Best Miter Saws

A Ridgid Compound Miter Saw Has A Lot To Offer...

So Long As You Don't Need to Move It! A powerful and sturdy piece of machinery... but perhaps too much so for its own good, there's really no way to overestimate the Ridgid compound miter saw when it comes to solidity. The motor system is strong and fully capable of handling some really heavy-duty work, but all this power isn't without a cost of its own. While some people have reported issues with poor alignment, this appears to be a individual and limited malfunction and not an inherent part of the saw design itself, which is in general up to expected standards and equipped to handle work with great accuracy and smoothness due to the excellent fitting and finish.

Okay, so it does what a saw at this considerable price point is expected to do. It's more than enough for a casual user and good for the pros, too. But, disappointingly, this model comes with some weaknesses that really should have been hammered out. While not truly getting in the way of the Ridgid miter saw's basic function, its structural design flaws prevent it from being truly competitive on the market. At best, it's something you'll snatch up at a cheap price point when the competing models are still high.

Why is this so? Two simple reasons that unfortunately link into each other somewhat. The first is the model's sheer weight. At ten pounds heavier than similar saws, it's not easy to move this sucker around. Sure, it's far from completely unliftable, but it's also very far from being comfortable or practical to tote around. And making frequent fine position adjustments on the fly for an extremely heavy mechanized blade is... well, let's just say accidents can happen if you're not careful.

Certainly, no one practicing basic safety measures would endanger themselves or anyone else, but at this price bracket, the saw itself really should do something to help make that easier, too. The other problem with Ridgid miter saws lies in the dust collection system. Like many models, it's not that great. Okay, that would be understating it. In point of fact, it simply doesn't work. So what you want to do is place this saw in a position you don't mind it staying for a long period of time... and that place also has to be an area you don't mind getting extremely dusty.

One wonders why the company even bothered to market a feature that doesn't really do anything. Considering the amount of money you're putting down for this model, you could probably do better. On the other hand, it does get the job done, so if you don't need to move it around and don't care about the dust, it might just be the bargain for you. Just don't expect it to do everything the packaging claims.