FINALLY got the HF Miter Saw

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HeyBub 13 years ago

The 12" double-bevel, sliding one.

Got it unpacked and installed last night. My initial impressions are:

It's built like a tank. VERY sturdy. Sucker weighs over 50 pounds!
It DOES have fine adjustments for setting up and guaranteeing precision cuts.
I can understand why it doesn't have a blade-brake. Spinning a 12" blade at 3,800 rpm generates a LOT of momentum. To stop that much mass from rotating would take the disk brakes off a Porsche.
Complaints about the dust collector bag being insufficient are probably well founded. Seemingly, the bag only catches sawdust that happens to get flung in its direction. I suppose for really good results, you would hook up the saw to your shop dust collector.

I haven't actually CUT anything yet, so I can't report on that. Heck, the thing looks so pretty, I may NEVER use it. But if and when I do, I have every expectation that it will work as advertised.

The saw is on sale today (Saturday, 3/9/2013) and tomorrow for $119.00 at your local HF store. That is, if they have any left; on Friday, a clerk told me it was a very popular item and going fast.

Here's the specs:

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Robert Neville 13 years ago

I have the 12" orange motor version from a few years back. Works very well. Found the laser sight to be of limited use, but it doesn't interfere with anything.

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Jon Danniken 13 years ago

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Remember, according to posters in this group, all of your cuts will vary by +/- 0.25 inch, so you will end up with 1/2" of uncontrolled variability in your cuts no matter how you set everything up! They will also not be square!

Sarcasm aside, thanks for the update, and enjoy your saw (yes I'm a little jealous because my orange unit isn't double bevel unit). :)

Jon

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IGot2P 13 years ago

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If you look at their 10" sliding miter saw at

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I can see that it only bevels one way and appears to be direct drive but both motors are 15 Amp so why is it 20 pounds lighter? The 10" saw can currently be purchased for $79.99 with a coupon and the shipping on either one is $6.99 so which is the best buy?

Don

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HeyBub 13 years ago

Spent a bit of last evening reading the manual (I skipped the part that included "no loose clothing", "do not operate in wet weather" etc.) and learned something interesting:

With a sliding miter saw, and depth-locking capability - which this saw has - one can make plunge dado cuts!

I guess most here would know this, or be able to figure it out with a little use, but, to me, the idea was novel and kind of cute.

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krw 13 years ago

Weight doesn't mean much.

How well does it *STAY* in adjustment.

Nonsense. A blade brake doesn't have to be a mechanical brake. My Bosch doesn't have discs, either.

Those bags are pretty lame (even the Bosch). They're added so they can have the marketing check box. A DC doesn't do much more, though. The sawdust comes off the blade pretty fast. If it's not already moving towards the port, it's not going in.

I'm sure it'll cut. ;-)

Don't put your eye out!

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AMoore 13 years ago

It is a dust thrower. Hooked up my vac to it and it was almost useless. My

10" dewalt would collect most of the sawdust with the vac. Not a bad saw but the laser is useless. It is accurate for rough work. I had hoped to get mine accurate enough for stair treads. Best part is if it gains legs at a job site it is not so bad a hit to take. I just use mine for occasional use, mostly I go for the lighter 10'.

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krw 13 years ago

The dust catcher on my Bosch is pretty much useless, too. The laser works pretty well, though. It's certainly good enough for framing. I bought a hood for it that works well, though. I put a 5gal bucket under it to catch all the dust.

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I also have a 10" HF slider that I drag around outside. I have mounts for both on a DeWalt stand that works out *really* well. I kinda agree about it sprouting legs. I'm not afraid to drag the HF out when it might rain, either. I'll try to cover it with a tarp but if it doesn't work, don't care.

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AMoore 13 years ago

I have been looking at those fastcap hoods. If I have to use the 12" inside I may go for it if they work that good.

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krw 13 years ago

It's great, AFAIC. It would work outside if it rained, too, but it wouldn't take any wind.

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FINALLY got the HF Miter Saw

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