Kobalt 10-in 15-Amp Single Bevel Sliding Laser Compound Miter Saw
Item # 358938 Model # SM2507LW
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Kobalt is Lowe's house brand (sort of) this saw was highly rated. Home Depot's Rigid in store offerings was limited to one sad little 10in miter saw that looked like a school project, not a serious tool. Lowe's had 3 different Kobalt (7 1/4, 10 and 12 inch) models on display. Home Depot definitely had more professional grade tools though. Of the 10 miters saws in stock at HD only two were less than $200. 2 of the 3 Kobalt models were less than $200 plus there were Hitatchi and Dewalt models for less than $200.
I did look at HF's miter saws, but I already have a 12in single bevel compound miter saw from HF I bought years ago (its a freaking workhorse) but the safety guard is broken and the miter latch is broken. Its not really up to the task of precision trim work at this point. Will cut the shit out of lumber, but will just simply chew up crown molding. While I am happy with that saw, the warranty and the features of the HF unit simply do no compare to the Kobalt one.
Some of the BIGGEST factors for choosing the Kobalt over the HF was not only the laser alignment but that the laser is powered by the saw, not batteries, a place to wind the power cable securely (yeah, its a stupid and minor thing until you use it once), the on board tool storage (again, its a piece of plastic but dammit i'll never have to hunt for a blade change tool again!) and the bevel positive stops for crown molding. Are these small items really worth and extra $70-ish dollars? Well, no. But there are major things like a better fence, better laser, better miter table controls and easier to read scales that add up a lot of small things into an overall better product.
The last thing that is starting to grind my gears is the HF warranty. Its 90 days unless you pay extra then you get a 'swap it out for a new one' policy. Granted Kobalt comes with a 3 year warranty that may involve much more that swapping it at the local store, but HF needs to cut the shit with the additional warranty cost and put another few dollars into the products. Yeah, I know, 'cheap HF throw away tools' but what is killing them is that I can't really justify big ticket purchases on tools with motors when I have to pay for more than a 90 day warranty. And while most tools have parts that can be ordered via the support number, those parts are warehoused in CA. Meaning that it can be expensive to ship small parts and it difficult to justify $4.95 in shipping for a $3 part. They need to move or open a new parts/service center east of the Mississippi where 60% of the US population lives.
This video sums up my thought process (not my video, but very thorough)
https://youtu.be/RJtmze4qOHk
