The maker of the famous Skilsaw 77 takes a crack at a 12-inch slider.
Like many of the other recent tool introductions, the SPT88-01 12-inch dual bevel slider
adds to the company's growing collection of worm-drived powered saws.
At first glance, it looks a bit like somebody Franken-bolted a Mag 77 motor housing onto a miter saw. I wonder how it adds to the weight (Skilsaw says it's lightest in class, at 51 pounds) and balance.
At second glance, the dust extraction tube looks like it could efficiently drain a bathtub. The catch-shield looks sensible and low to the saw deck and there seem to be no choke points to hold dust in the unit.
The unit has an electric break and a shadow light. I love both features. The manufacturer also says it has “relentless” power and can cross-cut a 4x14 hunk of wood. I’ve never even seen a 4x14, so this will be good reserve power if you’re cutting, say, crown.
I’m increasingly concerned about the blades that I’ve seen on a few recent tools (not Skilsaw's). They were garbage and it wasn’t until I changed them that I realized they were ruining the tool for me. I’m not saying that’s the case here. But good miter saw blades are somewhere in the C-Note category so it’s worth paying attention to what the unit ships with.
It's due out to hit the streets in March, and we’ll be reporting on how it performs on site in the near future. (In the meantime, try our review of Skilsaw's table saw here and let us know what you think.)
This article originally appeared in Tools of the Trade.
