Just Might DIY

JZ’s Pick: Hercules 12” Dual Bevel Sliding Compound Miter Saw + Dewalt Miter Saw Stand

My pick for this week’s #ToolTuesday pick is hands down my favorite tool in the shop: the Hercules 12” Dual Bevel Sliding Compound Miter Saw ($349 at the Harbor Freight store at the time of this writing), which is made even better with the Dewalt Miter Saw Stand with Wheels.

While I’ve always LOVED working with tools, I’ve shied away from the bigger ones, and particularly power saws. I’m just super safety minded and know that my limited understanding of the potential pitfalls could be incredibly dangerous. 

But when D and I started the Soundboard Art Frame project this Summer, I borrowed a sliding compound miter saw from my good friends. D really took the time to show me how it worked, what to watch out for and how to operate it safely. It took only a few cuts before I was hooked.

After consulting with my dad on which features to look out for and reading tons of reviews, I purchased the Hercules Dual Bevel Sliding Compound Miter Saw a month later (and thank goodness, because we kept having to restart that darn Soundboard Frame Project). 🤣 #funnynotfunny 🤣

At the time of purchase, I was deciding between the midrange Dewalt 12” Double Bevel Compound Sliding Miter Saw but was turned off by the lack of comparable features on it (especially given its price). The Hercules (a Harbor Freight brand), matched the more expensive Dewalt feature-for-feature, and even had a better guideline system (shadow guide vs. LED).  

Truthfully, it took me a while to pull the trigger on that purchase, as both Harbor Freight and the Hercules brand were so unknown to me, but my confidence in the purchase was boosted by the awesome reviews on the Harbor Freight site, a few positive YouTube comparison videos, and the fact that Harbor Freight offered a one year, no-questions-asked return policy on it at the time I purchased. 

I couldn’t be happier with this awesome miter saw. We’ve used it a ton, and now I’m wondering how I lived without it for so long. 

If you don’t have a Harbor Freight near you, you can buy this product on Amazon, though you should compare across sites.

With any 12” Sliding Compound Miter Saw, storage and maneuverability is something you should think long and hard about.  Knowing that these saws can be anywhere between 30-50 pounds, I wanted to be sure to get a stand where I could easily move it out to the middle of the garage and still tuck it away when I’m done. So when I bought the Hercules saw, my immediate next purchase was the Dewalt Miter Saw Stand with Wheels (below).

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