Harbor Freight has released another new cordless power tool. It’s the Bauer 20V cordless brushless 7-1/4″ miter saw. Let’s check it out!
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Bauer 20V Cordless Brushless 7-1/4″ Miter Saw – Features
This new Bauer miter saw is cordless and runs on their 20V batteries. Sold as a baretool so no battery and charger but their batteries are inexpensive.
As you can see above, it’s a single bevel miter saw. This means that you can only make bevel cuts on the left side up to 47 degrees. Miter angles can be cut on the left and right up to 47 degrees with 9 positive stops.
The brushless motor runs a 7-1/4″ blade. Which is a standard size for circular saws but on the smaller side for a miter saw. Cut height is limited to 3-1/2″ with nested crown however since it can slide, the depth of cut is up to 8-1/2″ crosscut.
The base doesn’t have side extensions but the side of the base incorporates built in handles. It comes with a single material clamp and a dust bag.
Bauer 20V Cordless Brushless 7-1/4″ Miter Saw – What I like And Dislike
I’ll start off with what I don’t like with the design of this saw. Bauer had an opportunity to make this a great saw and though it doesn’t have double bevel, I am dissapointed that it doesn’t have a cam-lock for miter angles. Instead, they went with a twist knob to tighten and untighten. Anyone that’s ever changed miter angles constantly knows how cumbersome it can be to tighten and untighten a knob. A cam lock is far easier as you push down to lock and pull up to loosen. Much quicker and easier that way.
Now on to the positive. I really like that Bauer added not just any light to this miter saw, they added an LED light shadow cut line system. This system uses LED lights that cast a shadow of the blade at the cut line. Unlike lasers, a good shadow cut line system doesn’t need calibration and can even account for the thickness of the blade. So thumbs up for Harbor Freight for adding a shadow cut line system on this new miter saw.
A built in switch next to the handle is used for the cut line system.
Bauer 20V Cordless Brushless 7-1/4″ Miter Saw – Price & Availability
The new Bauer 20v miter saw is available now for $199.99 as a baretool at the time of writing. This makes it less expensive than similar cordless 7-1/4″ sliding miter saws from Ryobi and Dewalt. And while also offering a brushless motor which the other two don’t have. This makes the Bauer the better bang for buck of the bunch.
- Sliding and locking head provides up to 8-1/2 in. crosscut capacity
- Shadow cut line guide system for precise, accurate cuts every time
- High output motor delivers 3800 RPM for high performance cutting
- 47° miter left and right with 9 positive stops
- Miter detent override lever bypasses miter detent index with one simple motion
- Single-bevel design, 47° left for a wide variety of cuts
- Quick-adjust material clamp secures workpiece
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Single bevel? A demerit. No extensions for the nesting? A bit lame. 47° on everything, not really that great. That one always gets me. How hard could it be to cast it so that it can swing a little further? You didn’t mention the material clamp. It appears to be a twist only. If so, they are the absolute worst. It can take forever to make adjustments. Big thumbs down. Does it have a depth of cut limiter? Not a big deal, but better to have one than not. All that said, I second what you said about the shadow cut line. That’s the best method in the business right now. No, you can’t really see it when working outside in daylight, but you weren’t going to see a laser either. Also a brushless motor is nice. None of this touches on what can be expected for this brands reliability. Also, parts and support availability. Probably none. $199 is pretty cheap, but it seems like a you get what you pay for situation.
I did mention the material clamp. You can find a mention of it in the last sentence under the features subheading just before the section “what I like and dislike”.
I just bought this & I can’t get the blade to square, & it hits the kerf board when moved to a 45 deg bevel. I tried reinstalling the blade multiple times & unscrewed the kerf board & tried to move it as far left as possible. I am a novice & would greatly appreciate any feedback. Am I missing some adjustment or do you think I may have a defective saw? Please help as I bought this to do several projects, that are stuck in mid stream now.