Makita LS1019L 10" Dual-Bevel Sliding Compound Miter Saw with Laser

I've owned quite a few miter saws over the years and this has been the best by far. The dual dust collection system collects 90% of the dust - no other saw comes close. I had to rig the connection with a hose clamp but if I can figure it out, so can you. Just remember you always want to go a size larger, not smaller.I would've preferred a shadow line guide instead of a laser (the one thing I liked about my Ridgid) but I'll make do.I also like the smooth, soft start instead of the "jerkiness" of previous saws.I've always had 12" sliding saws but decided I could make do with a 10". A bit pricey at over $700 but I'd buy this again.

I have been woodworking for 44 years, needless to say I have used a lot of saws. Pure function, value and quality, Makita over the years had been one of the best. They have had some off years though. The Bosch you see in the picture was the top dog until I found this one. If I have one complaint without using the saw, is that it is made in China. Chinese products look pretty, but generally tend to fail or have cheap parts on them. But it has some really nice features and came set up pretty darn close from the factory. I can’t imagine you’d ever be disappointed. I will update my review as I use the saw.UPDATEJust used the saw for the last couple days, so far two things I don’t really care for.1. Tilting the arbor is a little bit inefficient as you have to unscrew the knob to get it to tilt then screw it back down to tighten it. Not a big deal but a little inconvenient.2. The laser on this saw which ends up being a pretty handy device to have especially on a slide compound. This laser needs to be at least twice as bright, and when the blade is all the way up, you see a few different lines, it’s not until the blade is right down to the material that the laser lines up With your sawblade with one line. But because it’s not very bright, you can barely even see it when I have my work lights on. This is compared to other lasers. I’ve seen on saws, which will seem to work much better. (See photo)

First I want to note that I'm coming from a Festool Kapex miter saw. Actually two of them.The saw was used generally for cutting 1" think maple and poplar at 90-45deg.The first one lasted for about 5 years and the second one for about 2 before a motor failure. I'm still a Festool fan and I own multiple different types of tools from them, but the repair of the saw out of warranty is in the 250-300 range (with shipping), plus the headache of not having the tool for a week. And let me tell you- these failures are not happening when the saw is not in use. I think for $1.5K they should do a little more research, testing and whatever it takes to make the motors a little more rigid.So, from that experience with the Kapex I decided it is time to look for something else. My attention went to two saws- Makita LS1019 L and Bosch CM10GD and the reason why is the type of forward rail system and space saving capabilities since it is intended for shop use.To me there ware a few factors that I was looking for- precision of cut (miter and bevel), dust collection, ease of use, versatility, ergonomics.Let me stars with the Bosch saw:Firs thing I noticed was that packaging was nice, which if bad is one of the main reasons for inaccurate tools after destress.Miter and bevel was adjusted to be perfect 90deg before I started testing.The miter cut was good, but the bevel cut had some sort of deflection towards the end of the cut, so that was the first negative for me.The tool was hooked to a vacuum but I was not impressed one bit with the dust collection. Compared to the Kapex it was at about 50%, shooting dust all the way to the front of the saw.To me the overall movement of the saw was very smooth, surprisingly, given the bulky looking hinge type movement.Other things I noticed ware that there was an initial kick when you squeeze the trigger and no laser( I don't use a laser for accurate cuts but rather for rough sizing).I liked that all the adjustment ware set in-front of the saw and table and fence ware all relatively strait.To me dust collection, initial trigger kick, no laser, bevel cut not perfect ware a deal breaker.Now about the Makita:Don't think that all was good over here either. Starting with the packaging- as bad as it gets. The first two units came with the box and saw damaged, but the third unit came in OK shape.Now, talking about bad design- they located the dust port in an awkward position sticking from the rear of the saw going backwards. That makes it impossible to push the saw tide against a wall. Surprisingly they have a different set up for the 12" unit(not sure why), which for my surprise fit perfect on the 10" model and has the dust port at the top, so I bought one from Makita for about $21.The things I liked - all cuts ware strait and square after adjusting the miter/bevel and dust collection was close to the one the Kapex had. The movement was smooth, there was a laser, the fence and table ware strait, but also wider (table), there is 60deg miter both ways, bevel is 48deg both sides, no kick at start or stop of the saw, handle was very comfortable.I gave it 5 starts besides the dust port and shipping problems, because it is very close to the Festool Kapex's quality at almost 1/3 price. I only hope it will last a little longer then the Kapex one.