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SLIDING COMPOUND
Miter Saws Double-bevel saws with easy-to-use controls lead the pack
by Richard Hark
A
s a finish carpenter who specializes in custom stairs and hand-railing, I’ve used sliding compound saws regularly for years, and have switched brands once or twice as my needs changed. Currently, I have two of these saws — a Bosch 4412 and a Hitachi C10FSH — and find plenty to like in both of them. However, a recent opportunity to check out the entire current field of sliding compound miter saws was too good to pass up, and held a few surprises. I looked at 13 saws in all, including two 81/2-inch, six 10-inch, and five 12-inch models. A sliding compound saw should be user-friendly, both for an experienced user and, perhaps more important, for an inexperienced user. Positive miter and bevel detents are key for cutting crown molding efficiently. Otherwise, you go mad trying to locate and repeat the compound bevel and miter settings. Equally, those detent settings should be easy to override when necessary. But the most important detail of all is visibility. Few of these saws are used in a shop setting with good lighting. Instead they’re out on the job, working in a dimly-lit interior space or JULY JLC 2004
Contents | Home | Search outdoors in glaring sunlight. I looked for high-contrast, easy-to-read miter scales and bevel gauges and accessible controls. Portability is certainly a consideration when choosing one of these tools, which vary both in bulk and weight from saw to saw. The lightest saw in this group weighs 43 pounds, and the heaviest weighs 59 pounds. In use, my saws are almost always bench-mounted, so weight and size aren’t primary considerations. On the other hand, a trim carpenter on the go is more likely to prefer a smaller, lighter saw. Street prices range from a low of $370 to $750, with a median price of $500 (tools priced at www.amazon.com and Home Depot), so this isn’t a small acquisition. In comparing the entire field of pro-duty saws, it became obvious that higher price does not mean better quality in every case.
Making the Cut These saws are designed to excel at cutting compound miters. But if you’re switching from a standard chop to a sliding cut in wider stock, be prepared for a change in style. The recommended technique is to draw the blade forward before activating the trigger, and then cut only on the push stroke. Cutting on the pull stroke may grab the wood and send it flying in dangerous directions. For chop cuts, it’s recommended to lock the slide carriage for safe operation. Blade quality. A rough or irregular cut can prevent a mitered joint from fitting tightly together, a critical consideration in stain-grade woodworking. I tested each saw with the blade shipped by the manufacturer. And although blade styles varied greatly, from 26 to 80 TPI (teeth per inch), so did the diameter and the respective RPMs (see Chart on next page). I didn’t use any “after-market” blades and, because of the unique characteristics of each tool, I won’t venture to say what swapping in a “better” blade might do for any one saw. All in all, I found surprisingly little difference from one tool and saw blade to the next — all produced acceptably smooth compound miter cuts in the wide poplar crown molding I used for testing. Blade size. For really precise work, a smaller blade diameter is preferable because, in theory anyway, it produces less rim wobble and therefore makes a finer cut. But an 81/2-inch blade is too small to handle much of the stock I work with. And although the 10-inch Hitachi has long been my favorite saw, the 12-inch Bosch saw is a little more versatile and is set up at my primary cutting station. Changing blades on a sliding compound saw is an infrequent event and therefore not a major consideration. Several of the saws are designed with the blade guard mechanism mounted on the right-hand side of the blade where it doesn’t interfere with access to the blade arbor. Where this isn’t the case, the fumble factor goes up.
