Ok, so I saw the posts last night about Home Depot's 20% off tool sale and
decided it was time to get my new Makita LS1013 10" sliding compound miter
saw. $399 after the discount.
I get to the store and notice last year's Ridgid 12" sliding compound miter
saw for the exact same price (from $579). Would I touch most of Ridgid's
new stuff? No. But I've had great luck with Ridgid/Emerson's tools in the
past. Table saw, thickness planer, joiner. It wasn't planned that way,
just kind of happened over time.
Now I know that the Makita is one of the most highly rated SCMSs on the
market, but given my experiences with Ridgid/Emerson tools in the past I
thought "what the heck, go for the extra capacity." Plus the Ridgid cuts at
60 degrees to both sides, blah, blah, blah. All-in-all, generally a better
saw *on paper*.
I'm a hobbyist, not a contractor, and I'm not a heavy-duty user of most of
my stuff, so I expect this to be a good tool for me, but does anyone have
any opinions on the quality/accuracy of this saw?
Actually let me re-phrase that. "Love to hear some of your opinions."
Many thanks!
Thanks.
Jeff
Jeff asks:
>Ok, so I saw the posts last night about Home Depot's 20% off tool sale and
>decided it was time to get my new Makita LS1013 10" sliding compound miter
>saw. $399 after the discount.
>
>I get to the store and notice last year's Ridgid 12" sliding compound miter
>saw for the exact same price (from $579). Would I touch most of Ridgid's
>new stuff? No. But I've had great luck with Ridgid/Emerson's tools in the
>past. Table saw, thickness planer, joiner. It wasn't planned that way,
>just kind of happened over time.
>lus the Ridgid cuts at
>60 degrees to both sides, blah, blah, blah. All-in-all, generally a better
>saw *on paper*.
>
>I'm a hobbyist, not a contractor, and I'm not a heavy-duty user of most of
>my stuff, so I expect this to be a good tool for me, but does anyone have
>any opinions on the quality/accuracy of this saw?
You'll do fine. Had one for more than a year and no problems at all.
Right now, I'm using a Bosch 4912, and it is the current be-all and end-all of
SCM saws, but it is also the priciest of all SCM saws. What it will be like in
a year, I can't guess, but it's well made, the upfront controls are fantastic,
and it slices persimmon and osage orange like nothing. Great original blade,
too. As I recall, the original blade on the Ridgid was pretty darned good, too,
though I changed it for a 96 tooth Freud fairly quickly.
Charlie Self
"Man is a reasoning rather than a reasonable animal."
Alexander Hamilton
http://hometown.aol.com/charliediy/myhomepage/business.html