I’m mainly a trim carpenter and custom cabinet builder, though I’ve built my fair share of decks and other things for years. Most of the work I do is in my small, 300-square-foot shop, but at some point in every job, I have to install the thing I just built. My installation tool setup has been cordless for the past two years including my miter saw of another brand. Here’s what I learned using this Milwaukee M18 7-1/4-inch sliding compound miter saw.
[Check out Sal’s excellent round-up video of the Ridgid compact table saw from that same small shop.]
Out of the Box
Out of the box, the tool was accurate. Assembly was pretty much take-it-out-of-the-box-and-go. My first impression was the saw was light and seemed well built. The stock blade was a nice one too; not what I consider to be the usual throw-away framing blade on a trim saw.
Power and Battery
When the saw arrived, I was determined to use it with the stock 40-tooth blade and XC 5.0-amp hour battery. That way, if someone else bought this unit I wouldn’t be giving them a bad review based on a different blade or battery capacity.
I used this saw on all my installs for three months, mainly with prefinished materials that I fabricated in my shop along with some on-site trim. Because I’m usually set up for a couple of hours at any given time, my saw setup isn’t elaborate: I use a standard miter saw stand with extension wings that have some minor adjustments to suit my work flow. Most installs require anywhere from two to hundreds of cuts and on each job I was able to get the whole job done without draining the battery fully. Once, I didn’t charge the battery for more than a week!
Adjustments and Features
The saw is easy to adjust. It took me just a couple of days to get used to the location of things because the layout is different from that of my old saw. The biggest obstacle for me was my muscle memory for the head lock push pin. I can’t seem to adjust to it being on the left side of the head while it is on the right side of every other saw I have used.
Another feature—that I love—is the shadow line blade indicator. I have lasers on every saw I ow,n and they all have little quirks to their accuracy. However, the shadow line is flawless. You know right where the blade will cut. You can even hit a little button by the trigger to kick the light on without having to spin the blade first. It’s visible in daylight but harder to see in direct sunlight (as are lasers.).
Blade
Out of the box, it’s a nice blade and I haven’t seen the need to replace it yet. I’ve been cutting mostly prefinished oak, maple, and poplar. Is it a perfect blade? No. But it’s not the typical throw-away framing blade that many saws come with. It got the job done for me.
The most important thing to watch with any sliding miter saw is the blade’s first contact with the wood and how to best manage tear-out. For what I cut, I prefer to score the top of a wide board with a shallow pull cut. This prevents most tear-out.
Doing this also pretty much side-steps effective dust collection. This is the case with most saws and this one isn’t much different. The dust bag is a decent size and doesn’t get clogged easily. I like its unique design, which utilizes an internal tube and deflector. Hooking the saw to a vacuum was an improvement but not much. It was OK with me, since I had the saw set up outside of the home anyway.
Portability
The weight of this saw is fantastic at only 28 pounds. As I age, I appreciate lighter tools. This unit is a one-handed carry, which means fewer trips to the van. It’s handy to carry to the work when needed, which is not the norm for me as I work mainly in finished homes.
Final Thoughts
One of the biggest downsides to this saw is its cutting capacity: Just 8 inches on a crosscut. My other sliders are 12 inches. Nevertheless, this was less of a problem for me than I thought it would be. Only once I had to use a different saw to cut some deeper shelves. Most of the time, I can flip the piece and manage a larger cut. If this saw had a 12-inch capacity, it would be a hands-down winner. Combined with the power from just one battery, it’s plenty of saw for my work. I will continue to use this saw for sure: I have already sold my older one, I like this one so much.
This article originally appeared in TOOLS OF THE TRADE.