Accuracy To check the precision of the combined angle and bevel detents provided for cutting crown molding flat on the saw table, I made a perfectly square outside corner profile using 3/4-inch-thick MDF (medium density fiberboard) and screwed it to my workbench. I cut left and right compound crown miters on each saw and tested their fit against the corner. In every case, the test pieces fit tightly together at 90 degrees. Actually, all the saws performed well. Some performed perfectly; the top finishers cut a little better than the others. But in the real world, true 90-degree wall corners are the exception, rather than the rule. So I also evaluated these tools on the ease with which I could tweak the setting just off the detent, by a fraction of a degree. This is an essential ingredient that some of the manufacturers have addressed better than others. Hold-down clamp. Cupped lumber will affect the cutting accuracy of any saw. Every tool in this group features an effective hold-down as a standard option. The designs vary somewhat, but all supply more than enough force to flatten a cupped 1-by. It’s like having a third hand on steroids. JULY JLC 2004
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Sliding Compound Miter Saw Specs
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Contents | Home | Search Fence points. The fence has a direct effect on accuracy of cut. If not perfectly square to the table, it can throw off the cutting angle enough to create problems, especially when fitting handrail easements or performing other demanding mitering tasks. And two-piece fences have a tendency to move out of precise alignment under hard use. Misalignment affects the precision of any cross-cut where both sides of the fence are used to position the material being cut. A one-piece cast fence solves this problem.
Power For the kind of work I do, there wasn’t a saw in the bunch that struck me as being underpowered. Manufacturers routinely default to published amp ratings, but those tell little about actual performance. There’s a subjective element, too; who’s using the tool and for what purpose can make for big differences in perception. While I made no attempt to simulate other types of work for testing, these saws all seemed to have enough power to handle common applications.
Safety Several of the saws — the Delta, both DeWalts, the Milwaukee, and the Porter-Cable — had no lock-out safety button on the trigger. While these buttons vary from one saw to the next in their comfort and ease of use, they do serve an important safety function in preventing accidental starts. Noise. Ninety decibels is a standard threshold level at which noise becomes a threat to your hearing. By this standard, none of these tools runs at a safe level, so it’s a really good idea to include some kind of easy-to-use hearing protection with your purchase. Stability. Many of these saws are off-balance in the retracted slide position; some provide a counteracting rear stabilizing bracket. But all of the saws include mounting holes for screws, bolts, or nails, and these should definitely be used. A few of the base designs also permit them to be clamped to the bench.
What I’d Buy
Better bevel controls. Manufacturers are making bevel controls easier to get at. Bosch has done the best job, placing the bevel lock right up front next to the miter handle (top). Ridgid’s bevel lock is on the side at the rear of the saw (middle), while Milwaukee’s singlebevel saw has a top-mounted lock, with an easy to read scale (bottom).
If small size and portability are important considerations, the good news is that the two 81/2-inch saws I tested have plenty of cross-cutting capacity; both can cut a full 2 inches high by 12 inches wide at 90 degrees, and 81/2 inches by 13/4 inches at a 45-degree compound bevel. But a left-tilt-only limitation (shared by five saws in this review) means that you have to flip the lumber around instead of simply changing the bevel setting, which can be both awkward and disorienting. And, although I never noticed it years ago when I owned Hitachi’s original 81/2-inch saw, the motor location — off to the side and low to the table — makes it difficult to see the cut line on the board. Considering how good many of the dual-bevel saws are, I can’t think of a good reason why you’d consider a single-bevel saw. Neither the Delta 36-240 or the Porter Cable 3807 saw delivered equivalent bang for the buck compared to other tools of similar capacity and price. Milwaukee’s single-bevel 10-inch 6497-6 is built like a tank and might be a good candidate for general crew use and abuse. But, generally speaking, the increased motor clearance and dual-bevel capability of the other 10JULY JLC 2004
Contents | Home | Search and 12-inch saws make them easier to operate and worth the extra cost. If I were considering buying a non-sliding miter saw, the additional depth capacity of a 12inch saw over a 10-inch saw might be a persuading factor. But the advantage mostly disappears with sliding capability, where otherwise vertical cuts can be performed on the flat. And the extra blade diameter generates extra blade wobble at the rim and affects the quality of the cut. So I approached this review with a definite preference for 10-inch saws. That said, the Ridgid 12inch saw wowed me in every respect. If I didn’t already own two good saws, I’d buy this one, hands down. There’s no shortage of great features on this saw, although its bulky size and weight deterred me at first. No other saw approaches its compound beveling capacity (61-degree miter by 47-degree bevel, both left and right) or equals its comprehensive attention to user-friendly details. While dust collection isn’t a strong suit for any sliding compound saw, the bag on this saw is well-placed and effective. And, at $597, it’s even the least expensive of the 12-inch saws. My second choice is the 10-inch Bosch 4410. This saw is beautifully designed and couldn’t be easier to use. Although the Bosch 4412 matches it feature for feature, I wouldn’t pay $140 more for the larger blade, which adds only a small advantage in capacity. The 10-inch Hitachi C10FSH is a slightly improved version of the saw I’ve owned for years — with a more visible miter scale and a better bevel lock — and is a close contender for second place. Its miter detents are really easy to work with, the spring return is perfectly balanced and takes the fight out of chopping, and the slide mechanism is smooth and solid. And when I need a saw in the field, this is the one I take along for its lighter weight and portability.
