You may wanty to really consider a 10" slider. The 12" blades deflect way
too much to make an acurate cut.

Check out the Makita 1013LS http://www.epinions.com/content_13358960260

And make sure you get a good stand for what ever saw you choose.
http://www.tracrac.com/workstation/workstation.html

I think this stand may be sold at Lowes with the hitachi brand on it. I have
the older version and its great. I wouldn't own a mitre saw without one.

"Charlie S." wrote in message
news:AdaQe.1164$wE1.598@trndny01...
Need to cut up a number of 4x4's and 4x6's. I've already cut a number of
4x4's using a 7.25 inch circular saw. Found it too difficult to get a
straight cut even using blocks and penciling all the edges. Being
dis-mechanically inclined doesn't help.

Went to HD to check out what they had for 12" Mitre saws. Based on my
needs the salesman recommended either a Rigid or a Ryobi. The Rigid came
with a stand and sold for $279. The Ryobi sold for around $230. The
Ryobi seemed to have a better clamping mechanism and had a basic, clearly
marked ruler at the surface. The Rigid didn't seem to be clearly marked
for measurement. The salesman told me the Rigid was a better seller.
Probably because it come with a stand. From outward appearances the Ryobi
seemed like the better unit. Then again, for $50 a stand comes with the
Rigid.

I realize from reading previous posts that Ryobi generally stands for poor
quality and some of you wouldn't buy Ryobi product under any circumstance.
However, I don't plan to use this every day. For now I just need to cut a
few 4x4's or 4x6's. Most of the cuts will be straight across a few will
be at an angle. Eventually, I am sure they'll be more projects that will
require some cutting.

After Google searching I came up with a sight reviewing sliding Mitre
saws. They appear to be better. I presume they are different from the
regular Mitre saws and more expensive. I wasn't quite certain on the
concept. This may be beyond my needs.

I'm torn between getting either a Rigid or Ryobi or checking out the 'Want
Ads' for a used Mitre saw. If I were going to do all my cutting in one
day, I would probably rent a unit. However, I need it for a longer time
frame. Any suggestions?

Also, I am not all that familiar with cutting. But, from little I've
done, it seems the utility of the table or stand is almost as important as
the saw. I used an old kitchen table to cut my other boards. It wasn't
the easiest thing to work with. Lucky, I had someone to hold the boards
for me. The salesman recommended rigging up something on my own using
plywood and 2x4's. Again, suggestions are welcome.