• "One of several good saws"

Review excerpt:

I recently bought this saw from Amazon. It's a great saw. As I was shopping for the saw, I read a lot of reviews to try to figure out which one to buy - perhaps like you're doing. One reviewer would love a saw and another would think it was junk. I read one or two in which the reviewer complained that this saw or that one wouldn't cut a straight line. Don't listen to that stuff. Makita, Bosch, Dewalt, and perhaps a few others are great saws. I'll bet I can cut a straight line with any of them. And I'll bet I can warp the cut with any of them. Sliding compound miter saws aren't hard to use, but there is a little basic technique to use. Your manual will tell you about it. You may or may not like one feature or another, but used properly, they all do a great job. The Makita certainly does. If you know how to use one of these things, they'll work for you. I recommend the Makita. Everything works - even the laser. I took the time to set it up and it saves a lot of time for me. You have to use it a while to understand how to use it accurately. A guy I was working with the other day was using a different brand - I can't remember which. He was doing good work and he was faster than I was.
If you buy a saw - you'll need a stand. Here again, a number of them are good, but I'll talk about two. I bought a PortaMate PM7000. Once set up on the job, I love it's utility and versatility. For my work I thought that would be more important than mobility. But I have to admit - done over again, I'd get the Rigid stand (AC9940) that folds up and has the wheels. Other folks I have worked with have that one and I've decideded that mobility trumps utility. But that will depend on how much you expect to have to move your saw. If my PortaMate had better mobility, it would be everything I could want - and it would have cost another $100. I'm not going to send it back to Amazon. If I ever get too tired of lugging my current rig around, I'll buy a Rigid too. Here again, you'll find folks that will trash any of them in a review - and folks that will love them. And there's four or five really good ones out there.
So read the reviews. They can be helpful, but don't take everything they say too seriously - You'll be able to do good work with whatever you buy. With the general quality of the equipment being sold today - it will mostly depend on you.

(5 Stars)

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