( 36 reviews )
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Posted: 07-10-2009
I received this Bosche product in a timely manner from Amazon/Take Tool International. However, it required extensive adjustment out of the box and the directions suggest using tools that came with the saw. They were inadequate for the job. Also, the laser sent was not new. - Changing the blade (or installing the laser) is very difficult. The blade stop did not work properly and having to hold the shield out of the way was a pain. - the laser did not work well for me. Very hard to see, only accurate to about a 1/16 inch. Have to run the saw to use it - dangerous to try to adjust the workpiece with one hand while running the saw over it with the other! Seems a foolish thing to do. - The hold down tool provided is cumbersome, but works and is useable if you have three hands. - Dust collector is worthless. - Cuts were not very clean, but that could be a poor quality blade. _ I was going to take advantage of Amazon's return policy, but found it would cost me $93 to ship it. I don't consider that much of a benefit, and will hesitate to purchase any other large item on line. I'll sell this locally and lose the $93 here.
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Posted: 06-21-2009
This is a powerful, versatile, well-designed saw. It's expensive and you will not get the most from it unless you read the manual before you use it and follow the set-up instructions. If you've never used a sliding compund miter saw you definitely need to read the instruction. The major advantage vs. similar saws from Makita, Hitachi etc. is that the lever for releasing the bevel is up front on the same handle as the release for the miter angle. The levers and controls feel very solid and they're straightforward to use. (Ridgid makes a 12" saw with similar controls.) The Bosch comes with an arbor laser to the keft side of the blade that some people will like and some won't. It puts a thin red line just to the left of a .4 mm pencil line. To save on battery power, it doesn't come on until the saw is running and you don't see it on the board until you've pulled the saw down almost to where it starts to cut. If you don't like it, you can easily take it off. The handle can be set to any of four positions including two that will make lefthanders happy. The blade slides easily on parallel bars and it's nicely spring loaded so it's not too hard to pull it down and not too easy. It feels well balanced to me, and I'm short, 140 pounds and eligible for Social Security. There's no side-to-side deflection even when it's fully extended. The fences have removable sliding top sections that help if you're cutting crown molding. (If you slide the top sections all the way in toward the blade, you can probably set a combination of bevel and miter that would bring the saw blade into contact with the fence, so leave the siding sections positioned away from the center line.) It comes with a pretty good 60-tooth ATB crosscut Bosch blade that's OK for framing, but you probably should buy a good 80-tooth or 96-tooth blade for finish work or fine carpentry. Remember you need a blade with a 1" arbor. Amazon sells an 80-tooth Forrest Chopmaster that works very well. The saw also comes with an absolutely useless dust collection bag. Dust collection from a miter saw is difficult anyway, but the bag Bosch supplies is made of a coarsely woven burlap-like material. It's so porous that the little sawdust it does collect blows through the fabric. Removing the bag and connecting a vacuum to the port on the back helps a little, but even then at least half the sawdust ends up on the ground. A 12" saw is a step up from a 10" in terms of the height it can cut, but that blade is *big*. Despite the guard, the back 2/3rds of the running blade is exposed as you pull it forward on the sliders, pull it down and push it ack to start the cut, so you really have to be aware of where your arm is - not just your fingers. The saw has two well-placed handles that help you pick it up properly, but it's heavy and big. Moving it is awkward. I leave my saw in my workshop on a rolling cart. If you're planning to haul it around to jobsites, consider getting a collapsible rolling miter saw stand - maybe a Delta 36-136. That way it's less likely to be knocked out of adjustment when it's being transported. (Most of the handful of negative reviews on Amazon are from contractors who may have thought they could just toss it in the back of a pickup or who may not have bothered to read the manual and set up the saw carefully.) A side note: I bought a "factory reconditioned" version of this saw from CPO Tools, which is an Amazon partner. It arrived in perfect condition and I need only one adjustment to set it up. The arbor laser did not work and I emailed Bosch, which replaced it promptly without any questions. Separately, I had superb customer service from CPO Tools in connection with a return unrelated to this saw, so you can buy through them with confidence.
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( 1 of 1 found this review helpful ) Posted: 06-21-2009
This is a powerful, versatile, well-designed saw. It's expensive and you will not get the most from it unless you read the manual before you use it and follow the set-up instructions. If you've never used a sliding compound miter saw you definitely need to read the instructions. The major advantage vs. similar saws from Makita, Hitachi etc. is that the lever for releasing the bevel is up front on the same handle as the release for the miter angle. The levers and controls feel very solid and they're straightforward to use. (Ridgid makes a 12" saw with similar controls.) The Bosch comes with an arbor laser to the keft side of the blade that some people will like and some won't. It puts a thin red line just to the left of a .4 mm pencil line. To save on battery power, it doesn't come on until the saw is running and you don't see it on the board until you've pulled the saw down almost to where it starts to cut. If you don't like it, you can easily take it off. The handle can be set to any of four positions including two that will make lefthanders happy. The blade slides easily on parallel bars and it's nicely spring loaded so it's not too hard to pull it down and not too easy. It feels well balanced to me, and I'm short, 140 pounds and eligible for Social Security. There's no side-to-side deflection even when it's fully extended. The fences have removable sliding top sections that help if you're cutting crown molding. (If you slide the top sections all the way in toward the blade, you can probably set a combination of bevel and miter that would bring the saw blade into contact with the fence, so leave the siding sections positioned away from the center line.) It comes with a pretty good 60-tooth ATB crosscut Bosch blade that's OK for framing, but you probably should buy a good 80-tooth or 96-tooth blade for finish work or fine carpentry. Remember you need a blade with a 1" arbor. Amazon sells an 80-tooth Forrest Chopmaster that works very well. The saw also comes with an absolutely useless dust collection bag. Dust collection from a miter saw is difficult anyway, but the bag Bosch supplies is made of a coarsely woven burlap-like material. It's so porous that the little sawdust it does collect blows through the fabric. Removing the bag and connecting a vacuum to the port on the back helps a little, but even then at least half the sawdust ends up on the ground. A 12" saw is a step up from a 10" in terms of the height it can cut, but that blade is *big*. Despite the guard, once you pull the saw down to make a cut, the back 2/3rds of the running blade is exposed as you push it back to start the cut, so you really have to be aware of where your arm is - not just your fingers. The saw has two well-placed handles that help you pick it up properly, but it's heavy and big. Moving it is awkward. I leave my saw in my workshop on a rolling cart. If you're planning to haul it around to jobsites, consider getting a collapsible rolling miter saw stand - maybe a Delta 36-136. That way it's less likely to be knocked out of adjustment when it's being transported. (Most of the handful of negative reviews on Amazon are from contractors who may have thought they could just toss it in the back of a pickup or who may not have bothered to read the manual and set up the saw carefully.) A side note: I bought a "factory reconditioned" version of this saw from CPO Tools, which is an Amazon partner. It arrived in perfect condition and I need only one adjustment to set it up. The arbor laser did not work and I emailed Bosch, which replaced it promptly without any questions. Separately, I had superb customer service from CPO Tools in connection with a return unrelated to this saw, so you can buy through them with confidence.
