Toolbox: Cordless Compound Miter Saws

About a year ago, I noticed a small Makita miter saw at the local lumberyard. It was a slide compound model with a 71/2-inch blade. I didn’t think it was anything special until I realized it was cordless. Recently, I got to try out two competing models. One was Makita’s BLS712SFK, the 24-volt successor to the 18- volt machine I’d seen at the lumberyard. The other was Bosch’s model 3924, a 24-volt tilting compound saw with a 10-inch blade. Makita also makes an 81/2-inch tilting compound model, but with an 81/2-inch blade it has much less capacity than either saw I tested. I didn’t expect much from these saws, because the whole idea of running a miter saw off a battery