cuts.

Coach

 

[383 240z]

Second on the Craftsman sliding saw. I have that one, have used the snot out of it on several large jobs around my place, a deck, all the studs for the new walls in the shop, the addition on the shop, 2 bath room remodels, an addition on the house, all the wood siding for the hay barn. that was just in the last year. The only complaint I have on the saw is the laser cutting guide. It's VERY dim and pretty useless, I just verify the pencil line with the blade before I cut. Keith

 

[woody 73]

It is a shame that you do not live in my area they are having a hard time selling a nice large craftsman radial arm saw for $30.00 dollars.

http://columbus.craigslist.org/tls/3935736401.html


The kobalt will be ok for your cutting needs.

 

[TOOL MASTER]

this one is nice

 

[signcrafter]

It is a shame that you do not live in my area they are having a hard time selling a nice large craftsman radial arm saw for $30.00 dollars.

http://columbus.craigslist.org/tls/3935736401.html


The kobalt will be ok for your cutting needs.

That's crazy he can't get rid of that for 30 bucks! Has a nice stand with 3 drawers. I looked it up and it's covered under the recall so you can get a new top and guard for it for free. Wish that was in my area.

 

[woody 73]

Now signcrafter if he instead called it his "TOOL-BOX" he could indeed sell it for big moola in my area!

 

[Eslader]

Thanks for all the help gang. Looks like I can be pretty safe getting the Kobalt. I'd look at the Craftsman too, but they look pretty similar and Lowes is a lot closer than the nearest Sears store I'm willing to go to - the one near me is horrible.

Be nice if I lived in Columbus though. I'd get that in a minute.

 

[86turbodsl]

It's still a Craftsman. Nothing like a good one such as an old Dewalt or Delta, Comet, Walker Turner, and a few other really nice rigid ones.

 

[pcl]

Check craigslist they are frequently listed here at reasonable prices.

I recently purchased a Delta compound miter for $20 at a garage sale.

 

[WhyMe]

It is a shame that you do not live in my area they are having a hard time selling a nice large craftsman radial arm saw for $30.00 dollars.

http://columbus.craigslist.org/tls/3935736401.html


The kobalt will be ok for your cutting needs.

I had one just like it and sold it for $50. Was hard to sell too. I got it with a table saw for $75. Kept the table saw. Unless you have shop, don't expect to lug that thing to the job site.

Here is another one. There is a reason why they are cheap

http://seattle.craigslist.org/sno/tls/3936504066.html

 

[fivespdcat]

If you're only going to do a few cuts, I would just use a regular circular saw. When doing the last deck, I didn't even bring my miter saw. I like mine and it's a dewalt 12" non sliding. I saw them on sale a while back for $199 which is more than worth it!

 

[KaHuNaZ]

if you have room for it than its good. the sliding part takes up a lot of space and is easy to knock out of wack. a slider come into its own when doing stuff larger than 2x6. if you don't intend to do that, i would just get a regular 10", or better a 12".

They take up a little more room, but Its worth having the slider. You can also store the saw like this to save room.

 

[acer66]

If you're only going to do a few cuts, I would just use a regular circular saw. When doing the last deck, I didn't even bring my miter saw. I like mine and it's a dewalt 12" non sliding. I saw them on sale a while back for $199 which is more than worth it!

This, I am building a deck right now and everything is done with a circular saw.

OP, does it have to be a sliding one?
You might get away with a regular miter saw and even the older and better CM radial arm saws seem to alwasy go for way under $100 on CL here.

 

[Eslader]

Update: Got the saw and it worked perfectly for my floor repair. You can't even tell where the work was done. Was dead on out of the box, which was a nice surprise. The laser is useless, but my pencil worked flawlessly. Thanks for the help all!

-- And yeah, it needed to be a slider. Not for this job, but for future planned projects. I figured I might as well get what I need now rather than wishing for it on the next job.

 

[sqft]

Just a mention on the Kobalt Sliding Miter 10". I got it a few months ago to help with a house refurb. I love it. It was true out of the box, except the laser, which was off by a good 3/8". It can be adjusted, even though the directions say it cant. There are three small screw covers on the right side of the handle that can easily be poped off. The only down side is the best you can get is for the laser to be just to the right side of the blade. It is physicaly impossible to make the laser shine right down the center of the cut. It still makes it easy to line up a fast, non-critical, cut.

 

[Eslader]

Yeah, I read somewhere about how to adjust the laser and saved it for later. I just didn't feel like taking the time to fiddle with it on this job since all the cuts I was making were critical, and I prefer to use the old fashioned method for those. At the rate projects are piling up right now I probably won't have a free weekend until winter, but when I have some time I'll get it aligned.

 

[the1nonlyjl]

It's a nice saw. Very light to carry compared to 12 inch saw. I have 12 inch metabo sliding saw...extremely heavy. For mobility- kobalt is a good choice if you jump from one room to another to outside.