I’ve been starting to finish our basement and we’ve been using a cheap $100 miter saw, which just isn’t so great. Still have a lot of work to be done in the next years so I’m wanting to buy a good quality miter saw to not just use for finishing the basement but to keep for when I finally build a hobby shop.
I don’t really want a 12" saw because the blades are more expensive and I don’t see my self ever cutting something big enough to need that.
I also want a miter saw that is sliding, but can be used up against a wall. Bosch has a really nice one with some fancy hinge but it’s super expensive.
It might be worth a try. Being the “first kid on the block” to try out a new tool is possibly risky - but Hitachi has made some good saws at reasonable prices. The bit about it being lightweight - may have its plusses and minuses because it may mean that the weight of materials in the base have been cut and the saw is now top-heavy. My take on the genre - is that they have yet to make the perfect mitersaw. I liked my old 12 inch Dewalt before I gave it away, My newer Bosch GCM12SD is good but no one would call it lightweight, Over the years we had Makita saws, Dewalt saws and Bosch Saws. At any one time we might have had 16 to 20 in the field - plus others in the shop. Some we bought had some initial quality problems. I recall the first Bosch GCM12SD we bought came damaged - but Bosch later fixed the shipping carton to better protect the saw. I say all this to support the old adage: “Be not the first by whom the new are tried, Nor yet the last to lay the old aside”. If you can wait a bit to see what initial reviewers have to say - your purchasing decision would be better-informed. While a $349 price tag seems reasonable, I’ve also noted that Amazon’s initial offering price is sometimes a bit inflated compared to where the price settles out. Finally, many - if not all saws seem to come with a blade that is better set aside and used for cutting construction lumber rather than trim. A high quality Forrest or Freud Blade - for example - can set you back as much as a cheap saw - but is a good investment IMO. All this is just my two cents.
Another thing to think about is dust collection. I have the Hitachi non-sliding miter saw and like it, think it’s good value, etc. But the dust is horrible and it seems harder to set up good dust collection than some other saws I’ve been looking at. What a mess it makes! Right now, I’ll only use it outside unless it’s just a cut or two. Not good for a shop, in other words.
I’d pay more for good dust collection, though not as much as Festool charges. I’ve looked at a lot of mods but they are quirky. A big hood, for instance, like Fastcap sells, that adds a lot of money, or make your own, a lot of time. The size and shape of the place where you attach the dust collection hose is odd and awkward. Also, doesn’t work very well.
I agree about the sliding forward if you will be using it indoors.
Also, you might want to wait for the holidays, starting with Black Friday if you are looking to save money. I’m researching the dust collection and hoping to get something better around the holidays.
“Be not the first by whom the new are tried, Nor yet the last to lay the old aside”. Good advice, Fred! Perhaps make a sign for my shop In technology, I was often the first adopter. Then you get to spend a lot of time working out the bugs instead of using it. No more, though it’s still tempting. . .
That aphorism comes from Alexander Pope (as opposed to Pope Alexander). Brooks Brothers used it as their motto for many years.
Regarding dust collection: the geometry of a miter saw makes it a bit more difficult than some other tools. I’m retired so I use my GCM12SD mostly at home or at one of the kid’s houses. It’s stored in my garage shop - rather than in my larger basement shop. so my central dust extraction system is not available to it. I usually connect a vacuum hose to it - and my old Fein dust extractor will collect some (but not all) of the sawdust. When I can, I set up a canopy on a lawn, roll the saw out (thankfully considering its weight, I have the saw on Bosch’s gravity rise stand) and cut away.
I’ve been waiting for more info on this saw. It looks interesting, but I question the need for a laser and light. Why not employ a shadow guide light like on certain Dewalt, Milwaukee, and Ridgid saws? The rail system looks like something I would want to check out in person before buying.
I do like how it looks to require less rear clearance space.
I’m not set on getting this one if there are other ones out there for similar price that are good as well.
Any other recommendations? The space it takes up is quite important for me, but I haven’t seen others with this feature besides Bosch.
I will probably wait a bit after this gets released before buying to see if the price drops and see what reviews are like.
Hopefully some more info gets released on this saw in the meantime. I couldn’t find anything on Google about this.
If space plus price are the critical issues - you might ask yourself about how important is it to your work to have a slider.
If you decide that the Bosch is too pricey - and you don’t like the initial reviews that come in on this Hitachi, what about just buying a good compound bevel chop saw?
Maybe the money you save - could go to buying a Forrest Chopmaster or Mitermaster blade.
I agree with Fred. The main question is how much cross cut capacity you ‘need’. Cross cuts are mostly a function of the slides (or blade size if fixed). The other being max depth needed, which is more related to the blade size itself.
A good fixed 12" saw can be inexpensive, relatively compact (especially front to back, the dimensions you’re looking to keep small), and offer cross cut capacity similar to most 7 1/4" slide saws. In general, most fixed 12" saws can cross cut around 7 1/2" actual (so, like a 2x8). Small sliders can usually do an inch or so more than that.
As far as rail designs, the innovations haven’t trickled down to many mid range options yet. Makita does have a new ‘side slide’ corded saw (which is also 10" iirc), but it’s not exactly cheap. Milwaukee has a 10" M18 cordless saw with the rails under the table, but it’s pretty expensive. Dewalt makes a compact 7 1/4" cordless saw that continues to fall in price, but the slides are traditional. With that said, it’s still a very small saw overall. Ryobi has a similarly sized option as well, but with that you’re quickly getting into a similar situation to what you currently own.
So it comes back to what capacity you need. Having a high capacity sliding saw that fits tightly against a wall in some sort of miter station is attractive, but there really aren’t a lot of inexpensive options for that just yet.
As far as price of a non-traditional slider, I can’t think of any that beat the new Hitachi you posted, but like mentioned…nothing is really known about it yet user wise.
Hitachi is known for making very good miter saws, even with this being a new model I see no reason that I would be any less impressive than their others. When it becomes available look at Lowe’s, Hitachi has a strong retail relationship there, also to a lesser extent at Menard’s.
I ordered this miter saw from Acme tool about 10 days ago. Its scheduled for delivery tomorrow, but it looks like they already sold out or had limited supply for release.
I will give you my initial impressions as soon as I test it out.
So I bought one of these at Lowes on sale for $299, not sure I’m going to keep it, even though it has some really great features that I love. The saw cuts great, love the front control lever for the bevel lock, the cut width is great for a 10", the sliding action is super smooth. But there are two issues that really bother me . . .
The laser implementation is really poor, the adjustment controls are very loose and the plastic blade cover distorts the laser. I can’t seem to find a happy medium for left blade edge adjustment that is consistently working. My older 10" Hitachi (single bevel) has a rock solid laser so this was disappointing.
The miter angle fixed detents are sloppy and you can change the angle by at least a degree in either direction, I have to use a triangle speed square to verify the miter angle before I lock it down.
At the price I paid it is an amazing saw, but I want my laser to be rock solid, UGH.
In technology, I was often the first adopter. Then you get to spend a lot of time working out the bugs instead of using it. No more, though it’s still tempting. . .