[Pastorshobby]

I realize this is not a router question but,
I am looking at purchasing a compound sliding miter saw. Is there a reason I would want a 12” over a 10”? Can I get by with the smaller? Or do I need the bigger?

 

[kp91]

Joe,

What are you planning to do? That is what determines what is better. I have a 10 inch slider, and if I could go back in time, I might have chosen a 12 inch "non-slider".

Don't get me wrong, I love my saw, but the number of times I have needed that capacity has been few. When I was putting in wide plank flooring it was heaven sent, but for most of the day to day cuts in my shop I don't need the capacity. I cannot imagine what I would need a 12 inch slider for.

My saw is the 'old style', with the slide rods extending way out the back. this means my saw must sit far away from a wall in order to retract all the way.

Maybe if I had one of the newer style with the rods in front I would feel differently.

Hope this helps,

 

[Stick486]

I have both...
the 10'' gets used better than 95% of the time..
the 12 is used on larger crown moldings ...

 

[Stick486]

if you need a bit more width cut, add an auxiliary table base to the saw..

also.. blades matter...


.

 

[DesertRatTom]

I had a Dewalt 12 inch and sold it because the blade always deflected so angles weren't ever accurate. I replace it with what I considder the best sliding miter, the 10 inch Bosch. Amazing accuracy right out of the box. However, you MUST use either an engineer's square or preferably, a Wixey digital angle finder to make certain that blade angle is correct. The one I have is about 5 years old and remains a great tool.

It is a compound sliding miter, and it spits out vast amounts of sawdust. I made a framework over it, on which hangs a shower curtain, gathered at the bottom and taped tight to a 4 inch dust collection hose. Greatly reduces stray sawdust. Also learned to pull the saw toward me to make a scoring cut, then push it back through for the bulk of the cut. This provides a channel for sawdust to go back into the shower curtain collector. I am thinking of using some sheet aluminum to extend the dust collection port down closer to the base to clear out more sawdust through the 2.5 inch port.

I'm very happy with every Bosch tool I've purchased so far.

I think the space saving of the newer models without the rails is a nice thing, but for the money, the rail model is unbeatable. No longer much of a DeWalt fan. You get what you pay for. Hope that gives you want you want to know. Accuracy, smooth operation

 

[JOAT]

Joe,

What are you planning to do? That is what determines what is better. I have a 10 inch slider, and if I could go back in time, I might have chosen a 12 inch "non-slider".

Like was said, depends on what you plan on doing. When my non-slider died, I bought a slider, which didn't thrill me so later sold it, and got another non-slider. My present saw is 10", which is usually sufficient for anything and everything, but if I get another it will be 12" - any longer cuts, I'll just use some sort of guide, and a circular saw. Just get whatever makes you happiest.

 

[Cherryville Chuck]

I have a 12" Milwaukee. If a 10" had been on sale I would have bought it because I already have blades that size but I don't regret buying the 12". The instructions say that it should be accurate right out of the box and it is. It has a digital angle readout built in that reads to 1/10 degree and it is also accurate. It dodn't come with a laser guide but that is no big deal in my opinion. It does have a good LED work light built in that illuminates the work area very well. I paid $400 at the HD for it.

If you are having trouble cutting accurate miters the problem is often the blade and not the saw. I was trying to cut miters with an old Makita chop saw and they were terrible. I added blade stabilizers and they changed to very good.

 

[Pastorshobby]

Thanks for your input. ill be making tables, bookshelves, random things for church and signs as wedding presents. with that in mind, I don't think I need to make cuts that ill need 12 for, unless you disagree . my next project is a massive work bench I need more space. im looking to spend under $200. I may get a porter cable or stop by harbor freight. I know you swear by Bosch and dewalt. I just don't have that kind of money right now. I just need something that will work any suggestions?

 

[JOAT]

im looking to spend under $200. I may get a porter cable or stop by harbor freight. I know you swear by Bosch and dewalt. I just don't have that kind of money right now. I just need something that will work any suggestions?

Hehehe This likely wouldn't work with anything thicker than 1". Sometimes I mark a cut, rough cut maybe 1/8" along that line, then tack a straightedge along the line, then use my router (in a table) with a flush trim bit to make a straight cut. Hey, it works, it costs practically nothing, and is really practical for inside cuts.

 

[kklowell]

I have a Harbor Freight 12" and I like it. I did have to do some realigning of the fence to get it to make a straight cut, but that wasn't hard. I do want to get a Wixey so that I can accurately line up when I tilt the blade, but I also want that for my table saw.

 

[Multiwood]

I have a 12" Delta that like Tom the blade deflects so I just use it for rough cuts than use the 10" for accuracy.
If I had just one it would be a 10".

