Your Guide to the Best Compound Miter Saws

Here at Compound Miter Saws we offer reviews of Makita Compound Miters Saws, Dewalt Compound Miter Saws, Hitachi Compound Miter Saws and Festool Compound Mitre Saws.

These days you can go out and pick up a Saw for next to nothing. Some of these cheap models will be fine for a DIY hobbyist who isn’t too demanding. They also may work well for specific light jobs like skirting boards and coving. The models I’m focusing on in this review are all real work horses, built to handle the requirements of a professional tradesman. We’re also focusing on the 10-12″ models.We’ll start with the cheapest model and work up.

Hitachi C12LDH. Around $370

This is an easy saw to set up and adjust. The Laser guide has a separate switch so you can set up your cut before powering up the blade. The laser can be set to the left or right of the cut.

The 15 amp motor gives 1950 watts of power that will handle hardwoods no problem.Start up is immediate but smooth enough. The fence is high making it possible to cut crown moldings vertically.The bevel goes up to 48 degrees and the max cut is 8″.

For the price this is a good saw. My only real gripe would be the quality of the plastic trim which tends to deteriorate faster than I’d like. It is only a cosmetic aspect though.Comes with a 5 year warranty but check where your nearest service center is first.

Dewalt DW716. Price around $399

Again a 15 amp motor delivering 3600 rpm. Bevel angles both ways which as a left hander i find very useful. Goes to 48 degrees too. It has a 10″ cutting length on the cross cut. Vertically it’ll cut 6 and 5/8 nested and 6 1/2 base molding with plenty of room to cut the bevels. No laser guide on this one. I love the Dewalts for their cam lock miter handles. They make it really quick to set up the miter angle. Start up is immediate. I have to say I’ve always felt the Dewalts are a wee bit rattly compared to Makita.

Makita LS1013FL. Price Around $500

This is a 10″ sliding saw that will cut 12″ at 90 degrees. Again its a 15 amp motor giving 3200 rpm. Thats less than the Dewalt and Hitachi but you wouldn’t know it. The electronic speed control self adjusts depending on the load. Vertically it’ll handle 6 and 5/8 crown molding and 4 and 3/4 baseboard. Bevel only adjusts to 45% though which is a draw back. What i love about the Makita is the seemless engineering. It is really well built. The moter and bearings are really smooth and I love the soft start up.

Festool Kapex KS120. Price around $1300

That’s quite a jump in price I know! Is it justified? My personal experience of Festool makes me drool over their tools!The level of engineering and the quality of the materials is exquisite. They are really joinery tools with all the dust extraction set ups you need for working with MDF. The accuracy and precision reflect this. This is not a tool I’d throw in the back of my truck like i would a Dewalt or Makita. And i wouldn’t be using it outside much either.

The Kapex has a 13amp motor with variable speed going from 1400-3400 rpm. 12″ cross cut and 6 and 5/8 nested vertically. The mitre goes to 50 and 60 degrees and the bevel to 47 degrees.

Nothing I’ve used so far has come close to the accuracy of this saw. It’s the porsche of compound mitre saws!

Home Maintenance & Repair Tips : Proper Use of a Compound Miter Saw

Whether you are using your Miter Saw full time on the job or just as a hobbyist it still pays to have a couple of different blades for different work. Using the right blade for the right job makes all the difference to the standard of work you produce and also to the life expectancy of the blade itself. Most people think that the saw is the most important factor in determining the quality of work you produce but this simply isn’t the case. You can have the best sliding compound miter saw on the market but if you are using a crappy blade then you are going to get crappy results. The major difference between all miter saw blades and table saw blades is the negative hook on the teeth. What this does is to prevent the blade being pulled into the wood.

There are three main types of blade that you need to be aware of and each has quite different qualities.

General Purpose or combination blades as the name implies are made to handle most types of work from simple cross cutting to more detailed finer cuts. They are designed specifically to make smooth cross cuts at slow speed on timber less than 2 inches thick. The gullets on the blade remove the wood from the kerfs while the tips provide a clean cut. This type of blade can be used for almost all types of wood.

A typical cross cut blade will have 60 -80 teeth and be 10 inches in diameter. As the name states these blades are set up for cross cuts. The standard configuration of the teeth is referred to as an ATB set up which means Alternating Top Bevel. A step up from this configuration is the Planer Blade which has a raker to clear out the wood from the cut as you go. This feature makes cutting plywood easier and works well with hard woods too. Choose a blade that has a 10 degree hook angle for smooth safe cuts.

If you are cutting Melamine or fine veneers then the best blade for the job is an HATB which is a High or Steep Alternating Top Bevel. It is the tooth shape in conjunction with the hook angle here that produces a particularly fine cut.

If you are wanting to cut hardwoods, laminates or aluminum then the blade you want is what is called a Triple Chip Grind Tooth. These are particularly resilient blades that with due care will last a long long time. Check into the varying rake and hook angles available for a range of different applications.

When you are choosing a blade I have found that it really pays to get a good quality one that will allow you to sharpen it again and again. You definitely get better results than with the standard stock of disposable blades out there. A good quality blade like the Ridge Carbide will pay for itself over time. They reckon you can sharpen these blades up to 25 times! Basically the higher the carbide content of the teeth the longer the lifetime.

It also pays to clean the blade. This will stop the resin build up. The pitch or resin will stop the blade functioning at its optimum and will blunt the blade as well as the resin holds the heat.