Versatile handle. Bosch’s swivel handle fits any user preference. The two red thumb-activated trigger releases adapt to leftor right-handed use.
Richard Hark owns and operates Stairways in East Harwich, Mass. Faster depth stops. Bosch’s depth stop has a quick-release button that allows it to quickly move in or out of position (top). Ridgid uses a cam device (bottom).
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10 Inch / Double Bevel
Fence: Upper segments of the one-piece fence slide back for compound bevel cutting. Not truly square to the table; however, the deviance is small and unlikely to affect most cuts. Scales: Bold, high-contrast markings and clear lines of sight on the miter gauge; bevel scale is mounted at a forward angle and is easy to read. Blade Change: Awkward. The blade wrench stores on the tool. Detents: A miter detent override allows use of a micro-fine adjustment dial. A full range of bevel detents provides quick cut setups for both 38- and 45-degree springing crown. The bevel over-ride knob is slick. Depth Stop: A clever split jam-nut device allows rapid depth-of-cut adjustments for dadoing or kerfing. But if you forget to set the backup stop nuts, it can slip its grip and you could easily ruin an expensive piece of wood. Guard: The blade guard has a pair of wheels at the tip, designed to roll over the stock when slide-cutting. I’ve had trouble with the wheels hanging in deeply contoured crown, though, especially when taking another hair off the end of a board. DeWalt uses the same device. A larger diameter wheel would probably fix the problem. Controls: The overall layout of this saw is great, with nearly all adjustments, including bevel angle, made right up front. The handle rotates and can be adjusted to four positions, and has two trigger locks for leftor right-handed convenience. Comments: An on-board tool kit for making simple setup adjustments is mounted under a cover at the back of the saw.
Bosch 4412
Delta 36-240
10 Inch / Single Bevel
Fence: The one-piece casting won’t go out of alignment, but its 13/4-inch height makes an auxiliary wood fence a must for nested cuts. Holes are provided for screw attachment. Scales: Visibility and legibility take a back seat as soon as you try the miter adjustment. It’s stiff and ratchety, bumping along in fits and starts. There’s no mechanism for locking in settings. The squeeze-and-release mechanism holds feebly; a mild nudge knocks the miter table out of position. Blade Change: Average. Blade wrench stores on board. Detents: More miter detents than you can shake a stick at, none of them firm. All positions are equally fussy to set, in or out of detent. There are no bevel detents. Depth Stop: Basic screw-set, but firm, no springiness.
