Harbor Freight 10" sliding compound miter saw.

[dbabicky]

As the title says, does anyone own or have owned the Harbor Freight 10" compound sliding miter saw? (Lot # 61972) I just ordered one with the super coupon for $88.88, normally $124.99.
I don't do a lot of woodworking, just the occasional work bench and some minor trim work coming up for the house.
Am I going to be disappointed? LOL !! The reviews were fairly well with the standard "some love it, some hate it" responses.
So what are the opinions on this saw from the GJ crowd. If you do respond, let me know if you are speaking from actual ownership, hear say, or my buddies-buddies, opinion.

Thanks.

 

[dbabicky]

Wow, kinda surprised no one has slammed this yet . LOL !!!

 

[RallyKeith]

I have an older one and I got it second hand. I didn't get any hold down clamps which frustrates me but isn't a poor reflection on the tool itself. The only complaint about mine is that I have to push really hard on it to get it to cut all the way through at the back bottom corner of the piece. Other than that it works well for 10 times a year I use it. My opinion may change in a few weeks when I go to build by son a sandbox.

 

[67CarGuy]

I've looked at the same saw too, but am currently leaning towards a similar Hitachi (C10FCE2), which is at the same price point before the coupon.

I've had mixed results with HF purchases in the past, so I'm also interested in what others have experienced.

 

[ibedayank]

I have the orange non sliding 10 inch and not have had a problem with it building enough crates to fill 1 40 foot container and 3 20 footers double stacked plus other uses around the shop/house

 

[Barry Tucker]

I have an older one that hadn't seen much use. The switch went out of it. That part is not available anymore. I wouldn't buy another HF saw. Regards Barry

 

[Corndoggeh]

Ive got one of the more recent ones. Besides the usual harbor freight adjustments that need to be made (and a good blade), it handles very well. The laser light is pretty hard to see in daylight but i don't have any problems when it comes to making adjustments. For the money it ill do perfectly fine. It does feel a little underbeefed with the body versus something like makita or dewalt that ive seen so i wouldn't expect the saw to take kindly to being lugged around a construction site or to handle a drop all that well.

 

[Cruzan80]

I also have one, and can ditto the part about having issues with it cutting to the very back of the piece. Considered taking off the rubber bumpers to see if it will help. Useful when I need something that my Radial arm saw can't handle (usually length of piece being cut dictates outside).

Otherwise, useful for the occasional job, but not something I would consider as a primary work tool.

 

[LEVE]

I've had one for two and a half years. The locking housing that keeps the saw in down-locked position broke... and HF warrantied the saw. Other than that, the saw has worked fine for my use. IMHO, it was worth the money.

 

[djjsr]

Got one about 5 years ago so I don't know if it's the same model you mentioned. Works just fine. I expected it would have released it's smoke by now so I'm happy.

 

[Kev442]

My orange one is pushing 15 years old and has not let the smoke out yet. I consider it a framing saw, not a precision hardwood flooring/molding saw. The safety part of the switch broke a loooong time ago, so I took the handle apart and taped it up. When I joined GJ in 2009 I would faithfully post that I have used the hell out of mine, but haters are going to hate, so there you have it. This is the first time I have posted about one of my HF tools in over 5 years.

 

[dbabicky]

Thanks for all the responses. By the way it sounds it will work fine for me. As I stated originally, I won't be using it a lot as I am not a big wood-worker. I prefer metal fab.

 

[B_Bimmer]

Skimming and summarizing the answers... "It's a piece with no parts support that breaks with light use"

Conclusion... He's buying it anyway.

My conclusion... Well, that'll scare him away from even minor woodworking quickly.

 

[kctyphoon]

Skimming and summarizing the answers... "It's a piece with no parts support that breaks with light use"

Conclusion... He's buying it anyway.

My conclusion... Well, that'll scare him away from even minor woodworking quickly.

That's funny, the thread I read was a bunch of people that actually own the saw saying they are satisfied with their purchase despite it being the cheapest choice of a radial arm saw... They didn't claim it was a professional saw equivalent, just that it does what they need..

 

[Stusmobile]

I actually picked up the 12" version a couple of months ago. Needed it for mitering 8" baseboards around the house and didn't want to spend a fortune on an occasional tool. Bought a two pack of Dewalt blades from HD or Lowes (forget which), one 80 tooth for trim and one for general ripping.

Once the blade was on and I had checked everything for square (including checking the slides) the saw has performed well. It made short work of the baseboards and other trim for a room remodel. The slides on mine weren't parallel out of the box and when I checked on side hadn't been fully seated. A little adjustment and they are now fine.

It and a couple of other woodworking tools has actually inspired me to create a wood shop in the garage extension and try my hand at making some yard furniture.

 

[AceofSpad3s]

Unless you need a slider I wouldn't get one, they will stick out a ways from a wall and generally take up more room, plus it will be murder to move it around. The HF looks chincy and if you move it often something will probably come off
If you got the room and don't plan to move it then those are not big problems.

