Craftsman 10" MiterMate™ Miter Saw (21226)

Does what it says!

The saw performs exactly as it says. Yes, you need room to use it because the arm doesn't swing left / right. You change the position of the wood. But, that's expected. The product description says that. My one issue would be the right fence. In some positions, you cannot move it in close enough for short pieces, because there is interference with the saw motor when you try to cut. Limits the depth of the cut. That's the only negative issue so far. The angle accuracies seem good. Very little error will make a big difference. The angle finder is very handy and easy to use. One of the features that drew me to this saw. So far, it's been a good investment.

light and easy to move

use it alot!!

Light weight too

Great item to have at your disposal. I bought mine when building shelves for my toolshed. Worked like a champ!

Great saw

I purchesed the saw for a garden project this summer and have not stop using the saw since. It's very easy to use and light enough to move to where the job is. The angle transfer system works great.

great

great

So simple even a woman can use it!

I bought this product because my brother recommended it. I bought it on sale and reviewed the youtube video. This was my first saw and so far it has been great. Easy to use and I like the security features too. I'm making miter cuts as well as straight.

Easy angles

Bought this saw because of unequal corners on renovations. This saw makes determing angles a breeze.

It is rated as one of the best and is! I love it!

I recently bought this saw I needed a saw to trim out both bathrooms and it does an excellent job.I looked on internet to see what 10' miter saw was rated best I couldn't believe it but it was this sears miter saw! I found out a lot of the other saws the fence were bent or would bend easy I think this saw will be great on my next job hardwood flooring!

Best Thing For Trim

This thing is great for getting trim done quick. No walls are perfect 90 degree corners and this saw corrects it for you. If you can find a video on this, watch it. So easy. Only thing that could make this better is if they made it with a 12" blade and added ability to slide. It's great like it is though. People think I have a lot of experience in doing trim, but it's really the saw. Beware though that the stands might not hold it, bolt pattern is different. The guy at sears told me they connect to all of them. They don't, but a piece of plywood can easily be attached. It's worth it. If you found this review helpful please click the icon.

Very, Very Awsome

I cannot believe some one has returned this saw. My trim has perfect joints (I mean perfect!!) and this is the best miter tool I have ever used. So much faster than getting out the beveled angles and custom agles. It is built really well and if some one returns it because it dosent work supposedly work well... than maybe they should just stay away from diy stuff altogether. It is not rocket science.

MiterMate Saw, I got what I paid for...too bad about the laser

I just do a little work around my house, but my loving wife lets me buy nice tools. We figure the cost of a tool is less than hiring someone to do the work.I'd been looking at miter saws for a while; I have two radial arm saws in the shop, but it's a pain to run back and forth from the shop to the house...you know the drill.So the wife said go and get a good miter saw. The ones i wanted were all over $300 bucks and i wasn't happy about a twice a month tool for that much money. So I wandered over to Sears to compare the brands and prices against **********, *****, and Woodcraft.Sales rep met me just inside the tool department and asked if he could help. I told him I was just browsing the miter saws and he said "you need to watch this video". They had a demo of the new MiterMate on the TV. It looked like just what I wanted. Something to get the measurements right without a lot of hassle. And it had a laser guide, something I felt was critical considering my lack of measuring skills (measure 6 times, still get it wrong.)The price seems more in line with what I wanted to pay, was certainly comparable with other similar sized saws, and I'm comfortable with Craftsman's cost vs quality. Got it home opened it up, and started reading the owner's manual.On the positive side. It comes with a tool to automatically lock in around the corner you are cutting for. Put the tool against the corner, inside or outside corners, adjust the two arms, lock the tool, and walk to the saw. Put the tool into the kerf hole (it's larger than the blade, so there is NO zero clearance for this saw) loosen BOTH the fences, adjust the fences against the tool, lock the fences, put the wood in and cut. Pretty simple. Worked like a charm.The bad things.BAM!!! First thing...the laser ISN'T a "where it aims is where you will cut", it aims to the left of the blade. No, not the left edge of the cut...it aims about 3/32 of an inch to the left of the cut. The insert in the manual says it's factory set to aim to the left of the cut, NOT the left edge of the kerf, where I'd expect a laser guide to aim. I tried to adjust it, but since it's mounted on the arbor to the left of the blade there is a parallax factor, so adjusting the bean to the kerf results in an angled projection that is only good for a certain thickness. You can adjust the beam, but you would have to do it for each thickness every time.To me this is just a waste of a laser guide. My eyes don't know the difference between 3/32 and 1/8 inch, so I ended up using the laser to rough position, the brought the saw down to see where it would actually cut. And true to form I would have to slide the work piece right or left a little.Second thing. My fault for not thinking the actual operation of a miter saw with adjustable fences. EVERYTHING about setting up and making a cut is now reversed.You don't adjust the saw to the angle of cut.You adjust the wood to the saw.Here it comes...YOU CAN'T USE A MITER STAND WITH THIS SAW.The saw doesn't turn. So if you are making an outside angle you have BOTH fences set to about 45 degrees, for quarter round or baseboard that would put the fences making a "V" shape pointing toward you and for an inside angle the "V" would be pointing away from you. Soooo the wood, as long a piece as your cutting, has to angle out and back from the saw toward you or away from you. So instead of a miter stand, you have to an area that point in whatever direction the cut will be as long as the piece of wood you're cutting.I ended up twisting the saw to the right or left to make the cut.If I was going to use this set up in the garage with a miter table I'd have to mount the saw on a turntable or else only make cuts on in the driveway.In summary, I should have gotten a better quality standard miter saw and just spent more time measuring the angles.I would recommend the saw to someone provided they understand the (severe) limitations imposed by the adjustable fences, and that the laser is pretty much useless.Lesson learned.

