Harbor Freight's Miter Saw That's A Great And Affordable Alternative To DeWalt's

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When you are ready to move beyond basic DIY jobs, you'll need some advanced woodworking tools. You might be trying to choose between a miter saw and a table saw. A table saw has a circular blade on a stationary table. The blade raises and lowers through a slot in the table, which supports the wood you're cutting. A miter saw is better for people who want the ability to make both straight and angled miter cuts with ease. The circular blade is on an arm that you lower when you're ready to cut the wood. This machine is smaller than the table saw, which enhances portability.

A miter saw is one of the tools worth investing in when you want to start woodworking at home. However, just because you should invest in this tool doesn't mean you are necessarily ready to spend a ton of money, especially when you're just starting out with woodworking. Harbor Freight offers a miter saw that may fit your budget: the Hercules 12-Inch Dual-Bevel Sliding Compound Miter Saw ($350). Harbor Freight claims to "bypass the middleman," which allows it to provide tools at lower prices.

Considering that the DeWalt 12-Inch Double Bevel Sliding Compound Miter Saw has an MSRP of $649, you can save quite a bit with the Harbor Freight option. DeWalt is one of the best power tool brands, though, and you might worry that settling for a Harbor Freight tool will cause quality concerns. These two tools are comparable in several ways, but you should be aware of some key differences, too.

Hercules is one of Harbor Freight's exclusive power tool brands. It carries a mid-range price and offers a good-to-excellent quality among the retailer's exclusive brands. Despite its lower price, the Hercules miter saw from Harbor Freight uses a 15-amp motor, which is equal to the DeWalt machine. Both tools can make 90-degree cross cuts on lumber up to 2-by-14 inches. When making miter cuts, both saws can make cuts of 60 degrees to the right and 50 degrees to the left. The Hercules miter saw weighs 56 pounds, which is slightly lighter than the DeWalt model (58 pounds), making it a little more portable.

The Hercules miter saw has an impressive 4.9-star rating out of five, based on more than 3,500 reviews posted on the Harbor Freight website. On the website, 99% of customers would recommend purchasing it. "This tool is a powerhouse, delivering top-tier quality, durability, size, and impressive output," one Harbor Freight customer reviewer says.

Another customer purchased the Hercules miter saw after using more well-known miter saw brands in the past. This reviewer says the Hercules tool compares favorably, offering plenty of power for cutting wood up to 4 inches in thickness, while making it easy to create miter cuts. I had my doubts when I purchased this saw. I have used the big name saws when working with my contractor friends. ... I highly recommend this saw. In my opinion, it is a real bargain for a very capable tool."

Even though the Hercules miter saw has extremely strong customer review ratings, the DeWalt model almost matches it. On Home Depot's website, the DeWalt miter saw has a 4.7-star rating with almost 1,300 reviews posted. Only about four percent of all customer reviewers gave the DeWalt tool a one-star rating.

Multiple reviewers at the Harbor Freight website listed the dust collection system on the Hercules miter saw as a poor feature, though it's worth noting that most of those reviewers still gave the tool a five-star rating. "Absolutely love the quality and power of this tool. My only negative is that the dust collection is not up to par with everything else on this saw," one reviewer says. In comparison, most Home Depot customer reviewers gave the DeWalt miter saw higher marks for its dust collection system. "The dust collection is better than most miter saws, which isn't hard," one Home Depot reviewer says of the DeWalt tool.

The DeWalt miter saw has a significantly longer warranty period than the Hercules model, as well. Harbor Freight offers a 90-day guarantee that its tools will be free of material and manufacturing defects. Meanwhile, DeWalt offers a 3-year limited warranty on all its tools and a 90-day money-back guarantee.