Sliding miter saw suggestions?

I need to buy a miter saw. My old one only cuts about 5.25" not quite all the way through 6' board. I'm going to be putting new trim in the house and its going to be wide stuff, probably 8-10". So I'm thinking a sliding miter saw is the answer. Theres a ton of them available with a huge range of prices. You know the drill, I don't need the greatest one ever made, but I also don't want cheap garbage. I guess bang for the buck is the thing I'm looking for. Something will perform for a long time without breaking the bank. Are there any brands you recommend, or recommend staying away from? Am I better off buying a used high-end one off CL than a less expensive new one? Any suggestions?

We use Makita's here at my work. But one of my coworkers brings his Hitatchi in sometimes, it seems decent and I believe a fair bit less $$

Radial Arm Saw is what you're talking about right?

If it were me, I'd find a good used one on CL or from one of the used tool stores in the area.

In reply to RossD:

No, I was talking about the compound miter saws that also slide out similar to radial arm saws to cut bigger boards. I had thought about the radial arm saws, but I don't think I like how much space it would take up in the garage. I haven't completely written them off though.

Which is better, radial arm saw or compound sliding miter saw?

A good radial arm saw can arguably do more than a compound sliding miter saw. They also cost more and take up a lot more footprint in the shop.

At the cheap end, I would not recommend the Harbor Freight 10" sliding compound miter saw. I have one, an older one, and it does work. But it's rather sloppy and somewhat flexy. It'll work close enough for general framing work, but not for trim work. Especially nice trim work.

I bought my dad a mid-upper grade Makita compound miter saw around 20 years ago. He has gotten a lot of use out of it and has nothing but praise for it.

Honestly, I’m surprised OSHA hasn’t banned radial arm saws…I couldn’t engineer a superior finger removal contrivance if I tried.

I've had good luck with rigid power tools. I don't make a living with them, so not constant use but good enough quality to do nice work without premium price.

Ridgids are decent for the price.

Craftsman 21237 gets good reviews for accuracy, but not a ton of features. On sale for like $199 right now.

Dewalts are usually rock solid out of the box, but bigger/heavier/louder/expensive. Look at HD. They are usually clearing out the Black Friday deals now on them.

Bosch has a really expensive, but compact model that doesn't require as much workbench space for the slider.

That being said, I recently bought a refurbed Hitachi 10" non-slider. It was like $80 or so with shipping. Got good reviews and looks to be pretty much spot on from the box. If you are limited on bench space for the slider, maybe consider a non-slider 12" miter if it gives you the capacity you need.

Biggest safety difference between the radial and slider saws is you pull the head out, pull it down, and push the saw back through the wood with the slider to cut it. Radials you pull the saw toward you to cut. Because of the saw blades rotation, the radial will want to self feed toward you. If you don't have a firm, deliberate grip and pull on the saw, it will jump out at you.

Safety wise, both saws should use a blade with a small positive to negative hook angle. This will reduce the self feeding action.

I bought a Kobalt at Lowes and was fairly impressed with the quality for the very reasonable price.

I wanted the Dewalt, but they were just too much.

I have a Dewalt DW716 which is the non sliding version of the DWS780.

It's probably the most used tool in my shop since I've been doing a lot of trim work. Tossed a 96 tooth carbide blade on it and it has never once given me a problem.

The sliding version is supposed to be just as good.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Ryobi-15-Amp-10-in-Sliding-Miter-Saw-with-Laser-TSS102L/205216332?MERCH=REC--PIPHorizontal1_rr--204466144--205216332--N

I'm thinking about going with this one. Any thoughts?

