BOSCH GCM12SD 12 In. Dual-Bevel Glide Sliding Compound Miter Saw

Firstly, I knew full well the involved risk of mail ordering an 89 lb. package with a precision machine inside. UPS and others push the limit requiring their drivers to lug this thing around. I decided to roll the dice anyway, and got snake eyes... at first. In the end it still cost me less than purchasing at a local distributor. The first saw arrived in two pieces, one large and one small. A three inch chunk that used to be the left/rear foot of the base was sliding around in the box. You know, the box with no Styrofoam in it, only cardboard uprights to ensure the saw lands on a fragile corner, and half an inch of rigid cardboard between $800/65 lbs. of miter saw and the concrete floor. The box did not appear unusually damaged (because it flexes so well), but the edges and corners were pretty beaten up. When I saw the damage, I felt like a nine year old who just dropped his ice cream cone. I picked my lower lip up off of the floor and I politely emailed Bosch about the substandard packaging. I'm sure they jumped right on the matter with lightning speed... Amazon was great and I had a replacement two days later. I was out at the UPS store paying $120 (Reimbursable through Amazon) to ship the broken saw back. Meanwhile, the UPS man was delivering the replacement saw to my home. The UPS man asked my wife, "Didn't I just deliver one of these?" My wife told him where I'd gone, and that the first saw had arrived in pieces. She told me the UPS man looked "sheepish" as he "gingerly" placed the new saw on the floor of my garage/shop. We had a chuckle over the phone at his expense and I hurried home to open the new saw. Setup: The second saw arrived undamaged, but the box looked like someone had lived in it for years. I mounted a Freud thin kerf blade and squared it up. Adjustments are easy. Even easier with a Wixey, or other magnetic digital angle gauge. The Bevel detent does not quite line up with the 33.9 degree mark, but the bevel scale is as accurate as the Wixey will measure (33.9/56.1 degrees). Everything lined up nice and square. The glide action is solid and smooth. Adjusting the tension of the glide action is easy with the supplied wrench. At full extension, there is very little side to side slop. You can force it to move side by side, but in use there is no hint of slop. While shopping for a new saw, I tried just about all of the sliders from the reputable brands (Except Festool, don't want one). The Bosch has the least slop out of all of them. The table: The miter table (the part that turns) is flat. The outer support tables are not. They angle downward at about 0.3 degrees. At least thats what the Wixey shows. A straight edge across the entire table reveals about 1/64th or so of a gap. The outer edges of the support tables are coplanar with the miter table, but the inner edges of the support tables are not. Even so, every single test cut I made was square and accurate with both long and short boards. The tiny variances on the table do not apparently effect the saw's accuracy. The miter table of my DeWalt 703 miter saw is positively convex, but it produces square and accurate cuts every time. I suspect that some folks complain about thousandths of a inch simply because they own the gadgets to measure that small (Dangit! Its three microns off! Burn it and get a better one!). No offense meant to anyone. I'm a woodworker not an eye surgeon. Forgive me if I'm out of line by .000000006 of an inch or so... give or take. Mounting: I removed the old DeWalt from my Lowe's clearance Bosch Gravity Rise Stand (gloating) and attached the mounting brackets to the Bosch. I found that when the saw is securely attached to the mounting brackets, the sliding material supports get jammed in the closed position. The mounting brackets flex under tension just enough to cause the supports to become stuck. I found that strategically placed shims (3/4" washers) between the base of the saw (near the material supports) and the mounting brackets allowed full use of the supports. Summary: I'm extremely pleased with this saw. It is solid if you don't throw it out of a truck, and it performs magnificently. I have a dozen or so Bosch tools and this one is by far my favorite (and the most expensive). If a lighter 10 inch version comes out, I will be very tempted to get one. My only caution to buyers is regarding the packaging. Understand the risk of mail ordering this saw. If you do not order from Amazon, only order from a company which has a return policy at least as good as Amazon. Be prepared to spend out of pocket in order to exchange a broken saw. The packaging for this saw is simply not designed to withstand anything more than sitting on a pallet... in zero gravity. FYI: The following parts do not fit on the GCM12SD Axial Glide Miter Saw: BOSCH MS1226 Vertical Quick Clamp for 4412 4410 5412L 4410L Miter Saws The new taller fence is too high. The quick clamp mechanism will not clear the top of the fence. BOSCH MS1228 Crown Molding Stop Supports Pair for 4412 4410 5412L 4410L Miter Saws The new design of the material support extensions do not allow mounting of this accessory. Bosch MS1223 Length Stop Kit for 4412, 5412L The mounting holes are closer together than the 4412/5412/5312 saws and do not allow mounting unless you drill a new hole in the accessory. I was disappointed when I tried all of these accessories, but hopefully Bosch will have new ones out soon.