 

[Danman1957]

Joe,

I purchased a 12'' DeWalt when they first came out. For years I was frustrated that I didn't wait for the sliding one to be available, but I have enjoyed using it and most people will agree that the sliding version is not as accurate and more difficult to attempt accuracy than the non sliding version. Just a suggestion, if your budget is $200, look for a used tool from a good name brand and you might just find one that is in good shape for that amount. Good luck,
Dan

 

[woodknots]

I've had a 12 inch dual miter Bosch slider for about 5 years - got it at Lowes on sale for $450 Canadian, it was cheaper than the 10 inch. I've been happy with it but wish I got the glide version. the slider takes up a lot of room with the rails out the back.

 

[dublloyd]

I realize this is not a router question but,
I am looking at purchasing a compound sliding miter saw. Is there a reason I would want a 12” over a 10”? Can I get by with the smaller? Or do I need the bigger?

I am operate a cabinet and furniture shop. And I have a 12 inch dewalt slider, a Delta 10 inch slider. Both sit in the floor in the back of my shop. I started using an Hatichi
8.5 slider back in 2006. The Hatichi is the most true miter saw that I have found. My shop now has 2 of the Hatichis at different stations in the shop. I have 2 crews that install our cabinetry in the houses. Each crew has the 8.5 Hatichi slider on their trucks. It is the only saw that I trust to cross cut a 24 inch piece of plywood. The saws will cut a 13 inch swath without raising the edge up. If u raise the edge up, u can cut 14 inchs. Turn the plywood 180 degrees and cut the rest of the sheet. The blade will match the first cut kerf perfectly.
The 12 in Dewalt nor the 10 inch Delta would do that.

Sent from my SM-G930R7 using Tapatalk

 

[JOAT]

I have a Harbor Freight 12" and I like it. I did have to do some realigning of the fence to get it to make a straight cut, but that wasn't hard. I do want to get a Wixey so that I can accurately line up when I tilt the blade, but I also want that for my table saw.

My first non-slider was from HF. Didn't make as long cuts as I wanted. So raised the table. By putting I think two layers of 2X4 bolted down using the fence bolt holes. Then glued a fence to the rear of that. This increased the cut length from 4+" to something over 7", or 8", forget exactly, it was a 10" blade. Took a number of retries, with a square on the fence and blade, before I got it bolted down accurately. And, accurate it was. Cut a trial piece, tried a square on the cut, dead on, then flipped it and used the square again, and dead on. All I needed was 90 degree cuts so it worked like magic. Then the saw burnt up, and used that as an excuse to get a HF slider. And the base wouldn't fit the slider, so tossed the base. The slider wasn't quite as accurate, the rods stuck out the back, eventually got rid of it, and got another non-slider. This saw works, but I think when I find a 12" I can make a new base for, I will get that, make my mods, and figure I should be able to get close to a 11" cut with that 12" blade.

The HF saw worked as I wanted, once I modded it, dead on accurate. I'm thinking of doing some custom boxes in the future, and a miter saw would really be helpful. So, I'm thinking of picking up another, when they are on sale, perhaps two, and modding the base(s) for angle cutting. Once that base is set up, no need to adjust anything, and in fact likely couldn't adjust it anyway. I used a HF sat, because at the time that was all I could afford. Even so, one of them would work just as well for me as something more expensive. Don't know if I have any pictures of that first saw or not, if I can find some I'll post them. Don't ask how I did it, it was mostly Zen woodworking, and I just don't know where I got the idea, or just how I did it.

 

[OPG3]

I have a Makita 10" and to me it is great. Model LS1013 and the angles and detents never get off!

Otis Guillebeau from Auburn, Georgia

 

[Herb Stoops]

I have a Makita 10" and to me it is great. Model LS1013 and the angles and detents never get off!

Otis Guillebeau from Auburn, Georgia

That is all we used was Makitas' on the job sites,10" 12" and 16". they held up for years of abuse. No sliders tho.

I have the 12" Dewalt slider under the bench, just use it for outside work. The rails are too long for my shop.
Herb

 

[Rebelwork Woodworking]

I realize this is not a router question but,
I am looking at purchasing a compound sliding miter saw. Is there a reason I would want a 12” over a 10”? Can I get by with the smaller? Or do I need the bigger?

You'll always want more. Even if you get the 12" saw. Stick with a budget...:wink:

 

[Gene Howe]

Mine is the 10" Bosch glider. It will cut 11 1/2" wide at 90. If I need to cut wider, I just turn the piece over. The Bosch maintains it's dead on accuracy at all detents so, I get a good second cut.
A 12" would be unnecessary in my shop. Plus, the blades are a lot more expensive.
I traded the Bosch blade for a Tenryu Miter Pro immediately. A good blade makes a huge difference.

 

[Job and Knock]

My experience with SCMS saws is that the 12in ones suffer more from both blade flex and rail flex regardless of make or model - this is especially apparent when doing wide compound mitre cuts in thicker material - so sticking with a 10in saw or even an 8.5in one (if you don't need the capacity) makes sense to me. I have both a 10in saw and an 8.5in one and the smaller saw gets used a lot more. Remember, though, that an experienced carpenter will often wjip out his sharp block plane to make minor adjustments to mitres as this is far faster to do than fiddling around with the saw to get that last 0.1° or 1/32in