A miter saw is generally used to make quick and accurate cuts on a piece of wood or other material. Miter saws do this by pulling a mounted circular saw or a large backsaw blade down on the board quickly. There are many main types of miter saws and finding the one with the best worth is essential when buying a miter saw. Generally, experts consider any type of best compound miter saw to be the most useful, with different preferences throughout. Generally, experts use the best compound miter saws, of which the best are popularly considered to be made by DeWalt, although different individuals have different preferences. First, we will look at the best feature’s experts recommend to have in miter saws, and then the popular choice for the best miter saw overall.
Best Features
Most experts believe that sliding compound miter saws are the best to use since they have the advantage of being able to crosscut boards up to 12 inches wide while still having all the benefits non-sliding miter saws have. Costing from around $140 to more than $1000, sliding compound miter saws are available with different blade sizes varying from 7.5 to 12 inches. Experts also often use detents, and although every saw has detents for the common miter angles. The detents on some saws are subpar compared to the detents on others. Detents are increasingly important when making woodworking projects because of the fact that when you need to tweak the miter angle, the ability to adjust and lock in the miter a fraction of a degree from the detent angles is just as important. Many experts don’t use or recommend lasers because lasers are not precise enough for the exact cuts needed for top-quality trim work, and they must also be adjusted often. Many low-quality miter saws tilt only one way and utilize a lever or knob on the back of the slides that you loosen to tilt the saw. Experts recommend saws that have a tilt release that is located at the front of the handle because of convenience. Experts also often prefer ambidextrous switches since saws are operated with two hands. Experts also measure how easy it is to lock the miter on saws. For example, on some DeWalt saws, all you have to do to lock the miter is simply press down on the handle, which is quick and easy. Tall fences are also recommended by experts when picking out a saw since they allow you to cut taller pieces of wood. Experts also recommend miter saws that have easy blade-changing processes, even though blades are not changed often. Experts also recommend intuitive saws that don’t need an instruction manual to operate, since it allows for ease of use and convenience. Good-Quality blades are also taken into consideration by most experts since blades with bad quality can break the wood or cut it in undesired ways. Dual-bevel saws are also recommended since they allow you to make opposite bevels without having to change the orientation of the piece.
Overall Best
Many experts consider the DeWalt Dw717 to be the best overall miter saw since it has dual-bevels, is at an affordable price of around $450, and has an easy to use and intuitive design with a reachable bevel lock, and has many other great features, although it is hard to change the blades on it.