glass Posted October 20, 2016 Report Share Posted October 20, 2016 First off the saw came today. I only did a bunch of test cuts. Here are my first impressions: The Good; light weight and compact, good capacity for 10" saw = can cut 4x4 in one pass, cuts 2x material on the bevel, can cut 1x6 vertically (some limitation when miter table is to the right 4 1/4. Can cut a 2x6 vertically 0. The light shadow line is great. Saw was dead nuts square and plumb out of the box and passed the blade parrellel to the slides test ( in a wide board make a plunge cut with the blade by the fence lift up the blade and pull all the way out and slide cut to meet first cut- dead on. Decent stock blade. Smooth slides with little side to side deflection with one caveat( explain later). Smooth miter table turntable with cam lock and detente overide. Flat table with square fences. Paddle bevel lock is nice to use with no slipage when not in bevel detent. Passed the bevel miter return test= I cut a 45 bevel in a 1x6 and flipped it over and cut off just the miter to make a miter return. Soft start and stop and blade stops quickly. Easy to hold guard up while cutting even though it has a small safety switch, I find this essential to making long bevel cuts on all saws. The bad: loud. There is a little upwards play in the slide bearings when the saw head is in the up position but no side to side play(relative to being a slider if you really lean on it any slider will deflect) So far no effect on accuracy. I have beeen able to make perfectly accurate cuts. Dust collection, wholly crap dust collection sucks balls. The biggest miss so far is that the cam lock on the miter is not as strong as the dewalt, if bumbed it can move and slip into a detent. I tightened it and it improved, it will not move during a normal cut just not as locked down as some other saws, about on par with the kapex. There maybe grease on the locking area? as many parts where well greased. Further testing is needed. The fast charger charged the battery fast. I think runtime will be good. Overall a nice saw. Not quiet as robust as there corded 12" but easy to use and I feel like I can do some great finish work with it. I put a 60 tooth diablo blade in it. It cut better with the stock blade. I never liked the diablos, kind of a just good enough throw away. I will try some makita blades later, as I have had good luck with them ( I find them well priced for the quality usually good for a few sharpenings). just my 2 cents so far 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnarlyCarl Posted October 20, 2016 Report Share Posted October 20, 2016 Nice, thanks for the objective thoughts.. you getting tenryu blade? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bremon Posted October 20, 2016 Report Share Posted October 20, 2016 Thanks for the first impression glass! Much appreciated. Looking forward to more thoughts and impressions as you continue to use it (and next month I should be able to chime in with opinions as well ). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerryNY Posted October 20, 2016 Report Share Posted October 20, 2016 I have to agree with Glass that the cam lock could be tighter. The detents are strong but if you are between a detent and knock it it can slip so I might try to tighten it down a bit more. The saw seems amazing light for how well built it is. I needed to get my car in the garage so I unlocked the saw from my stand and was able to put the saw on a shelf about four and a half feet off the ground easily. I don't think any other saw with this kind of capacity would be as easy to throw up on a shelf. The dust collection is so-so but I haven't tried hooking up a vac to the port on back. The stock 60t blade is pretty decent but I'm considering getting an 80t for some prepainted maple crown for my kitchen cabs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glass Posted October 20, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 20, 2016 To continue : I think the slight play in the slides when the saw head is in the up and farthest back position is a non issue. I adjusted the cam lock on the miter, I am satisfied with its locking ability, albeit not quiet as solid as some others. The combination of ease of use, compact, light, high accuracy make this an excellent finish saw. The biggest weakness is dust collection which is poor. I will use some tape to increase the shroud in hopes of better results. Lets talk power and runtime. Runtime is superb, no joke. $600 with the free battery, there is no way it doesn't last all day and if by chance it does throw in a 5.0 and the rapid charger will bring back the 9.0 quick. This saw is not the most powerful but its got plenty of power to be a great finish saw. I would classify the power as good. One does not need more out of a finish saw. more to follow. