Cutest sliding compound miter saw ever!

Makita LSO 714
7 ½” sliding compound miter saw

I never thought I’d use words like ‘darling’ and ‘adorable’ in connection with a sliding compound miter saw, but I can’t think of a more apt description.

The Makita LSO 714 is tiny, with a 7 ½” blade powered by a 10 amp motor that’s smaller than most circular saws. But it's got amazing capacity and power. It can crosscut up to 11 ¾” x 2 1/16” – not much less than a 10" or even 12" compound miter saw. And it will even cut a 4” x 12” if you do it in two passes.

I recently had a chance to test the 7 1/2" Makita saw against the newest crop of 12” behemoths. Sitting next to the big 12" saws it looks almost like a toy (it measures 26 3/8" long x 17" wide x 18" high), and I expected it would feel like one when I tried to cut the tough 1 ¾” X 11” white oak that I was using for test cuts. Wrong, wrong, wrong. The 12” saws roared and growled through the oak, kicking up clouds of sawdust and complaining all the way - especially on compound miter and 45 degree bevel cuts. Then I made the same cuts on the 7 ½” Makita and it calmly zipped right through. No drama, no manly pounding of the chest. And, unlike most of the 12” saws, every cut was clean, silky smooth and perfectly straight, with no chipping or burning. It seems counterintuitive, but the cute little Makita does a better job of cutting big slabs of wood than the monster saws do.

The miter range is a healthy 45 (left) to 57 (right) degrees. Bevel range, unfortunately, is limited to 45 degrees left and 5 degrees right. But you can still cut any crown molding that you can cut on the big saws – you just have to read the instructions on how to cut crown molding lying flat, using compound miter cuts (it’s not so hard – really, I’ve done it). The only other problem is that only one manufacturer makes 7 ½” blades – Makita. But 7 ¼” blades will work in a pinch. The saw weighs only 28 lbs. (less than half the weight of the 12” monsters). Cost is $450 to $475.

Posted by Eric Smith on March 17, 2006 11:47 AM |

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