| Power Source: | corded-electric |
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Product Description
Amazon.com
Right out of the box, this saw was square and accurate, and our visit with it was a joyride. First, it’s rip-roaring powerful, which we expected from Porter-Cable, with a respectable crosscut capacity of a 4x4 or 2x6 and miters a 2x4 flat or on edge at 45 degrees. You’ve got any angle you need from 0 to 47 degrees both right and left, ideal because you know we don’t live in a perfectly square world, right? The locking knob is quick and easy to maneuver, and we liked how securely the miter locked into each of the nine positive stops (0, 15, 22.5 and 31.62 degrees left and right and a straight-on 45). Bevels are a breeze to set up; the tilting mechanism is smooth and effortless. And trim carpenters will love this feature: Porter-Cable’s marked that pesky 33.86 degrees for your crown molding work. (On that note, the manual has great step-by-step directions for cutting crown molding, stuff the pros already know, but fantastic info for the do-it-yourself homeowner.) The sliding fence and its lock handle are sturdy, smooth and easy to adjust, providing plenty of support for oversized workpieces. But of course, our favorite feature is the double laser that shows the exact kerf of the cut you’re about to make. The laser’s power switch is a little awkward, but we can live with it. The TwinLaser laser units are mounted inside the upper blade guard of the miter saw, so their beams run perfectly parallel to the blade itself whether the blade is rotating or not. Cool! Be sure to have three AA batteries on hand when your saw arrives, or you’ll be without your (battery-powered) laser feature. We found it relatively simple to readjust for a blade change-out, too. Other notables: An arbor lock means you only need one wrench for a blade change, it’s equipped with an electric brake, horizontal work clamp and a dust bag (though if you’re used to these saws, you know you’re going to be awash in sawdust no matter how good the dust collection bag is). It’d be a heck of a saw even without the cool double lasers, but that’s an innovation we think you’ll love.--Kris Jensen-Van Heste
From the Manufacturer
Porter-Cable 3700L 10-Inch TWINLASER Compound Miter saw
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
43 of 45 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent product, batteries not included.,
By Home Improvement Guy (Providence, RI) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Porter-Cable 3700L 10-Inch TWINLASER Compound Miter saw (Tools & Home Improvement)
Square out of the box, laser shows both sides of blade kerf (thus the TwinLaser designation.) A decent blade is included-- I cut numerous boards for a hardwood floor repair, no problems, and a nice clean cut. The fence is nice and sturdy, with a good extension attachment, setup was easy enough and intuitive.With the laser, you can cut larger stock by cutting half and then flipping the workpiece to cut the other half. By showing the kerf, you can see where you are going and line it up well. It's not a perfect cut, but if you don't have a table saw or a circular saw nearby, it works in a pinch. Compared vs. the DeWalt, Ridgid, Bosch and Ryobi and felt that the build quality was better, as was the price to feature ratio. The laser is an extremely nice feature for the type of work this saw does. Also, by showing both sides of the kerf, what you see is what you get. Things I wish it had: A clamp for pieces closer to the blade. For shorter workpieces the included clamp won't hold them, although you could rig something up with some quick clamps. . Batteries are not included, which is a bit of a buzz kill when you get your new saw and want to see the laser! All in all, a great saw, and well worth the $$$.
