Thread: Compound slide saws 2015. Good better best?

I've only used 1 sliding saw in my time and it has been enough to make me a Bosch fan, unfortunately its $1000 though.
This saw sits smack bang in the middle of your price range and I believe offers great value https://sydneytools.com.au/bosch-gcm...QhHhoCAK_w_wcB provided you don't specifically need a 12" blade

I'm very happy with my Makita LS1018L. 1430w, Laser, 260mm blade - $459
Makita also has a LS1216 - no laser, 1650w, 305mm blade, $969

Sounds like you need a tool to take a bit of abuse, but does not need to be top of the line.
I would rule out the Ozito - quality could be questionable and the Dewalt as well as the Hitachi - cost.
The Swarts might be good - but being a community group, not sure on there parts/repair reliability.
The Triton is fairly new and is probably trading on its name at the moment.
That leaves the Bosch and if you can find a Makita you would probably have a good reliable machine at a reasonable price.

I have not looked at the specs of these machines, but if you can bevel left and right you would be better off as it will reduce stuff ups.

I am sure you will come up with a machine to do the job at a good price.

You may find some interesting information here. The stuff they sell is pretty much to tradies, if it doesn't sell, they don't stock it. They are in Dandenong, which is a little bit away from you.

The very last unit, which has an induction motor, has to be heard to know how noisy most of the others are.

https://www.tradetools.com/product-r...&PageProduct=1

Mick.

Interesting info, thx guys.

Notwithstanding the need to cut large beams and panelling (?) if you can get away with a non-slider your purchase price drops by half and by half again if you buy secondhand. And it's much lighter and easier to move around. It's what I'd do.

LS1216 but use a dust collector, not the useless little bag attached to it. If you want an outstanding saw, there's always the Kapex. But I have found the Makita to be an exceptional saw as well.

LGS

I've got the Dewalt one... As you have stated.. this one has no laser. It has even better solution... There is light mounted above the blade casting exact shadow of the thickness of the blade onto the work.. And not just that... I've used in in open while making decking and you can easily see the line in bright daylight... With laser ... you cant see it in daylight...

I've used bosch one... NOt a bad machine but laser is basically a gimmick (and I suspect it is on most of other ones)
Bosch laser got clogged with fine dist within few hours of use.. to clean it you have to dismantle it which will take it out of alignment (not that it was aligned properly to start with when you take it out of the box...
Dewalt doesn't need alignment.. it is always aligned..

Quite happy with it... the only potential fault if I was to nit pick... is the dust collection. but using couple of other ones and seeing that most of them have very similar dust collection solution I would be led to believe that all of them will have same issue...
Other than that... maybe a weight.. but on a positive side.. dewalt was aligned and ready to go straight out of box and minimal assembly is required...

Another plug for the Makita. I have a Makita LS1013 that hasn't skipped a beat, and it's done a lot of work. The Makita saws are good IMHO. I would reccomend one with top rails as it has a more compact footprint if you choose to build it into something in the future, which is one thing my LS1013 loses out on.

Regards
Graham