Irish
04-10-2009, 07:33 AM
Ryobi 10" Compound Miter Saw
Model # TS1342L
http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd106/irishpenguin75/forums/ryobi_miter_saw.jpg
Pros:
Very inexpensive
Small, Lightweight & Portable
Powerful
Accurate cuts
Compound miter (single bevel)
Accurate and useful laser guide
Electric brake (blade stops quickly)
Cons:
Hard start, can be unstable if base is not secured
Clamp/hold down doesn't work great
Dust bag is worthless
Background:
I picked up this miter saw last November for a room renovation I was planning - splitting a large bedroom into two smaller bedrooms (new baby on the way). The work involved framing a couple of interior walls and some closets, and the room has angled ceilings where a good deal of the framing was going. I already have a decent table saw that I use for most projects, but really didn't want to lug it up two flights of stairs and have it constantly in the way during construction. So, I was looking for a miter saw that was small, inexpensive and portable, but powerful enough to handle 2x4s, molding, laminate flooring, etc. This saw fit the bill very well. As a reference for the review, while I'm FAR from a professional, I'm a pretty handy DIY'er that has and will tackle most small to mid scale home projects, and I dabble a bit with woodworking when I have the time.
Review:
I was a little hesitant to pick this up at first as I haven't been impressed with the Ryobi brand in the past. I'm also usually an advocate of "you get what you pay for" when it comes to tools. However when the saw went on sale for $60, I couldn't pass it up. I figured even if it only lasted for a portion of this project, it would have paid for itself. I'm glad I did!
When I tested the saw in my workshop to check the accuracy of the miter cut, I was immediately surprised by the power this little sucker has. If it's not held down well, the whole unit will actually jerk up a good deal when you start it up. While working, I used C clamps to secure it to a portable workmate. Once it's secured down it's much more stable. I wouldn't recommend using the saw without securing it to something, the base is too small and light to handle the kick from the motor.
The saw has a 14 amp motor that chewed through a few test cuts on 2x4s with ease, and the miter cuts were all very accurate. It's a compound miter, with a swing range from 0 to +/- 45^ with positive stops at 15, 22.5, 30, & 45^ each way. The compound miter arm has a bevel from 0 to 45 ^. It's only a single bevel, however it has the angle guage on both sides of the arm base, which is nice. I used both miter bevels during construction and both worked very well, the saw had no problem with any cut. With the 10" blade it can handle stock up to:
90^ miter cut: 2" x 6" or 4" x 4"
45^ miter cut: 2" x 4"
45^ bevel cut: 2" x 6"
The saw has a laser cutting guide as well. I have a few other tools with these laser guides built-in, and this is first tool that I've actually been able to confidently use the laser guide to measure cuts, it's surprisingly accurate once you get to know the relationship between the laser line and blade line. As far as safety features, the saw has a good blade shield and the blade has an electric brake that stops the blade pretty quickly when you disengage the trigger.
The saw held up great throughout the course of the renovations, and cut through 2x4s as well as 300sf of hard laminate flooring with no problems and without losing any miter accuracy. It's helped create a ton of saw dust :mrgreen:
There are a few minor downsides to the saw; however, they are features that are often pretty bad on all but the most expensive tools. The clamp to hold pieces in place can be easily moved to either side of the base, but is cumbersome and not always effective in properly securing pieces straight against the backstop, especially longer pieces. The saw dust bag is worthless.
As an aside, there's a slightly more expensive model that has base extenders to help brace longer pieces while making small end cuts. If you're doing work by yourself or don't have a method for holding up longer pieces, it may be a good idea to upgrade to that model instead.
Summary:
Overall, this a GREAT tool for the money. I picked this saw up from home depot, it's normally about $100. Once it's secured to something, it'll do what most other saws at 3X the price do, while being small and portable enough to carry or move around your work area. If you're looking for a cheap, portable job site saw that you can easily bring to your man cave in the making to cut framing studs or finishing molding, I'd highly recommend picking this up. Use and abuse this saw for rough construction work, and save your bigger, badder, more expensive saws and blades for other projects.
Overall Rating: 5 out of 5
While there are definitely better and fancier saws out there, for what's it's meant for, you won't get any better bang for you buck:
http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd106/irishpenguin75/forums/SCM_156.jpghttp://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd106/irishpenguin75/forums/SCM_156.jpghttp://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd106/irishpenguin75/forums/SCM_156.jpghttp://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd106/irishpenguin75/forums/SCM_156.jpghttp://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd106/irishpenguin75/forums/SCM_156.jpg
Additional Product info:
http://www.ryobitools.com/catalog/power_tools/miter_saws/TS1342L#
Pictures:
Saw secured to my portable workstation:
http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd106/irishpenguin75/forums/IMG_4440.jpg
http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd106/irishpenguin75/forums/IMG_4441.jpg
Details of the miter angles:
http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd106/irishpenguin75/forums/IMG_4442.jpg
http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd106/irishpenguin75/forums/IMG_4444.jpg
Both compound miters engaged - note the bevel reading on both sides of the arm.
http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd106/irishpenguin75/forums/IMG_4445.jpg
Closed up for transporting the saw
http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd106/irishpenguin75/forums/IMG_4448.jpg
http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd106/irishpenguin75/forums/IMG_4449.jpg
The benefits of having the compound miter - cuts like this:
http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd106/irishpenguin75/forums/IMG_4313.jpg
http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd106/irishpenguin75/forums/IMG_4314.jpg
http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd106/irishpenguin75/forums/IMG_4319.jpg
The saw closes up and tucks away nicely - out of the away for the rest of the work, but still handy.