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerryNY Posted October 21, 2016 Report Share Posted October 21, 2016 Both 9.0's that came with my saw were on one bar out of the box and while I was waiting for them to charge I was using a 5.0 I had on hand. I didn't time it but they charged way faster than I expected so the rapid charger does seem to do a great job on the 9's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bremon Posted October 21, 2016 Report Share Posted October 21, 2016 90 mins on the 9.0 with the rapid charger is what I see rattled off everywhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glass Posted October 21, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 21, 2016 seems more like 30 min Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnarlyCarl Posted October 21, 2016 Report Share Posted October 21, 2016 7 hours ago, Bremon said: 90 mins on the 9.0 with the rapid charger is what I see rattled off everywhere. I'm getting around 70 minutes or so 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glass Posted October 22, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 22, 2016 More thoughts : the saw had no trouble cutting through 1 1/2" x 11 3/8" aged red oak. Power is surprisely good. Accuracy is very good. The biggest weakness so far is dust collection, there lack of. Hooked up to a vacuum with some tape I rigged up to increase the dust shrouds gets the saw to acceptable, but kapex level dust collection is not happening. Another small miss is cross cut capacity which maxes out at 11 3/8". There is a number that could be removed or trimmed down and 11 9/16" is possible. I like the saw for finish but I am keeping my Makita ls1216l but am considering the flexvolt battery generator for the table saw or the Makita saw. On a side note the fast charger charged a 5.0!in less than 45 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bremon Posted October 22, 2016 Report Share Posted October 22, 2016 Does this saw come with the single battery rapid charger or the big 3 port M12/ 3 port M18 version? Reviews seem to indicate the small but retail listings and Milwaukee's site say the big one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regopit Posted October 22, 2016 Report Share Posted October 22, 2016 Nice write up glass. As of now I have 3 Miter saws. The Dewalt 780, The 7 1/2 20volt and my 10" Kapex. I like the DeWalt 20 volt but it is limited to what it can do so I'm thinking about selling it and picking up the Milwaukee, but I really do like how compact the 20 volt is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLRWI Posted October 22, 2016 Report Share Posted October 22, 2016 Great write up. Bummer on the dust collection no doubt a lot of positives though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerryNY Posted October 22, 2016 Report Share Posted October 22, 2016 46 minutes ago, Bremon said: Does this saw come with the single battery rapid charger or the big 3 port M12/ 3 port M18 version? Reviews seem to indicate the small but retail listings and Milwaukee's site say the big one. Yeah it is the Rapid charger that does one M12 or one M18 sequentially. FYI any m18 battery with a lightning bolt on top has full fast charge compatibility and will charge much quicker on a fast charger. I think every M18 from 5.0 and up but I'm not sure if older ones have been revised but if they have the lighting logo they will charge faster: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerryNY Posted October 22, 2016 Report Share Posted October 22, 2016 34 minutes ago, regopit said: Nice write up glass. As of now I have 3 Miter saws. The Dewalt 780, The 7 7/2 20volt and my 10" Kapex. I like the DeWalt 20 volt but it is limited to what it can do so I'm thinking about selling it and picking up the Milwaukee, but I really do like how compact the 20 volt is. I almost bought the Dewalt 7 1/4" but I needed a little bigger for some medium sized crown I plan on doing. I pretty much decided that I wanted a saw that was cordless and had a shadow line LED system if possible. The Dewalt flexvolt is really nice but I don't really need a 12" and the bulk associated with it along with another battery platform that I really didn't want. The rumors and then the early reveal for the Fuel made me wait and I'm glad I did. It's a great middle sized saw that can do 98% of what you need while staying on the lighter side and with two 9.0Ah batteries and a fast charger it's a good deal IMHO. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bremon Posted October 22, 2016 Report Share Posted October 22, 2016 Makes sense Jerry, and yeah Milwaukee doesn't do a great job of explaining that lightning bolt imprint. Took me a while to figure out when I first got the gen2 fuel kit when it came out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glass Posted October 23, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 23, 2016 i think I am going to purchase the saw stache from fastcap to create a better dust shroud. Dewalts doing a big demo this week at the local lumberyard. I would like to get the skinny on the battery generator. