Bosch PCM 1800 SD

How to fixed 45% cut it’s out by 2mm by finishing – How to reset 45% cutting flooring 140 wide it’s out 2mm , by time finished cut flooring Show details

Decent saw and reliable performer with few faults – As others indicated protector and laser are weak points and broken mine long time ago. But don't really need them. Have used it and still use it from 2016 till today. Have renovated few homes, built number of verandah, decking, pergolas etc. Also used it for multiple flooring jobs. Worked well and did the job. Recently used Makita at a friend's house we are building, latest model and it is worse than the Bosch Show details

This is the worst saw I have owned – I purchased this saw 5 years ago. I have made 16 cuts into pine and then packed the saw back in its box. I moved from Canberra to South Australia and just had a shed built for my workshop. I set the saw up again, and what do you know? The laser has crapped itself. So Bosch, this is the rubbish you make and sell to people. 16 f*^king cuts and its… Read more

useless. I thought buying from a 'German' company meant quality, but what it really means is Chinese rubbish at an inflated price with zero reliability. No more me.

Very disappointed – This was the first Bosch product I purchased around4 yrs ago problems from the start didn't cut square. Repaired that problem then the lock for the bed mitre wouldn't lock and the bed angle would move as the saw was pushed through the cut. Paid for repair, now the lazer and blade brake seem to have failed. I am just a handyman so it doesn't get… Read more

too much work. Judging from the other reviews seems I might have bought a LEMON. Certainly won't be buying any more Bosch products.

Not accurate out of the box - but found the solution – I bought this Bosch PCM 1800 SD to replace my Aldi Workzone Sliding Compound Mitre Saw, which made near-random cuts every time. I decided to upgrade rather than try and improve the Workzone tool. Being a home hobbyist I am probably more fussy than some people about accuracy. If I am going to see my project every day around the house I will be… Read more

reminded of any and all imperfections. As a result, I take care to get things right. Unfortunately, this tool was not setup well out of the box. I was very frustrated and put the tool aside.

Calibration finally helped get it right. I had to do a lot of youtubing to learn how to get this done, but afer the second go-around I was pretty happy with it.

One issue remaining is sawdust. The dust collection bag is impractically small, and there is only that one spot to collect dust from. More expensive saws have better dust collection, so at the pricepoint of this saw, it's to be expected. E.g. Festool Kapex.

Initially I reviewed this saw negatively, but since I got the tuning right, and improved my technique it's a lot better.

Perfect for crooked cuts! – Only decided to go with the Bosch due to their brand name reputation. Sadly things have certainly changed quality wise at Bosch in light of my experience with the 1800 drop saw. Could not understand why blade was kicking back on me if trimming one side of timber. Accepted it for a long time until working out the issue AFTER finding my window… Read more

architraves were all out a little bit on the mitre join. The rear fence is crooked by just under 2mm as it reaches the middle. Sliding fence does correct this but is useless if timber is less than 25mm and cannot be used for mitre cuts as it gets in the way. YES, as per prev reviews laser light is useless after minimal cutting due to gumming up. I wish I had not trusted the Bosch brand name that I grew up with and checked out the reviews first before purchasing. Great saw though if you are not too concerned in getting straight cuts and enjoy the rush of fighting with the timber during cutting. Very unimpressed BOSCH!

Must have got a good one? – Purcahsed this saw for some home renovations and so far has not missed a beat. Can't relate to the issuses that everyone else has reported. Top quality as far as I am concerned. I do not use this saw as often as a trades person would so I cannot say its great for that particular application, but it suit my home renovation just fine. I did however purchase a more expenaive blade for it. Show details ·  1

Bosch..I think you have tarnished your good name on this one – I've always relied on Bosch being top choice for an important tool.this thing is out of square beyond adjustment.i have to turn down jobs until I can replace the 400$ mistake ive purchased. Save your good name send everyone here a voucher!!!! Show details

Not impressed – I bought a Bosch GCM 12 GDL drop saw to replace my Hitachi 12" when it kamikazied off my tool trailer. The sliding fence idea on the Bosch is useless as you have too remove them anyway when laying the head over in any direction. If you lay the head over to the right, it won't even cut through a 45mm thick piece of timber due to the head being to… Read more

thick at the blade centre. Why bother putting the motor on top to get better cut depth when it doesn't? It starts rough, but does a nice enough cut once at speed. It also has more plastic levers on it than a Chinese swiss army enough, can't see them lasting. I needed to do the cuts it couldn't so often I bought a Makita 12" (305mm) 36v battery drop saw and now use this one as my main. It's easy to use, quieter, folds up better for carrying and can cut 60mm when layed over to the right. Disappointing from Bosch.

