Harbor Freight 10 Inch Sliding Compound Miter Saw (#61972) – Review

This is a review of the Harbor Freight 10 Inch sliding compound miter saw (Chicago Electric Power Tools – Item #61972).

Using this coupon the tool was very inexpensive.  I first used a battery operated sliding compound miter saw (different brand) a few days previously while we were building the solar charging station. My friend showed me how to use it and asked me to cut a board for him.   I as amazed at how much easier it was using this tool, compared with a hand held circular saw.  The weight of this tool plus the built in clamp stabilized everything far more securely and it only took a couple of seconds to make the cut.  I was instantly sold on the usefulness of the tool and decided to get one.  Given my use of it was projected to be only occasional, I looked over the Harbor Freight selection since their tools are often far less expensive than other brands and are generally of reasonable quality to hold up for occasional use.

Initially, when trying out the built in clamp, the round plate that presses against the wood fell off.  This happened because I clamped down hard on a narrow strip of wood which caught only the edge of the plate, tilting it, snapping off the E-clip.  Fortunately, I found and reattached the E-clip and avoided any further clamping on the edge of the plate and the problem did not reoccur.

The instructions were detailed and I read everything carefully.

So, a couple of days after I bought the saw, my wife’s foot dropped through a rotten board on my deck.  She wasn’t hurt, but I set out to urgently replace the bad boards on the deck.  For making long rip cuts I also bought a Harbor Freight table saw, but I’ll review that separately.

It took a little while to get used to the tool, never really having had one before.  It took me a while to figure out how to raise the blade.  You need to push down on the handle while pulling the blade pin to release the blade pin to allow the blade to come up.  After you push the blade handle down to make a cut, it locks the blade in the down position, until you again release the pin, as above.  I had to explore the knobs & dials to check to see how everything worked.   The clamp has locks on rotation at several axis and it is important to have it positioned well to hold the board tightly.  The sliding portion of the tool is necessary if the width of the board exceeds 6 inches.  Otherwise, the sliding portion can be locked to increase the stability / safety of the tool.

For the deck project, I only needed to make non-beveled cross cuts.  It was such a pleasure using this tool compared with the last time I replaced bad deck boards using a handheld circular saw.

The saw did not come with a blade.  I had no idea which blade to buy so I did google searches to understand my options.  The choice was mainly one of tooth count.  40 was considered “All Purpose”.  The fewer the teeth the faster and rougher the cut.  As you increase the tooth count, the cut slows but it is finer.  Since I projected occasional and varied use of the saw, I didn’t need it to be super fast and I wanted some degree of fineness in case it was needed on a future project, without having to buy a second blade.  The blades aren’t cheap and the price increases with the tooth count. I settled on the 60 tooth count blade #62723.

The saw includes a dust bag, but I estimate it only collected 10% of the dust at best.  I didn’t test connecting a Shop-Vac to it or any other arrangement, since I was cutting outdoors.  I wouldn’t rely on the built in dust bag if you plan to use it indoors.

The tool really isn’t that heavy and is readily portable.  Although it is “supposed” to be mounted to a table or surface, I found it stable resting on my deck or concrete surfaces when used for simple cross cuts and not needing to fully extend the slider.