Has anyone tried the Milwaukee 6955-20 Miter Saw. I only ask this because Milwaukee is not known for their slide Miter Saw and they do not have that many choices? We took a chance and just brought them in and have only sold a few without any feedback. ???
Milwaukee 6955-20 Sliding Dual Compound Miter Saw
- Thread starter Lucy
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I've read some very positive reviews of it sofar. There are a few threads about it in the tools & equipment and finish carpentry sections of the JLConline forums: here's one, here's another. (There are probably a lot more, (possible searchwords: milwaukee, slider, SCMS, etc.)
If I remember correctly most people like the miteradjustment, the precision and the dustcollection. And most say that because of the rubber grips to carry it, it doesn't feel as heavy as it is. (and most people change the standard blade right away)
I believe Nickao has one aswell.
If I remember correctly most people like the miteradjustment, the precision and the dustcollection. And most say that because of the rubber grips to carry it, it doesn't feel as heavy as it is. (and most people change the standard blade right away)
I believe Nickao has one aswell.
There are a handful of us that have them on the forum, and I love mine. I bought a Tenryu blade for trim, but still use the stock blade for construction work.
There have been a couple of other discussions here recently. Here is a recent example - Miter Saw Choices
There have been a couple of other discussions here recently. Here is a recent example - Miter Saw Choices
I just came from the woodworking show here in ohio and looked a lot closer at the miluakee saw side by side with all the vendors and saws. I considered it before when I was looking for a saw, but ended up with the kapex. Now that I've used the kapex and relooked at the miluakee, In my opinion, the kapex is better in every way. The only thing that the miluakee had that the kapex didn't was the digital miter readout and a 12 inch blade (if a 12 inch blade is better or not is up for debate depending on what you do.) I thought the miter mechanism was terrible to operate, cumbersome to say the least. In five minutes operating the miter my thumb was sore. The bevel angle was as bad or worse than my 100.00 hitachi and also difficult to operate. I'm very glad I got the kapex...In fact if the kapex wasn't available I would have gotten a Dewalt or Makita over the miluakee...
The miter mechanism takes a little getting used to. Once I got the hang of it, it is now second nature. Not sure how it hurt your thumb.
The bevel adjustment is not as good as the Kapex, but it is (IMHO) better than most other saws I have tried (Bosch,Ridgid, Makita, Hitachi, and Dewalt). I use the bevel primarily for scarf joints and occasionally for cutting crown on the flat. For me, the miter table is much more important. I really like the fact that it will hold position without having to hold the weight of the head.
Put me in the group that thinks that, as far a accuracy is concerned, a 10" saw is superior, mainly do to blade deflection. But the marginal accuracy lost compared to the capacity gained is an easy choice for me. I put a stabilizer on my blade, and that has leveled the field, without impacting capacity significantly.
I spent a lot of time comparing saws and reviews before I bought the Milwaukee. I upgraded from an older Makita 1013 because I kept running into capacity issues. The Milwaukee embodied most of my favorite features from the other saws available, and some unique ones of its own. That would not be the case for everyone. I guess that is why everyone makes theirs a little different. I would have loved to have bought a Kapex initially, but bought right in the thick of the spring-plate issues. My initial plan was to buy the Milwaukee and a Sawhelper setup for the same price as the Kapex. Since Sawhelper has disrupted production, I am still struggling to build a suitable equivalent.
I originally thought the digital readout was just a marketing gimmick, but it really works, and works very well. When combines with a digital angle finder, it makes trim work extremely accurate.
nickao
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wnagle said:
All I can say is you have to be kidding me! I am dumbfounded and can not even respond to any of that I used BOTH saw as for close to 30 days and made exactly the opposite conclusions. Maybe instead of 30 minutes at a show you need the Milwaukee in the shop for 30 days. I love that bevel adjustment on the Milwaukee. Ah the DeWalt and other you mention contains about 50% of the dust so good luck with that.
The only thing I can say is the MITER adjustment is 90 percent of the reason to get a miter saw in the first place, followed by the perks. I bet I can cut 24 different angles that are 100% accurate in less than 50% of the time you can with that kapex. The cuts will be just as clean and I will have twice the time on my hands. And the kapex angles may still be off.
If defection is your issue get a stabilizer a 12" has plenty of capacity to accommodate it. It will be stiffer than any 10 or even 8" blade.