I got a hitachi 10" and it preforms very well, doesn't weigh a ton and is fairly compact, the electric break is nice as well. Very well built considering it was $100 on sale from $120. There are some flaws you could nit pick, casting isn't beautiful and the adjustment knob is slightly off center, but it preforms good and in general is very well built.

 

[B_Bimmer]

Unless you need a slider I wouldn't get one, they will stick out a ways from a wall and generally take up more room, plus it will be murder to move it around. The HF looks chincy and if you move it often something will probably come off
If you got the room and don't plan to move it then those are not big problems.

I got a hitachi 10" and it preforms very well, doesn't weigh a ton and is fairly compact, the electric break is nice as well. Very well built considering it was $100 on sale from $120. There are some flaws you could nit pick, casting isn't beautiful and the adjustment knob is slightly off center, but it preforms good and in general is very well built.

A much better idea.

 

[jd_1138]

Neighbor sold me a Makita 10" sliding compound for $60. Maybe look around on CL and see if there are any nice used ones. I don't have any experience with the HF one -- might be OK.

They do come in handy.

 

[Tedley]

I have this saw for a year now. Going in I'd always had and used Dewalt at work and an old Makita at home... comparatively speaking those saws were heavy duty but I figured for the light use I'd use it for in my small shop and the fact I would almost never if ever move it I'd use a nice blade and be fine.
Nope.
First day installing my blade I discovered how flimsy and fickle the retractable blade guard apparatus is. It's a wonder they would risk such a precarious situation for any customers who may fumble into having to work on it... as I did unintentionally but still.
I too have to really drive the cuts home to complete all the way through and if I need to do a bit of cutting I'll attach a 1/4" face to the fence but there's next to nothing to attach to... no real support to build off of were I to build it into a saw table their fence would be but a suggestion.
Finally and this is what was the deal breaker for me... when cutting... manually lowering the head and blade into and through your cut you can inadvertently apply pressure slightly wrong(like if you were trying to hold the guard up or were reaching awkwardly or in my case using your opposite hand because of a broken right arm) and the whole tool tweaks so the cut is no good.
Ive worked with chopsaws my whole life and I'm safer than most folks most of the time but improper use does occur... nevertheless it's too easy to tweak this saw from it's blade guard all the way through the axis of the cut and there's disfunction as the workpiece sits against the fence.
Bad stuff but not as bad as my old Makita with no bladeguard or brake.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

 

[oldldh]

I have the 12" Version...

If you want a saw from HF, I recommend the 12"...

It'll cut larger material, and is a pretty nice machine, for the money...

 

[dbabicky]

Skimming and summarizing the answers... "It's a piece with no parts support that breaks with light use"

Conclusion... He's buying it anyway.

My conclusion... Well, that'll scare him away from even minor woodworking quickly.

Sorry, I must have misunderstood what I had read in the above posts. LOL !!

 

[B_Bimmer]

Sorry, I must have misunderstood what I had read in the above posts. LOL !!

You are forgiven.

My point was simply that people read what they want. My experience with many harbor fright power tools is once I've used the real thing it's appalling how poor the workmanship and design is. Most every major purchase I have ever made at that store looking back was a waste of money. You currently want to like this saw because it's cheap and looks like a better tool from a distance. I'm just trying to get you to see that lots of owners also stated it's inaccurate, poorly assembled, out of adjustment, with no parts support, only good for framing, etc. It's the internet, don't be offended, either learn from it or insist on making your own mistakes for yourself anyway.

 

[dbabicky]

You are forgiven.

My point was simply that people read what they want. My experience with many harbor fright power tools is once I've used the real thing it's appalling how poor the workmanship and design is. Most every major purchase I have ever made at that store looking back was a waste of money. You currently want to like this saw because it's cheap and looks like a better tool from a distance. I'm just trying to get you to see that lots of owners also stated it's inaccurate, poorly assembled, out of adjustment, with no parts support, only good for framing, etc. It's the internet, don't be offended, either learn from it or insist on making your own mistakes for yourself anyway.

Not offended. I have been buying **** from HF for a lot of years and you are correct as far as them having a lot of "****". Some things are ok if you're not going to use them that often. I definitely wouldn't buy their stuff if I was going to try and make a living with their tools,( except the impact sockets, I have never broken a Pittsburgh impact socket). I understand that I am always taking a slight risk buying things from HF. Just some risks are worth taking depending on how much I am spending and how much I will use it. I lost that risk on their 3/4 horse grinder, the one I bought is junk. Damn near vibrates it way right out of my shop. LOL !!!

 

[winlinmac]

Would the Hitachi be a better alternative then? Or Craigslist the way to go nowadays?

http://www.lowes.com/pd/Hitachi-10-..._clickID=2638ab33-8240-4277-b1b2-c01f14aa7a45