Customer Reviews:
 Waited A Long Time For This One! July 11, 2008
James Ringe (St. Germain, WI USA)
27 out of 27 found this review helpful
As a Home Improvement Contractor, I use these types of saws daily for multiple applications.
When it came time to upgrade miter saws I did a ton of research on the various models that were available. Reviews from online articles, tool magazines, talking to other professionals on the job to get their input.
I had all but settled on the Bosch 12" sliding Miter Saw about 3 months ago, when I heard the rumor that Milwaukee was right about to run this saw out. So I waited. Again-(I had heard this rumor before)
When I first saw the press release on Milwauke's website, I was excited. The $699.00 price tag didn't matter much as you expect to pay for quality, and the 12" Dual Bevel Sliders are pretty much running in that neighborhood. (There are some retailers that are trying to get like $770.00 for these saws so be careful and make sure they aren't gouging you.)
After selling a couple of deck jobs I made some calls and found that our local Home Depot had just got the saws in that morning.
I will say that I was surprised when I picked up the box, it was considerably smaller and lighter than I had expected it to be. I got the saw back to the shop and pulled it from the box. The first thing I noticed is that there is not a hold down or workpiece clamp that comes with the saw. Not sure if they make an add on package or what. But a hold down clamp is nice and I missed it during my test runs. Once unboxed, I promptly mounted it my stand. Again very light for a saw of this size which is cool because I move my saw around allot.
All of the factory settings were accurate. Square to the table, square to the fence....etc. Real happy with that. The digital miter gauge is pretty cool, but is not really necessary for most everyday uses. The detents are deep and accurate, and the miter scale is easy to read.
I like the depth of cut setting allowing for groving and rabbiting. This is real simple but functional which is what it needs to be and no more.
I would have liked a Zero Stop on the Bevel because it is a bit disconcerting after cutting and angle to make sure you are back to zero, but I can live past that.
The blade that came with the saw was adequate and the saw cut smoothly and accurately.
I again, while testing was missing a workpiece clamp and for the most part that is the reason why I only gave the saw a 4 out 5. It would have been nice to have and you expect it with a saw for 699.00 honestly.(When you buy a cadillac....)
The dust collection is real good. Only finer particles get through, but I felt the dust bag is a bit small because it can be filled up with only a few small cross cuts. It could have been a bit bigger and hey why not put the Milwaukee Logo on it?? It seems kind of cheap that they didn't do that. Not a biggie but again for 70.00 you would expect it.
The constant power technology that keeps the saw at an even RPM during tough cuts works great. It is a bit strange when you first fire up the saw and make a cut because it is idfferent from other saws. You can really tell the consistent power thing, it is just hard to quantify how.Try it out and you will see what I mean. The soft start and brake is nice and overall the saw is real smooth.
Overall it is a great saw. It is the most powerful on the market, and it is accurate.It is the little things that keep it from being perfect. Retrosepctively, I am glad I waited to buy this saw, and I would recommend it to others highly. But Milwaukee has to get better at the little things in the future. They are putting out allot of new innovative things lately, and my hope is that they are not skimping on the details to flood the market with these innovations. My experience with Milwaukee is that they are "tools for life" and I hope that this saw lasts as long as my other Milwaukee tools have.
Milwaukee Knows Tools September 21, 2008
D. Trelford (Scottsdale, Arizona)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
This is my third miter saw and I'm pleased to report that the manufactures are finally getting it right. This saw has a lot going for it like a 5 1/4" tall fence so cutting wide crown moulding in position is no problem. It has a 13 1/4" cutting capacity for 3/4" material. It is solid and well balanced, which is a prerequisite for any kind of accurate work. I like the work lights. (there are two of them, one on each side of the blade) While they aren't much help in daylight they sure come in handy as the sun sinks slowly in the west. I was also pleasantly surprised at how useful the digital readout was. I have found numerous times when I needed to tweak my cut by just a degree or two and the readout allowed me to do just that with consistency. The readout is also lit from behind by a soft green glow so it's easy to see in dim light. In fact I found myself wishing this saw had a digital readout for the bevel angles too! Speaking of bevels, the single wide lever in back for adjusting bevel angles is a thing of beauty and works like a charm. My saw is now permanently positioned on a dedicated "miter saw" table where I use it for woodworking in my shop, as opposed to rough carpentry work. I'm so glad Milwaukee didn't put one of those stupid laser gimicks on this unit, they aren't accurate and nobody uses them after the first week. This saw has many fine points and only a couple things that I could find fault in. First is that I was expecting the dust collection to be better than what it is. Milwaukee says it collects around 75% but in reality it is closer to 50%. Still it's better than all the other saws out there. Second is that there's no supplied miter clamp or hold down. I don't always use one but when I do it's nice to have. It should have been included. And third isn't really a concern with this particular saw but with all 12" sliding miter saws. You need to use a very smooth/straight arm motion in order not to flex the guiding rods or blade when making sliding cuts in order not to have a rough edge. It seems to be more pronounced with the larger 12" blade. This is no concern when using smaller 10" blades or when making a chopping cut with this saw. All in all this is one fine machine and other than my minor gripes with dust pick up and the non existing hold down, I'd have to say that it is worthy of a home in your shop.