The only thing I need my miter saw to do is collect the dust and make ACCURATE miter cuts, with the setting of the scale. Most of the rest on a Miter scale is a gimmick except for the bevel which again the Milwaukee is 2nd best I have used beside the Kapex. FOR 499.99! Not 1399.99!
If Milwaukee decides to make a high end 1300.00 miter saw look out! This Milwaukee saw was not meant for nor designed to compete with the Kapex in the first place, which it does by total accident.
To Nick, I DO NOT want to start any kind of situation here but, wnagle was stating his opinion and how HE feels about the 2 saws. We are all different and therefore have different opinions about EVERYTHING. You really don't need to force your opinion to him by saying "All I can say is you have to be kidding me! I am dumbfounded and can not even respond to any of that." You know the old saying " different strokes for different folks".
Some people are happy with a Chevy cobalt, others have to have a Mercedes S55. (not that I am comparing the 2).
I truly hope that this does not offend you in any way.
Dave
Some people are happy with a Chevy cobalt, others have to have a Mercedes S55. (not that I am comparing the 2).
I truly hope that this does not offend you in any way.
Dave
Nick,
I know you really like the miluakee... and I trust your opinion so thats why I looked at it in the first place. When you review a tool, you don't have any problem telling it like you see it, good or bad. Right or wrong, I can trust your opinion is an honest one based on your experience!
I don't know if the one at the show wasn't a good one or what but it was a real pain to work with, at least for me. Other than the digital readout and decent dust collection, I didn't like anything about the saw. And asking the rep anything was useless...he literally knew nothing about the saw which surprised me. I'm not kidding, I would have had to show him how to plug it in. I'm sure with a knowledgeable person helping me with the controls It would have been a better experience. I'm not knocking Miluakee... I know they make top notch tools. I just didn't like it. Some time when I'm out your way, I'll get you to invite me to your shop and you can run it through the paces for me.
I know others have had issues with the Kapex which have been addressed by Festool. As for my Kapex, it has been flawless for me. Smooth, perfect cuts, quiet, dead balls accurate, great dust collection, variable speed, the best bevel adjustment and scale I've ever used, adjustable trenching stop, and the detent override and miter table work perfectly. It's a lot more saw than I really need but I am really glad I bought it despite the cost. If it had the digital readout it would be even better...Nothing like a digital readout for repeat cuts and very small adjustments. I'm sure the digital readout is a real time saver for the work your doing. Hey maybe wixey will come up with and add on digital scale for miter saws some day.
I know you really like the miluakee... and I trust your opinion so thats why I looked at it in the first place. When you review a tool, you don't have any problem telling it like you see it, good or bad. Right or wrong, I can trust your opinion is an honest one based on your experience!
I don't know if the one at the show wasn't a good one or what but it was a real pain to work with, at least for me. Other than the digital readout and decent dust collection, I didn't like anything about the saw. And asking the rep anything was useless...he literally knew nothing about the saw which surprised me. I'm not kidding, I would have had to show him how to plug it in. I'm sure with a knowledgeable person helping me with the controls It would have been a better experience. I'm not knocking Miluakee... I know they make top notch tools. I just didn't like it. Some time when I'm out your way, I'll get you to invite me to your shop and you can run it through the paces for me.
I know others have had issues with the Kapex which have been addressed by Festool. As for my Kapex, it has been flawless for me. Smooth, perfect cuts, quiet, dead balls accurate, great dust collection, variable speed, the best bevel adjustment and scale I've ever used, adjustable trenching stop, and the detent override and miter table work perfectly. It's a lot more saw than I really need but I am really glad I bought it despite the cost. If it had the digital readout it would be even better...Nothing like a digital readout for repeat cuts and very small adjustments. I'm sure the digital readout is a real time saver for the work your doing. Hey maybe wixey will come up with and add on digital scale for miter saws some day.
nickao
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daves1996 said:
I do not think my statement is bad and any way, just expressing my feelings at the time I wrote. I do not think wangle took it the wrong way at all. I think you may be over sensitive.
wangle you are just use to the elegance and movement of the kapex. Since you use it so much I doubt any other miter will be to your liking as it is elegant in its design. I am more of a brute force get it done kind of guy, which the Milwaukee is. The Kapex as I have always said is probably a better saw overall, but at a head to head I just can not get past a few things on the kapex, I can look past a few things on the Milwaukee. The main thing for a Miter box is the Miter adjustment to me that is 90% of the saw. On the Kapex I just hate the trigger the table the table movement and the tables accuracy and that is IF the kapex table is working.
