Thread: Makita LS1219 or Bosch GCM12GDL SCMS?

I have had the Bosch since they came onto the market with no problems at all. The one proviso to be aware of is it is very heavy and would not be anyone's first choice if the saw was to be regularly moved. I like it because it can be placed hard up against a wall minimising space requirements.

I went through the same decision last year (in the middle of COVID) and ended up with the Bosch.
After a lot of uhmming-and-aahhing I chose the Makita (I even put in a special order for it at Bunnings) but they could not supply and could not provide a possible availability and I had a devil of a time getting my money back.
I then shopped around all over OZ for both saws, but nothing available, and either got no response or shabby service.
The only place that gave what I called any sort of "service" was Total Tools in Cannington where a young chap was very helpful and kept men updated on possible arrival dates for both saws.
As the Bosch arrived first and it came with $200 worth of Bosch freebies I ended up getting it.

From what I call both saws have positive features.

The Bosch has
- a 2000 (versus 1800W) motor
- the glide mechanism looks more rugged to me than any rails and has 10 years of experience history behind it.

The Makita (I'm a Makita fan and all my cordless stuff is Makita) has
- slightly wide (a few mm) cutting cpapacity
- both 60º left and right mitre cutting capacity, Bosch only has 60º on one side and 48º? on the other.

I don't have direct experience with the Makita LS1219 but we do have a 12" Makita SCMS (the version with the rails out the back) at the mens shed and given the (mal)treatment it has received it has mostly stood up to it. However its dust gathering ability is pretty ordinary although I believe it is better on the newer model.

I've spent a fair bit of time on messing with the dust extraction on the glide saw as I did not have space to set up a permanent cowling or hood around it.
see SCMS extraction.
I did manage to get a significant improvement by making a bigger rubber cowling/scoop at behind the blade and can recommend doing this.
Then I set up an (overly complicated) double Bellmouth hood arrangement which is very effective for fine dust - still leaves a few chips behind but I only use these if I am going to be making lots of cuts.
For a few cuts inside the shed, theshop vac and a ventilator fan are more than enough to keep the dust levels well below OHS limits as measured by a particle counter.

As I have a very crowded shed and don't use mine that often I store mine on a pump up trolley under the LHS wing of the TS. this also enables me to take it outside if I am doing lots of cuts. It also enables "mates?" to borrow it easily as I can wheel it down the side of the house footpath up ramps straight into the back of my van. One of my brothers has used it a lot more than I have.

I had a makita LS1019 for about 9 months (actually 2) and it spent more time at makita than it did on my job sites
1st unit, the back fence was about 5mm out of square from the table, so they (sydney tools) swapped it for a new unit..
2nd unit, the 2 back fences were not aligned so, took it to makita to repair.
Then about every month or so, i would take it to makita to replace the mitre scale plate, as the indentations would elongate to a point of a good few mm play.. so always a gamble as to how accurate my cuts would be. And doing fixouts daily, i could always tell in my mitre cuts when it was time to take it back!
Makita would always try and blame user error for not locking it i to place at each indentation, but after the 1st time it was replaced i was very diligent at locking the mitre..
To me its a a bad design in bow the locking pin slides into the scale plate.. and being aluminium it was just too soft to work well..

I have since sold the makita and bought the 12 inch dewalt. IMO, soooo much better in all aspects! Still as square as the day i got it! Going on 13/14 months now!

Whilst i have not used the bosch and now opinoin it it, i can say im happy with my dewalt..

I do have all my cordless tools as makita and do own an older makita scms (ls1013), but i cant say i would rush to buy another larger item makita any time soon

I have the Bosch and used it for 5 years with the last 4 years building a two story house. I just love it but not a fan of moving it around as it is a heavy piece of kit. My advice is take your time setting it up right then good times roll.