Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

We run a small custom wood shop. I really did a lot of research on saws and spent countless hours driving long distances to see them in person. It was a tough decision but I settled on The Makita 12" sliding compound miter saw. I had to weigh lots of arguments from so called experts on such things as belt driven vs. non belt driven and how some feared that the Makita being direct drive might be inferior. I found such arguments to be false arguments. I've used my Makita now for 3 months and really love it. The single best feature that distinguishes it from the others is the laser, which unlike other brands is built in and works really well, and can be switched on and off and operates throughout the cut (unlike others). I only wish it had duel lasers so that you don't have to switch the laser back and forth. I only use the laser on certain cuts and to line up very long cuts quickly. The only problem that I have had is that to tilt the saw on a steep miter cut I really have to secure the lever very hard or the miter angle will slip. Also when doing a steep miter angle I have to do dry runs in order to compensate for the slight tilt that the saw will make when being pulled down. But I find that is easy to live with. There are no saws out there that do not bend or deform when cutting steep miter cuts. I think the Makita is by far the best saw overall. I'm really happy with this saw. UPDATE June 2012: The saw is still going strong, no problems at all. My initial review was in 2010. I just wanted to follow up and to let everyone know that my initial judgement still holds true. This is a great saw!! I'm very glad I made the purchase. Update December 2015: I still love the saw. It is a great product.