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Best miter saws for reasonable amount of money
We are undergoing some remodeling at our house, namely installing hard wood floors, baseboard and crown molding. Since I'm a big do-it-yourself proponent and a notorious penny-pincher, I've decided to take a look if it makes sense to it myself. At $2.5 per square foot for labor - we would have to pay around $3,000 for floors alone and about another $800 to get our baseboards and crown moldings installed. Not sure if $3800 is a lot of money for you, but it sure is for our family.
In order to install the floors, crown molding and baseboard I will need a miter saw. But which one and where to buy it? I knew nothing about miter saws, so immediately I've made a few mistakes before I got what I needed. So if you need a miter saw - read the rest of the article to learn from my mistakes and do the right thing from the very start
Mistake #1 - I went to Harbor Freight and bought a 10 sliding miter saw. When i got this beast home, unpacked it and turned it on I've discovered a few problems. For starters the blade and fence (the rail against which you line up the piece being cut) were not square, as in they were at an odd angle. So if i cut anything - it wouldn't be at the angle I wanted it to be. The second problem was the unbearable noise the motor on this cheap saw produced. So at $150 it was cheap, but the quality was definitely lacking.
Mistake #2 - Alright, so cheap saws were out of the question - i needed a quality, name brand tool. I've quickly searched CraigsList and picked up a used Bosch sliding miter saw. After driving about 20 miles each way and returning home, I've discovered a serious crack in the rail support block. I was so mad, I couldn't think about anything else. Next day I've returned the old, broken saw to the seller.
Mistake #3 (almost) - this time I've almost made a mistake by buying a single bevel miter saw. The difference between single and double bevel saws is that in single bevel one you can rotate the saw only left or only right. While in dual bevel, it can be tilted left or right. This makes a huge difference when doing a lot of cutting of baseboard or crown molding. Otherwise you will need to flip the boards constantly and hope that your saw cuts cleanly not only on the top surface, but also on the bottom one.
So it was clear - I needed a new saw that wasn't broken, had warranty and from a reputable seller. I went to Home Depot and saw that their selection, while good, was overpriced. I could get the same tools from Amazon.com for about 75-85% of the cost, not pay tax and get free shipping.
After reading various message boards, review sites, blogs and comments I've realized that there are only 4 companies that make dual bevel miter saws of good quality at reasonable price - Bosch, Makita, Ridgid and DeWalt. All the rest were either expensive, lower quality or major design flaws. I've spent a week talking to contractors, sales people, do-it-yourselfers and random people who knew something on the subject. So trust me - I've done a lot of research about miter saws.
At the end I've bought a Bosch 4410 10 sliding, dual bevel miter saw that I'm extremely happy with. This is the kind of tool that will last you a lifetime.
Between the Bosch, Makita, DeWalt and Ridgid you should really only look at one of the three kind of saws: 12 dual bevel stationary, 10 dual bevel sliding or 12 dual bevel sliding. Only these three kinds will cut through 99% of all things that are meant to be cut with a miter saw. Others either won't have enough capacity to cut some of the bigger pieces like the tall baseboard and tall crown molding nested against the fence.
Here are a few notes about each brand:
Bosch: Excellent quality tools, rarely need adjustments out of the box, all kinds of adjustability on these. Tend to be very big and fairly heavy due to very solid construction.
- This is is the one that I've bought and can't be happier with my choice. Very high quality tool, very capable, not too noisy, has superior build to all other brands except for Pro grade $1,000+ saws.
At $575 it is a great choise for contractors and serious do-it-yourselfers.
- The top of the line Bosch miter saw, which is reflected by the price of $700. Again - this saw is second to none in this review and is amazingly capable and adjustable. If you enjoy engineering marvels - get this one.
Bosch 4212 12-Inch Dual-Bevel Compound Miter Saw
Makita: High quality, very precise, often comes with laser which makes everything a lot easier. Smaller and slightly lighter than Bosch, but also less adjustable.
- L stands for laser. Thi sis a 10 dual bevel sliding saw. It is fairly compact, quiet and easy to work with. At $500 it is also one of the cheapest in this selection.
- Again, with laser and exactly the same as one above, except it is 12 and not 10. At $615 is is a good saw, but there are a few better alternatives
DeWalt: Good quality, just below Bosch in my opinion. Solid, easy to work with, easy to adjust and change angles. Do not come with lasers and DeWalt laser attachment costs $80!
- This is the cheapest option if you want a miter saw that will last you a long time. It will cut most of the material for many projects. In fact, it has better cutting capacity than some 10 sliding saws.
At $400 its cheapest, but for only $100 more you can get a much more versitile sliding saw.
- 10 double bevel sliding saw. Great tool, but lasers for these are very expensive. At $535 is in the middle of the pack price wise.
- latest, best from DeWalt. At $630 it is the more expensive choice, but an excellent saw. Again - lasers for these run $80.
Ridgid: Best warranty - lifetime (after you register it). Very solid, contractor grade construction. Adjustments can be awkward and tend to be extremely big and heavy.
- This is the only dual bevel, sliding saw that Ridgid makes. It has 12 blade, is a monster size wise, very heavy, but as noted above - has the best warranty - lifetime!
Why I recommend buying from Amazon.com - simple - they have free shipping, no sales tax, liberal return policy and excellent service. They are the online equivalent of Costco, but you don't need a membership