Choice of Miter Saws

[Easyjet98]

I am a 60+ year old woman who has always wanted a miter saw to build some misc garden projects, potting bench, and Adirondack chairs, etc. I have enough credit card points to get one of these saws with no cash outlay: (all retail for around retail for $239-259):

Makita 10”. https://www.homedepot.com/p/Makita-...040/202757214?source=shoppingads&locale=en-US

DeWalt 12” https://www.homedepot.com/p/DEWALT-...VDr7ACh3fgwVQEAQYAiABEgIvkvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Or I could get this one for even less points, 12” Skilsaw: https://www.curewards.com/rewards/item/5608?searchKey=2880b959-4fcd-45dc-a838-f2ba5dd8af82

All things considered and that I want something easy to handle for me, and reliable, which one should I buy and why?

 

[belvedere]

I have an older Makita, it is similar to the one you listed. It has worked well for me and I have had no problems with it. I have no experience with the other two.

 

[TuxThePenguin]

I'm not objectively sure of the best answer but one question I'd like to ask is whether you will be taking this saw out to the garden with you, or if you will be setting it up in a workshop and leaving it there?

I've been thinking of buying my mother a newer miter saw as hers is pretty beat up (she does similar stuff) and I've been thinking that something with the lowest weight I can find, while still being made of a reasonable quality, might be a good idea, because I know she picks the saw up and moves it when she feels like it.

That's 27 pounds vs 43 pounds

But reviews say that Makita is too small to cut a 2x6 all the way. Is that an issue? People do say it'll cut 4x4s. I've made raised garden beds and I've used 2x4, 2x6, 2x8, 2x10, and 4x4s (not all at once).

 

[Easyjet98]

I would be leaving it in my garage and not planning on moving it (I hadn’t even thought of that).

 

[BukitCase]

The Makita 10" saw only crosscuts to 5.13" - just shy of cutting a 2x6 (5.25 to 5.5" wide depending on where you get 'em)

Here's DeWalt's clarification of what the DeWalt you're looking at can cut -

"45° BEVEL CUT CAPACITY (DIMENSIONAL LUMBER) 2X8
45° MITER CUT CAPACITY (MAX WIDTH) 2X6 DIMENSIONAL LUMBER
90° CROSS-CUT CAPACITY (MAX WIDTH) 2X8
HORIZONTAL CAPACITY: BASEBOARD LYING FLAT 8 IN
45° MITER CUT CAPACITY (MAX HEIGHT)
90° CROSS-CUT CAPACITY (DIMENSIONAL LUMBER) 4X6 IN
VERTICAL CAPACITY: CROWN MOLDING VERTICALLY NESTED 5-1/4 IN
HORIZONTAL CAPACITY: CROWN MOLDING LYING FLAT 6-1/2 IN
VERTICAL CAPACITY: BASEBOARD AGAINST FENCE 6-1/2 IN"

I have the dual bevel sliding DeWalt saw, wouldn't want it any smaller. I've had mine for about 10 years, ZERO problems so far. It's heavier, I keep it in the shop on a mobile base. For "yard work" I have a Hitachi 10" saw on a Ridgid "MSUV" stand. HD tends to put those stands on sale around Christmas time for half price.

Personally I don't think you'd be very happy making very sturdy yard stuff if the saw couldn't cut a 2x6 - plus, the DeWalt 12" can do 2x8's and 4x6's. Just my $.02... Steve

 

[joe_pinehill1]

I have a makita 1040 I bought new in 1996. It still works like new. I have only replaced the cord once, and of course blades. It a good basic saw.




Sent from my iPhone using Garage Journal

 

[The Cobbler]

I am partial to Dewalt miter saws .
I have an older 12" and a compound bevel 12" and a 10" / they have literally cut 10's or hundred's of thousands of miters on contract work installing baseboard & shoe molding.
the old 12" needed a new switch , but other than blades, they have been top notch .

 

[matt_i]

I'd go with the 10" diameter saw blade. That's plenty of blade to handle 2x4s and 2x6s, PVC pipe, aluminum gutters, all kinds of trim.

On the rare occasion when a larger size is needed then the board can simply be flipped.

 

[Toolfool]

The 10" Dewalt all day. Over 35 years in residential construction the Dewalts have performed and held up better than any others I've owned.

 

[Rodango]

I highly recommend a 12" _sliding_ dual bevel miter saw, DWS780.
A close second might be their DWS779. There are other saws.

It costs more, so you'd have to invest some cash, but
it's so much more capable than the non-sliding versions. And the
12" blade cuts deeper and wider boards and posts. I believe you can use
blades with either 1" or 5/8" arbor hole on the Dewalt saws (worth checking
for any saw you want to get.) It's pretty cool to use a less expensive or junk
blade to cut wood with possible inclusions to avoid dulling better blades (pallets and other repurposed wood, for instance.)

