Miter Saw Comparision

jacksonjohn83 · 05-17-2010, 12:07 PM

Hi,

I am new to the forum. I am hoping that experts on the forum will be able help shed some light on couple of miter saws I am looking at.

I am wanna be handy man and would like do do some simple projects around the house. My first project will be a deck following some closet organizers and then possible some moulding work.

I am looking at DeWalt DW715 and Craftsman 12" slider. Reason I was looking at DW715 was the price. Its on sale @ 200 at local store and seems like a really good price and has excellent review. The reason I looked at Carftsman was because of the laser and the slider feature. I have not found any really good (or bad for that matter) reviews on this saw ($349 on sale). However, in general I have heard that cheaper saw may have issues with accuracy.

I was hoping if someone can provide feedback on these two. I would really like to be able to cross cut 12" boards (for closet projects), however, If go will DW715, then I could use my circular saw for that.

Yoyizit · 05-17-2010, 01:37 PM

Nobody specs reliability or accuracy but if more than ordinary accuracy is important to you, you might ask the manuf's.
Both saws have the same power and it's probably enough for what you want.
Some saws that are advertised at 15A trip the breaker occasionally. The solution is running the saw on an extension cord. You might do a Net search for this problem [and any others] with either of these saws.

xxPaulCPxx · 05-18-2010, 01:49 PM

The slider is good for doing big moulding...

BUT

If you are concerned about cutting 12" or larger sheet pieces, then a table saw with a sled would be better for you.

A sled is very easy to set up, and I use mine all the time.

PaliBob · 05-18-2010, 03:10 PM

John, Welcome to the Forum
The DeWalt DW715 is a really good buy at $200. Amazon has it at $292
The DW715 will work great on deck 2x6's
also Mouldings unless they are very large.

A laser is now the 'In' thing, but I would not pay a big premium for it.
I have two 12" miter saws & a 10" Hitachi. none with a laser and I have had no issues with accuracy without the laser.

You are right on cutting closet shelving with a circular saw especially if you use a 12" speed square as a saw guide. I use one similar to the plastic model from HF, and it is easy to make dead on cross cuts

http://www.harborfreight.com/12-inch...are-66778.html
.

**oh'mike** · 05-18-2010, 07:03 PM

The laser is a disappointment. They are handy for course cuts--but the light will obscure a fine pencil mark.---I seldom use the laser for trim only for cutting 2x4s for framing.

That is one sweet price on that DeWalt. I liked that saw--light and accurate,easy to adjust.

---Mike---

jacksonjohn83 · 05-20-2010, 08:04 AM

Thank you all for your response.

Yes, the DW715 @ $200 was what got this whole thing started. Since the price was so good, I picked it up first and then started to think about what type of projects I wanted to do.

In the end, I took the DeWalt back to the store and picked up a completely different saw: Mastercraft @ $320. I wanted the slider feature and had some money in gift cards for the Canadian tire store. So, this was purely a financial/feature decision rather then quality/accuracy.

Nonetheless, I found this forum and have read some really informative threads. I will come back for more.

Thanks.