Advice on New Compound/Slide saw

Hi guys, first post here so please be nice :D and i hope this is the correct forum sub section to place this topic in.

Ok so here is the deal, i am now a 62 y/o retiree, and i was a renovator/builder until 12 years ago, gave it away to move into computing (long story)

35 years ago i bought a bundle package of 8 different Makita power tools, every one of them bar 2 survived at least 30 years of continuous service before eventually stuffing up, and my last 2 remaining Makita tools are my trusty 184mm power saw, still working beautifully, and my trusty old 254mm 2400H Drop Saw (not a slide saw) which unfortunately 2 days ago decided to stuff up and is now making a horrible crunching noise, apparently the bearings have shot and i was told by the local Makita service shop not to bother fixing it.

Now that i am retired, i don't use my power tools that much, but i do want to buy another drop saw as i now do a lot of aluminium work and these machines are needed for this work, but i don't want to spend a fortune as i can't justify the cost, and i don't want battery powered, so i set about looking for a slide saw for wide cutting, and found 2 saws at Bunnings that may suit my needs and my budget, given that i will need to buy new blades as my other drop saw blades were 25.4mm arbor to suit the Makita drop saw and the other new saws both have a 30mm arbor, so the only way i can use those blades will be to have them re-bored, and i have no idea of who can do this, or how much it will cost.

I really only wanted a 7 to 8" machine, but most of those are battery operated, but i found the following 2 saws both costing only $299, the Ryobi is a 254mm, and the AEG is 216mm, and both brands are exclusive to Bunnings, so no point looking elsewhere for these 2 saws.

Ryobi 2000W 254mm Dual Bevel Sliding Mitre Saw | Bunnings Warehouse
2000W 254mm Dual Bevel Mitre Saw | Ryobi Tools

AEG 1400W 216mm Slide Mitre Saw | Bunnings Warehouse
1400W 216mm Slide Mitre Saw | AEG Powertools

I am not a big fan of either brand to be honest, DeWalt is my preferred brand as i now have another 184mm circular saw and a set of cordless drills, and i love them, but DeWalt is not cheap to buy.

Any thoughts from you guys as to these 2 machines as far as quality/reliability goes, as i would rather the AEG just because it is a slightly smaller saw, but i would buy the Ryobi if i think it may be a better machine.

As far as blades go, both saws come with a 40 tooth general purpose wood cutting blade, but i also need to buy at least 1x 80 or 90 tooth triple cut blade for cutting aluminium, and at least 1x fine tooth multi purpose blade (aluminium/wood/plastic)

Cheers

Perhaps the local Makita service shop is hoping for a replacement sale. I would suggest you get another opinion; ball bearings are not expensive, and if there are no other issues with the saw, repair should be straightforward. I think bearings can be regarded as consumables in most machinery..

Chas.

I replaced the main bearing in an old makita circular saw some years ago. I went to a bearing supply outlet with the old bearing and asked if they had anything that would fit. Provided the plastic where the bearing sits has not melted out then it should be fixable.
Regards
John

Thanks guys, i was more hoping that i could get some input regarding the 2 slide saws that i am looking at buying.

I know the bearings, and even bushes are fairly cheap repairs, but after 35 years i want to retire that saw and get a brand new slide/compound saw instead, that will then last me for several more years, and i do really need a slide saw now as i am now cutting aluminium plate (and timber) over 110mm wide, and my old drop saw only had a 110mm cut width.

I will take the old drop saw to the Makita shop (rather than call them again) and leave it with them to test it out and get an opinion, but i don't want to spend any more on it than i need to, given that i can get one of those 2 slide saws for $299.

Cheers.

Probably not much difference in quality given they’re a similar price. Check out the blade options - afaik the 254mm size is more common so you’ll have more choice and be readily available.

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Originally Posted by Sam

Probably not much difference in quality given they’re a similar price. Check out the blade options - afaik the 254mm size is more common so you’ll have more choice and be readily available.

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Blades are fine, there is a good variety of 216mm blades for the smaller AEG machine out there that meet my needs, ranging from 16t up to 80t both wood cutting and tripple cut for aluminium cutting, and 8" for me is a better size than 10", and both cut 305mm wide boards, so i will go with the AEG i think.

Cheers

Depth of cut is the only issue I would have with the smaller blade saw but I can see the advantage if you have to move it about. I am also on the lookout for one as I think my brother is a bit over me always borrowing his.
Regards
John

A friend, who is semi-retired, has the AEG unit, only had it for a few weeks. He repairs and installs replacement aluminium windows and needed something light and portable, plus one that could aid in keeping the surrounds sort of clean. He runs the extraction system directly to a vacuum cleaner, actually a big-ish wet and dry vacuum cleaner. He did this by bypassing the inbuilt fan unit attached to the motor. Which works sort of alright at keeping the surrounding area clean.

