Anybody Tried The Milwaukee 6955-20 Miter Saw??

jansondt

I'm in the market for a miter saw. I had decided on the Bosch 12" sliding. But I noticed That Milwaukee had recently release a new one. Has anybody used one. For some reason my local Home Depot is not going to sell them anymore and the last one in stock is marked down from $699 to $499. I talked to one of the managers and they will let go for $420. Sounds like a great deal but I can't find any reviews on it really. I guess I could always sell it and buy the Bosch if I don't like it. What do you think?

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OCRS

Found this on another forum



Re: Milwaukee 6955-20 12" SCMS
I went to HD to buy a new Makita 10" SCMS because I wanted a saw with a light on it because my eyes are not what they used to be, and sitting right next to the Dewalt 12" SCMS was this new Milwaukee 12" SCMS. I knew right away this saw has some innovative features so I decided to take it home for a closer look.

Out of the box the saw was off so I spent about an hour adjusting the saw. The adjustments are very easy other than having to take the dust schroud off to get to the bevel adjustment. I installed a Freud 96 tooth blade which was a breeze to install.

I cut 3 1/2 " oak casing and 5 1/2 " oak base and the saw cut very well. It didn't matter if I cut the base in position or on the flat the cuts were right on.

The dust collection is the best I've seen on a saw that isn't hooked up to vac. They claim it gets 75%of the dust. I haven't used it long enough to say if it does that well but it does a very good job.

One of the nicest features is the micro miter adjustment. It is a digital display like the Hitachi. It can be adjusted to 1 tenth of a degree. It is a really nice feature. The saw will miter 55* to the left and 60 * to the right. It will bevel 48 * both right and left and has detents at 45 *, 22 1/2 * and 33.85*.

The fit and finish is impressive on this saw. The miter table moves very smoothly as does the bevel. The bevel lock is easy to access in the back top with a large handle.

It will cut base in position up to 6 1/2" and crown nested up to 6 5/8 " high. Cross cut at 90* 13 1/2", cut 9 1/2 " at 45 *, cut 9 1/2" 45 * x 45 *

It has a light on both sides of the blade with a switch near the trigger and the handle is very comfortable. The saw has some of the better features of both Dewalt and Makita. The handle and miter scale are simialr to the Dewalt and the slide rail is simialr to the Makita with the rails traveling under the miter table. This is an exellent design in that the saw is very stable pulled all the way out. The first thing I did was pull the saw all the way out and push left and right. It was very tight with very little movement. The Dewalt 718 moved all over the place.

The weight is 65 lbs but the foot print is similar to the Dewalt 718 SCMS. It has built in handles on both sides of the table with rubber grips that make it easier to handle. It has a detent at 60* that make the saw narrower than most while locked down.

The rail lock is my least favorite feature. You really must tighten it. It locks the saw in the chop position however.
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Kent

TBFGhost

It would have been damn near perfect for its price had it come with upfront bevel controls....I got WAY to used to my Bosch....

JLTrim

Hate to dig up an old thread, but I'm in the market for a new 12" slider and I'm almost sold on this Milwaukee... Anybody here tried one and have any complaints or comments? I plan on making this my primary saw, at 65 lbs it'll be a pain to setup/break down every day but it looks like it'll be a great saw for finish work. I wish it had forward bevel locks like TBFGhost said, but the miter adjustment dial, digital readout and 6 1/2" vertical cut are real tempting. I used a Milwaukee 10" years ago and really liked it, and this 12" slider's been getting good reviews... anyone here had first-hand experience with it yet?

Sooner Pesek

JL,

I have been using the Milwaukee for about 3 months with a 96 tooth negative 5 degree freud blade. I will strongly recommend this saw to anyone as I have had very good experiences using it. You have seen the pros and cons in an above post so I won't restate them.

Good luck with your decision,
Roger

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"SKILLED Carpenters aren't CHEAP , CHEAP Carpenters aren't SKILLED " --- saw this on a t-shirt a while back ---

JLTrim

Good to hear, thanks for the recommendation. Seems like every model of slider on the market has flaws of some kind, makes it tough to choose. One thing I'm wondering though... does the work light cast a shadow of the blade on the cut-line like DeWalt's LEDs, or is it just for visibility? I haven't found a clear answer on this yet.

Sooner Pesek

JL,

No, the light does not cast a shadow over the blade (I'm assuming that you mean like a laser line?). It is only for visabilty- which it does work well.

Roger

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"SKILLED Carpenters aren't CHEAP , CHEAP Carpenters aren't SKILLED " --- saw this on a t-shirt a while back ---

WarnerConstInc.

That saw is a heavy beast. I know a few guys that bought it VS. buying a Kapex. It is damn heavy though. My Bosch is damn heavy though.

JLTrim

Yeah, that's what I meant, thanks for clearing that up. No big deal, I've never had a miter saw with a laser guide so I guess I won't be missing anything.

