Need a new radial arm or miter saw

[healey]

Well, it finally happened. My Craftsman radial arm saw (made in the mid 1980's) bit the dust this afternoon. The motor is letting out a bunch of smoke and upon inspection I've found numerous burnt windings in the motor. Annoyingly I just built the radial arm saw into a custom 10 foot long table.

So now I'm onto the search for a new saw. My options are either to replace the Cman with another model off craigslist or pickup a new sliding miter. Will come down to budget really.

What are some good sliding miter options out there right now? I'm looking for either a 10 or 12 inch blade, single angle and laser guide. Finally it must play nicely with my 10 foot long table and dust collection system.

Price range 200-500, depending on features. The less I spend on this, the more I can spend on actual projects.

 

[vjlobel]

On the cheap end, you can pick up a used radial arm saw between free and 100 bucks here on CL.

But unless you need to do a lot of dadoes, I don't know why you'd spend any serious money on a radial arm anymore. Sliding compound miters are where its at. My radial arm sits with a dado blade at all times.

On the high end of your price range is the Milwaukee 12" sliding compound miter. It's heavy, but has the best dust collection I've ever seen on a sliding miter.

 

[becker_atc]

Look up the Harbor Freight independant reviews and magazine reviews on their 12" double compound sliding miter.

To the people here who are going to slam it, don't. You'll look pretty silly.

Maybe we can keep the suggestions to tools you've actually owned instead of stuff you feel in your gut about things you've never touched.

Got a link to any of the private reviews I've been going back and forth about getting one


Sent via message in a bottle

 

[Cruzomatic]

Dewalt....I love mine. I have the 12" slider.

 

[Cruzomatic]

 

[Cruzomatic]

whoooaaaaa!!! sorry about the size....geezzz

 

[kctyphoon]

craftsman has a nice 10" compact radial arm saw.. friend of mine bought it before the holidays.. its really nice for the money..

 

[RedRabbit]

I really like the Makita. It's expensive but it's a great saw. Much safer than a radial as well.

 

[georgiadave]

I have a motor for a 10 inch saw from the 60s. You may have it for the cost of the shipping. I can look at the model number, if you are interested.

 

[cheechi]

C12RSH

Do it.

 

[GTA Matt]

I recently got an Evolution Rage 3. 10" blade. I've used it for a few projects so far and am very pleased.

 

[healey]

Thanks for the ideas guys - especially Dave with the offer to ship over a motor. However I've decided my nightmares with leveling the radial arm saw table, then blade, then arm and then realizing my table got out of whack are over. I found a recall for my saw and applied. They basically pay $100 to have it scrapped.

I think I've narrowed down my choices to:

DeWalt DW716XPS - 12 inch non-sliding double compound chop saw
DeWalt DW717XPS - 10 inch sliding double compound saw
Makita LS1016L - 10 inch sliding double compound saw

I'm partial to Makita stuff in general, but the 717 reviews are solid. It mainly comes down to XPS light system vs Makita's Laser. The 716 is the 'cheap' option.

 

[maranlvcha]

I don't know why you'd spend any serious money on a radial arm anymore.