We have had the saw for about three weeks. It arrived via delivery without any damage. Before purchasing this machine I researched Milwaukee, Hitachi, Freud, Dewalt, Makita, Festool & Jet saws. Here in Columbus we have a Woodwerks store that features Festool and I was given a hands on demonstration. At $1,400 it seems to be a great machine. But, the Bosch is also a great machine and the there is a substantial price difference. My Son and I have a cabinet shop and needed something to replace my 35+ year old Makita Model 2401 10" miter saw. For some time we have been cutting off hardwood boards that were beyond the ability of the small saw to accomplish safely. For over a year I was considering this machine. But at $750 I wanted to be sure it was durable, accurate with repeatability and user friendly. Two months ago Woodwerks raised the price to $799. I had decided that it would be a good idea to purchase it before the price went up again. Then I found Amazon had the saw for $599 including delivery. I have purchased several machines from them: 15" Jet Planer, 14" Jet Lathe, 18" Jet Bandsaw, Bosch Barrel jigsaw and others. All have arrived as promised without damage. So I have a high confidence factor with Amazon purchases. It was easy to spend this money on this saw. Others have criticized the weight, the noise, the inaccuracy, etc. I would like to comment on each of these points: WEIGHT: The Makita 2401 weighs in excess of 50#. It was one of the first Japanese Miterboxes to come to America. It has been virtually indestructable. The Bosch 12" Saw weighs less. But because it is larger, there is a physical handling aspect that you should respect if you move it from site to site. It is certainly not as light as my Son's DeWalt 12" box. Don't let negative reviews scare you. ACCURACY: I have never purchased any piece of equipment that didn't require final adjustments. The factory settings are usually quite good out of the box. However, if you have to turn out superior work, each tool will require setup. Taking the time to go through the process provides you with knowledge of how to make the adjustments. It also allows you to understand when something is not right. Plan on spending 2 hours to make the needed adjustments to: 1. the miter detent plate and 2. the vertical scale. The manual is well written and relatively easy to understand. I used a 4"x4" cherry piece to check/adjust the horizontal and vertical cuts. I found that by adjusting the vertical indicator arrow to the left side it is easier to achieve a more accurate and repeatable angle adjustment since the vertical angle is not detented. NOISE: The belt driven saws, like the Hitachi, are quieter since there is no gear clash. The Bosch is extremely quiet in comparison to the Makita 2401. I wear hearing protection when using machinery but this saw is much more ear-friendly than other saws I have used. CUTTING HEIGHT ON MOTOR SIDE: One review complained that the saw was limited to 4.5" in height on the motor side. Anyone who has ever used the old Rockwell Sawbuck will remember the 7.5" blade. Yet we were able to make wide cuts in trim materials simply by taking advantage of the long range of motion when the workpiece is laid horizontally on the cutting table. The purpose of any SCM saw is to allow these cuts to be made by taking the time to understand the way to set angles in the flat plane. Cheat sheets are available on the internet to show you how to utilize this powerful aspect of the tool. If you do not intend to use this function, then this saw is not for you and you would do well to buy a DeWalt 12" miter saw. KICK FROM NON-SOFT START MOTOR: try an older saw like the Makita. You will quickly understand that this is nit-picking in the extreme. SAFETY SWITCHES: The saw has two safety switches on the top of the handle. You can cut from either side and find a easily located safety switch for either hand. Like any tool, there is a learning period. I know a man with 2 and half fingers missing who decided to defeat the safety switch on his miterbox. Learn to use it. TABLE NOT FLAT: this table is flat. UNPUBLISHED MEASUREMENTS: I mounted this saw on the left side of my workbench. I had to wait until I had the saw in my shop to get the measurements needed to set the height to match the workbench. There is no way I would ever take a written measurement as something to set a critical height. From unpacking to setting the saw's mounting surface (bench) and setting the saw in place took less than an hour. The reviewer used this factor as a reason to "knock down" the rating. This is unreasonable and shows that the review is flawed and unreliable at best. DUST COLLECTION: There are few dust collection systems on any of the machines in my shop that would satisfy some of the ardent critics of this saw. Even the Festool at more than twice the price can't do that. LASER - DIM: If you are novice, then the laser is important to you. If you are a craftsman, you rely on your eyes. I have not found a laser that can be as sharp as my old eyes. Conclusion: this saw is the best of the type under $1,400. Woodwerks' repair department is full of DeWalt and Hitachi SCMs. The repair tech said that the Hitachi was the quietest and easiest to repair. The filled shelves speak volumes to me. Looking at the display models utilizing the two round tracks to support the sliding mechanism, I found side to side movement that was not present in the Bosch. I learned a lot about reading the various reviews, especially the writers who complained about things that are not really part of the machine. 90% favorable reviews to 10% disgruntled only proves you can't make everyone happy. If you need this type of machine, buy this one.

