Hitachi C10FCE2 or Makita MLS100

[transatlantic]

I'm looking to buy a small portable mitre saw, and have decided to go with a non sliding one to make it just that bit smaller, lighter and hopefully more accurate. The two I am looking at are the Makita MLS100 and the Hitachi C10FCE2. Both look very similar, but does anyone have any thoughts on them? reviews seem pretty good for both and so can't decide.

 

[transatlantic]

Just come back from taking a look at the Makita. Seemed pretty good apart from one pretty big flaw, when you would tighten the mitre knob on the front for a non preset angle, it would slide all over the place, moving at least a degree or so. The problem looks to be caused by the locking mechanism, which is essentially just a bolt that clamps down onto the base. As the end of the threaded part has a lot of surface area (M10 or so), and is not flat, as it would rotate it would shift things. I think it could be easily resolved by simply grinding the end of the thread to more of a point.

 

[AJB Temple]

Think carefully about what you will use this for before picking a small one. I have an 8" and a 12" compound mitre saw. If you are actually cutting compound mitres or tilting the saw significantly, this has a BIG impact on your available depth of cut. The better saws have very positive locking. Only the high end saws have easily and accurately controllable tilt.

 

[transatlantic]

Think carefully about what you will use this for before picking a small one. I have an 8" and a 12" compound mitre saw. If you are actually cutting compound mitres or tilting the saw significantly, this has a BIG impact on your available depth of cut. The better saws have very positive locking. Only the high end saws have easily and accurately controllable tilt.

You make a good point, I had realised how much smaller the mitre lengths of cut are, not so intertested in the bevel as I very rarely use it. I'm now thinking of the Dewalt DWS774, which looks to be a very compact sliding mitre saw. I know it doesn't trench, but again, something I never use.

 

[custard]

As the end of the threaded part has a lot of surface area (M10 or so), and is not flat, as it would rotate it would shift things. I think it could be easily resolved by simply grinding the end of the thread to more of a point.

That wouldn't be a good solution. If you ground it to more of a point it would likely create a small dimple or depression when you tightened it down. If in the future you wanted an angle that was just a whisker different you wouldn't be able to set it as the thread would try and re-locate itself into the original dimple, so you'd either have to repeat the exact angle or avoid that depression entirely.

Fettling a power tool to increase accuracy and precision occasionally works, but most times it's just a waste of your time. Power tool quality is either built in at the beginning or it simply can't be realised.

 

[transatlantic]

As the end of the threaded part has a lot of surface area (M10 or so), and is not flat, as it would rotate it would shift things. I think it could be easily resolved by simply grinding the end of the thread to more of a point.

That wouldn't be a good solution. If you ground it to more of a point it would likely create a small dimple or depression when you tightened it down. If in the future you wanted an angle that was just a whisker different you wouldn't be able to set it as the thread would try and re-locate itself into the original dimple, so you'd either have to repeat the exact angle or avoid that depression entirely.

Fettling a power tool to increase accuracy and precision occasionally works, but most times it's just a waste of your time. Power tool quality is either built in at the beginning or it simply can't be realised.

Well - not THAT much of a point. To be honest - it would be easier to just wack a clamp around the back behind the fence. My old old mitre saw had two knobs on the fence to lock the angle down, I way prefer that to the silly knobs sticking out the front

 

[rbland]

I have the DWS774. I’m fairly happy with it, the slightly unusual pulling action due to the way the rails are designed took some getting used to.

I don’t like the way the guard fully retracts when you grip the handle. I preferred the arrangement on my old saw whereby the guard retracts as the saw head is lowered. Also the front locking knob is a small diameter so it isn’t particular comfortable to loosen/tighten frequently. Locking into detents feels secure and everything was set up well from factory. One irritating thing is that if you want to set the saw to an angle very close to one of the detents e.g. 91deg, it tends to drop into the detent. This is incredibly irritating if you’re trying to fit skirting to an out of plumb wall or something similar. However, away from the detents it doesn’t skate around like you found with the Makita.

Overall it feels solid and secure, with basically no lateral deflection when the saw head is fully extended. It’s lightweight and the two side handles make it very easy to carry. There’s no top handle, so one handed carrying can be tricky, although I’ve carried it up a ladder with it dangling vertically from one handle and it held its settings. When I bought it I think it was one of the few saws which have rails that don’t extend out the back of the saw (I couldn’t afford the Festool KS60).

If you want to save £20 I believe the DWS773 is the same apart from the motor is 1300W rather than 1400W and the 773 doesn’t have the XPS shadow line.

 

[Bodgers]

I have the DWS774 also. It is okish. Like most mitre saws, I wouldn't rely on it for fine precision.

It does have lateral movement. You can dial most of that out, but that will introduce way too much stiffness in the sliding mechanism.

 

[transatlantic]

Thanks for the replies. I had a look at the DWS774 and was not happy with the amount of lateral movement, although the angle adjustment mechanism was very good, very solid.

 

[wills-mill]

I use the smaller sliding Hitachi and the lock is excellent for non standard angles. It draws tight and clamps up nicely, rather than just poking a thread against a stop.