12 Inch / Double Bevel
Fence: One-piece, 41/2 inches high, left and right. Top sections slide for beveling. Not precisely 90 degrees to the table. Scales: Boldly marked and well placed for both miters and bevel settings. Blade Change: Awkward. Wrench stores on tool. Detents: Excellent for cutting crown on the flat. Miter settings are positive but easy to override when desired. Bevel settings in particular are easily made. Depth Stop: Firm. Flips out of the way when not in use. Guard: Works well, but guide wheel occasionally hangs on complex molding profiles. Controls: Front-mounted controls and a four-position adjustable trigger handle make this saw exceptionally functional. Comments: The designers clearly paid careful attention to how these tools are used in the real world. The only thing lacking is a laser — but, other than that, this saw’s got it covered. JULY JLC 2004
Guard: Does what a good guard should, no more, no less. Controls: D-handle, no safety on trigger. Comments: This saw is left-bevel only. The plastic base allows the table to wiggle independently, leading me to doubt its durability. The slide tubes are extremely stiff and operate with a peculiar grinding sound and feel. Like its predecessor, the Sawbuck, the Sidekick is not ready for prime time.
Contents | Home | Search DeWalt DW708
12 Inch / Double Bevel
Fence: One-piece casting eliminates alignment problems, and the fence is precisely square to the table. The fence measures 41/2 inches high, left and right; both slide back to accommodate bevel cuts. Scales: Large, high-contrast miter markings aid visibility. But until the saw is heeled over to about 15 degrees, the bevel gauge is obscured by the saw body. Blade Change: Average. Tool stores on board. Detents: Aggressive detents make it difficult to lock in fractionally off the setting. Bevel stop releases with a convenient push-button. Requires a wrench to reset bevel limit to 47 degrees. Depth Stop: Large, accessible adjusting knob, firm setting, flips out of the way for full-depth cuts. Guard: Employs small guide wheels that can hang up on complex molding profile, as on the Bosch saws. The guard has open perforations along its front edge for viewing the blade even after the guard becomes coated with dust and resin. Controls: Squeeze-to-release, press-to-lock miter control is comfortable and intuitive. The saw starts without jerking. The D-handle gives equal access to north- and southpaws. Comments: Slide action and table rotation are smooth, but the return spring is too heavy-duty for my taste, with an aggressive lift that’s tiring to suppress. Overall, a ruggedly made tool.
DeWalt DW712
81/2 Inch / Single Bevel
Fence: A tall fence adapter, handy for cutting nested crown molding, slides out of the way for left bevel layover. The fence is a one-piece casting, and is truly square to the table. Scales: The engraved stainless-steel scale is highly readable. Blade Change: Awkward. Combi-wrench stores conveniently on tool. Detents: The miter detents are solid, but it’s difficult to tweak slightly offdetent settings. And the miter scale is too easily obscured by the work piece. There are two bevel detents at the rear of the saw, including a 33.85-degree crown setting and a 45-degree stop. There’s also an override to allow bevels up to 48 degrees. Bosch and Ridgid saws also have this feature. Depth Stop: A handy flip-stop allows you to set a dado depth, then flip it out of the way for through-cutting. Guard: DeWalt guards are better than most. A series of open slots in the front edge provide a blade sight, even after the guard becomes coated. Controls: The D-handle and wide trigger are intuitive and comfortable, although some people just can’t get used to a horizontal grip. Comments: Like its big brother, the 708, this saw has a heavy-duty return spring that’s hard on the arm. The blade wrench stows conveniently on-board. At a 45/45 right compound bevel setting, the blade guard mechanism hits the upper left fence which can be removed with a Philips screwdriver.
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Contents | Home | Search Hitachi C8FB2
81/2 Inch / Single Bevel 13/4
Hitachi C10FSH
10 Inch / Double Bevel
Fence: The two-piece fence is a meager inches high, left and right, making nested crown cuts virtually impossible. And, unlike other saws, there are no readily accessible holes for attaching an auxiliary wood fence.
Fence: The left-hand section of the two-piece fence flips out of the way for bevel cuts. Its 31/2-inch height provides good backup for nested crown cuts. The right fence is only 11/4 inch high, but has mounting holes for a supplemental wood fence. Fence is absolutely square to the table.