As for the machine itself, it does the job. His previous machine was a Bosch, but when on a site having a lunch beak he had it nicked and needed something really quick. He called into the local Bunnings and was back on the job same day.

I wouldn't say it was better than his Bosch by a long shot, but it does the job.

He mentioned that he nearly bought the Ozito unit of the same size which was almost 50% cheaper; for reasons I cannot remember, he didn't buy it.

Mick.

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Originally Posted by Optimark

He mentioned that he nearly bought the Ozito unit of the same size which was almost 50% cheaper; for reasons I cannot remember, he didn't buy it.

Mick.

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DO NOT ever buy Ozito crap except maybe their 18v cordless drills, which are quite decent these days for general use, but they do have a longer warranty than any other brand, and a no questions asked exchange policy.

4 years ago i bought a set of 2 cordless drill kits, the older 14v models, one hammer and one non hammer, the chuck stuffed up on one within 2 weeks, i returned it, got a new one, the other one lasted 3 months and the chuck stuffed up on that, i got a new one, then 3 months later 2 of the 4 batteries i had lost charge and would not recharge, i got 2 new batteries, then i never used the drills for about 6 months, and when i did, both drills broke.

I took the 2 complete kits back to Bunnings (each had a drill, 1 battery and a charger) and the model i had was replaced with the new 18v series, so Bunnings had to replace my 2 drill kits with the new 18v models, however the 2 spare batteries i bought only had a 1 year warranty so they would not replace those, so i ended up buying a battery kit with a charger and 2 batteries.

These new drills are much better built, with a lot more metal this time, and they are very powerful, but a few months later i used the hammer one drilling into mortar in my wall and the hammer stuffed up, so i had that drill replaced, but apart from that, this new kit has survived 18 months now without any issues, although i don't use them very much.

Their other power tools however are rubbish, and i know that their drop saw/slide saws are horrid to use, and they are not calibrated very well as far as accuracy with angles and cuts, and they have a very high failure/return rate according to one of the tool shop managers that i spoke to recently.

I personally hate bosch, AEG and Ryobi, their gear was good years ago, but not any more, however for $299 i think i am prepared to take the 8" AEG slide saw given i no longer am a builder and it will not be used that often, probably more used for aluminium use with a tripple cut blade.

Depth of cut on the 8" AEG is fine, if i needed to cut anything thicker then i would roll it over and cut from the other side.

I don’t whether it makes a difference to you but from what I can glean from the specs. is that the Ryobi will bevel both ways but the AEG will only bevel to the right.

I have only had two Ryobi tools ( a bench drill and a reciprocating saw) and both were returned the same day. However, the guy that put up my carport loves Ryobi drills and he uses them day in, day out.

I have an AEG brushless drill and driver set and a cordless circular saw. Drill had to be repaired under warranty but other than that they seem OK. Most of my corded gear is a Makita.

If I had to by another SCMS I would make sure that it had stationary rails facing forward on which the head slid rather than rails that slide forwards and backward. In a confined shed like mine they are a PITA.

[QUOTE=Lappa;2158341
If I had to by another SCMS I would make sure that it had stationary rails facing forward on which the head slid rather than rails that slide forwards and backward. In a confined shed like mine they are a PITA.[/QUOTE]

Makita has a new model out that does that and the reviews are very good, the dust collection on it is a big improvement on previous models too

Thanks Beardy. I saw the new saw while doing a search, then I saw the price :oo:

I have now modified my SCMS station to make it more suitable for my shed. The dust collection is not as good as before but it’s adequate.

I have not bought a Slide Compound Saw yet, just been holding off and looking around at more stuff.

Unfortunately today i had an accident with my recently purchased 184mm DeWalt power saw where it kicked back on me and it caused the base plate to buckle out of alignment, so now i need to replace that tomorrow as a priority as i had recently bought a few new aluminium cutting blades and use the saw to cut large sheets of 2mm and 3mm thick Aluminium.

Going to grab this one tomorrow.
Dewalt 1350W 185mm Circular Saw DWE560E | Total Tools

I was in Bunnings today and i revisited the Slide Compound Saws in the tool shop, and noticed that the bigger 254mm Ryobi model seemed to be very poorly built compared to the 216mm AEG model (both $299) with a lot more plastic used.

The Ryobi does have the dual mitre cut where the AEG only mitre cuts to the right, which is a real issue now that i found this out today, i didn't even pick up on that when i was looking at both of them before.

I think i will bite the bullet and spend a bit more money on one of the better DeWalt or Makita models, i just hate all the horrid plastic on the Ryobi, but i would buy the AEG one if it had the left and right mitre cut.

DeWALT 216mm Sliding Mitre Saw | Bunnings Warehouse