I finally got the flooring done and the new base trim installed in the house today.
So, better review on the HF 12" Sliding Double Bevel Compound Miter Saw.
All in all I give it a definite PASS.
Setup right out of the box was simple. I installed it on a miter saw stand that I believe came from HF as well. The only thing I noticed was I should have installed some sort of washers or spacers under the saw base first, as the adjustment arm for the miter adjustments hits the edge of the stand. Other than that, I setup the saw, and right out of the box no adjustments were necessary. Mind you I dug through the pile of saws they had at the store and found the one with the least amount of damage to the box
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Everything for the saw was assembled, all I had to do was unpack it. So assembly was extremely minimal. Blade was already attached to the saw, so technically unbox and set it up clamp it down, plug it in and its ready to go. I didn't bother leaving the dust bag on, there's absolutely no dust collection in these things at all.
Now, a bit of the working features. This saw is a 12" model, so it has the motor mounted above and behind the blade. This gives a lot more space available to cut taller materials. 3-1/2" maximum depth, as well as it gives you a 13-3/8" maximum width of cut with the sliding function. The flooring I was cutting was about 7-3/4" wide and about 1/2" thick. Without the sliding function the saw would have lacked about 1/2" of being able to cut through the material completely. This flooring being laminate is extremely hard on a saw of any type due to its density. I changed to a finer tooth blade to give better quality finished cuts and to keep from having material tear out. Combined with the fine tooth blade, and the 15amp motor, it did a great job cutting the material with very minimal tear-out which I kept on the bottom side so it wouldn't show in the finished product.
Setting up to do miter and/or bevel, or compound cuts is extremely quick and easy as well. If you take the time in the beginning to setup and adjust the saw so it is cutting square, you will find that doing any sort of miter or bevel is as simple as turning the table or tilting the blade to the proper angle on the easy to read markings. My only complaint...probably miscalculation on my part as my old saw didn't have the adjustable fence. First time I tried to cut a 45* miter the saw cut into the left side of the fence...OOOPS. I simply loosened the fence holding screw and slid the fence over, and problem solved. Just thought I'd point this out, if you do the maximum of a 45* miter you will need to slide the left fence extension out to clear the 12" blade, otherwise you may cut your fence a bit shorter
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For me the setup was easy, it took me about 20 minutes to get everything together and bolt the saw to my table, then I spent another 20 minutes checking all of the depth, and angle stops to be sure they were accurate. The only thing that threw me off is that the laser is aimed at the right side of the blade, but once I realized that I could get perfect cuts every time. The laser is adjustable however by loosening a couple of screws and moving the laser around until you get it set to your liking. I didn't bother with it because I don't really use the laser anyhow, just mark the board bring the blade down to check and adjust the stock. The laser on this saw isn't very bright either, so if you are working in the sun it will be absolutely no use to you anyways.
The motor seems to have plenty of power to go through any materials you throw at it. The blade that came with the saw, is not the greatest quality for fine woodworking, however its intended purpose for contractors and DIYers it works just fine, if you don't mind a little bit of sanding once in a while. Another thing, these blades from HF are heavy and have a somewhat wide kerf, so if you need a narrow kerf blade you will need to shop elsewhere. I will be picking up a different blade now that my flooring is completed.
Overall, the saw is very well built, I haven't noticed any play in the head of the saw or in the table base when you tighten the locking screw down for the angle adjustment on the table. If you don't lock that down, there's a bit of play, but nothing extreme, or anything that would bother me. If you are looking for a great DIY saw for a fraction of the cost of other brand saws, you won't regret the HF model, it does its job, and it does it very well if you take the time to set the saw up properly. My boss at the jobsite spent an hour setting up his new Dewalt DW718, in total with all my practice cuts and all, I think it was only about 20 minutes on the HF model, and it was me just being picky with the arrow pointers.
So the Chicago Electric 12 In. Double-Bevel Sliding Compound Miter Saw With Laser Guide System is a PASS.
