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chicago electric any good?


William S

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A harbor frieght just opened up in town and they have an chicago electric 12" double bevel sliding miter saw on sale for $140 with coupon, regular price is liste at $300. Does anyone have any experience with these saws, and if so is it worth the $140? I just want a sliding miter saw for 2x and 4x but this seems to good to be true.

http://www.harborfreight.com/12-in-Double-Bevel-Sliding-Compound-Miter-Saw-With-Laser-Guide-System-61969.html?ccdenc=eyJjb2RlIjoiMTk1MTM4NTQiLCJza3UiOiI2MTk2OSIsImlzIjoiMTM5Ljk5IiwicHJvZHVjdF9p%0D%0AZCI6IjEwNzgwIn0%3D%0D%0A

 

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I personally haven't owned their power tools but have friends that have and a fair amount were short lived.....I know $140 sounds like a deal one can't pass up but IMO the durability just isn't there. If I were in your shoes I'd save just a few bucks more and look at the Ryobi tools, they really are well built and fairly priced. You can get a Ryobi 10 inch compound miter saw for about $179.....anyway as they say YMMV

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I like to build my own furniture and for other people along with building decks so I wouldn't use it every day, but I also want a product that I spend my hard earned money on to be of a certain quality. Don't get me wrong I don't need a festool but I want and expect it to work and work well when needed.

For close to the same price you can get a kobalt one from Lowes that's would be a lot better. The laser needs to be adjusted out of the box but other than that I've heard really good things from at least 2 ppl. Plus Lowes has a good return policy if you need to do such a thing
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there is a place for cheap inferior tools and that is usually the store shelf! lets face it if you are a tradesman and need high end tools then chances are your going to buy the right tools needed to do the job or a serious hobbyist that is honing in on his/her skills....... now if you are a 3 weekend DIY warrior and don't need to spend a fortune chances are you are not that experienced with good quality tools. However some times and usually more often that not good quality tools can make up for some lack of experience. nothing worse than trying to do something you may not be good at or have little to no knowledge about and you are trying to do your best with crappy tools. 

For example, you get home with a couple 2x4's a new cheap mitre saw and you want to make a simple square box...common sense tells you to measure and cut the desired size...you get all the wood cut and put it together.....and bingo it is not square......hmm ok so you either know how to square the saw properly (some times the tool is not even capable) or you have no clue.....so you either re cut everything and waste material or you live with the not so square box.....so you did everything you could think of yet you end up with a poor result......

my point is cheap tools for some is not always the right answer, you add the stress, the time some times the wasted material and it is not so cheap anymore.

I look at it this way, if you need a tool for a small job now and again some times renting a good quality tool is better than buying a cheap one.

disclaimer: this does not apply to everyone or every tool.

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I had their 10 inch slider a couple years ago before trading up to a Kobalt 10 inch slider.  The rails were smooth and it worked perfectly, just needed a little tweak to get it to cut true.  The motor seemed strong and I wouldn't think that it would burn up easy.  I've never used the one you've mentioned but if it's anything like the other saw it should hold up fine.  Just get the extended warranty if you're worried.  It's a pretty good deal considering that you can't find other sliding 12 inch saws anywhere close to the price.

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yeah I was looking at the cobalt's at lowes tonight, I am starting to build my own furniture and its a pain in the ass to cut perfectly straight lines with a circ saw so I would like something that is true and dependable

I'm with you on that, setting up a circ saw with a rip guide takes too much time and sometimes doesn't turn out.  Having a sliding miter saw is the way to go, it makes those crosscuts so much easier and repetitive cuts can be done with ease.  Unfortunately I don't have mine anymore but when I get some cash i'm definitely looking to either a Ryobi 10 in slide, Kobalt 10 in slide, or a Chicago Electric 12 in slide.

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My buddy had the Chicago Electric impact driver that he used at the dealership he worked at. He fried his Ni Cad Battery in less than a month. I'd say for your money you should get Ryobi. The One Plus system looks perfect for the DIY and maybe professional.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Ryobi-15-Amp-10-in-Sliding-Miter-Saw-with-Laser-TSS102L/205216332 

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My buddy had the Chicago Electric impact driver that he used at the dealership he worked at. He fried his Ni Cad Battery in less than a month. I'd say for your money you should get Ryobi. The One Plus system looks perfect for the DIY and maybe professional.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Ryobi-15-Amp-10-in-Sliding-Miter-Saw-with-Laser-TSS102L/205216332

Yea the cordless Chicago Electric stuff is a joke by far!! The corded tools can be decent for the money.

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  • 1 month later...

Their tools are really hit or miss. I have a dual action polisher of their's and it works great, but I have heard bad things about other tools of their's. When I have the space, I would like to get a miter saw like this one. As of now, it would be between this or the Ryobi equivelent (if I decide that the extra $100 is worth it). I'm sure the Dewalt or Ridgid one is better than either of these, but they are also $500 or more.

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