Delta Shopmaster SM100M

[JP]

Hello, I'm fairly new to woodworking. I was wondering if anybody can let me know if the Delta Shopmaster SM100M is a good miter saw for a starter. Thank you for any input

[greg]

should be a fine basic miter saw. My only real advice would be, as with ANY circular saw, the quality of the cut depends alot on the quality of the blade. plan on spending the cost of the saw on a couple of good blades.

G

[Buck Turgidson]

Consumer Reports had an issue last month on miter saws. They rated this thing dead last.

[Mike Berger]

It's usually informative to know what criteria they used in evaluating anything. Maybe the saw couldn't cut a brick properly.

Buck Turgids> Consumer Reports had an issue last month on miter saws. They rated this

[greg]

I wouldn't base much on consumer reports alone, they are not nearly as unbiased as the pretend to be. I could tell you stories...

G

[B A R R Y]

So can I, the test track (formerly Connecticut Dragway, in Colchester) is ~20 minutes from me. I practice engine failures using the track as an emergency strip. My BIL worked there for a while, and I believe they've had representatives in the bicycle shop looking at our helmet selection.

That said, they are one resource that can be considered with other information.

[Andy]

Depends - it won't be super precise, but as long as your expectations are in line with the price you're paying, it should work just fine. My friend has one, and with the addition of a decent Dewalt blade, it cuts pretty well. Well enough for patio furniture, anyway - I probably wouldn't use it to make final cuts on pieces for a jewelry box or anything, but it should definitely be a usable saw. My friend is happy with his. I probably wouldn't buy one, though - Makita has a basic model for $170 on Amazon, and Dewalt's 703 is available for $170 at toolking. That price difference would be small enough for me to justify the much nicer "real" brand saw. If I wanted to go really cheap, for a temporary or rough-cutting saw, I'd look at the "GMC" at Amazon for $53. Good luck, Andy

[Michael Faurot]

While on a recent trip, a family member asked if I could put up some molding for them. I said, "Sure, but I'll need a decent miter saw to do it." After looking around, we opted to buy a new Dewalt DW703 from Home Depot for $200. From what I could tell, it was on sale, and normaly goes for something like $230. Maybe not as good a deal as Toolking, but we needed it right then, so waiting for and paying for shipping was out.

After we got the saw back to the house, I spent some time checking it over to be sure the blade, bed, etc. were square. Out of the box everything was lined up and ready for work.

I put up about 150LF of molding and the DW703 was a nice little saw to work with. I also liked that it has a handle on the top making it easy to transport around.