I was very hesitant to order the Bosch chop saw. I presently have the Dewalt 12" sliding saw. I have been using it on the job for over 8 years and its as good as the day I took it out of the box. I needed a chop saw for the shop and this Bosch with the linkage instead of the slides, really is a space saver. When I read all the reviews, there were so many that complained this was out, and that was out and no way to adjust. Many said its junk, it forget this saw.? That really made me nervous, but I went ahead and purchased it anyway because of the space saving feature. I got this saw about a week ago and I have to say its great. Obviously those people that wrote those bad reviews did not know much about machinery. Even if it is perfectly set up out of the box, you should take the time to go over each item and double check. This way you know its right on, and you can check for any loose bolts, and you learn and get acquainted with the saw. Yes, it was suppose to be all factory set out of the box, and it wasn't, but there are setting for everything and the manual is very well written and easy to understand. I spent about an hour going through each item and adjust every possible setting and stop. Extremely easy to set up, most all adjustments use the same size Allen wrench (that comes with the saw and stays on board the saw in its secure spot) Its very smooth with no play in the linkage. Bottom line, I was very impressed with the saw and would highly recommend it, especially for the shop setting. For the job site, I'll continue to use the Dewalt as the Bosch really is pretty heavy. 89 lbs. I think it was. You would need the rolling stand to take it on job sites, but for the shop, I welcome the extra weight as it cuts down on any vibrations. And if you will be doing finish work with this saw, you will need a good finish blade. The blade that comes with it is a good blade if you doing framing. And I cant say much about the dust collection and the bag it comes with, as I hooked mine up to the dust collector system right away

I've had a Ryobi 8 1/2 inch slide miter saw for nearly 30 years. Compact. Crosscuts a 2x12. Lightweight. Dead accurate. And did I say compact? But the slide mechanism requires a bench about 32 inches deep to allow for its travel. With the Bosch it can be mounted on a bench about 20 inches deep, which in a small shop saves a ton of floor space. The price is very good, especially when compared to the Festool model at three times the price, which also requires you to buy their blades as the arbor is metric. The Bosch a good value for the money. It will come to you out of square and the squaring up process is tedious at best. And changing a blade is even worse. You have to hold your left foot correctly and bite your tongue to change a blade. It is like a lawyer wrote the directions. I finally blew it off and just removed the blade guard without following the instructions. Turn this screw precisely two turns and this other one six turns. If you don't Jupiter will explode. The instructions were about that tedious. With my old Ryobi you pushed the blade lock button and removed the blade nut . Finally, the Bosch comes set up to cut framing lumber. You'll want to buy a Freud 100 tooth carbide blade for about 55 bucks and put that rough cutting supplied blade aside for when you want to build a barn. Don't get me wrong, it is a good saw, well designed, but huge in size and weight. And when you push the "on" button hold on as the torque throws the saw up a couple inches at start up. I would give the saw a rating for "sheerness" but WTF is that in relation to a power tool? Isn't that something to do with pantyhose???? Come on Amazon, how about replacing that with "value for the dollar?"

This is my second Bosch Miter saw. My first was a 3915 10" sliding compound saw. I loved that saw that I had purchased in 2005 but I really wanted an upgrade. So I sold my old saw and bought this. I think just the fact that after 11 years I purchased another Bosch, speaks for itself. Frankly, I didn't even consider any other brand because of my great experience with Bosch. I am not going to quote a bunch of facts nor statistics on why this saw is better than most. What I am going to say is that I do woodworking. All types that includes building decks, building cabinets, keepsake boxes, outdoor chairs etc. This saw more than meets all my needs in these areas. In fact the saw surpasses my original Bosch since it is bigger, bevels both sides, has a much larger fence, and has stops on the bevel. All things my excellent 10" Bosch was missing. I've been using the saw and really love the gliding mechanism. My old saw was starting to not slide as well as it did when I got it new. In fact, it started sliding exactly like other new saws from Hitachi and Dewalt I have tried at the big box store. I was surprised that they don't glide that well. I will tell you that the glide on this saw is amazing. In fact, at first I was taken aback a little since I was not anticipating how freely it would glide. But after getting used to that, I don't think I could ever go back. The saw is more than powerful even when cutting red oak or for that mater purple heart. I did have to use my precision square to ensure that the 90 degree and bevel were correct. The bevel was but the 90 degree cut has to be very slightly corrected. That of course was every easy, loosen 4 screws with the allen wrench included straight it, and tighten the screws. Easy! Anybody who needs a precision, super quality saw won't go wrong purchasing this saw. It is awesome. Of course, I did have to replace the blade immediately since I was cutting some wood for a cabinet and needed a nice smooth cross cuts. But I'm keeping the blade that came with the saw for other future projects.

