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I have no complaints about my bosch 12" other than the weight. Upfront controls are awesome, I've had it 6 years and has held up well. Forrest blade and it's good to go.
Just got the new Bosch GCM12SD glide saw for the shop. Love it. great cross cut capacity, and very accurate. Up from controls, less back clearance needed and good dust collection make it perfect for shop set up. It's big and heavy so for the field I'm using the 10" Makita slider I had in the shop, along with another 12" non slider. Check for intensives I got mine with a free GTA3800 stand witch sealed the deal. It's a very nice stand for the field that I now use with my old saw.
Funny, but I've never needed a 12" for anything.
Actually, even a 10" is too big 99% of the time.
The little Hitachi 8" will do almost any trim job. Except for cutting 4x4.
So, is this for the shop or site use?
The old 12" not working anymore?
I have an 8-1/4" and two 10" Hitachi saws, and yes a 10" saw is more than adequate for almost everything. There are times when the extra height capacity of a 12" is useful, and I want to have at least one saw that size. I probably want to replace one of the 10" saws with a Kapex that lives in the shop, but that's a different issue.
Hard to imagine using a RAS for anything but cutting rough lumber to length. I do mostly cabinet and trim stuff in the shop and a RAS would be a nightmare. What do you use it for?
Bailer Hill Construction, Inc. - Friday Harbor, WA Website - Facebook
Maybe you need a better RAS, David. A properly set up RAS is a cabinet tool- I used to use them to build drawer boxes- dado blade on it made for quick dado construction DB's. Face frames. Upper cabinet boxes- more accurate than a sled on a TS for anything in its cut range.
I do understand wanting a large saw for the occasional big crown... why not just go for one of the big Makita 16" chop saws? Be as good or better :) And impress people more "WTF is that thing?"
Different strokes, I guess. I've had 2 different RAS, many years ago, probably never that well set up and probably with mediocre blades. I much prefer a good SCMS for the portability, safety, ease of use, etc.
Next few weeks I need to cut some post wraps and other stuff that's larger than 4x4. Only convenient tool I can think of is a 12" SCMS, or maybe like you're saying a giant chopper. Here's one, costs more than the 12" glide saw http://www.amazon.com/Hitachi-C15FB-.../dp/B0000223KS
Long ago I worked for a guy in SF who had a 15" Hitachi chopsaw. No blade guard and the brake didn't work. A co-worker and I left it in the truck on lunch as we went into Safeway, and it disappeared. Oh, gee, sorry...
Bailer Hill Construction, Inc. - Friday Harbor, WA Website - Facebook
...why not just go for one of the big Makita 16" chop saws? Be as good or better :) And impress people more "WTF is that thing?"
As a matter of fact...a 14" Makita for sale. Used on one (yes, one) project 15 years or so ago. Maybe 10-15 cuts total. Also bought 4 80T American made DeWalt blades for it a few years later when Home Base went out of business.
Funny, but I've never needed a 12" for anything.
Actually, even a 10" is too big 99% of the time.
The little Hitachi 8" will do almost any trim job. Except for cutting 4x4.
So, is this for the shop or site use?
The old 12" not working anymore?
I feel exactly the same way Lavrans. In 28 years I've NEVER required the need for 12" blades. My first real saw was the original C8FB Hitachi, then I went to a Bosch 10" for a while.
Now I have 3 saws, the DeWalt DW712 (8.5"), The Makita 1016, and the Kapex. I have the Kapex permanently bolted to the workbench, it never leaves the shop because I firmly believe it is not a durable jobsite saw. The Makita I bought while on a job in NY, it's still at my families home there. I like the Makita for the most part but dislike the fence. The DeWalt 712 is by far the most accurate and repeatable saw I've owned, only dislike is that it's a bit loud and abrupt when turning on (no soft start).
I have Chopmasters on all 3 saws.
Makita has a 7.5" slide saw that I understand is just incredible but I've never used one.
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