JLTrim

65 lbs doesn't sound too bad but that makes it 6 lbs heavier than my old DeWalt 708 slider that it's replacing, and that thing is a real pain to setup. But with the good comes the bad, I guess. I really need to go check one of these out and try it before I buy it, if I can find one. As long as it's not real awkward to carry and takes up less space in the work van than the 708, I'm sold.

WarnerConstInc.

Look into the Bosch Gravity rise stand they have out for Miter saws, kind of pricey but, super nice.

JLTrim

Yeah I've heard they're great, it's just that floor space is becoming real limited in my van... I was using DeWalt stands because they fold up small and fit on top of my storage shelves and off of the floor, but the 708 slider seemed like too much saw for those little stands... I guess the Milwaukee would be even worse. I'll look into that gravity rise if I can find a way to fit the thing in there, thanks.

TempestV

Pretty much any good roller stand will make the saw that sits on it a non-issue in terms of ease to set up or store. The Bosch is probably the best of the bunch, but Rigid, Delta, and Rousseau all make good stands.

JLTrim

I just remembered I have one of those wheeled Ridgid stands... forgot all about it until now, thanks for reminding me...
I parked it in a storage closet when I got my DeWalt stands years ago and completely forgot I had it... I guess it'll get some use after all

JLTrim

I finally picked one of these up today and put it through it's paces. I'm really impressed with the accuracy and smoothness of each cut. The saw feels very solidly built with absolutely no play or wobble. I really like the soft-start motor, and the fine adjustment dial works as well as I had hoped. The big 3-position bevel lock handle is the best feature for me, it's so much easier to set bevels on the Milwaukee than on my old DeWalt 708.
Surprisingly this saw actually feels lighter and easier to move around than my DeWalt even though it's 6 lbs heavier. The carrying handles are better positioned to make carrying it less of a chore, and the rubber-padded grips are a nice touch.
It did indeed cut 5 1/4" base standing upright, and I like that they included threaded holes so I can use my DeWalt-style crown stops. All in all I'm very pleased with it and I appreciate the recommendation to buy it... Btw, Home Depot has a power tool promotion going on right now that saves you $150 on the spot, these Milwaukees are going for only $500 instead of $650.

Chris Johnson

Picked this bad boy up for $ 350.00 tonight at the Depot. These things are not selling, too expensive. Besides, a Ryobi POS is $ 99.00 right now.

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Chris

JLTrim

Whoa, $350?? Congrats on the great deal! That's half of the list price.

Andrew M.

Could you tell us the store, please? I want to call them to get a PM.

Chris Johnson

Napa California

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Chris

randamadee

Where to start on how much this saw sucks. The big thing is right out of the box my angle read out is off. Works sometimes and others times not. I have to slide it around from one side to the other and back often many times for it to settle in to something that seems consistent with the manual indicators. I am told this can be fixed with calibration. The right fence does not slide. The lights are weak to the point I ask why bother. The cord is short. The clear plastic guard is extremely light bending in nature so that you can’t see through it to judge a pencil line, meaning you have to lift the blade guard because it doesn’t even have slots to see through. they decided to limit the travel of the sliders so that the saw does not take up as much room, which sounds great but it means if you have marked your stock at the back edge you HAVE to sight down the blade judge where it is in relation to the pencil mark because the power head does not slide past the point where fence meets table. This means the thicker the stock the further the blade is away from the back of the stock during the alignment with the pencil mark process. This affects accuracy be assured, as your judgement is now more heavily relied on, not to mention the extra hassle and time this takes. And time is a big thing to not waste if you ask me. The dust collection they say is the best and brag about this point, but if you are cutting thick stock ever, which means often if you do allot of custom stuff which I do (slabs and small beams) this goes for even stock on edge. Then the dust shroud hits the stock meaning you can’t even cut such stock without removing the shroud. Remove the shroud though and you have absolutely no dust protection as there is no vacuum adapter. How retarded. There is no hold down clamp. There are spots for one meaning you have to go buy one as an afterthought. More money. The lock for the slide assembly is so close to the mounting assembly that it makes you wonder if it was made for Smurfs as large hands are just simply in the way. The depth stop is sloppy as they rely on a rubber o ring underneath the stop. Rubber squishes guys, so if you plan on using this say for dadoes in anything make sure it you are careful not to cut too deeply by using too firm a pressure on the power head. I really do not know what people see in this when they give it good reviews. There is so much to learn from and update. The last thing I have to say is how lacking the customer service is. I have spent hours and weeks on the phone and awaiting replies to emails. Finally I talk to someone and they tell me I can send it in and they will recalibrate the angle read out. Yeah, a brand new saw that is so poorly designed that it shouldn’t even be sold to craftsmen let alone my blind dog, that I am expected to send it back and be without the saws I stupidly sold when I bought this one. That’s right; they don’t even have a loaner program, which means I will have to buy another saw to use while this one is fixed. I think not. I will just use the manual indicators like always have. Do not get this saw, you will regret it if you do anything other than framing. Oh, and another possible fear. The LCD is always on when the saw if plugged in. No off on switch with it, so my guess is you may want to unplug it every night to prevent early burn out.