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If you have to cut a lot of shelving for closets and cabinets, or build a lot of stairs, then a slider is a better choice. Cuts great, strong motor, and accurate. Its great for framing, remodeling, decks, siding and trim. I have been working with this saw for seven years. For everyone else this is the saw to get. For baseboard, casing and crown it is a production workhorse. It works better than any other 12" compound miter that I have used. Simple to use, light and easy to set up.
I bolted it to a Workmate, which was great because it was very stable alternative to a workbench, with the added benefit that I could easily move it outside for cutting, then move it back into the garage for storage. This saw got some very good reviews, but the one that clinched it for me was that someone said the saw blade that came with the saw made very clean cuts. Plus it was easy to use and adjust the angles. Well, I was extremely impressed with clean cuts of the blade that came with this saw.
I needed a miter saw for a number of home projects. My only complaint is that the sawdust catcher is not that good, but reviews of all other saws said the same thing so I was expecting that. Also, as others said it is very light but feels very solid. This was going to be my first time using a miter saw, so I did some research.
A couple of times I needed to shorten a piece of wood composite by less than a quarter inch, and the resulting piece that I sliced off was a perfect section less than 1/16" thick. I would highly recommend this saw, especially anyone needing one that can be easily moved. I was looking for a saw under $300 but that would do a nice job and that I could eventually use for crown molding as well. Reviewers of other similar priced saws said they needed to replace the blade in order to get decent cuts (another $80 - $100).
They also require dedicated work stations that make them as unwieldy as the radial arm saw you are probably trying to replace. It also comes with stock extensions (that actually work) as standard equipment. The 10" compound miter saws, while more affordable, lack the cutting capacity and, frankly, are not getting the design and build attention that the bigger saws are. I even bought a second LS1220 for the professional shop where I work. Unfortunately, the saw arrived out of alignment. ******UPDATE******Of course it had to happen. I wrote the original review below based on the Makita saw I bought a number of years ago and a second one that I purchased for my workplace. We set about trying to align it properly but no matter how much we tried to adjust the fence, the saw would not cut at 90 degrees.
I think the sliding saws are over priced and more-apt to run out of alignment and bog down in heavy materials. The upgraded blade is top notch. (And in the middle the value is always best). If you're going to pay a lot, make it count. I chose this one out of all the other 12" saws because it has a zero-clearance throat plate (a must to eliminate tear-out), excellent miter detentes, and a solid motor. Our machinist believes that it is due to blade wobble caused by improper machining of the arbor. They get attention to build and design because they are aimed at the contractor, they have a decent cutting capacity, and they are solid, yet portable. I recently took another job and, because of my experience with those saws, I purchased another for the new shop.
The 12" compound miter saws fall in the middle. I guess it comes down to luck of the draw, however, I can't recommend the saw for precision use anymore.I'll tell you right now, I've tried ALL the other saws on the market: miter, compound miter and sliding compound miter in all sizes, and this saw is the best. That does happen sometimes but not often with an item at this price point. Even after putting an expensive, high-end blade on it, it is still inaccurate.
I would recommend this saw to anyone.even family members. It's a clean design and easy to use. I'm not a professional carpenter, but I've used this saw for projects around the house for a while now and can't get enough of it. The cuts were right on straight out of the box.
I'd have given it 5 stars if the table had a little more friction. I'm almost completely satisfied with the saw. A 100 tooth ATB blade helped minimize the problem. Smooth hardwoods tend to slide on the nice smooth table when doing angle cuts. Plenty of power, positive detents, easy to handle knobs, useful side extensions, and easy to change blade. The horizontal handle is much better that a vertical handle.
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