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The switch from corded to cordless miter saws on our crew was a game changer
About three years back, our crew of four was still dragging heavy extension cords across every job site for our 12-inch sliding miter saw. It was a pain, especially on second-story decks or in finished rooms where we didn't want to run cords through windows. Then our foreman brought in a new cordless model, the same brand as our other tools so the batteries swapped. The first day we used it on a fence rebuild, the difference was huge. We could set up anywhere in a yard in two minutes, no hunting for an outlet or worrying about someone tripping over the cord. It cut just as fast and clean as the old corded one. The upfront cost for the saw and two extra batteries was steep, maybe $700 total, but the time we saved on setup and moving around paid that back fast. Now I see almost every other crew around here using them too. What's the biggest time-saver tool change you've made on a job in the last few years?
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gray_smith676mo ago
Yeah, the cord freedom sounds amazing. Did you guys run into any issues with battery life on bigger jobs, like cutting all the trim for a whole house? I'd worry about having to stop and swap batteries right in the middle of a long cut list.
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fisher.rowan6mo ago
Honestly, the bigger issue for me was the tool weight. Adding a high-capacity battery makes the saw pretty front-heavy after a few hours. You get the runtime, but your arms pay for it on long trim jobs. It's a trade-off that doesn't get talked about enough.
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