First, the disclaimer. I am not an experienced woodworker, having been working (playing) with these things for about a year. Second of all, I have never owned an expensive saw, never mind a SCMS. My experience with these things can be summed up easily ­ I don’t have any. Therefore, feel free to ignore any/all of the following.

Still with me? Good. Let’s go.

Setup: There is no set-up. The saw comes fully assembled, ready to go. Lift it out of the big yellow box, and go. (From my primitive tools, I guess that the saw is properly aligned ­ It was able to cut the miters on a picture frame quite accurately ­ Not perfectly, but certainly serviceable enough, without any alignment work on my part.)

Impressions: The saw slides smoothly back and forth on its rail, and dips cleanly down. The table rotates back and forth smoothly enough. The toggle that holds the saw blade down works well, although I would prefer it to be able to lock the saw at a particular height. The depth of cut adjustment works smoothly and accurately.

Motor: When the motor starts, there is a slight pull on the handle, if you’ve pulled it down before pressing the trigger. It gets up to speed quickly, and is quiet enough not to need ear protection. (DISCLAIMER ­This is MY opinion ­ Don’t do this, try this, or think about this, unless you agree with me ­ I am an accountant, not an ear doctor, and therefore blah blah cannot be held blah blah you get the picture. Don’t be stupid.) Once you cut wood, however, you will need the ear protection. The electric brake stops the blade quickly and smoothly. The motor has cut, with the stock 60 tooth blade, smoothly through all of the soft wood I’ve asked it too. I haven’t used hard wood yet, but expect to in the near future. Since I haven’t given it a good test, I can’t attest to the sufficiency of its power, although it was enough for…

Beveling: The saw bevels smoothly, and although you need two hands and a little care to set it properly, it’s quite possible, and it’s not a lengthy process. Did I mention this was my first SCMS? I was wondering why the fences were adjustable until I made my first beveled cut. The saw took a bite out of the thick, sturdy aluminum fence without hesitation. So for those of you who don’t already have a SCMS… watch the fence. Power? It had enough to go through the fence, so I’m guessing it’ll cut wood just fine.

Ergonomics: I’ll be honest. This handle feels just as good as the ones on all the other SCMS’s. Since I don’t really see a difference between any of them, I can’t make a comment. However, when I bought the saw, I was disappointed that it didn’t have a lock button to keep the motor turning. After I used it, I changed my mind, and was happy that it would ALWAYS stop spinning when I loosened my grip.

Weight: Portable, but not easily. It’s not heavy, but also not very well balanced. Get a helper, and you’ll have no problems. The handle is useful, but I find myself using the top tube as well. It seems quite solid enough to do this.

Cost: Damn expensive, about $570. It was about $80 more than my other choice, but the other had a 10” blade. I was afraid that if I scrimped, I’d regret not having the additional cut depth in the future.

Accessories: I looked at what was in the store, and was impressed by their sturdiness… but stopped by their price. After dropping all the cash on the saw, I’ll make jigs/holds/clamps myself. An angry SWMBO is a frightening sight.

Cut quality: Not glass smooth, but as I said, I’m using the stock 60 tooth blade. I’m looking forward to getting a GOOD blade on it, but until then, two swipes with sandpaper cleans it up quite nicely. (Also, I may have something to do with the quality of the cut. When the stock is clamped, it seems to do better. Ah well, I guess I have to cut more things to be sure…)

Manual: I got one.

Overall impression: I like it, a lot, even though I’ve only used it briefly. If this changes, I’ll post that, too, and the reasons.