Review: RIGID Compound Miter Saw table stand

We used to have a DELTA 12” miter saw that we inherited from my father in-law. It worked great, but it was very heavy and didn’t have a blade guard. We had a big project this summer to replace a lot of our front porch trim efore it got repainted. This involved a LOT of miter cuts and it just seemed easier to bring the saw to the work.

Dremel 220 Workstation

Dremel keeps on cranking out new variations on their tried-and-true favorites, and this week comes word of a new workstation mounting kit.

The mounting kit seems pretty versatile actually, allowing a standard Dremel to become a drill press, a mounted rotary tool, or mount it and use your dremel bits pen-style with their flex shaft attachment. The idea of using a Dremel as a mini high-precision drill press seems especiallly cool.

Available now for $45 bucks shipped from from Amazon.com.

More hi-rez, bandwidth choking action photos of each of the three mounting choices after the jump.

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Combo Table Saw/Miter Saw?

Normally I expect strange tool mashups to come from small-time inventors or those As Seen on TV guys, but here's an odd one from a reputable, mainstream manufacturer: a combo miter saw-table saw from Makita.

Posted on the Makita Japan website, it looks pretty official. Some folks over on the Taunton Breaktime forum (where I first saw it) even claimed to have used one. They say it's good for small stock like floor boards or trim.

My fellow contributor Eric actually had another reason to speak with a Makita rep, but that guy'd never heard of it. I've heard some speculation that in some countries it's common to see alot of rebranding, which means Makita might not have a whole lot to do with the actual design.

In any case, I think I'll keep mine separate.

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Hitachi Compound Sliding Miter Saw

Gadget alert. Hitachi brings it with all kinds of features with its new 12" sliding compound miter saw.

For starters, it offers a rather practical twist on the traditional sliding mechanism...fixed slide rails don't extend out from the back, allowing the saw to be placed close to any wall. Add to that an LCD display that confirms the miter and bevel angle the saw is set to, the increasingly standard laser guide, and a micro-bevel adjustment (the same feature just added to DeWalt's upgraded sliding chop saw).

Stand back and marvel at it's gadget-ty goodness.

DeWalt's Updated Miter Saw Line

DeWalt has gone and updated there venerable line of compound miter saws, replacing the DW705, DW706 and DW708 with the DW715, DW716 and DW718 respectively.

Bottom line? Some nice refinements across all three of the 12" chop saws they replace. More configuration options, greater cutting capacity, positive bevel stops for quicker precision cuts, and a new more precise cam lock miter handle (with an integrated high precision miter detent override system) are the highlights. All three also accept DeWalt's new laser guide accessory, if that's your thing.

The DW715 is the single-bevel model, the DW716 has dual bevel capabilities, and the DW718 adds sliding action for wider cuts.

Ryobi 10-inch Table Saw

So this is the decision that actually got me to start this blog.

I'd been thinking about a table saw for almost three years, ever since we first bought our fixer-upper bungalow in Chicago. The tie beaker to move forward was probably having unfinished trim work in our bedroom and adjoining baby nursery for three months. I really need to make some rip cuts!

Enter the Ryobi 10-inch portable table saw...

My wife Jeannie researched table saws online and found that the Ryobi got exceptionally high marks, expecially given it's entry level pricing. Fine Homebuilding found it was the only entry level table saw they found that would consistently rip a 4x4 without any problems. It's also commonly praised for it's adjustable saw rails (a solid mechanism for mounting accessories), a sliding table useful for small cuts, and a solid rip fence.

To get the most out of the BT3100, it's worth considering the $99 accessory kit. With it you get vacuum bag, router table mounting kit, dado blade kit,