LS1219L 12" Dual-Bevel Sliding Compound Miter Saw with Laser

I am a full-time builder of 20 years and have owned and used a variety of miter saws over the years. I've personably always owned DeWalt miter saws and have used other contractors' Makita saws and always liked them, but wasn't sure how they would hold up for my particular work. I, like many others, was interested in this saw because I liked the small footprint in my garage workspace compared to my DeWalt, knowing also that I would be transporting the Makita to/from the job site at least half the month. My decision after extensive research came down to this saw or the Bosch axial glide. You should know I was extremely hesitant to purchase this saw -- from Amazon, for sure, based on some of the reviews and unboxing/shipping mishaps photos on here; but also, based on reviews elsewhere online, which indicated this saw might have a manufacturing problem with regards to zeroing it out and getting accurate cuts when the saw is fully extended (having to do with the slide bars not being coplanar to one another, it seemed). I decided to order the Makita anyway (the Bosch looks nice and is less expensive as of this writing, but I just felt the Makita might be the better bet over time based on my knowledge of Makita's heritage). Amazon's return policy helped make that decision. And I couldn't be happier that I ordered it. Maybe I was just lucky, but my saw arrived in an undamaged box with an undamaged saw within. The packaging was robust and they had styrofoam and padding where it should have been to protect it from rough shipping and handling. Maybe they changed this packaging system since those negative reviews? I don't know. I just know mine came totally intact. Putting the saw together took all of five minutes, and then checking/adjusting all the tolerances took another hour or so, with only minor adjustments needed to get it perfect. The saw fences were perfectly aligned and plumb out of the box, as was the the head's/blade's squareness to the fences -- all the way out to 15". That's amazing! The zero-degree bevel was a half degree off, but the adjustment for this was painless and quick (the instructions tell you exactly how to adjust this, and it requires the same Allen key that changing the blade requires -- handily stored in the tool itself). Once the zero-degree bevel was adjusted, each 45-degree bevel were perfect as well. The table was about perfectly flat as well, and I could only barely slide a sliver of very thin paper under my straightedge in a few spots on the right side of the table. Use feeler gauges if you're keen. I didn't bother. I'm a carpenter and woodworker, not a machinist, so for me, the paper method worked fine. I tested it outside of the usual squares and straightedges, too, using actual 2x and 4x material and checking the material after a cut. Perfect and accurate cuts once adjusted! What can I say other than I am thrilled with the saw and also with how it arrived. Per negative reviews: Yes, the tall fences cannot be slid out (only removed) for large bevel angles. That's not an issue for my work: I don't cut large crown. My work involves wide pieces of trim, wide fascia and wide pieces of hardwood, so the tall fences come off for large bevel angles and that still leaves plenty of fence for 2x material. Needing tall fences for 4x material in my line of work may indicate the need for me to have a more precise miter station and/or to joint and plane the material better. Your common material usage will determine if the fences are an issue or not. They are not for me. Also common in negative reviews was some play in the saw head when extended all the way out. Well, I figured there would be at least some play in this Makita (all my older DeWalt sliders had some small degree of play as well). But I have zero play in the blade and saw head when the saw extends. Zero. It's surprisingly stiff through its range of motion. Maybe this will loosen in time? I don't know. Couple these tolerances with good sawing techniques on my part, and proper transporting practices, and I expect this saw to deliver excellent cuts for years. And yes, as other have noted, the detent plate is a concern of mine (it's aluminium). I'll have to wait and see how this holds up. I think NOT being aggressive with adjusting the base's angle should help considerably. Time will tell. At least Makita will send a new one if it looses accuracy. And then it takes all of ten minutes to install the new one and square it up. No big deal for me, personally. And yes, this saw is heavy and will be a mild burden to move to/from the job. It's a 12" sliding compound-miter saw: they are ALL heavy. If weight And transport are concerns and hefting 65 pounds is a burdeos, I would say look for a smaller saw and don't knock a 12" slider saw for what it is. What else is there to say? Despite the several online criticisms of this saw and its packaging and shipping, I ended up with what I had hoped for and what Makita has built its name around: a quality tool that should last years before it needs any repairs. It's a great saw! Things I needed to see and use to really appreciate and which set this saw apart: I really love the detent override switch at the thumb, and the bevel adjustment knob is a fantastic solution to not having to reach behind the saw to make adjustments. And of course, the footprint is incredibly small in my garage. It easily fits on a 24" miter station. Angling the saw over to 60 degrees when not in use, and it doesn't protrude past the station at all. Nicely done, Makita! And Amazon, for the fulfilment and shipping!

