I am looking to buy a sliding miter saw. Would it be best to get a 12 inch over a 10 inch ? I make cabinets and furniture. I currently have a 10 inch Porter Cable compound saw. I have centered my research on the Bosch and Milwaukee sliding saws. I can get the Milwaukee 12 inch dual bevel sliding saw with digital readout for $540. Any thoughts would be a help !!
Chuck
Replies
12 inch
I use a 10" compund, non-sliding, DeWalt and very often wish it was a 12" slider. There is very little room in my 1/2 garage setup, or I would have the bigger saw. It's irritatingly frustrating when the board is too wide for the saw! Fortunately I can vent without anyone hearing me, but having a bigger and/or sliding saw would be much better.
frustrating when board too wide
Woodrapper
When my 10in DeWalt is too small to make the cut I cut what I can and flip the board to the other side and make the other side of the cut. Then I clean it up on the table saw to make it square. I'm not too sure if this is a dangerous way to do things but I've been doing it for a while and it seems safe. Sometimes when I eyeball it right I get a smooth cut right across, sometimes there is a tiny offset.
Flip the board
Hi Swenson
Yes, that's what I have often done, but seldom hit the mark, so I've pretty much taken to using a sled on the table (contractor) saw to begin with. In my setup, available space is measured in inches, literally, but a slider would really be a very good thing!
which saw to get
Phontomfixer! (nice monicor)
I have both 10 and 12 inch saws in my shop. If you get a slider, the difference in capacity is nearly ZIP (Yep zero, ziltch nota)
I would suggest you look at more than just price. I find that the 10 inch is very handy and as an added bonus can share blades with my TS as well. If you check carefully I think you will find the 10-inch slider will give you the same cut capacity as the 12 but the blades are far less expensive and as I said you can share them with a 10" TS. You may save enough money in the price difference to buy a quality cut-off blade to replace the factory supplied blade that is...well... not the best blade for furniture work.
Robert.
Miter Saw, Bigger isn't always better, just more impressive
I have 2 12" Mak sliders, the Mak 7+" and am looking at either the new Mak 10" or Bosch. While it's true they all can cut about the same width (~12"), the payout for me is the depth of cut, which, due to the 12" blade, is greater than on a 10"er over the entire travel length. (I often use a 12"er to cut 4x4 posts.)
The depth of cut is of greatest importance when cutting high molding, such as tall baseboards or large crown. The new 10"ers have addressed some of this by making the depth of cut at the fence much deeper than in the past.
The disadvantages of a 12"er (for me) is the weight; I lug the thing around for my remodeling work, and bought the Mak. 7"er for the smaller jobs. The other con is blade deflection; a 12" blade will deflect more, which when cutting for furniture matters a lot more than when framing a deck.
There must be a million comparison articles/blogs, try the search function and see what crops up.
Good luck.
If the saw will be for shop use, you might also want to look at the new Bosch "glider" - Model GCM12SD. No space is required behind the saw for the "old" slider tubes.
Also..
Ralph,
Also, the new Bosch glider saw claims a 14 inch crosscut at 90 degrees. That would put it at or above what many radial saws - and all sliders I know of - can accommodate.
Zolton
glide vs. slide
Yes, the crosscut capacity of the new Bosch is pretty impressive. Plus, it just looks really sexy. I got an e-mail ad from Woodworker's Supply earlier today. Their price on it is $899.95, and they are usually pretty competitive, price-wise. Looks like the Kapex Effect is spreading. ;-)
Bosch saw..
Ralph,
I've been following the arrival of this saw for some time now, and you're right - it does look impressive. The fact that it can fit in a smaller space due to its lack of slider rails is a real plus. That would make it ideal for my shop and the limited area I have to devote to that particular tool.
But, my Makita 10 inch slider works just fine, and I've made accommodation in my shop for it to fit. If I were a younger man, like you, I'd be very tempted to go for the upgrade. As it is though, I think I'll sit tight with what I've got for a while and just continue to admire the Bosch from afar. If the need for it presents itself though, I'll not hesitate.
I've got a lot of Bosch tools, and other than a fiasco with their disintegrating magnesium router a few years ago (which, to their credit, they replaced entirely), I've been very satisfied with their quality and longevity.
Zolton
Oooh, "younger man" - I like
Oooh, "younger man" - I like that. But, alas, I'm at the point of including "years-remaining amortization" as a consideration in purchase decisions. So, I'll probably just drool over the ads and eventual reviews of the glider, too.
