# Forum Home Renovation Tools & Products  Need to buy a Sliding mitre saw.

## Diddums

Just bought my first house and I have some big plans so I need to expand my tool collection. 
First thing on my list it to build a wall to wall bookcase out of BILLY bookcases from ikea for the wife. 
It's going to be laminated particle board and I'm going to need to modify some of the panels.  
So I want to buy a mitre saw and I'm not sure what to stay away from. I was eyeing off ozito from bunnings or 909 from masters but after some reading I'm a bit worried about the quality of the saw and results it will produce. 
I'm not too fussed about spending money on something decent, I don't mean tread quality, but I also have to be able to justify it to the wife.  
I'm more inclined to get a 12", and wouldn't mind finding one of those saw/stand combo deals.   
Other jobs that I'll be doing are:
Building 2 decks
Replacing window sills, architraves and door jams. 
Building a work bench and storage  
All input welcomed.

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## joynz

Hi  
We have a Bosch green.    Bought last year from Bunnings.  From memory had a longer warranty than some of the others.  Got a saw stand from Aldi for about $70.  Both work well.  Have cut a lot of arcs and skirts, no problem.  The laser guide is good. 
Thread below might help you - and not that old .  http://www.renovateforum.com/f216/sl...-600-a-109071/

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## Diddums

Sweet. Thanks.

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## Diddums

Has anyone had any experience with this brand.   http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item...d=331309003503

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## dinosour

Have a look at Makita LS0714. It will cut 300mm + at 90 deg. Very accurate good quality and most importantly and rearly required spares are available at a reasonable price.
ps its a pleasure to use and move about.
happy hunting

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## ChocDog

My opinion, if funds are limiting you from buying something of quality, buy a GOOD unit 2nd hand. I.e one of the older Makitas (made in Japan) etc. Just check it out for trueness/slop in bearings etc before committing. Would much prefer doing this, than buying something like an Ozito.

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## STX550

I have an AEG from Bunnings. $459 from memory. very good saw. its only a 254mm but it does almost anything a 305mm will otherwise use a table and circular saw or if its that large take it down to a joinery and get them to do a few cuts. Also got an extended warranty to about 6 years (FOC-Claimed online) and its rated for commercial use.
Cheers,

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## fredgassit

Was it made in Germany or China?

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## STX550

Probably China, but its solid and good value for money. its has a nice solid sliding mechanism, not like the Ozito and 909 that don't always tighten tight enough and the angles can get sloppy an inaccurate. I have a 909 Circular saw I bought from Master's and am pleased to say its the first and LAST time I buy cheap stuff like that. Its powerful and good if using for a straight cut but nothing else.

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## fredgassit

Was it made in Germany or China? 
Thanks STX550 ; will investigate.

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## Marc

Yes, yes the good old which drop saw to buy.
Rule of thumb 1 : Dearer is best, cheaper is worst.
Rule of thumb 2 : Bigger is best, smaller is worst. (well now don't get started on alternatives on this one please)
Rule of thumb 3: new is better, used is worst. 
So ... the question is ... how much money do you want to spend? And no, the answer is not the least amount of money for the best result. See rule of thumb 1
Question 2 ...  how much room to  you have for your new drop saw? Not a silly question because the saw I like myself requires more room than the one you have in mind.
Question 3 ... How much work do you intend to do with your new saw. Do you want a use once and throw away or one that will last you the next mtfpmn years ?  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I10K3N-UCnY  https://sydneytools.com.au/bosch-gcm...FY-VvQodmIUArQ

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## Diddums

That Bosch is a awesome setup. I'd love to have that but I can't justify $1000 to the wife for a saw. 😢