I recently built my dream shop from ground up and now have 1,440 SF of bliss. I designed digitally including rendering all tools so could validate shop size, workflow, and effectiveness. One wall was devoted to a high workbench with a recess specific to a compound miter saw. I shopped all high end models and settled on this Makita, and I could not be more pleased. Its double slide is wonderfully engineered to get a far reach but saves back space. It is very fine tunable to get an exact 90 and other bevel increments. Its stops and controls are well engineered. I have been a carpenter and builder for 40 years and this is by far the best miter saw I’ve ever seen. I bought a couple spares in case this ever peters out as the space is designed for this model saw. One thing to note: I recently did a stupid blade change mistake that bound the saw so I have to get fixed. I put in a spare in the meantime and too my surprise it had a curved kerf. I tried to adjust for hours but couldn’t get out. Trying multiple premium blades I couldn’t get at 90 and a straight cut. I bought a replacement, and after a slight adjustment to get 90, the cut was also completely true. But that cost me over 6 hours of work. So, test your saw when setting up before complete installation. Also a small item Makita should change. To put in a zero clearance insert you have to remove the back fence to access the two back screws. These locations could have been moved slightly so could do without removing the back fence assembly. Small item, and that is a testament to how well this saw was engineered. Hope this helps.

Update 8/2022 So after having used the mitre saw for about 20 projects I’ve not had any issues with it. As for the angle indicator plate if you are gentle with it and actually hold the tab until it’s in the correct position and gently let the latch lock you’ll never have to worry about ruining the edge and causing off angled cuts. Aside from that one caveat the mitre saw is flawless. Also my model was a Chinese model, butthe quality of both the tool and packing were top notch and the laser is still working perfectly. I’ll follow up later after more usage. —— I’ve always used Makita products when I would help at a carpentry shop many years ago, but they were old and from the 80’s and 90’s so I was very nervous about purchasing this Makita mitre saw from an online source especially with all the reviews here about damage in shipping or quality issues. Thankfully, mine shipped from the next state over and was in great shape when it arrived minus the UPS driver placing it on its side for delivery. Unboxing was quite a chore, so perhaps the packaging has improved. My model had the chrome pistons and the billet aluminium supports on the sides. I don’t know if this was a pre China model though. It cuts perfectly, no issues so far with the power of the motor or adjusting the cut angles. The laser is very helpful to speed up with lining up the cuts and it cuts perfectly accurate cuts each time. The vacuum system seems to works very well and the dust bag works, but fills up quickly. I’ll have mine connected to a dust collection system though. I still need a table for it because it’s very heavy and I do have some trouble lifting over 150lbs unassisted, but once the material is level and lined it will give true cuts consistently. In terms of construction and function, it’s a great workhorse which I hope will last many years. Overall I’m really happy with the quality and have already used it several time for a few projects. I’ll update as I use it, but so far it’s perfect

I just love this saw. The soft start is really nice. You don’t realize this is a big powerful saw when using it. It glides smoothly on the rails. There is minimal deflection of the blade, unlike some saws. The laser is very accurate, and works well enough for most tasks. You can swap the laser to either side of the blade with minimal effort, really nice touch. You need to spend some time dialing in the miter and bevel stops. Get a digital level and an accurate square, and that will help. The rails on my saw were also out of alignment, which created curved cuts. You need to loosen one of the set screws on a rail and twist them into alignment… this adjustment isn’t in the manual, but it’s necessary for some of these saws. A dial indicator comes in handy for making this adjustment. There are a couple videos on YouTube on how to align the rails. Overall an amazing beast of a saw, highly recommend getting one and putting some time into calibrating it. It’s worth the effort, as it cuts smoothly and accurately once tuned up.