Get a 12" as bigger is always
Get a 12" as bigger is always better.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I10K3N-UCnY
Go retro
Seeing as I have no problem with room, "yah right". But enough to give up on miter/chop saws. I opted out for "old arn", and went for a 1947 DeWalt GP radial arm 2hp/12". Granted it's not portable at about 525 lbs, thats including the eight fool long 6/4 hard maple table I added. And able to crosscut 151/2". At $125, pre restoration, how could I go wrong ?
But, my dream and love for having a Festool Kapex is fading.
dreams
The Kapex ekklipse may be a good thing. ;-)
I have a Hitachi 12". I use the extra inch of coverage over a 10" all the time.
No one has mentioned accuracy. On my 12" compound DeWalt, there's a vernier on which I can get 1/8°. When I last looked the sliding version didn't have a vernier or any other method of achieving this accuracy. Don't know about other makes.
What about play in the sliding mechanism? I'd suggest that you look for a review that includes such an analysis.
It is my belief that mitre saws are good for trimming a house, but aren't appropriate for fine furniture construction. --Use a sled on a table saw.
I like smaller saws because in the past, they have been more accurate... Less blade wobble or shaft runout effect.
I still use my old Dewalt 8 1/2" sliding miter saw. I may not have as much vertical capacity (about 6-ish?), but I can cut a full 12" out. But, that saw has been in and out of pickup trucks most of it's life and still cuts like a laser. It i snow firmly entrenched in my new shop ( no more onsite work for me).
If I was buying today, I'd probably go 10"... Only because DeWalt doesn't make an 8 1/2" slider any more (that I know of). Although, some of the new saws might be better made, maybe even some of the 12"-ers are just as accurate as my trusty old booger. One advantage a lot of the new saws have over mine is the new articulated sliding mechanisms. Takes up a lot less depth when building a miter saw station inside the shop.
One question; what can you do on a 12" saw you can't do on a 10"?
Mikaol
Cut a thicker or wider piece.
Since I have a 10" tablesaw I find it practical to have a slider of the same size. I don't see the variety, availability or affordability of 12" blades as there are 10".
I have a 12 inch DeWalt mitre saw which is super accurate. The larger size not only handles the rougher work I do for gates and garden furniture, it also makes for very accurate angles. The scale can be read to a quarter degree. The angles are easily reproducible for repeat work too.
larger saws are also more robust in general - it is not just the blade that gets bigger. Bigger parts generally last longer and are more likely to go where they are supposed to go.
Small stuff is only a tiny bit harder with the big saw than my smaller one, though now I have a better table saw, that usually gets the smaller work.
I have never, ever lamented the need for a smaller mitre saw.
If there is room for it in the shop, buy a bigger saw.
What can you do with a 12-incher you can't do with a ten? And is it worth the $ for something you might not need as much?
I've been super happy with both the Bosch 12" Slider and Glider. I've owned both at different times. Never a problem. They are an excellent value.
I've also used the Festool Kapex. It's nice but certainly not worth double the price of the Bosch. The vacuum dust collector is nice if you already have a Festool vacuum. While it collects a lot of dust, you'll still have dust that needs to be swept at the end of the day. On the downside, the ergonomics of the on/off switch are simply terrible.
I'd highly recommend the 12" models for your applications. Unless you plan to do trim work most of the time, I guarantee you'll find lots of situations where the extra capacity is useful.
@mikaol - cut 4 inch deep stock. Also cut slightly wider stock, as the slider and blade tend to extend further. With that comes heavier manufacture, leading to a more stable device.
Sure, you can do almost everything with a 10 inch, and if I was only doing woodwork (as opposed to farm work) with mine, I'd have gone for the 10, but I often cut 4 inch square stock.
Overall I would say that the 12 inch can do everything the 10 inch can, but not the reverse. The difference in 'handling' is small For most users however, the difference is probably not significant. If it's a choice between a cheap 12 inch and a good 10, buy the 10.
I have never found a woodshop too large or a miter saw too big.
You will not regret Bosch 12 inch slider👍
i recharged 10 inch or 12 inch miter saw. yeah this is good. but didn't full satisfied in this miter saw.
i suggest you another miter saw . if your need then you see. Dewalt dws779 review, a perfect miter saw
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