 The best SCMS I have ever used, but where are the hold downs? October 7, 2008
B. Clevenger (DFW)
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
First, let me start with the negatives: as has been mentioned, this saw doesn't come with hold down clamps. I haven't been able to find them as a stand alone accessory either. Although I don't use them on every cut, they are an invaluable asset to me. Hopefully Milwaukee will get them to the market at a reasonable price, SOON.
I have been using miter saws for over 25 years as a trim carpenter, cabinet builder, and now as a hobby. Back in the 1980s we used nothing but Makita 10" chop saws without bevel. That meant cutting crown on the spring angle, upside down and backwards. Heck, it was all we knew and we did it well. Throughout the next fifteen years, many more products came to the market. The first time I ever got to use a SCMS was a 10" Hitachi. Boy that was the cat's meow. I finally learned to cut crown on the flat, and I never wanted to go back. During that same time we had a DeWalt 12" on the site as well. For whatever reason, I always went to the DeWalt unless it was in use or I needed the capacity of the slider.
Now days, I work as a professional and only wood work as a hobby. For some reason, my expectations from my tools has went way up. Perhaps because I own them instead of using the bosses tools; or maybe it's because I have the time to put into my projects and I won't stand for anything less than perfection. Either way, I've been through my fair share of miter saws in my home shop.
The first saw I owned was a 10" Delta that I bought to get me out of my first project, a storage building. I hated that saw from day one. Within a few months it was gone and replaced with a Ridgid 12" slider. There were some things I really liked about that saw, but the slop in the head was something I just couldn't live with. I was able to auction it off for almost the amount I had paid for it. I never did miss it. That Ridgid got replaced with a non-sliding DeWalt DW716 a couple of years ago. It has been a great saw, and I'm considering holding onto it for jobs I do on the side and as a loaner. It is very accurate and with the LED system, cuts are very easy to align. In my opinion, it only has two short comings: capacity and dust collection.
Just recently, I sold my beloved Rockwell radial arm saw. Suddenly I needed more capacity than a non-slider would accomodate. So I was off shopping again. I looked and mulled over all the usual subjects: DeWalt, Bosch, Ridgid, and Hitachi. I quickly marked the Ridgid off the list. Altough it is a newer model than I had owned, the design is the same. There was just too much flex in the head, and that leads to poor results. The DeWalt was next to go. I was familiar with the dust collection short comings, and this saw will be permanently mounted in my shop. Next came the Hitachi. I went to Lowe's and checked it out. So far so good, so I brought it home. The dust collection was worse than the DeWalt. I tried both my central unit, a shop vac. Then I tried a combination of a makeshift dust hood, the central unit, and a shop vac. That thing threw dust everywhere. I gave it a solid week, but it went back to the store. There were other things that picked at me as well about the Hitachi, but the dust collection was the killer.
So I was down to the Bosch. The problem was that I couldn't find one in stock anywhere in my area. So I'm back at Home Depot and almost about to give into the DeWalt, when I see the Milwaukee for the first time. I check it out closely in the store. The head flex was about the best I had felt. The bevels and angles were easy to adjust and locked down tight. I decided to bring it home.
After a solid week of putting through all of my torture tests, I love this saw. First, and foremost; the dust collection is excellent. I was able to work my 4" dust collection hose onto the adapter for the saw. I bet it gets 95% of the dust, maybe better. Although the soft-start felt a little weird at first, I have come to love it. My old DeWalt would jump when fired up. Not so with the Milwaukee. I made some test cuts with the stock blade and couldn't have been happier with any SCMS. So, I put my Freud Industrial 96tooth blade on her. On to my "five-cut test". Being careful to push the blade straight through the work, I was only off by about 1/1000 for a 12" cut. That was about as good as I ever got on my well-tuned radial arm saw. This baby is a keeper.
I would have liked to have tried the Bosch, but I can't imagine it being a better match for me.
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