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## chalkyt

I went down this track last year (have a look at my post of 31 October and subsequent feedback). I got lots of good information along the lines outlined above. For what it is worth, I ended up buying the Makita LS1018L from Sydney Tools (they still have them listed at $425). I had a major project about to start (4.8 Metre diameter hexagonal Gazebo) and had karked an el-cheapo chinese unit (can't even remember the brand) a while ago and decided "never again" with the cheap stuff. 
Yes, the LS1018L isn't made in Japan, but for what it is worth my experience has been good. Specific relevant issues are... 
Get a left and right bevel machine, otherwise you will go mad doing the "if I turn the timber upside down, does that make a left cut into a right cut" bit. 
The laser is sometimes useful but not essential (mine wasn't too accurate "out of the box" but wasn't hard to set up accurately). The position of the switch is awkward since the laser unit seems to be an add-on. I sort of expected something like a unit that turns on when the saw operates, but you have to turn it on and off manually so it is really just a fancy pencil line. You can more or less do the same thing by positioning the saw blade on the timber. 
Cuts are accurate and repeatable enough for my purposes although I did spend a little time setting up the accuracy of the mitre indexing. The slow start is good and the unit is very quiet (there have been some comments in posts about the loudness of Bosch). 
The dust bag works O.K. but isn't very big and has to be emptied frequently. 
I teamed my saw up with an el-cheapo Ozito stand from Bunnings (about $90). It works well enough and is much better than trying to work on the ground or plank on saw horses etc. 
The angled motor makes right cut bevels easy, however there isn't any locking index points for bevels (only mitres) except for zero degrees, and the bevel scale is quite small so great accuracy is a bit problematic. The left bevel timber guide has a 45 degree cut-away so left cuts aren't a problem, however the right one is 90 degrees and has to be removed for right bevel cuts. Not an issue if you remember! but I can imagine one day in the heat of the battle, I might forget. 
I think that most of these comments may apply to other makes in the $400 price range but might give you an idea of things you could look at when evaluating what is available. I really only trawled through Bunnings, Masters and Sydney Tools so didn't look at absolutely everything on the market. Overall I am quite happy with the LS1018L and don't think that a bigger diameter saw would have been a benefit for my purposes. 
Good luck with your search.

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## paddyjoy

> That Bosch is a awesome setup. I'd love to have that but I can't justify $1000 to the wife for a saw. 😢

  Yeah I got this saw last year, bloody awesome step up from the second hand aldi saw I had before which I got from salvos. 
Pay some in cash and split the rest over multiple credit/debit cards  :Tongue:

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## STX550

its made in China, but unless you looked at the label you could almost swear it Germany. Solid as a rock.

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## Lovey

> Has anyone had any experience with this brand.   http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item...d=331309003503

   G'day Diddums,
sorry about the lateness, but I've got one of these saws which I bought late last year, also got the matching saw stand this year.  It's a fairly solid bit of kit and it's going well so far, but I haven't really done anything too technical or complicated with it yet.  I've only had to cut some angles on decking boards so far which it seems to do well (IMHumbleO).
I'll be able to give a bit better feedback when I've had to do some cutting using the depth stop and cutting some bevels.
All the best,
Steve.

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## ChocDog

> Rule of thumb 3: new is better, used is worst.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I10K3N-UCnY  https://sydneytools.com.au/bosch-gcm...FY-VvQodmIUArQ

  
Sorry Marc, but Id argue against that. Sure you need to be careful you dont buy some clapped out unit that been abused as a site saw. Im sure if you look around you could find one that had been lovingly owned by a wood worker. These guys are, generally, pretty anal about looking after their gear! 
BTW, like Paddyjoy, I also bought the Bosch GCM12GDL in your links. Its brilliant. Overkill for what I need probably. But hey, shiny tools are awesome 
But If I couldnt afford to splash out and buy a well designed and made unit, that at least had the ability of cutting accurately when new, as opposed to a crappy Ozito etc that, IMHO, had limited chance of being any good even new,  Im much prefer to hunt around a find a well looked after used quality unit. 
Also, having a proper stand for it is brilliant. Plus Id add a couple of roller stands as well for infeed/outfeed when dealing with long lengths. 
Just my 2 cents.

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## Marc

Well... it is rule of thumb "3" so the other two have to be applied first.  :Wink:  ......... I agree with what you say to a point. I have a larger collection of power and air tools than many professionals, and may be half or more have been bought second hand at cash convertors. A few of my best find were a self levelling builders laser level that has a new price tag of over $1000 for $160, and a Q50 Feins magnetic base core drill with a price tag of over $2000 for $340 if I remember correctly.....So is new best and used worst? Of course! My Feins works like a charm after I took it for a service, changed the lead, bought new handles, and a case for it, yet I have no doubt that a new one would be better than mine.....there has been arguments here that perhaps it is better to buy good quality second hand than new crappy quality. I of course do not argue with that. Crappy is just that, new or used and to be avoided unless you want a one off throw away unit......there are of course exceptions to that. I bought a GMC compressor about 18? years ago at a time I had no compressor and no money and the bastard is still going. Good only for nail guns, clearly no good for painting but hey...I think I paid $99 for it.........I have since bought a much better quality and larger unit but the old GMC is still there ready to be loaded in the back of the truck and plugged in anywhere.

