Thread: Sliding Mitre Saw

Kris,Suggest you have a good look at the GMC rather than the Ryobi.
All the previous posts on GMC have given a positive on the back-up on service for this brand.
Ryobi bit more expensive ...and not necesasarily a good back-up in service etc.

So go with the GMC ...it might have some limitations but it'll save you a heap of bucks towards a good headache the followong morning in the Knowledge that you've got a reasonable tool ...and had a good time reading the fine print!..

Have one for me.
Cheers

Being impulsive all my tools were once GMC, great price for starting out, and the after sales service is great. Had an angle grinder burn out (after about 200hrs of work) and they replaced it without even looking at it. Also had a minor issue with a circular saw and once again straight replacement.

As an aside I am now upgrading all tools to real quality (personal choice is DeWalt) but still have the GMC and they are all still operating.

Rowan,

For DeWalt, read Black & Decker, and their service sucks.

Here's a tip:

I found that an electrical repairer (motor rewinds, that sort of thing) was an agent for a bunch of brands like Metabo, AEG, Hitachi, Panasonic...etc. They also carried a large range of power tools from these companies, at much, MUCH better prices than HardwareHouse (at the time) and of coures if anything goes wrong, they're the service agent, aren't they? Notably they had on special a Hitachi drill bit/driver kit for $64 - was $110 at HWH!! I bought two...


So my advice is look around because sometimes you can get what you want without paying top$$$.

I'm not convinced that one brand of power trade tools is the best in quality and design across the board.

I have both the Ryobi and GMC mitre saw neither is particularly
great but both do the job. (Long story how)

I think the GMC saw was by memory slightly more powerful than the Ryobi 900w.

I did find the blade guard on the GMC to be more annoying and was removed rather promptly, not recommended.

Its been about six months since I've used either, however if I had to choose and they were the same price I'd choose the Ryboi.

Generally speaking if I know that I intend to use a tool for more than one project and expect it to be around well after the warranty then I go for better quality.

Why because not only does the tool do the job first time ever time but there is no stuffing around for 1/2 hour trying to do what you want it to do, its just more pleasant to do what you set out to do than waste time.

Good Luck with your purchase

Pulpo

there is in kmart right now a mitre saw at $75, i have a 800w 205,3 years old gmc mitre saw and have not problem

I have the Ryobi CSS1000 1800W SCMS @ $299

I chose that over the same range GMC model as the Ryobi looked much more solid and had a smoother slide and drop action.

No problems so far!

I also have the Ryobi SCMS and am very happy with it.

Just bought the GMC SMS 250LS for $317 from Bunnies - had to order it in as it's a relatively new model - but only took 3 days and I'm in country NSW. Looked at just about all the models - expensive and the cheapies.

Couldn't justify the $1200 odd price tags on the Makita's, Hitachi's Metabo etc. So I chose this one because it's a dual rail ball bearing slide system - feels almost as smooth as the Makita's - just sounds like the ball bearings are larger in size. I found it much smoother than the equivalent Ryobi single rail model ($299) which had a sticky point in the one I tried.

Has a 2400 watt motor and comes with a little laser guide. At first I thought this was a bit of a gimmick as you still have to line up the edge of the blade with whichever edge of the pencil line you want - the laser beam is narrower than the blade. You can see the laser OK outside in the shade but doubt if you could see it with full sun on the job - you'd have to shade the area with your body.

But after a day's work yesterday, I found the laser really handy for a quick match with the pencil line (where 0.5mm accuracy isn't required) - don't have to put my glasses on, bend down and fiddle around - especially when cutting at some odd angle. The switch for the laser is hidden a bit, but I'm getting used to that.

Cut a lot of 45 deg trenches yesterday and it handled it well - better than I expected. Just cleaned them up with a file and they were fine - rough sawn timber outdoor job though.

The blade guard system also works smoothly - something which concerned me on the cheapies. The various knobs and levers do what they're supposed to - also like the bright yellow colour coding. Except for the dust collection system - only about 5% goes into the bag.

It comes with 36 tooth blade which is a bit coarse - all I've used so far - purchased a 60 tooth which I'll fit as a general use blade.

Also went with the GMC because of the support I've read about here - although they didn't reply to an enquiry email before I purchased it - a bit disappointing.

The 30 day satisfaction guarantee also gave me some confidence - if anything quirky surfaces - I can start again. But so far I'm pleased with it. I'd say it's excellent value for money for a quarter of the big name brand prices. But then I haven't actually cut any timber with the more expensive models - just fiddled with them in the stores. Also I'm only using it at home - not carting it around in the back of a ute.

info here - http://www.gmcompany.com/28_sms250ls.jpg

(note there's an error in the specs - there's also positive stops at +/- 30deg)

Davo,

I have the same model without the LightSabre (laser) and I am very happy with it. I made the decision to go with GMC for much the same reasons as you, and I haven't regretted it. I also bought their portable workbench at the same time, and after putting a piece of 8x2 in the jaws, it was a perfect platform for outside work. I have since built mine into a cupboard/hutch in my workshop and connected it to the dust collector. Dust problem solved. (You will find that most of the dust misses the bag on all makes & models, that's why the bag is so small.)

Is this the email address you used ? [email protected]

Is this the email address you used ? [email protected]

Yes... that's the one... maybe he had a long lunch that day.

I have the Ryobi CSS1000.
It does its stuff, but it has a couple of problems:
- the slide action has a sticky point in it
- the blade guard retraction has a sticky point in it (so it sometimes sticks as you are lowering the blade)
- the positive angle stops are not very "positive" (you can wobble the table within a "stop" +/- half a degree)
- no depth stop (which the GMC has)

It's less than 12 months old, but has been used a bit, so not sure if I could claim this under warranty??

Based on these, I wish I had now gone for the GMC, which may or may not be any better.

Dust collection of either would be pretty bad without a vacuum attached, so don't use that as a consideration.

The blade on the GMC looks aweful though, so you might need another $80 for a decent blade.