Incredible Saw. I have had it for more than a year and a half and have used to it finish my very large basement. I've also used it to perform more complicated miters in a few craft projects. I purchased it to replace a 10 year old compound miter saw (10"), and also hopefully to replace my even older radial arm saw (RAS). The saw is dead accurate. It was so out of the box, and remains so now. There is no flex. I use mine on a rolling cart I built many years ago. I can't really imagine lugging this saw around. If you need a transportable setup, I would look to one of the folding carts with wheels so you can push it around. I did not use the included blade but ordered a Bosch finish blade at the same time. It would be nice if saw makers would just leave the blades off the saws so you don't have the added expense. The included blade is likely fine for carpentry. I made a fee test cuts with it for joinery and thought the splintering results weren't great. The controls on the saw are the best I have used. I read one review that complained about the safety button. My experience is exactly the opposite. There are ambidextrous safety buttons and it is a natural fit for my thumb with either hand. The saw does not start hard in my opinion, and it produces less noise than my old mitre saw. While the motor is noisier than my RAS, the blade is quieter than the amana on my RAS, so overall it's just a bit noisier. Dust collection is really good with just the bag. (Unzip the bag to see the difference it makes). I added a Bosch laser indicator that is fairly accurate, especially for carpentry. For woodworking I tend to use the blade rather than the laser. I tried a laser indicator from a different manufacturer but could not get the blade to tighten down correctly. Cross cutting is very pleasant. Not quite as wide as my RAS but plenty for 99% or more of the crosscuts I make. (Close to 100%. I can only think of one crosscut in the last 18 months that was doable on the RAS but not this saw. ) Packaging was incredible. The outside of the box had clearly seen some abuse but the saw was in perfect condition when shipped in January 2013. Hopefully any packaging problems are a thing of the past. The only negative I can say about the saw so far is that the zipper on the dust bag broke. The saw is truly a pleasure to use, and by that I mean that you can focus on the work and not the tool. It is easily better than my old mitre saw. Compared to the RAS, it excels in every way except of course for dados. It is a great compliment to my table saw and I find myself doing accurate cuts on this saw for the convenience compared to the table saw. I don't think you'd be disappointed with this saw. It is perhaps the best engineered and manufactured power tool I own.

great saw, very accurate cuts. Only drawback to this saw, is dust collection. Probably the worst I've ever seen or had. And I'm using vacuum collection. Bosch fittings and the whole bit . more on the ground than anything. If you can live with that great. Axial glide very smooth, blade change very simple. Nice product

This is the staple tool in my garage. The arm makes it take up less space accurate and it’s a bosh. Great purchase.

Magnífico producto, Bosch siempre es garantía, muy buen equipo y la relación costo-beneficio creo que es insuperable, el envío fue muy rápido y seguro, no tengo ninguna queja estoy muy satisfecho con este equipo, este equipo es por mucho mejor que la mayoría sobretodo por el mecanismo de movimiento que ahorra mucho espacio, sobre todo por que mi taller es muy pequeño, muy recomendable.

Great saw, ended up adding a shadow line to it but even without its in another universe from my 15 year old hand me down miter. Tons of power, accurate, very easy to adjust. Super happy

Great chop saw. Great features. Fits in space with little in my tight workspace.

Hasta ahora es una sierra que hay rendido el precio que costó es potente lo único que le cambiado es el disco ya que el original es muy ruidoso compré un disco diablo en conjunto la máquina y el disco hacen el balance perfecto para un mejor trabajo mejores cortes sin ruido y no hacen astillas son más limpios parece que son cortes que se hacen con una lijadora de los finos que quedan recomiendo ampliamente esta máquina

Es una herramienta muy completa y muy fácil de usar, es una excelente inversion