I did a little reading on radial arm saws and it sounds like they aren't really what i'm looking for. I don't like how much garage space it will be taking up the 99% of the time its not being used. Plus it sounds like it takes a lot of work to keep them dialed in to really make accurate miter cuts.

gearheadmb wrote: http://www.homedepot.com/p/Ryobi-15-Amp-10-in-Sliding-Miter-Saw-with-Laser-TSS102L/205216332?MERCH=REC-_-PIPHorizontal1_rr-_-204466144-_-205216332-_-N I'm thinking about going with this one. Any thoughts? I did a little reading on radial arm saws and it sounds like they aren't really what i'm looking for. I don't like how much garage space it will be taking up the 99% of the time its not being used. Plus it sounds like it takes a lot of work to keep them dialed in to really make accurate miter cuts.

High-four gearheadmb for passing on the radial arm saw...

gearheadmb wrote: http://www.homedepot.com/p/Ryobi-15-Amp-10-in-Sliding-Miter-Saw-with-Laser-TSS102L/205216332?MERCH=REC-_-PIPHorizontal1_rr-_-204466144-_-205216332-_-N I'm thinking about going with this one. Any thoughts? I did a little reading on radial arm saws and it sounds like they aren't really what i'm looking for. I don't like how much garage space it will be taking up the 99% of the time its not being used. Plus it sounds like it takes a lot of work to keep them dialed in to really make accurate miter cuts.

I like Ryobi's tools. Generally a good bang for your buck. But I think the Craftsman I listed above is rated a little better.

Have you a Lowes nearby? Seems the prices there are appreciably better than Home Depot on sliding compound miter saws.

These are all under the price of that Ryobi. The first one is way under it.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_116704-67702-C10FCE2___?productId=1005467&Ns=p_product_price|0&pl=1&Ntt=miter+saw

and

http://www.lowes.com/pd_143425-54602-RK7135___?productId=3664184&Ns=p_product_price|0&pl=1&Ntt=miter+saw

and

http://www.lowes.com/pd_40806-67702-C10FCH2___?productId=1085791&Ns=p_product_price|0&pl=1&Ntt=miter+saw

and

foxtrapper wrote: Have you a Lowes nearby? Seems the prices there are appreciably better than Home Depot on sliding compound miter saws. These are all under the price of that Ryobi. The first one is way under it. http://www.lowes.com/pd_116704-67702-C10FCE2___?productId=1005467&Ns=p_product_price|0&pl=1&Ntt=miter+saw and http://www.lowes.com/pd_143425-54602-RK7135___?productId=3664184&Ns=p_product_price|0&pl=1&Ntt=miter+saw and http://www.lowes.com/pd_40806-67702-C10FCH2___?productId=1085791&Ns=p_product_price|0&pl=1&Ntt=miter+saw and

none of those are sliders.

the HF one is not accurate enough for trim work unless you manually measure the angle, there is almost 2 degrees of wobble either way when at 45*. i bought it for straight cutting 2x material for decking, and because i was on a job and the bearing in my dewalt ate itself and i needed to get done. the fence extensions are both broken but i gather it'll run forever and not be great at much, kinda like a cavalier.

i had a ryobi 12" non slider prior to my 12" dewalt and i can say nothing bad about it. it was accurate and i gave it to my cousin probably 10 years ago and he still uses it. go see the ones you want in person. change the angles and lock them down and see if you get any play. then see if you can find one cheaper online.

I have one I bought at Northern Tool at least 10 years ago. It has served me well and I've used it for all sorts of projects. It was more than the HF version, but less than the fancy ones.

My father-in-law does kitchens (tons of trim work) and baths for a living. He had a Bosch sliding compound miter saw for years and currently has a Dewalt.

patgizz wrote: none of those are sliders.

I have the DeWalt regular miter saw on a Delta miter saw base w/ extensions and it's been great.

As an aside, I have a machine shop and much of a wood shop and use an old table saw w/ no riving knife or guards, often. I have all my fingers, and am eternally vigilant. If I'm not feeling mentally 100% I'll quit work or do something else rather than use the table saw.

All of this said, I was terrified of a radial arm saw I was given and I in turn gave it way.

It really wanted to dig in and charge at the operator and anything in it's way. No thanks.

I bought one of these 13 years ago. It wasn't cheap, but it's a whole lotta saw in one package.