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SWARTS 305MM 2000W Belt Drive Sliding Compound Mitre Saw - Pre-Order for $360 for May (Reg $399) Via eBay (Swarts Tools)

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Been looking around for my first ever Compound Mitre Saw for a few months but didn't need it urgently so have had time to do some research. Just for general DIY jobs around the house but also for the occasional specific project… anything from making light work of cutting 50x200 Hardwood Sleepers for a raised Garden Bed through to making dozens of accurate & clean cuts of lengths of powdercoated extruded aluminium to make fences, gates & battening etc.

The obvious choice for most of us OzBargainers is the cheapie Ozito or 909 units from Bunnings or Masters or for those wanting to spend a bit more the lower-end 'Domestic' green Bosch at around $350-$400 should do the trick however I've read reviews on all of them and although very good across the board none of them seem to be 'amazing' at anything in particular.

I then found this unit from SWARTS. Big, powerful, belt-driven beast of a thing that ticks more boxes on paper than the Bosch but questionable accuracy as there are very limited and in fact non-existent reviews on it. One old review I found on the previous model was pretty decent but commented on its accuracy however the Rep posted an admission on that and said that the new model (this one!) was a lot better plus they had introduced a new QA process to make sure all units were properly calibrated locally before they were sent out to customers.

Make of it what you will however I just bought one on Pre-Order as the price had dropped from $399 to $360 and units will be delivered in early May. When I explained that it was between this or the smaller green Bosch the SWARTS General Manager replied hinting that these were in fact made in the same Chinese factory so I suppose that's a plus. The fact that it comes with a 100T Blade (worth $40+ alone) and has a '3 Year Professional Warranty' and includes Free Shipping made it good enough to make me jump on one ;) Add to that the fact that they've sold so many plus the great communications I've received from the Rep and it already feels like a good buy.

I obviously don't have it yet as it will be delivered early May so I can't comment on it however I hope this may benefit other OzBargainers looking around for Saws.

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closed Comments

  • +3

    Better get one of those 3 years no questions asked replacement warrantly ones from Bunnings/Masters. I have a 909 from Masters and it's been going strong for over 2 years I think. Still the original blade and runs smooth as! Been using it a lot over the past year.

    • +1

      Me too.. especially when they go on sale for $99. I managed to buy one for $89 with 10% off. I bought a better blade though that costed more than saw (255 though).

      • Same here, was a Woolies receipt 10% off on top of the special.

  • Like you SteveAndBelle also after a mitre saw and no hurry to buy the first one, I like the AEG one sold at Bunnings, unless I have missed it they never seem to be on special :-(
    Anyone know what is the advantages or disadvantages of the "belt-driven motor" compared to direct drive. Thanks

    • As per most belt driven vs direct drive tools I'd imagine it would take a lot of wear & tear away from the motor & blade in the form of unwanted vibrations etc. however as always 'something has to give' so all those extra parts required to do that may be counterproductive from an efficiency and longevity perspective.

      Still, we're talking a sub-$400 saw here, not a $1000+ saw so it's all relative…. the $100 Ozito & 909 buyers would be more than happy to buy 2-3 units if they fail instead of one green $300 Bosch and I'd be happy to buy 2-3 of these instead of a $1000+ version. It all comes down to how it works out of the box because there's still a chance it may be average anyway. I'll be sure to report back here or write a review once I get mine.

      • thank you for your reply, was at Bunnings this evening getting some plumbing fittings the AEG @ $459 ($499 normal price) is still tempting, 6yr warranty, turbo dust extraction . Need to do a detailed comparison between the two, in the mean time have use of my sons Makita, does everything i need it for, just hope he does not want it back soon

  • "anything from making light work of cutting 50x200 Hardwood Sleepers for a raised Garden Bed".

    You will need serious grunt for that. I burnt out the motor on a Ryobi 305mm mitre saw doing stuff like that.

    If you want to do that then my suggestion would be either go cheap or expensive with good warranty.

    • Yes, noted. I would hope that assumed genuinely rated 2000W motor would be more than powerful enough to do that easily… but I may be wrong. It will be painful to send back but I would hope a motor burnout would be covered by the 3-Year warranty. Again, 'who knows' but fingers crossed :)

      UPDATE: The Rep must have seen this thread and has just sent me a message saying that if the motor did burn out I wouldn't have to send it back, he would simply send me a new motor and I can replace it myself. Now that's service!!

      • +1

        2000W motor will handle that no problem, AS LONG as you have a high quality, and sharp blade, and the right blade for the job (i.e. tooth count). Stock blade probably "isn't going to cut it" on hardwood like that - pun intended :) Even saws with less power can do the job. You just need to slow the cut rate down considerably.

  • reading a few woodworkers forums came up that direct drive is way better than belt drive

    • True overall but belt-drive can be advantageous in some situations due to placement of motor. Some direct drive saw motor bodies can reduce cut depth or get in the way when making particular cuts. Remember how many of the Makita models had the motor body angled at 45 degrees to the plane of the blade? there was a reason for that :)

  • +1

    I see your swarts is as big as mine :)

    • Let's see how you handle it!

  • +1

    I just bought one on Pre-Order as the price had dropped from $399 to $360 and units will be delivered in early May.

    Pre-order? You are crazy?

    It's an Ebay Policy breach… http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/policies/pre-sale.html

    And what about no Buyer Protection?

    • Fair enough… but there's a fair difference between pre-sale and pre-order and this is the latter. This item has been listed for many years and as you can see they've sold many of them previously.

      That's OK, no-one's asking you to buy one but thanks for the tips. Good to know.

  • +1

    May the SWARTS be with you!

    • OK, it's obvious you and Maxell86 are also fans but you've both missed the most obvious line of all: "USE THE SWARTS!" Could be a good omen for my purchase :)

      • +1

        Do not underestimate the power of the belt drive!

        • Ha, see… it may not have been a good deal afterall but these SB jokes made it worthwhile… 'ludicrous' in fact :p

          Cheers guys.

        • +1

          @SteveAndBelle:

          Throw in a free Yogurt fluffy toy and you got a deal :)

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