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Discussion Forum

SCMS falls from sky

arrowpov | Posted in Tools for Home Building on September 27, 2004 04:05am

If your 12″ dewalt scms fell 25′ from your lift to the sidewalk, what 12″ saw would you replace it with and why ?

I did not have many issues with this saw, and it met a horrible death today, most of the cast parts are shattered , probably not worth fixing. When I bought the saw new it had a warped fence and some other accuracy problems which a visit to the service center and some replacement parts corrected, that one was the best of five that I checked at the time.

So this is an unexpected replacement, just looking for opinions on other brands.

thanks !

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Replies

  1. donpapenburg | Sep 27, 2004 04:28am | #1

    Bosch

  2. MSA1 | Sep 27, 2004 04:32am | #2

    If my 708 died i'd go for the Bosch. My one complaint with the Dewalt is the bevel guage is pretty difficult to read while the Bosch has it up front I believe.

  3. User avater
    IMERC | Sep 27, 2004 05:40am | #3

    Bosch...

    Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming

    WOW!!!   What a Ride!

    1. User avater
      AaronRosenthal | Sep 27, 2004 07:15pm | #25

      I like my Hitachi, and I've looked at the Bosch (product research only, for the benefit of my wife), and I like a lot of the features. But it is a HEAVY machine, and for me who travels from site to site in a smaller van, it would be a major PITA to pull it in and out all the time, to say nothing of hanging it from the rafters when I need to store it.Quality repairs for your home.

      Aaron the HandymanVancouver, Canada

      1. arrowpov | Sep 27, 2004 09:37pm | #26

        My dewalt that needs a proper burial was no lightweight. The day before my tractor was parked where the saw fell sunday, I was lucky it was not there to break it's fall.

        It seems like alot of people favor the bosch I will have to get a better look at it.

        1. User avater
          NickNukeEm | Sep 28, 2004 12:18am | #27

          Makita 12", more compact and lightweight than the Bosch, yet every bit as accurate.

          I never met a tool I didn't like!

        2. User avater
          Homewright | Sep 28, 2004 12:48am | #28

          Seems to me after the episode you'd be looking for a scms with a combination dust collection system (that really works) and a parachute.  You could cut for years before cleaning that one out...

  4. User avater
    IMERC | Sep 27, 2004 05:41am | #4

    Milwaukee...

    Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming

    WOW!!!   What a Ride!

  5. User avater
    IMERC | Sep 27, 2004 05:42am | #5

    There isn't anything else after those two brands...

    Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming

    WOW!!!   What a Ride!

  6. User avater
    Gunner | Sep 27, 2004 06:04am | #6

    I've been looking at the Bosch pretty serious. It seems to offer the most of any saw out there.

    Who Dares Wins.

    1. User avater
      IMERC | Sep 27, 2004 06:11am | #7

      Wadda have to say rez????

      Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming

      WOW!!!   What a Ride!

      1. rez | Sep 27, 2004 06:15am | #9

        Craftsman. 

        1. User avater
          IMERC | Sep 27, 2004 06:21am | #11

          ROAR!!!

          Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming

          WOW!!!   What a Ride!

    2. User avater
      Bluemoose | Sep 27, 2004 06:13am | #8

      I've been looking to get a 12" SCMS too and on Amazon there are a few complaints about blade wobble on the Bosch.

      Is this still an issue?

      Are there any good things to be said about the Hitachi 12" SCMS?

      1. User avater
        IMERC | Sep 27, 2004 06:17am | #10

         never thought much about the factory supplied blade as much more than mediocre...

        quality blades and there doesn't seem to be any wobble...

        Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming

        WOW!!!   What a Ride!

        1. User avater
          Bluemoose | Sep 27, 2004 07:03am | #14

          The complaints I read placed the problem at the arbor as opposed to the blade. Some reviews said the problem was fixed I was curious if anyone had the same issue.

          Is there a significant difference in blade deflection when comparing a 10" blade to a 12" blade?

          1. User avater
            IMERC | Sep 27, 2004 07:17am | #15

            none of my 10"ers, the 12" nor the 16" have got that problem... 

            Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming

            WOW!!!   What a Ride!

            Edited 9/27/2004 12:22 am ET by IMERC

        2. User avater
          Sphere | Sep 27, 2004 03:11pm | #20

          FWIW...my Bosch slider was "factory Recond"...put a new Freud blade on it..guess what? It does have a fair amount of deflection/wobble @ the arbor. When I cut a small anything off the end of a length, it will launch it.

          I can wiggle the blade meebe 3/64 at the tips of the teeth. I also had to move the fence as far forward as it will go to get a complete thru cut, the depth stop is maxed and it still would not slice completely thru...

          I am underwhelmed by the saw, it is serviceable, but not outstanding.  They claimed the reconds had new arbors installed, and the newer ones were solved...I wonder.