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regopit Posted October 23, 2016 Report Share Posted October 23, 2016 4 hours ago, JerryNY said: I almost bought the Dewalt 7 1/4" but I needed a little bigger for some medium sized crown I plan on doing. I pretty much decided that I wanted a saw that was cordless and had a shadow line LED system if possible. The Dewalt flexvolt is really nice but I don't really need a 12" and the bulk associated with it along with another battery platform that I really didn't want. The rumors and then the early reveal for the Fuel made me wait and I'm glad I did. It's a great middle sized saw that can do 98% of what you need while staying on the lighter side and with two 9.0Ah batteries and a fast charger it's a good deal IMHO. I have heard the rumors for years and had seen the pictures from across the pond. I knew that as soon as I bought the Dewalt that Milwaukee would release it here and sur enough they did. I will most likely get the Milwaukee and never get around to selling the DeWalt and one of the boys will somehow finagle it out of me some how. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
comp56 Posted October 23, 2016 Report Share Posted October 23, 2016 7 minutes ago, regopit said: I will most likely get the Milwaukee and never get around to selling the DeWalt and one of the boys will somehow finagle it out of me some how. I smell a forum giveaway...lol 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glass Posted October 25, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 25, 2016 Update: Finally changed out the blade. I like the makita blades, I find them to be a good production blade for the price. The saw cuts much better super smooth. I also think if its possible that the dust collection is improved with the new blade. I made a duct tape shroud which helps when hooked up to a vacuum. Hooked up to a vacuum one can achieve fairly decent dust control but without the vacuum its like holy crap dust everywhere. I trimmed the bumper for the slides down and it crosscuts 11 5/8" and will cut 8 3/16" at 45. I still like it. I am going to dewalt horse and pony show today and will check out the dhs790 if its good the makita ls1216l could be for sale. Go cordless. I also want to see that generator. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khariV Posted October 25, 2016 Report Share Posted October 25, 2016 3 hours ago, glass said: Update: Finally changed out the blade. I like the makita blades, I find them to be a good production blade for the price. The saw cuts much better super smooth. I also think if its possible that the dust collection is improved with the new blade. I made a duct tape shroud which helps when hooked up to a vacuum. Hooked up to a vacuum one can achieve fairly decent dust control but without the vacuum its like holy crap dust everywhere. I trimmed the bumper for the slides down and it crosscuts 11 5/8" and will cut 8 3/16" at 45. I still like it. I am going to dewalt horse and pony show today and will check out the dhs790 if its good the makita ls1216l could be for sale. Go cordless. I also want to see that generator. Mind posting a pic and / or a video of your dust collection solution? I've been kicking around in my head a way to improve the DC on my corded Milwaukee miter saw and I'd love to see what you've come up with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glass Posted October 25, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 25, 2016 I will post tomorrow as I am doing some mock ups. Saw the dewalt flexvolt today. The battery generator was there but not released yet, damn. I tried out the dhs790. Here are my brief first thoughts, its the dws780 cordless but, its the better type 20 slides, brushless motor gets up to speed a good full second faster, does not have true soft start but starts softer and quick blade brake, and with my brief experience seems to have more power. It had the 60 tooth flexvolt branded blade. Pricey $900 with tax got me the saw, stand, dewalt tough box, utility kife, and cheapy bluetooth speaker. I could substitute the stand for 2 flexvolt batteries. I might do it if they will substitute the tough box knife and speaker for 2 more flexvolt batteries. On the fence. They will run another event in november. Hey makita you are falling behind. On a side note the dewalt rep said they are making an effort to make more stuff in the usa. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glass Posted October 26, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 26, 2016 Just some duct tape. Fits nicely in pickup bed. Dust collection with the bag wasn't so bad after all. I actually removed some of the tape. I am going to get the saw stach and put it on with Velcro so it can be removed. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plumbfitter Posted October 26, 2016 Report Share Posted October 26, 2016 It looks soo wrong seeing a green blade on a red saw lol... Atleast get a diablo blade so it matches! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glass Posted October 26, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 26, 2016 The makita blades are far better than the diablo blades I can get. The hook angle is all wrong on them. Try these makita blades.Trust me for bang for the buck they rock and are often discounted at cpo. I got 3 60 tooth, 3 80 tooth and 2 40 tooth blades for $200 no tax or shipping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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