Scales: The miter scale is poor. Not only are the cast markers painted the same color as the base
Scales: The miter scale is on a riveted steel plate, and is more visible than the cast aluminum scale on the 81/2-inch Hitachi. The additional decimal scale is of little use. You have to lean in over the tool to read the bevel scale which is mounted at 90 degrees to the user. Blade Change: The arbor cover plate removes easily because the blade guard mechanism attaches on the other side of the housing. Hitachi should provide on-board storage for its ergonomically friendly T-wrench. Detents: The bevel release is effective, but a stretch to reach. Bevel detents require manual depression of the stop pin. Miter detents are gentle but effective and easy to override when needed. Beveling beyond 45 degrees requires a wrench to reset the stops. A detent with an override would help.
and therefore difficult to see, but they’re dominated by a confusing 10-ratio layout, presumably for cutting rake angles under the metric system but useless to most U.S. users. The bevel scale also fades under the same single-color scheme and is difficult to view without contorting your neck. Blade Change: Average. An on-tool mount for the included T-wrench would be nice. Detents: The spring-mounted ball-bearing miter detents are easy to use and to lock in just off the mark. Rear bevel stops and up-front miter detents are good functional features.
Depth Stop: The depth stop is firm, but doesn’t flip out of the way. Guard: Vision slots in the blade guard, while a good idea, are not as well-placed as those in the DeWalt and Ridgid saws. Controls: Trigger lock favors right-handed use. Familiar vertical handle. Comments: The adjustable laser can be fine-tuned to exactly reference the edge of the blade and can be shut off when not wanted. A clever retractable guard provides backup support for small workpieces, preventing them from being grabbed by the rotating blade. The saw’s light weight and compact footprint enhance its portability.
Depth Stop: A basic bolt and stop-nut arrangement, but it shortens the chop accurately without flexing. Guard: Retracts smoothly. Controls: An effective, low-tech twist-lock handle. The safety trigger is well placed, unless you’re left-handed. Comments: In general, visibility seems to be compromised on all single-bevel miter saws; it’s really hard to get a good eye on your cut-line. I’d rather spend the extra money for a left and right bevel and better line of sight.
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Contents | Home | Search Makita LS1212
12 Inch / Double Bevel
Fence: One-piece fence has an alpine profile that peaks at a lofty 41/2 inches on the left, dropping to 13/16 on the right. A left fence segment flips over for bevel cuts. True 90 degrees to table. Scales: Good, readable miter scale; the bevel scale slightly less so. Blade Change: Average. Wrench stores on board. Detents: Miter detents are tweak-friendly. Other saws have a crown detent at 31.6 degrees; Makita’s is at 30 degrees. Bevel detents are limited to 0 and 45 degrees. Depth Stop: Not firm enough, but does flip out of the way. Requires a light touch when dadoing. Guard: Good clearance and action. Controls: Big trigger and top-mounted lock are ergonomically placed. Comments: Better features and capacity than the LS1013. Has nice return spring and smooth slide action. Quiet and light in weight for its size.
Hitachi C12FSA
Makita LS1013
10 Inch / Double
Bevel Fence: One-piece fence is accurately square to the table. A versatile extension on the left fence supports wide nested crown and flips out of the way for bevel cuts. Mounting holes provided for a wood auxiliary to the maximum 33/16-inch staggered fence height. Scales: The miter scale is oddly placed to the right of the blade, difficult to view, and disappears under the board being cut. Blade Change: Awkward. Wrench stores on the saw.
12 Inch / Double Bevel
Fence: Two-piece. A low 23/4 inches on the left and 13/16 on the right is convenient for bevel cutting, but requires an auxiliary fence for nested crown cuts. A useful guard slides forward behind the blade for small-piece support. Perfect 90-degree accuracy to the table.
Detents: The lack of crown bevel detents is a detriment to this saw. But the miter detents are excellent and easy to tweak by a half degree.
Scales: A contrasting color on the cast-in miter scale would improve visibility. A useless decimal scale confuses settings.
