Great saw, no regrets
Written: Oct 04 '02
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Cuts flawlessly, quality product
Cons: Poor dust collection, terrible packaging
The Bottom Line: It is constructed very well. All the pieces have a very solid feel. You can make very accurate chop cuts without much effort.
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| rdagger's Full Review: Bosch 3915 Sliding Compound Miter Saw |
I couldn't decide between a table saw and a miter saw. I think I made the right decision by going with the Bosch B3915. It is a very high quality tool. At first I was concerned when the saw arrived because the packaging was very minimal for such a heavy item. Parts of the saw were poking through the box. Bosch really needs to rethink how they package their tools for shipping. Fortunately, there was no damage. After unpacking the saw I tested the settings. Two of the settings were off, but only by a millimeter or two. It only took me about 30 minutes to correctly adjust the saw. It is just a matter of loosening and adjusting some bolts. However, it can take several tries to get it just right. The documentation was excellent and made the start up very easy. Once, you are familiar with the saw I imagine it would only take a few minutes to make adjustments. Bosch claims the saw comes adjusted, but it was clearly off when it left the factory.
My first project was a breeze. I'm a very amateur woodworker. Nevertheless, I had no trouble with the saw. It cuts wood like butter. The saw is very easy and fast to set when making angle cuts. The included clamp also is fast and efficient. Although the clamp doesn't work well on the right side of the saw because it gets in the way of the motor. The only limitations I ran into with the saw was with cuts greater than a foot. This is where a table saw would be better. This miter saw can chop, but it can't rip. The maximum cut I was able to make was about 12.5 inches in a ¾ inch board. For bigger cuts I tried cutting one side and then flipping the piece over and cutting the other side. However, it is pretty much impossible to get a cut that doesn't require sanding.
Another little complaint is that the blade only tilts to the left. I was cutting some very small delicate molding at 45 degrees and the blade kept splitting the wood because of the way it was placed on the saw. If I could have tilted the blade to the right and put the fatter side of the molding against the fence it would have worked better.
Several reviews complained about the dust collection bag. They are right. This bag is a joke. For every pound of sawdust generated the bag collects about an ounce. I would strongly recommend hooking the saw up to a vacuum system. I purchased a Shop-Vac 906-85-00 2.5" to 1.25" Conversion Unit for $4.99 on Amazon. The 1.25" end fits snuggly in the Bosch saw and the 2.5" end fits the end of the hose on my Shop-Vac. The conversion unit also fits my Bosch router. The saw sprays much less sawdust when you use the vacuum. Although, there is still spillage.
All of my gripes are very minor. This product is clearly a 5 star.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
rdagger
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Reviews written: 10
Trusted by: 0 members
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