Woodworker's Journal 2002-26-3, страница 44
TOOL REVIEWinstantly. Setting up cuts is easy, thanks to blade offset and depth of cut scales, an adjustable line of cut indicator and ripping guide. I found this saw to be noisier than other saws in the test group, but it's still quieter than my corded saw. For cleaner cutting, a hinged dust collection port on the upper blade guard connects to Bosch's Air Sweep vacuum system. Around $499 buys both tools, a pair of Ni-CD batteries, one-hour charger and a swiveling head worklight. For this price you should expect high performance, and I think Bosch delivers it. Makita 24-volt Compound Miter Saw & Drill/Driver Kit Makita is one of only a few manufacturers building cordless compound miter saws. This 24-volt saw makes a great combo kit when paired with a 1/2" drill/driver. The drill/driver features an 18-position clutch and two-speed gearbox for carrying out a full range of drilling and driving tasks. One-handed bit changes are made possible with the single-collar chuck. I put the drill through the same paces as the Bosch. After boring 24 spade bit holes with the drill set to high speed, there was no noticeable loss of power. The kit includes a clamp-on side handle for high-torque drilling as well as a depth stop rod. Externally accessible motor brushes should make eventual tune-ups easy. If you're looking for a sliding compound miter saw that's compact but not short on features, this saw deserves serious attention. The saw carriage rides on a pair of tubular rails that slide into the base. This geometry keeps the tool's footprint at only about 3 square ft. when fully extended. It takes up about half that amount of bench space when retracted. Here's how the saw's cutting capacities stack up: With a 7W blade, the saw can crosscut 8/4 stock up to 7V»" wide at 90° and 2x lumber of the same width when tipped left to 45°. Its base swivels 47° to the left and 57° to the right for cutting miters on stock up to 5" wide. A taller fence would make the saw even more useful for cutting wide crown molding. The detailed miter scale on the base has preset detents at 0°, 15°, 22.5°, 30° and 45°. An adjustable stop limits depth of cut for making lap joints and cutting dadoes. Makita has determined that the saw will cut 316 2x4s on a single battery charge. In my test cuts, the saw slid smoothly and sliced through 2x stock without laboring. The controls are thoughtfully laid out, making the tool straightforward to operate and adjust. Tallying up other niceties, this slider comes with a dust bag, a vertical hold-down clamp and a 40-tooth blade. The motor brushes are externally accessible as well. The street price for this kit is steep, but the rep I spoke with says pricing has a lot to do with state-of-the-art MakStar™ battery technology. Each nickel-metal hydride battery has 20 internal cells with a memory chip that records the cells' charging history. A computer in the charger uses this information to determine the optimal charging cycle for each cell. The charger also features a built-in cooling fan that blows air through the batteries during charging to extend their lives and boost recharging efficiency. Chris Marshall is a freelance writer and woodworker who lives in Ohio. See his dust collecting router fence article on page 47. Makita DK2402HF 24-volt Makita DK2401HF Street price: $1049 Battery: two 24-volt (NMH) Phone: 800-462-5482 Drill/driver: 1/2" chuck Max. torque: 476 inch/lbs. No load rpm: 0-460; 0-1,500 Weight: 5.7 lbs._ Sliding compound miter saw Arbor: 5/8" Blade diameter: IV Maximum cut miter/bevel 2" x 7Vs" 0°/0° 2" x 5" 45°/0° 1Vs"x7Vs" 0°/45° 13/s" x 5" 45745° No load rpm: 2,300 Weight: 24.3 lbs. 64 June 2002 Woodworker's Journal |
