I have the 12" sliding miter saw, it's this one. I'm extremely happy with it for the $179 I paid. (Considering you can't get near this configuration at Home Depot or lowes for under $450). The stock blade is OK, fine for 2x4s and lumber. I bought it for a large (1,300 sq feet) Pergo floor install job with LOTS of 45 degree cuts. I'm about 80% done with that, and, well, I love this saw. I did replace the stock 90t blade with a $60 Freud 96 tooth, triple-chip, which cuts like butter (when it's sharp, that Pergo is like cutting concrete.)
It is very easy to adjust, surprisingly accurate on the stops (better than my 4 year old Hitachi 10" non-sliding miter), adjustable, powerful, and performs very well. As with nearly all Chicago Electric tools (i have quite a few), they are built well, engineered well, but not always assembled well. By this I mean, out of the box, I always go through and tighten up screws, little squirt of oil here or there, sometimes adjust and align various parts. The precision is not there in the assembly, but the HF tools can be more than accurate with a little TLC. For example, the laser thingy, which is really not much more than a bolt-on AA battery laser mounted on the saw's neck, was slightly out of alignment. A few minutes to figure out how the alignment screws worked, and I got it lined up perfectly with the blade.
The only thing I don't like is that the laser is battery powered, and has its own dedicated on-off switch, I find that leads me to forget to shut it off when done using the saw and wasting batteries, but a small quibble. On the plus side, since the laser is on all the time, it's hands free, you don't need to put a hand on the power switch to activate the laser, you can line up the work with 2 hands, then go for the cut after it's clamped down.
There appears to be a brake on the saw, but it's not all that quick to stop the blade. There's usually about 3-4 seconds of spin-down on the blade when you cut the power. I've worked with others that are instant. It's not a show-stopper, but something to be careful of if you like reaching down and retrieving your workpiece immediately after you lift up the head. (while the blade is still spinning.) I highly recommend leaving the guard in place. It's a good guard, nice and thick with plenty of clearance.
The measure of a SCM (sliding compound miter), besides its motor, in my mind, is the rigidity of its sliding mechanism, and this one is impressive. The sliding mechanism is two inch-plus thick steel cylinders (instead of one really big one on models like DeWalt), loaded on ball bearings 360 degrees makes for very smooth and high accurate sliding cuts. After I bought this saw, I went back to the Home Depot and tested the higher dollar ones to see how much "play" there was in the blade carriage when you had it at full extension. I found that on just about all of them, you could bend the cradle about an 1/6th inch either way if you were sloppy, but if you were careful and just came straight down, kept your hand centered, you'd get as straight a cut with the HF as with the more expensive models, across the slide dimension.
There are hold-down clamps and table extensions included. These work OK. The knobs are plastic,
As stated, for $50 - $70 more than the 10" model, you get a more powerful motor, and more of the parts, including the throat, are metal instead of plastic, which I would say is worth it. Also, with a 12" blade, there is a larger cutting diameter, more teeth, so better heat dissipation and longer blade life.
In summary, a best buy. Plenty of power, but do make sure your blade is sharp. With a sharp blade it is a hot knife through butter.
But, it's your $50, spend it how you want.
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