If you are going to bench or stand mount the saw more or less permanently,
then more weight won't matter once it's set up. Consider that some sliding saws
need more room behind them than others in the same class due to their design,
so if your bench space is tight fore or aft that's something to look for and consider.

Most of the 10" and 12" saws draw 12 to 15 Amps. If you need an extension cord,
it should be less than 50' and never less than 12AWG! I would always try to use
it on a 20 Amp circuit that doesn't already have many devices and no other appliances
or tools on it.

I see lack of capacity as a hindrance.

 

[zendriver]

I have a 12" Dewalt that is similar to that one.

It's a nice saw, easy to use. Not necessarily simple to carry around, a bit heavy and bulky.

IMO you might get by for what you want to do with a 10"

Just make sure whatever saw you choose, cuts the max board width, you intend to use.

 

[will335i]

I am partial to Dewalt as well just because that's what I started with but I would say Dewalt, makita, milwaulkee are all in the same league just get whatever you can get a better deal on. Definitely get a slider. I am so mad at myself for not getting the sliding miter saw.

 

[1320stang]

Hmmm, I'm in Edmond and have a 12" Dewalt I've been considering selling. I've had it a number of years, but as a hobbyist it hasn't seen that many cuts, I think it may have the original blade in it. I don't have the dust bag for it anymore but I have a clamp that goes onto one side. I also have a infeed and outfeed table setup I built out of 1x10's or 1x12's (each table is 6' long). If you had a wall in the garage that was open, some brackets on the wall would support the tables and the saw sits in the middle of them. I just don't have the room and don't use the saw that much. It's down at the neighbor's house right now as I was using it for cutting roof rafters for a chicken coop I'm building for her, but I've finished using it now.

 

[never enuf time]

Dewalt never let me down either. 30ish years of Carpentry

 

[dogdog]

you really wanted a sliding compound saw if you are looking for just one do it all saw...

sometimes the cutting capacity just not enough for standard 12"

as far as brand wise, just take your pick....

 

[pkpk]

I'd go with the Dewalt based on personal brand preference, and the 12" blade will let you cut ~7.5" width boards in one pass. I have an older Ryobi 12" non-slider and that extra cutting capacity really comes in handy.

The Makita 10" saw only crosscuts to 5.13" - just shy of cutting a 2x6 (5.25 to 5.5" wide depending on where you get 'em)

That's so strange it can only crosscut 5.13"! I thought 10" miter saws were generally designed to handle around 5.5"....

To the OP, you may already know this but besides just flipping the board around, a couple ways to get a little more cutting capacity out of a miter saw: #1, bring the saw all the way down into the board, then keeping the back edge of the board down and against the fence (and your hands well clear of the blade), slowly lift the front edge up into the wider cross-section of the blade. And #2, fasten a sacrificial board to the table. Same principle as #1, it gets you access to a wider part of the saw blade, but a little safer, plus the 'zero clearance' (no gap around the blade) helps with a cleaner cut with less tearout on the backside.

 

[engineer2]

At that price point I would go with a 12" blade for more cutting capacity. I used to have a DeWalt like that and it was very accurate. Much less slop than compound sliders.

 

[seber]

I've been using an Hitachi sliding compound miter saw for about 15 years. It replaced a Makita compound. The Hitachi is just as accurate and far more versatile for the same money.

 

[Rodango]

To the OP, I did get very specific in my first response, but more generally, I think that a sliding-compound miter saw is the modern (near) equivalent of the Radial Arm Saw (RAS) that I grew up with. You can get a simple 10", 9", or even an 8" plain miter saw. There are hobby saws down to 4" - and such a specialty saw should be super accurate for model making and small tasks. But for more general carpentry and woodworking, the versatility of the compound miter saws, the blade swings L&R, and tilts also, when needed, that's hard to beat!

Ok, you CAN beat it with a sliding compound type miter saw. That has rails that lets you pull the saw head controllably through a wider section of board while maintaining the the miter and compound settings you've (easily) set, or keeps it in the neutral position if that's your setup (90°/90°). The beautiful part is the capacity of a 12" blade and the traverse cut: 2x12 boards are a breeze! As are plywood cuts, even with stacked pieces. For miter and simple compound cuts, the head can be locked in place so it doesn't slide.

Ideally, for shop use, one of the first tasks would be to build a miter-station with a simple table setup. Here's a link to one design. I'll note it's possible to design a similar table with either fixed or foldout wheels and handle to make transport and loading easier.
https://www.familyhandyman.com/project/how-to-build-a-miter-saw-table/

Final note: I am choosing the Dewalt DWS780 because I've been shopping around and it's highly recommended and has a great feature I don't see in other saws at this or smaller price range. **ahem**kapex** there are saws that claim greater accuracy, but frankly for tasks that need to be 0.0005" more-better, I'll switch to to the tablesaw! Or router! Or lay it out and cut it with a nokogiri, dozuki and chisels!