          Of couse the warranty is up too. 

          Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks

          Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations. 

  7. jimblodgett | Sep 27, 2004 06:30am | #12

    Makita.

    1. User avater
      Bluemoose | Sep 27, 2004 06:46am | #13

      Jim,

      I think I remember reading that you bought a 10" as opposed to a 12"...I'm kind of up in the air about that decision and am interested to hear your line of thinking.

      1. jimblodgett | Sep 28, 2004 04:06am | #29

        "Jim, I think I remember reading that you bought a 10" as opposed to a 12"...I'm kind of up in the air about that decision and am interested to hear your line of thinking."

        Back when I was younger I bought a used 9" table saw from a contractor I worked for.  A couple years later I bought a used 10" radial arm saw from another contractor I had worked for when he went out of business.  I got great buys on both saws and was pleased as punch (still have them both). 

        When I bought a miter box in the early 80s, I bought the best made at the time, a 14" Makita (this was in the days before SCMs).

        As I bought 100.00 blades for each of my saws over the years, at some point I realized how I really hadn't saved any money buying three different sized saws since I now had to buy duplicate blades for my RAS and miter saw, for example.  You live and learn, right?

        So anyways, I have maybe 1/2 dozen 10" Freud teflon 80 tooth ATB blades that can't be sharpened fine enough to cut stock for some products we make (we cut litteraly tens of thousands of these blocks a year) but would work just fine for trim carpentry needs.  And, I have read in more than one tool review that the cutting capacity of a 12" over a 10" is very slight...maybe 3/4" or something. 

        But the main reason I wanted the 10" was so I could use these blades I already own.  Plus, it saved me a hundred bucks, or something.

        By the way, I think it was 2 years ago at the JLCLive show in Portland I was seriously looking at sliders and the 12" Bosch was brand new.  In fact, the rep told me that show was the first time they had shown it publicly.  I did like the way the D handle could rotate whichever way the user found most comfortable, but other than that I really wasn't impressed.  Haven't had the best luck with Bosch tools over the years either. 

        I've never had one bit of trouble with Makita tools, absolutely superior to anything American I've owned...except for the latches on their tool cases - what's up with that?

  8. BruceM16 | Sep 27, 2004 08:02am | #16

    Hey, nobody mentioned Harbor Freight's SCMS!!

    Its on sale this week for $99 (and that's NOT a misprint)

    Look out DeWalt/Makita/Bosch/Miwaukee...and yep...even Craftsman!!

    BruceM

    1. Mitremike | Sep 27, 2004 08:45am | #18

      would that harbor freight model be to replace the dewalt or as a stand in double for its next scaffold stunt?

    2. rez | Sep 27, 2004 05:31pm | #22

      Yeah! What is that housebrand HF carries? Chicago Tools or something like that?

      See their cordless drills. "On Sale Now!!! 20 bucks!! We'll even throw in an extra battery so you might get a full week of use before ya gotta throw it away."

      What a wolf whistle. Firestorm better look out.

      I invented the in vent.

      Edited 9/27/2004 10:37 am ET by rez

  9. ckeli | Sep 27, 2004 08:07am | #17

    bosch

    1. Mitremike | Sep 27, 2004 08:47am | #19

      hey charlie---If we both buy a 12 Scms do you suppose they would through in an impact ?

      1. ckeli | Sep 27, 2004 06:08pm | #23

        hmmm....maybe it is worth a shot...you go first...:)

        1. BruceM16 | Sep 27, 2004 06:52pm | #24

          Yep!! Well said!!

          I love my high-quality tools, and I love that I can depend on them, even when I abuse them.

          But a SCMS for $100!?!?!?!

          So what I did was bought their non-slider last year (10" compound) and used it just for framing where the quality of the finished cut really isn't that important....only square, the ability not to break and enough uummmph to do 4X stock.

          Well...sure enough, at the end of the first house framing, blades got a bit of wobble and the tab holding the blade guard broke off. Still doing framing cuts, but definitely out of the finish picture.

          Who knows...it may last another framing job...even a couple. And for $59 (on sale)...

          Oh, and I also tend not to worry about it. Ok, I get a bit of razzing...but nobody stole it, even when I left it out. And rain....so what!

          BruceM

  10. User avater
    JeffBuck | Sep 27, 2004 04:22pm | #21

    DeWalt.

    Jeff

    Buck Construction, llc   Pittsburgh,PA

         Artistry in Carpentry                

  11. arrowpov | Sep 28, 2004 05:57pm | #30

    I just ordered the 12" bosch scms to replace the flying dewalt. I had not planned on this purchase. If I was paying attention to what I was doing and did not tie the saw cord to the extension cord the saw would have stayed put.

    Another expensive lesson.

    thanks for the advice

  12. marv | Sep 28, 2004 11:33pm | #31

    hitachi

    You get out of life what you put into it......minus taxes.

    Marv

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