Fence and Table
Bosch . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Craftsman . . . . . . . . . 3
Hitachi . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Makita . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Metabo . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Festool . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Makita LS1013FL Miter Saw
2008 Price: $499
Amps: 15
Performance Score: 38 total
A top-flight sliding miter saw should have a table and fence ample enough to support wide and tall stock, yet they should not compromise the saw’s overall portability. I really like the Makita’s unique round table, which is one large surface offering lots of support even for wider workpieces (I also liked its wide base that makes the saw very stable, even on uneven work surfaces). The table surfaces on the other saws are all similar in size and certainly adequate for cutting small stock.
The turntable on Makita’s LS1013FL saw rotates easily for cuts, but the scale is on the right side which requires a little adjusting for most woodworkers.
But with all the saws you’ll need outboard support for long, heavy workpieces. The Bosch features wonderful built-in extension supports that slide out 7-1⁄2″ from each side of the base. There’s also a neat flip-up end stop, handy for cutting multiple parts (up to 19″) to the same length. You can buy a very nice pair of large extension tables for the Festool as an option. These tables have slots that accept optional crown molding stops and quick-action hold-downs. The Craftsman comes with a long pair of support rails that aren’t self-supporting as well as a flip stop.
The Fences
A proper miter saw fence needs to be sturdy and high enough to support tall workpieces, such as baseboard (cut upright) and crown molding, but it must also stay out of the way during other cutting operations. The Hitachi and Makita have very similar fence setups, with a low fence that runs across the table and a flip fence on only the left-hand side, to offer more support. It flips out of the way when the saw is tilted for left-hand bevels. These fences aren’t really adequate for tall workpieces. The other four saws have tall fences on both sides of the blade, which slide side-to-side for cutting clearance during bevel cuts. While they’re certainly a blessing when cutting baseboard on edge, it’s easy to forget to reset them when setting the saw for angled cuts, leading to occasional frustration (the Metabo’s fences must be removed for bevel cuts). The Craftsman fence features markings that show where to reset the fences for different bevel settings, and the Bosch’s fence has inch and fractional markings that are useful for cutting pieces to length without marking each cut.
Laser Guides
Bosch . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Craftsman . . . . . . . . . 3
Hitachi . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Makita . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Metabo . . . . . . . . . N/A
Festool . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Once the stuff of Star Wars fantasy, laser line guide systems are now a feature on most sliding miter saws on the market. Only one saw in this review — the Metabo — lacks a built-in laser guide. The Festool features dual laser lines, which show where both edges of the blade will cut — very handy for both right- and left-hand cuts. The Craftsman and Festool project a dashed laser line (with their blade guards down), which is easier to align to a pencil mark than a solid laser line.
The laser guides on the Craftsman and Bosch project from arbor-mounted discs that replace the saw’s regular blade flanges. The laser only turns on when the saw blade is running, so you don’t have to switch the laser on or off. It also minimizes drain on the batteries that power the laser. But batteries must be changed when they’re spent, and you have to do your laser aligning with the workpiece while the saw is running. The AC-powered lasers on the Hitachi, Makita and Festool have On/Off switches, allowing you to align your work to the laser line without the saw running — a much more useful arrangement. The Hitachi’s laser is mounted on the motor housing behind the blade, and it only projects onto the top and rear edge of the work. In contrast, the lasers on the other four saws project a line on the top and front edge of the work, allowing you to align parts marked on their lower edge.
Are these laser guides good enough to allow you to cut marked workpieces accurately? I found that, with a little practice, I could cut pretty much dead on my pencil mark using the lasers on any of the saws. I liked the Festool’s dashed dual lines and the Bosch’s fine laser line the best.
All of the laser guides except the one on the Bosch are adjustable, should they come out of adjustment with the blade, or if you change to a blade of a dif ferent thickness or want to set the laser line to the other side of the blade kerf.
Size, Weight and Portability
Bosch . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Craftsman . . . . . . . . . 3
Hitachi . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Makita . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Metabo . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Festool . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Metabo KGS303 Miter Saw
2008 Price: $549
Amps: 15
Performance Score: 25 total
While many woodworkers with home workshops use their sliding miter saws mostly for in-shop cutoff work, many folks lug their saws to the job site every day, taking full advantage of the saws’ portability.
Although the Metabo is the lightest of these saws, its base is cumbersome and lacks carrying handles. The Hitachi wins the most points for portability, thanks to its small base, second-lightest-in-the-group weight and a top-mounted handle that makes it very easy to pick up and carry. The Festool also deserves praise, not only for its light weight but also for its compact fixed rail design, which makes the large-size saw relatively easy to carry and which requires no clearance behind the saw, thus saving space in a shop or work area. The Makita is also relatively compact but harder to carry, due to the large size of its rotary table. The Craftsman is light but unwieldy, as is the Bosch, which is also the heaviest saw in the group.
Dust Collection
Bosch . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Craftsman . . . . . . . . . 3
Hitachi . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Makita . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Metabo . . . . . . . . . . . 1*
Festool . . . . . . . . . . . 5*
* Vacuum collection only.
The Metabo and Festool saws don’t come with an attached canvas bag to collect dust in, but both do accept a vacuum hose connection.
Most powered miter saws I’ve tried don’t do a very good job of collecting the dust that’s hurled by the blade and collecting it in a little canvas bag. However, the Hitachi and Makita did a better job of capturing dust in their small dust bags than I expected. Each saw’s dust collection improved considerably when a shop vacuum was connected to its dust port. Festool and Metabo don’t bother including canvas dust bags, providing only a vacuum connection. But while the Festool does a great job at sucking up sawdust, the Metabo throws dust everywhere, even when connected to a powerful shop vacuum.