Good for trim work.

Someone needs to invent a stand that would work with this thing. Because the miter table moves and you cannot pivot the saw itself (you *can* change the bevel angle, but cannot pivot the blade for simple angles) it would be useless on a traditional saw stand.This saw works wonderfully for trim work; the tool takes accurate readings of the angle you are cutting, and transfers that angle to the saw. But you cut compound miters differently than with a traditional compound miter saw, so watch the how-to videos.Long pieces are a problem, mostly because you need to move the supports every time you change the angle. For straight cuts, that's fine, but for bevels or miters.This saw simply doesn't replace a traditional compound miter saw, not without a lot of acrobatics on your part, anyway. But for trim work, it's wonderful. Honestly, I wish I had this saw *and* a traditional compound miter saw.Craftsman, if you're listening, give this saw the ability to pivot like a traditional miter saw and you'd have a winner. The movable fence system is brilliant, but it's not the right solution for all cuts.

Very very AWKWARD to use and BAD design......

When i  saw this saw i thought that it looked very good. I was using it to frame 2x4 walls and it did a great job cutting the wood. But i found that when i need to miter an angle that it is very difficult and sometimes impossible to do. Instead of the saw moving the bottom moves and so you have to basically mover the whole thing instead of just the blade to cut angles. The anglers are hard to move around even. Most of the time i just hold the board at what angle i think i need instead of using the anglers. I just found it to be very hard to cut anything but straight. It might be ok if you were mitering trim or something small, but i would not recommend it for 2x4 applications like i used it for. 

The mitremate saw is very easy to use.

This is a unique mitre saw.  Instead of the blade moving, the guides move to the angles required.  Also, the handy tool that measures the precise angle that you need for the cuts really helps.  You take one measurement, then you have the left and the right angles ready to go with the saw blade never moving, only the fences.  The blade does do angle cuts, but always stays perpendicular to the base.  I like it better than the old type saws and its easier to use.

15" MiterMate Miter Saw

I can cut a 45 degree with no problem. But when it comes to anything above or below that I just don't get it. I love doing work around the house and for friends but I was limited. I walked into Sears recently and saw the MiterMate and thought I would give it a try since I was doing a lot of work around the house. My first cut tuned out to be 22.5 degrees and it was a perfect cut! No doubt it saved me a lot of time and wood but most importantly........MONEY! Now I have no limits and my friends just think I'm a master carpenter.   Thanks Sears, Mike West, Atlanta, GA

Wonderful product for those odd angles!

I love this product for copying odd wall angles, can't live without it when cutting moldings.

Great saw! Highly Recomended!

Great saw, cut 2x4s and 2x8s, trim, 4x4s. used alot and very durable.

Great for crown moldings and baseboards!

Great Saw for the do it yourself person for baseboards and crown moldings. Works great for crown molding and baseboards (as long as they are not over 5" wide). I like how it makes it easy to get your angles correct. The only bad things are the small blade size (only 10") and that it does not have electric stop.

Yet to prove it's value

I was excited when I first read a review of this saw in Wood magazine.  I had a cheaper 8" mitre saw that wasn't very accurate and looked forward to creating tighter joints in my projects.  This saw has plenty of power so far for what I do, the laser marker is helpful once you learn what side of the line the saw cuts to. 

Out of the box the saw is off a degree or two. My first few corners have been off a bit so I'll have to take some time and fine tune it.  One down side that I didn't consider when purchasing is that with the work pieces moving to make the mitre cuts, you need a bit more room in your workshop than other mitre saws require.  Still trying to figure out a way to fit it in better.

What I was hoping would help me is the angle transfere tool included with the saw.  I have yet to use that.  Planning on doing some crown molding later this winter where I hope it will pay off.