Here's a review I've been working for the Harbor Freight 12" Sliding Dual Compound Miter Saw. I've got the review pretty much done, but I think it needs pictures. Should I somehow take pictures of various parts of the saw in its different cutting setups, or....?
CHICAGO ELECTRIC 12” DOUBLE BEVEL SLIDING COMPOUND MITER SAW WITH LASER GUIDE – ITEM #61776 REVIEW
Value
This saw has a list price of $299.99. However, I have never seen it advertised at full list price, highest I’ve seen it has been $199.99. You can find coupons to reduce the price down to as low as $129.99. That being said, this saw is very well worth the price. It does its job pretty well compared to higher priced different brand versions. For its purpose you can’t beat the price for the DIY or home shop.
Features
This saw does come with a laser guide, however it isn’t accurate out of the box, and you will have to adjust it to your needs. Mine shines on the right side of the blade, and if you mark a line on your board the line isn’t straight with the mark, so a bit of adjustment would be necessary if you wish to use this feature. The 12” blade combined with the motor being mounted above and behind the saw gives you a 3-1/2” maximum depth of cut. This configuration also gives you a maximum crosscut up to 13-3/8”. The miter adjustment has positive stops for 0o, 15o, 22.5o, 30o, and 45o both left and right. There aren’t any stops for the bevel adjustments however. This saw has a 15amp motor which gives plenty of cutting power even in thick or dense materials.
Ease of Use
The controls are large on this saw, making adjustments and operation easy, even if you are wearing gloves. The miter and bevel markings are easy to read, making adjustments very easy. The sliding feature works very well, it is smooth with no binding. The sliding feature can be locked out if needed when you aren’t cutting wide materials. I did take the time for the purpose of the review and adjust the laser. Once you adjust the laser, it makes cutting materials fast, simply line up the material with the laser and you are ready to cut, no guessing and checking needed.
Design
Overall design makes all cutting tasks quick and easy. Adjustments are quick, markings are easy to read. The dust collection on the other hand is very poor. After 3 days of several hours of use at a time, I emptied maybe a tablespoon of dust out of the dust bag. The rest of the dust was all over the saw which actually blocked the ability to use the laser until I cleared the dust off the laser. The power switch is ambidextrous making left or right handed operation easy and comfortable. The power cord has its own storage loops for an uncluttered stored look.
Durability
This saw’s pricing leaves the overall product composition a little lacking. The plastic parts that should be metal, give this saw a bad image. Granted from the month of use I’ve put mine through so far, it hasn’t failed. However, I can see over the course of time that those parts will wear very fast, and create some play in the miter settings. Given the cost of the saw, and its intended market of the homeowner and/or DIY the saw will serve you very well. To get the saw to be lighter in weight, compromises in materials had to be made, which is exactly what you find on this saw. It’s not too bad weight wise, but some of the materials are not as heavy built as the more expensive and heavier saws. The miter locking tab is plastic so as I said it will create some play in the settings over the course of time as those plastic parts wear and/or break off.
Quality
The saw does its job, and does it quite well considering the price, and overall materials used. Given that, it will not stand up to the daily abuse of construction sites and being tossed around as many contractors do with their tools. For the intended market it will work great for a saw for home projects. The biggest quality pitfall I see is the plastic tab and locking lever for the miter stops. If that was metal, the saw would be a lot better. I can see this tab breaking off or wearing off pretty quick with normal use, even quicker if someone uses it on the contractor scale. Keep in mind, the laser is easily obscured by dust particles, so you’ll have to keep that area clean if you use the laser guide. Overall, other than the initial laser adjustments I didn’t have to adjust anything else on the saw, it was cutting accurate right out of the box.
How Often Do I Use the Product?
I bought the saw to cut laminate flooring, so for about a week 4-6 hours a day it was getting continual use. Now that the flooring job is done, I’m still using it a couple times a week for about an hour at a time when I’m working on shop projects.
What Kind of User Are You?
In my case it is weather dependent since my shop isn’t insulated, heated, or cooled. So in the summer I really don’t do much, as well as in the winter. The nicer weather in between those times, I am a weekend warrior and DIYer.
My Applications With This Product
My initial purchase was to cut laminate wood flooring. I have another miter saw but it is in my shop on the other side of the property and it is mounted in its own table system, so it wasn’t very feasible to take the cabinet and table apart to use that saw. So, I purchased this new larger capacity saw, and after doing the first cut on the laminate, I’m glad I did, I think it would have been stretching the old saw to its max trying to cut the wide planks of flooring. This saw went through it with no problem. With that project done, I’ll be using the saw for cutting crown molding once in a while, which was too wide for my old miter saw. This saw’s extra capacity makes a huge difference in the crown molding world.
Tips on Product Use/Optimization
While for my flooring project I used the OEM blade, I feel a better quality blade will really give this saw better quality finished cuts. The OEM blade did ok, but it is quite heavy, and has a wide kerf that in my case with the flooring would cause the saw to bog down a bit. A lighter weight and thin kerf blade will help alleviate a lot of the bogging down in dense materials, also cut down on waste.
Useful Accessories
I’ve had an older version of the Mobile Folding Power Tool Stand (#40612) for several years, so I mounted the new miter saw on it. This made the saw easily maneuverable around the patio while doing my floor install. This also gave me extra support for cutting the floor planks, as the stand has adjustable extensions to support extremely long work pieces which came in handy when I started cutting the baseboard trim that was in 12 foot lengths. I also picked up the 96 tooth 12” blade (#46235) for a smoother finish on the laminate flooring; however the standard blade with its 60 tooth blade did just fine.
Recommended?
Yes, I would definitely recommend this saw. It will serve a homeowner, and/or DIYer extremely well. This saw was built for the budget minded, occasional user. I believe after using it for a period of time that this saw would work great for general daily use in a home shop, or even a 2nd saw for a contractor. Once I got used to the saw and its features, I really started liking the saw even more. So, if you are in the market for a good quality saw that won’t empty your bank account this would be the way to go.