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Other Contractors Are Amazed On The Job Sites!,
By ShowCase Cabinet & Display Case Co. (West Coast) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Porter-Cable 3700L 10-Inch TWINLASER Compound Miter saw (Tools & Home Improvement)
If your looking for a very affordable and reliable 10" compound miter saw, you can't go wrong with the Porter-Cable 3700L 10" TWINLASER ! And the price will still leave you enough money to buy a High Quality Freud blade!It will out perform every other major brand on the market! Don't just buy a compound saw because it looks fancy, is painted yellow or has a combination high tech color scheme of green and black. This saw will out cut any thing DeWalt, Makita, Hitachi and Sears has on the street! When we are out in the field installing we often see the other saws that contractors are using. Every single sub or contractor will ask if they can try out the 3700l 10" Twin laser. In fact they often just continue to use the 3700L while we are working next to them! The first thing they notice is how accurate the laser's are! The second is just how perfect the cuts are made! Next they are blown away by the price. And of course it's a Porter Cable! This saw just feels right in your hands. I do agree with other reviews, that a top handle would have made this saw so much more the better to carry. But like most saws it takes two hands to carefully pick up and set down anyway. This is a high tech saw! you don't want to get into the habit of just throwing this bad boy around! Take care of it and it will make you MONEY!!! The first thing we did after buying ours, was to install a brand new Freud 10" Diablo Ultra Finish Circular Saw Blade - D1080X You will notice a 100% rise in performance in the 3700L. This will add an extra $50.00 to the total purchase of your system but with the D1080X blade you will amaze everyone with the smooth flawless miter cuts this saw can produce! You can also mount this unit in your shop on a miter saw extension and stand for a small price. Lastly, you may want to use a tie strap on the sawdust bag to fully seal it in place. This will keep 100% of the dust from getting around the clamp and openings in the cloth. The bag has a nice zipper on the bottom to dump out your dust. Added Notes on 5/12/06 as follows: As far as what reviewer Pete R. is talking about, we can't see this happening! First of all the saw creates "SAW DUST" not wood chips! Unless he just decided to blaze and blast his way thru the wood with a "RIP" blade this can not possibly happen! As I suggested in my review; "REPLACE" the factory blade with a Diablo Ultra Finish Circular Saw Blade - D1080X ! The 3700L Miter saw is a "cross cut" saw not a table saw or rip saw! No problems of this kind with any of our 9 field saws, and we use them for 4 out of 8 hours a day on each saw!
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great small job Miter Saw,
By Winstone Wallace (Somerville, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Porter-Cable 3700L 10-Inch TWINLASER Compound Miter saw (Tools & Home Improvement)
Just wanted to give a quick thumbs up for the Porter-Cable 3700L. I have been looking for a 10" compound Miter Saw that would fit the bill for portability, ease of use, and accuracy.This unit fit most of the bill. Having just went through a Ridgid MS1065LZ I needed something better. The Ridgid, though built like a tank, had a very hard start, almost jumped if not bolted/clamped, laser was OK, (not big on arbor lasers) and the guard design got blown away after 3 days in mid cut. That will wake you up :). Decent machine but lacked in several departments. The Porter Cable: First off, the twin lasers and the ability to adjust them...fantastic. Hard to imagine going back to none. One of the best features of this saw and wish other manufacturers would wake up. The right laser was a huge time saver. I hear so many people say "I never use them". Use them, and enjoy that they are there. It speeds things up tremendously and guess what....they are more accurate than your eye and bending over, lowering the blade, looking at the teeth adjusting, bending over...you get the idea. Start up was semi soft, brake was good. Noise was minimal in comparison to many others. Plenty of power. Dust collection not bad. A bit of blowback but better than most. I replaced the stock blade with a Ridgid 90 tooth carbide and the cuts were glass smooth. A quick tweak on the lasers and they were dead on both Kerfs of the new blade. Very rarely did I use a sand block to clean them up. Left fence was fairly high and slides smoothly. Right fence could use a bit more height. Left extension was nice to have. Lightweight. Accurate once adjusted. Do adjust the bevel angle and make it dead on. Pretty standard cut capacity for a 10" Compound Miter. Handle well placed in a comfortable forward position. Blade guard was smooth and flawless. Release was smooth and adjustable, it did not fly up when released. Just a few down sides. No real carry handle makes it awkward. You have to use the forward facing main handle, forcing 2 hand carry for a lightweight unit. Plus you are depressing the power switch while lugging, just doesn't feel right. An extra top handle for carry would really help. Rubber feet would be nice. Of course you can always bring a no slide mat in situations where it's hard to clamp. The miter adjustments seemed very rough, not smooth. Even when fiddling with the tension it still felt forced and grindy. Adjusting to 45 degree right butts your hand into the base every time, a bit annoying but workable. It also covers the scale so I always second guessed and re looked and moved it to make sure. Got over that after a while. Adjustments to the pointers seemed a bit on the cheesy side, could be beefed up a bit. Lasers do shift just a tad and widen when lowering the blade so rough place it with the saw upright and tweak it once the blade is lowered a bit. Once again...very minor. All in all, for the price, free shipping, $179 is a bargain for this machine. Is there one better out there in this price range for a 10" CMS..not that I have seen or tried. Remember, this is not a $500 heavy tool. If your looking for that, go look at SCMSs from Hitachi, Makita, Bosch and you'll find some smoother machines with great capacity and all the bells and whistles.........but no twin lasers. If Porter-Cable ever came out with a seriously engineered Dual compound, SCMS with twin lasers, I'd be all over it in a heartbeat. I Strongly recommend this unit and with a few tweaks would be 5 star.
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