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## r3nov8or

> Well... it is rule of thumb "3" so the other two have to be applied first.  .........

  Hey, hang on a minute, you didn't say there was some Boolean s@@@ goin' on here. FrodoOne will be along in a minute...

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## PlatypusGardens

> Has anyone had any experience with this brand.   http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item...d=331309003503

  
Been trying to look at that but every time I click on it the tab closes..... 
[EDIT] 
it worked now. 
I wouldn't bother with that.
there's a reason why half decent brands cost 2-3 times as much.....       :Wink:

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## PlatypusGardens

> Other jobs that I'll be doing are: Building 2 decks Replacing window sills, architraves and door jams.  Building a work bench and storage

  
no offense, but I always roll my eyes when I see posts like this. 
Once you have the saw you'll "find" 200 other jobs you need the tool for.
A good saw like this isn't defined by its watt, blade size etc.
It's the precision you pay for. 
Get a cheap drop saw and you might as well buy a half decent circ saw for the same price.  
my $0.02    :Wink:

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## Marc

I actually find that jobs are the best excuse to buy tools ha ha :brava:  
Example, ( a bit extreme I know, you don't need to tell me) ... I want to make a sign for my holiday house with cutout silhouettes and for that I am considering buying a CNC plasma cutting table ... top that one!

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## Diddums

> G'day Diddums,
> sorry about the lateness, but I've got one of these saws which I bought late last year, also got the matching saw stand this year.  It's a fairly solid bit of kit and it's going well so far, but I haven't really done anything too technical or complicated with it yet.  I've only had to cut some angles on decking boards so far which it seems to do well (IMHumbleO).
> I'll be able to give a bit better feedback when I've had to do some cutting using the depth stop and cutting some bevels.
> All the best,
> Steve.

  Thanks for the feed back. I went in and spoke to Sam, who runs Swartz tools, and I had a look at his gear. I was pretty impressed. And if it doesn't last then I have a good bargaining chip to buy a better quality one next time. 
And thanks everyone else for the input and advice.

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## PlatypusGardens

> I actually find that jobs are the best excuse to buy tools ha ha

  
Well that's exactly what I mean, but I roll my eyes a bit when people say "I only need it for one job so I'll just get a cheap one hey"
 (Not having a go at the OP here, just in general) 
A better one will make that job easier and give you more joy with future projects.   :Smilie:

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## Lovey

> Thanks for the feed back. I went in and spoke to Sam, who runs Swartz tools, and I had a look at his gear. I was pretty impressed. And if it doesn't last then I have a good bargaining chip to buy a better quality one next time. 
> And thanks everyone else for the input and advice.

  Did you end up going with 'The Swarts'?

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## Diddums

Haven't decided yet. I'm still looking around. I don't need one till we move in 3 weeks so it gives me a little more time to decide.

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## chalkyt

Not trying to push the LS1018L Makita because I bought one (I also considered the Swartz), but it does have 60 degree right mitre which was one of the features that swung the deal.... I know it is made in China and "not like they used to make" but for my main purpose (a hexagonal gazebo... great excuse to get some new "toys") the 60 degree mitre came in quite handy. Most of the others in the price range only went to 45-50 degrees. IMO the $400+ saws seem to be good "advanced" DIY units and certainly quite a step up from the Ikon, Ozito, etc stuff. 
How much do you need 60 degree mitres... don't know, but I can recall situations with decking etc when it would have been nice to have, especially when decking around an oval pool. It was interesting to compare all of the features and see the differences (especially bits of metal and plastic) once you got beyond the basic "cuts wood at 45 degrees" stuff.

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## METRIX

60 deg miters is a good feature, and at a price range of around $400 I don't think you would find many saws which will do that, its a shame the Makita may be the only one in that price range, choice is good.

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