Woodworker's Journal 2008-32-3, страница 68

TOOL REVIEW

Charting the Top 10" Siding Miter Saws (5=Top score)

does a great job at sucking up sawdust, the Metabo throws dust everywhere, even when connected to a powerful shop vacuum.

And the winners are ...

Point Totals (in order of score):

Festool: .........41

Makita:..........37

Hitachi: .........34

Bosch: ..........31

Metabo..........25**

Craftsman: .......25

" Total doesn't include a laser guide score.

If you count up the point totals, the Festool Kapex edges out the competition, and it truly deserves high praise for its innovative design, precise German craftsmanship and extensive features too numerous to describe here (I have to at least mention the fantastic angle gauge that stores in the base). But there's a caveat: The Kapex costs far more than the other saws: $1,300 to $1,400 (U.S. price not finalized at this writing). If you're a true craftsman with a healthy wallet, I heartily recommend buying the Festool, especially if you often tackle complex joinery. But if your woodworking purchases are on a tight leash, my vote for "Best Bet" in a sliding compound miter saw is the Makita LS1013FL. While it lacks many of the Kapex's cool features, it performs nearly as well, and it will serve the crosscutting needs of the majority of woodworkers. Not far behind in points, the sturdily built Hitachi C10FSH also deserves special mention. At less than a third the price of the Festool, it's -a real bargain. /

any of the saws. I liked the Festool's dashed dual lines and the Bosch's fine laser line the best.

All of the laser guides except the one on the Bosch are adjustable, should they come out of adjustment with the blade, or if you change to a blade of a different thickness or want to set the laser line to the other side of the blade kerf.

Size, Weight and Portability

Bosch............2

Craftsman.........3

Hitachi...........5

Makita...........4

Metabo...........3

Festool...........4

While many woodworkers with home workshops use their sliding miter saws mostly for in-shop cutoff work, many folks lug their saws to the job site every day, taking full advantage of the saws' portability.

Although the Metabo is the lightest of these saws, its base is cumbersome and lacks carrying handles. The Hitachi wins the most points for portability, thanks to its small base, second-lightest-in-the-group weight and a top-mounted handle that makes it very easy to pick up and carry. The Festool also deserves praise, not only for its light weight but also for its compact fixed rail design,

which makes the large-size saw relatively easy to carry and which requires no clearance behind the saw, thus saving space in a shop or work area. The Makita is also relatively compact but harder to carry, due to the large size of its rotary table. The Craftsman is light but unwieldy, as is the Bosch, which is also the heaviest saw in the group.

Dust Collection

Bosch ...........3

Craftsman.........3

Hitachi...........4

Makita...........4

Metabo...........1*

Festool...........5*

* Vacuum collection only. Most powered miter saws I've tried don't do a very good job of collecting the dust that's hurled by the blade and collecting it in a little canvas bag. However, the Hitachi and Makita did a better job of capturing dust in their small dust bags than I expected. Each saw's dust collection improved considerably when a shop vacuum was connected to its dust port. Festool and Metabo don't bother including canvas dust bags, providing only a vacuum connection. But while the Festool

Metabo and Festool do not provide the typical "little canvas bag" to collect dust in. Both simply offer a shop vacuum dust port.

Sandor Nagyszalanczy is a writer/photographer, tool consultant and regular contributor to Woodworker's Journal. His books are available at: sandorsworkshop.com.

68 June 2008 Woodworker's Journal