Depth Stop: Firm; flips out of the way.
Blade Change: Average. No place to stow the wrench. Detents: Miter detents include one at 7/10, for what it’s worth. There’s one at 15 degrees, but no number to register it by. Depth Stop: Effective and firm. A knuckle-buster to set. Can’t be flipped out of the way. Guard: Good action. Controls: The right-thumb trigger lock should be redesigned for equal lefthanded use. Comments: This saw starts smoothly and cuts well but doesn’t show the kind of improvements made to the C10FSH. The return spring action is comfortable.
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Guard: Moves smoothly. Controls: The slide lock is conveniently installed as an outer ring on the miter handle. The handle locks and releases with a twist, and the table turns smoothly. The top-mounted trigger lock release is convenient for right- and left-handed users. Comments: Instead of the torsion spring used on all the other saws, Makita uses a compression spring for the chop return. The action is positive and gentle. The direct-drive motor is mounted at an acute angle to the blade, providing good table clearance. Slide action is smooth. Drop-in slots in the large turntable are for optional crown stops, good if you prefer to cut crown in the nested position.
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Porter-Cable 3807
10 Inch / Single Bevel
Fence: The two-piece fence is nicely machined and perfectly square to the bed. The 27/16-inch-high left fence not only slides out of the way for beveling but can also be flipped upside-down and moved tight to the blade for small-piece support. The righthand fence is 31/2 inches tall.
10 Inch / Single Bevel
Fence: The one-piece cast fence is a good feature, but it’s only 13/4 inches tall. Add a taller auxiliary fence, though, and the armature won’t clear it at a 45-degree miter setting.
Scales: Readable, well-placed miter and bevel scales.
Scales: The miter and bevel markings are small and hard to read.
Blade Change: Average. Blade guard mechanism mounted on the right, out of the way.
Blade Change: Awkward. The blade guard mount interferes with recess.
Detents: An easy miter detent override allows fractional settings. There are no bevel detents but the action is just stiff enough to make precise location easy, and the release handle is topmounted, fist-sized, and comfortable to use.
Detents: The miter detents are difficult to override, and the rotation is a little stiff. There are no crown bevel detents.
Depth Stop: Difficult to use, requires a wrench to adjust, no flip action.
Guard: The externally-mounted mechanism works well.
Guard: Moves smoothly, doesn’t interfere.
Controls: A horizontal handle and comfortable trigger help, but this saw has some serious flaws.
Controls: A basic stick-grip and finger trigger with no safety lock. Powerful, jerky start. Comments: This left-tilt only saw ships with a beautiful 80-tooth blade. This is a solid-feeling, heavy-duty saw and a good candidate for general crew use where double bevel action is not needed.
Ridgid 1290LZ
Depth Stop: Basic and effective, but no flip feature.
Comments: Ruggedly built, but poorly designed. Like the Delta 36-240, the 3807 had a stiff, crunchy, noisy slide-tube action. A general lack of features and a relatively high street price leave little to get excited about.
12 Inch / Double Bevel
Fence: One-piece casting with 5-inch-tall sliding wings on the left and right. Scales: The 65-degree miter scale is misleading — the action stops at an already generous 61 degrees, both left and right. The scale is highly visible, with clear, large markings at halfdegree intervals. The bevel scale stands up like a crescent billboard, with equally large markings. Blade Change: Awkward. Wrench stores on the tool. Detents: An easily adjusted bevel override allows compound cuts up to 47 degrees; better still, remove the top fence section and you can compound cut a 2x10 at 47 degrees and 61 degrees. Depth Stop: The unique cam disk works well and is easy to use. Guard: Lifts smoothly on plunge, and features a vented vision edge, like the DeWalts. Controls: The up-front miter controls are positive, a breeze to use, and great for overriding detents. Comments: At 57 pounds, a heavyweight contender. Centrifugally-activated, arbor-mounted laser throws a fine, accurate line with the blade in the raised position.
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