This saw is amazing and has the best features on the market, when you get it set up correctly. Many negative reviews are from people who were not able to get the saw calibrated. All saws can be calibrated but it is not a straightforward process. - The saw does not come square at 0 degree setting in any of the directions it is adjustable. A plastic square gauge is provided with the saw, it is completely useless. You must use a 6 in machinist square and follow the adjustment procedures for the miter and the bevel angles. It is easy to adjust correctly with the correct tools. - The rails on MOST if not all saws are not parallel with each other from the factory. They must be adjusted to achieve parallel to get the sliding feature to function correctly. This is the number one complaint that I read about this saw when researching the purchase. Many reviews claim you can not fix this problem, this is FALSE. The adjustment involves loosening the set screws at the end of the slide and using a lever to twist the two rails. It is a trial and error process but completely achievable to the get the rails parallel. AFTER the adjustment the carriage slides more freely on the rails and the blade travels in a completely straight line. - The laser cut line is weak and practically non-functional because it can not be aligned. I am retrofitting the saw with a shadow line lighting system from the cordless saws. This is not a necessary feature, but its sad that the included system doesnt not even work correctly. - After complete calibration and adjustment the saw cuts well, cuts fast, and is quiet with the soft start motor. The dust collection when connected to a vacuum is excellent and the only dust that doesnt end up in the bucket is large pieces which is not a problem for health and safety.

Both this saw, and the quiet series air compressor I've bought from makita. I waited a couple months so I could put them through some hard use before reviewing. I love Makita, so I may be biased, but I try hard to be objective. This saw it probably the best compound sliding miter saw I've ever used. So far I've sided my house, built two bookshelves, a patio table, and countless odd cuts. It's very heavy, I can barely move it myself, though in my book this is a good thing. The different style of sliding rails really makes a big impact with how much space it takes up. Beyond that, it has stood the abuse very well, still making perfectly accurate cuts and starting smoothly. It's also surprisingly quiet. Right out of the box, it absolutely needs some calibration. It's not hard, can be done with a carpenters square and patience. I'm a huge fan of the dust control system, when I've got this hooked up to my little shop vac, there's barely any sawdust to clean up. This is the first brand new, big tool I've ever gotten, and I'm absolutely in love.

This miter saw is the best more saw I have ever used and I have used a bunch of other saws in the past. This is a pricey saw but well worth it. It's not going to be a portable saw because it's on the heavy side. Mine is setup to be permanent at a miter saw station I built. Just buy this saw you won't regret it.

SEE VIDEO. Bought brand new back in January. It has sat boxed and unopened in a safe location until ~2 weeks ago, when I was finally ready to install in onto the miter station I'd been working on. I noticed right away, when pivoting the saw left along the circular axis, there is a clear grinding noise of metal on metal, and the saw will not pivot without a decent amount of force. I reached out to Makita for warranty, and they requested I take the saw to an approved service center, and then they provided a link to find a service center near me. I live in a a large urban area with ~1 million people, and the closest service center is 107 miles away from me. I responded in email that I will not be making a 214 mile round trip journey to fix a saw that shouldn't have passed QA, and asked if they had an alternative option to fix said saw. That email is now 8 days old with no response. I'm sure my defective saw is an outlier, however, now that I see how difficult it is make good on a warranty through Makita, it has guaranteed I will no longer buying any Makita products going forward.

Llego con la caja de empaque maltratada pero sin daño la herramienta, esta Miter es la mas versatil de las que he tenido y sigo fiel al producto Makita vale lo que cuesta.

Robuste et bien bâtit. Pas eu besoin d'ajusté, coupe précise dans tout les angles. Les guides coulissants glisse très bien mais la descente de la lame demande une bonne pression. Le départ doux et le contrôle de la vitesse moteur est très apprécié. Le laser est bien fait et peut être ajusté. Je crois avoir reçu une boite qui a déjà été ouverte mais après vérification elle est en parfaite condition. Recommandé

*Robust, powerful, glide smooth, accurate* Soft start really eliminated the jerk with such powerful motor, especially if upgraded to heavy 12” blade. Blade guard (dust cover) open and close naturally, smoothly in all positions. Two saw dust extraction ports make a huge difference.

Awesome zero clearance saw. Would highly recommend. Very accurate and great dust collection

The side will last for 30 years easy it’s very heavy duty. I’m very happy with it makes very accurate cuts worth every penny.