Denali 10 Inch Compound Miter saw

Once seen only on jobsites and in the backs of contractors’ trucks, miter saws have over the past few years become part of an increasing number of home workshops. It’s easy to understand why. The ability of the miter saw to easily make consistent, accurate cuts represents a vast improvement for the do-it-yourselfer over a basic circular saw.

Denali’s 10-inch miter saw represents a great entry into this growing field, offering solid features and performance at a value price. This saw is driven by a beefy 14 amp, 5,200-rpm motor that doesn’t bog down, even when cutting damp pressure-treated lumber.

This is a compound miter saw, which means it lets you set both vertical angles (bevel cuts) and horizontal angles (miters) when cutting. Making compound angles a essential for cutting and installing crown molding, building picture frames, or creating beveled and edges for counters, tabletops and furniture.

The aluminum miter table rotates 47 degrees to the left and right for miter cutting. The saw head tilts up to 45 degrees to the left for bevel cutting. Since the saw only weighs about 27 pounds, it’s easy to transport it to a jobsite or around a workshop.

Some quality features not typically found on a saw in this price range include a cloth dust-collection bag, pushbutton spindle lock for easy blade changes, adjustable hold-down clamp for securing work pieces, and a unique bevel adjustment handle that permits tighter clamping for better accuracy. Plus, the saw comes ready-to-cut with a 40-tooth carbide-tipped saw blade.

The Denali 10-inch Compound Miter Saw can crosscut a 2 by 6 and miter-cut a 2 by 4. It’ll bevel-cut a board up to 1 3/8 inches thick by 5 1/2 inches wide. And when set for a compound-angle, the saw will cut a board up to 1 3/8 inches thick x 3 3/4 inches wide. The miter table is equipped with positive click-into-place stops at zero, 15, 22.5, 31.62, 45 degrees, allowing fast set up of common cuts.

Overall, this is an excellent all-round miter saw for beginning home remodelers and diy’ers. It will handle a wide range of carpentry, woodworking and deck building chores. –Joseph Truini