Everything on the Kapex can be ten times better than on the Milwaukee but the fact remains the accuracy and simplicity of the miter adjustment on the Milwaukee trumps all the bells and whistles of the kapex. Even though the Milwaukee is loud and does not have that feel of the kapex which is what I believe you hated about the saw, the miter adjustment works and is top notch and more accurate than the Kapex. Meaning I have to give the Milwaukee the edge based on that alone. I make miter cuts with the saw that is what I need to be the best part of the saw, it is a MITER saw after all. I only use it for that purpose and both saws do that, but again price has to come into play. The kapex does not do MITERS better than the Milwaukee and for more than twice the price the Kapex simply should be the best at miter cutting that money could buy and its not.
Maybe Festool should have put the forethought they put in the bevel adjustment into the miter adjustment.
Even if the kapex had the exact same miter table and adjustment as the Milwaukee I will still find it hard to spend the money on the kapex
as it should be head and shoulders above the rest at that price. There just is diminishing returns on a miter box when you get above 600.00 or so, all the saws will cut miters well enough for the pro. The Milwaukee set itself apart for me with the Miter .1 adjustment, the Kapex needs to focus on that part of the saw for me to consider buying it, again.
Your right Nick, I don't take any offense at all and Dave I understand where your coming from as well.... Nick, I know your style is a bit passionate at times, but that's just you. There are quite a range of reviews and reviewer personalities on this site ranging from "Mamby Pamby on one end to "passionate" on the other end, and a bunch in between. And everyone communicates differently in print than they do in person. For example, sometimes a message can be typed to poke fun and sound harsh at the same time when read without the advantage of face to face inflection or tone of voice. We all have different communication abilities and everyone has a different woodworking skill levels, perspectives and applications. This is all good in the end.
When I'm buying a new tool, It's nice to read all the reviews and debates, passionate and tame. Then I sort through the info and try to make the best choice for my application and budget To agree or disagree, right or wrong, experienced or not, best or worse saw, ... these points aren't always the big picture I suppose. When I sift all the information through my knowledge limits and experiences, hopefully I make a better choice for my circumstance and don't have to "buy twice" or have buyers remorse as often.
That being said I still wouldn't buy that klunky Milwaukee! ;D poke poke...
When I'm buying a new tool, It's nice to read all the reviews and debates, passionate and tame. Then I sort through the info and try to make the best choice for my application and budget To agree or disagree, right or wrong, experienced or not, best or worse saw, ... these points aren't always the big picture I suppose. When I sift all the information through my knowledge limits and experiences, hopefully I make a better choice for my circumstance and don't have to "buy twice" or have buyers remorse as often.
That being said I still wouldn't buy that klunky Milwaukee! ;D poke poke...
If you have someone who can really explain the miter adjustment mechanism, that may help sell them. As I stated above, it does take some getting used to. Because I bought mine at HD, they had no one inhouse that could demonstrate the operation. They were the only supplier locally that had them in stock, or I would have bought somewhere else. I went and looked, came home and downloaded and read the manual, and then went back to get a feel for the operation.
Once you get the hang of it, it is the coolest thing ever. I have been running a lot of 5 3/8" crown lately, in older houses. I can tell you that the digital miter adjustment and my Wixey digital protractor have combined to create spectacular results, with ease.
Once you get the hang of it, it is the coolest thing ever. I have been running a lot of 5 3/8" crown lately, in older houses. I can tell you that the digital miter adjustment and my Wixey digital protractor have combined to create spectacular results, with ease.
I love digital readout measurement for sure. I wish it were on the kapex. I can only hope for wixey to come up with an add on for miter saws. I have a digital readout lift on my router table and love it...I will be adding the wixey digital to my shaper as well since they just came out with a remote reader. I also use Wixey's digital table saw fence, digital calipers, digital inclinometer, digital height gauge, digital protractor. I'm thinking about adapting the digital fence to my miter saw set up. It sure makes life easier in my opinion. I may have to start buying button batteries by the box though!