http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd106/irishpenguin75/forums/IMG_4321.jpg
Model # TS1342L
http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd106/irishpenguin75/forums/ryobi_miter_saw.jpg
Pros:
Very inexpensive
Small, Lightweight & Portable
Powerful
Accurate cuts
Compound miter (single bevel)
Accurate and useful laser guide
Electric brake (blade stops quickly)
Cons:
Hard start, can be unstable if base is not secured
Clamp/hold down doesn't work great
Dust bag is worthless
Background:
I picked up this miter saw last November for a room renovation I was planning - splitting a large bedroom into two smaller bedrooms (new baby on the way). The work involved framing a couple of interior walls and some closets, and the room has angled ceilings where a good deal of the framing was going. I already have a decent table saw that I use for most projects, but really didn't want to lug it up two flights of stairs and have it constantly in the way during construction. So, I was looking for a miter saw that was small, inexpensive and portable, but powerful enough to handle 2x4s, molding, laminate flooring, etc. This saw fit the bill very well. As a reference for the review, while I'm FAR from a professional, I'm a pretty handy DIY'er that has and will tackle most small to mid scale home projects, and I dabble a bit with woodworking when I have the time.
Review:
I was a little hesitant to pick this up at first as I haven't been impressed with the Ryobi brand in the past. I'm also usually an advocate of "you get what you pay for" when it comes to tools. However when the saw went on sale for $60, I couldn't pass it up. I figured even if it only lasted for a portion of this project, it would have paid for itself. I'm glad I did!
When I tested the saw in my workshop to check the accuracy of the miter cut, I was immediately surprised by the power this little sucker has. If it's not held down well, the whole unit will actually jerk up a good deal when you start it up. While working, I used C clamps to secure it to a portable workmate. Once it's secured down it's much more stable. I wouldn't recommend using the saw without securing it to something, the base is too small and light to handle the kick from the motor.
The saw has a 14 amp motor that chewed through a few test cuts on 2x4s with ease, and the miter cuts were all very accurate. It's a compound miter, with a swing range from 0 to +/- 45^ with positive stops at 15, 22.5, 30, & 45^ each way. The compound miter arm has a bevel from 0 to 45 ^. It's only a single bevel, however it has the angle guage on both sides of the arm base, which is nice. I used both miter bevels during construction and both worked very well, the saw had no problem with any cut. With the 10" blade it can handle stock up to:
90^ miter cut: 2" x 6" or 4" x 4"
45^ miter cut: 2" x 4"
45^ bevel cut: 2" x 6"
The saw has a laser cutting guide as well. I have a few other tools with these laser guides built-in, and this is first tool that I've actually been able to confidently use the laser guide to measure cuts, it's surprisingly accurate once you get to know the relationship between the laser line and blade line. As far as safety features, the saw has a good blade shield and the blade has an electric brake that stops the blade pretty quickly when you disengage the trigger.
The saw held up great throughout the course of the renovations, and cut through 2x4s as well as 300sf of hard laminate flooring with no problems and without losing any miter accuracy. It's helped create a ton of saw dust :mrgreen:
There are a few minor downsides to the saw; however, they are features that are often pretty bad on all but the most expensive tools. The clamp to hold pieces in place can be easily moved to either side of the base, but is cumbersome and not always effective in properly securing pieces straight against the backstop, especially longer pieces. The saw dust bag is worthless.
As an aside, there's a slightly more expensive model that has base extenders to help brace longer pieces while making small end cuts. If you're doing work by yourself or don't have a method for holding up longer pieces, it may be a good idea to upgrade to that model instead.
Summary:
Overall, this a GREAT tool for the money. I picked this saw up from home depot, it's normally about $100. Once it's secured to something, it'll do what most other saws at 3X the price do, while being small and portable enough to carry or move around your work area. If you're looking for a cheap, portable job site saw that you can easily bring to your man cave in the making to cut framing studs or finishing molding, I'd highly recommend picking this up. Use and abuse this saw for rough construction work, and save your bigger, badder, more expensive saws and blades for other projects.
Overall Rating: 5 out of 5
While there are definitely better and fancier saws out there, for what's it's meant for, you won't get any better bang for you buck:
http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd106/irishpenguin75/forums/SCM_156.jpghttp://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd106/irishpenguin75/forums/SCM_156.jpghttp://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd106/irishpenguin75/forums/SCM_156.jpghttp://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd106/irishpenguin75/forums/SCM_156.jpghttp://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd106/irishpenguin75/forums/SCM_156.jpg
Additional Product info:
http://www.ryobitools.com/catalog/power_tools/miter_saws/TS1342L#
Pictures:
Saw secured to my portable workstation:
http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd106/irishpenguin75/forums/IMG_4440.jpg
http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd106/irishpenguin75/forums/IMG_4441.jpg
Details of the miter angles:
http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd106/irishpenguin75/forums/IMG_4442.jpg
http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd106/irishpenguin75/forums/IMG_4444.jpg
Both compound miters engaged - note the bevel reading on both sides of the arm.
http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd106/irishpenguin75/forums/IMG_4445.jpg
Closed up for transporting the saw
http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd106/irishpenguin75/forums/IMG_4448.jpg
http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd106/irishpenguin75/forums/IMG_4449.jpg
The benefits of having the compound miter - cuts like this:
http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd106/irishpenguin75/forums/IMG_4313.jpg
http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd106/irishpenguin75/forums/IMG_4314.jpg
http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd106/irishpenguin75/forums/IMG_4319.jpg
The saw closes up and tucks away nicely - out of the away for the rest of the work, but still handy.
http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd106/irishpenguin75/forums/IMG_4321.jpg