Fallen In Love All Over Again

[MountainDon]

A couple weeks ago, more or less, I had a mishap. I inadvertently knocked my miter saw off its stand where it was being used. It hit the concrete floor "just rifgt" ot maybe "just wrong" and broke the main casting near the pivot point. A few peripherals also broke; blade guard, handle cracked. I bought it new in '92. It had been a good workhorse.

Miters saws have changed a lot since '92. Sliding beds, lasers, and motor placement that increases depth of cut. After looking at every miter saw for sale in the biggish city across the river and several hours researching online I decided which to buy as a replacement.

If anyone is considering a sliding compound angle miter saw purchase, skip everything priced around $200. They all have faults that will lead to inaccuracy.

Today I received delivery of a Makita 1016L. 10" blade capacity. Laser indicator that switches easily for L or R side of blade. I've cut a few test pieces and am wowed. Oh, the soft start is wonderful; the saw doesn't jump at all when starting. Nor does it jump when stopping. Very smooth slide. Some online critiques stated they experienced a roughness. Makita uses an angle gear drive to get the motor up and out of the way to permit deeper cuts. No belts like some makes.

It's bigger, wider than the old saw. Takes up more bench space. Lots of aluminum so it is also lighter and that makes moving it nicer. Convenient lift and carry handle.



It is a sweet saw, though not as sweet as Karen.  She even approves, thinks it looks good.    And she guessed the price to within $25 and still said Okay

[Redoverfarm]

Nice saw.  I haven't been bitten by the sliding compound saw bug yet.  Still using the miter saw and radial arm saw for most cuts that I need.  Maybe one of these days.

[Don_P]

You're not alone John, still got the chop saw she asked for on our anniversary quite a few ago... we just replace parts as necessary, hard to give up on an old girl like that  That is a sweet looking unit though.

[MountainDon]

One reason I picked this makita is their slide. It is a dual slide, two slides, one above the other, that reduces the amount of space needed behind the saw. Handy when on a bench backed to a wall.  The old saw was not a slider, nor had the sideways tilt.  I have a future project where the ability to cut a width to 12" at 90 degrees will be handy.  I don't have a radial arm saw, only a table saw.

[Adam Roby]

Nice saw...

...though not as sweet as Karen...

Even nicer save! 

[glenn kangiser]

Can't go wrong with Makita.  I love my other Makita tools. 

[MountainDon]

One other thing I've noticed... this saw is much quieter than the old one, or my table saw for that matter.  The blade runs at 3200 RPM, slower than the free air speed of many other saws. That's part of the soft start system. The electronic motor control maintains the speed as cuts are made. Many other saws run the blade at a higher speed, as much as 1000 more rpm's, knowing the blade will slow under load. I cut a piece of 2 x7 scrap oak and it did not seem to slow at all, unlike the older saw.

[MushCreek]

I bought a 12" Ridgid slider when I started building our house. It was $250 off! It's a real workhorse, and has held accuracy very well, but it is big and heavy- 63 lbs.! Of course, 12" blades are more expensive, too. It's really only practical as a permanently mounted tool, or on a mobile base. I lucked out (again) and found a used Ridgid mobile base for $80 on craigslist. It has huge wheels, making it easy to roll on rough terrain, and folds up quickly and easily. One of the best things about being a serious DIYer is all of the cool tools you get to buy!

[glenn kangiser]

I'm impressed with some of the innovation of Rigid on it's new tools.

The new 7 inch hand held grinder has a handle that rotates to be in best position if you are using it for cutoff, besides being very powerful (high amp motor) and having a lever to easily set the guard in multiple positions.

In the old days we just took the guard off because everyone knows it's always in the way.  Today it is us who will get thrown off the job if we take the guard off.

I complained to my wife that we were no longer free in the USA because there are rules and laws for everything.  She said it is good that we have no freedom.  In her country, (Myanmar or Burma), they have freedom to do as they want..... and so many people die she said..... She thinks sometimes too much freedom is not always good. 

Sooooo, I guess I keep the guard on my grinder as ordered.....   

[Don_P]

Had to look down, the scab has finally healed on the knuckle the unguarded grinder got into a few weeks ago. Darn things don't just hit you once on their way across the room  .
I had Michelle up in a work basket on one job, I was on the ground cutting logs and hoisting them up to her where she had implements of destruction for fine tuning. One was an angle grinder with a chainsaw wheel. The grinder had an on off switch instead of a paddle. She dropped that thing in the basket and it looked like a rodeo up there. She ended up on the railing as I went for the cord. We went shopping for a new grinder that night. They are darned handy.  Funny, I spied the boss's grinder guard in my shop last night and threw it in the truck, they do wander off faster than tablesaw guards.

I worked in a startup wood component shop in my early 20's. We were running turn of the century to about WWII era equipment. We were frequent fliers at the local ER, safety equipment and ergonomics have come a long way and it wasn't always because the companies wanted to. Those bosses didn't much care about our hands mostly, but they were also barely making it, in a 3rd world country they wouldn't have cared about much at all except making it.

[akwoodchuck]

 .....Makita is king of...well, pretty much all jobsite tools IMO.....used to work for a finish outfit trimming mcmansions in Boise,  they had about a half dozen of the ls1214s passed around the crew. The one with the most slop in it (which wasn't much) had a bumper sticker on the blade housing which read "Princess in Training!"....it wasn't allowed to come off, and generally given to the rookie....guess who that was....

[GaryT]

Nice saw!  I'm tickled to death with my Milwaukee 12 inch compound slider.  I still have my old Makita 10" which I take to job sites; the Milwaukee had found a home in my shop.  Actually, I modified (built kind of a pocket) the 8' infeed table for my radial arm saw, such that the chop saw's table and back rests match the infeed and radial saw's table and rests.  Love the digital angle read-out, too.
Gary

[glenn kangiser]

Don P, I have looked longingly at the round wheels with the piece of saw chain around it.... I know me and I must protect me from myself so I don't buy it.

I did slice my thumb into a small artery on one job about a year and a half ago.  Taped it with black tape and a papertowel to finish the day... realized it was the small artery when it would still shoot ten inches when the tape came off.  Went to the CVS pharmacy for crazy glue and bandages and successfully fixed that... self employed and no workman's comp ...

Anyway... now I use a guard nearly all of the time....   [ouch]