Disappointing from Bosch – I had a Bosch PCM 1800 that had served me well for 5 years. So when I decided to upgrade to a sliding saw I went with the Bosch PCM 1800 SD. What a mistake. It didn't cut square out of the box and the fence can not be moved enough to get it to be square when set to zero. I made it square by setting to an angle that wasn't zero in order to… Read more

finish my project. Then the blade guard didn't retract enough and got caught on the wood I was cutting. This meant that you had to pull back the guard slightly in order to cut wood above a certain thickness (appeared to be about 30mm) then after using the clamp to secure the wood for the 5th time the clamp broke. At that point I gave up and returned it to the store where I bought it.

Very disappointing for a Bosch machine – Within the first week of use, I found the lever that tightens the radius of the table does tighten the table properly. Also the fence is curving in, in the middle by 2mm which makes the cut inaccurate and dangerous, as the timber jams and the blade kicks back. Show details

Saw cuts OK, Laser is a useless – Only used the saw a few times when the laser went fuzzy, so I contacted Bosch and they said take it to a service centre listed in Victoria, NSW, Queensland, everywhere, almost, too bad I live in South Australia, I will never buy Bosch again.

don’t buy this drop saw – Like other users, the blade guard was hopeless; I had to reassemble it several times (it’s now utterly broken), and I keep having to reset the blade. I have had my Bosch drop saw for about 2 years. Having also just had a Bosch drill which was disappointing, I won’t be buying another Bosch product again. Show details

Worst Bosch tool EVER!!! – Seriously save yourself the headache and buy anything else. Mine had the saw guard jam on it the second day of use.....exceptionally poor design. I love my other Bosch tools, so this one actually made me sad I had to return it because its practically useless. Show details

very disappointed bad quality and performance – bought the saw and stand combo from mitre ten, got it out of the box and straight away inaccurate cuts, both indicators are a mile out. could not get a square cut anywhere, the slide compound will not work unless you take the upper support away from the cutting table, to the right the transport knob hits then the gearbox housing hits and to the… Read more

left simply binds again. ridiculous from a supposed high quality manufacturer

the rear of the handle on mine gets extremely hot as well with a faint smell of overheated electrics when the motor is running

I usually buy Makita, should have done so again.......severely disappointed however the stand is good

Average quality for a good brand – Was pretty disappointed after less than 6 months, due to the guard not working properly and the angles being out when cutting. In the end, I modified the guard slide rail so it works without drama, but I always have to check with my set square to ensure straight cuts. The laser got covered in fresh sap from pine timber and now doesn't work cause… Read more

it ruined the plastic cover... and it was always needing to be cleared anyway as it was in a terrible position and kept getting covered in sawdust. I don't know why but the part which hold the blade on know as the locking nut has worn and now has a wobble in the blade.

Also, it uses 5 watts of power plugged in doing nothing which is a joke.

This is not the Bosch quality and value I am used to – I bought this saw last 6 months ago and after a couple of hours use the blade started to wobble. At first I thought it was the blade so swapped that with a new one with no luck. It then went back to be repaired under guarantee which only lasted 5 minutes. It then went back again to have a whole lot of new parts replaced, such as gears etc.This… Read more

lasted a few hours work before the blade started to loosen off again. Mitre10 then replaced the saw with a new one out of the box. This saw is now also having problems cutting roughly and then the blade comes loose. I have had a lot of Bosch products over the years and never had a problem. I am now returning it for a refund and will buy something else.

This is the worst drop saw I’ve ever used – Major guard malfunctioning / design issues. I sent the saw back to rectify the issue and the fix only lasted less than a week. The guard mechanism design on the saw just does not work. And after a small amount of use becomes extremely dangerous, due to the need to force the saw down to engage the guard. I didn’t bother sending it back again for… Read more

repair as the design problem lies in the flimsy metal bracket that engages the guard. Simply replacing this part with the same only leads to failure.

Works like a dream – I can't relate to some of the negative feedback whilst some appear to be comparing this tool to professional tools at double the price I bought mine to build my deck and basic work around the house. Hasn't missed a beat to date 6 months in Moral to the story don't buy a $400 tool & expect the precision of a $1000 tool, this is after all a DIY product if you want bells and whistles buy Bosch blue  Show details

OK for rough structural timber but not for precision work – I bought this as a special from Bunnings as one of the lower cost saws for my beer budget / champagne taste. I got one of the stand combos at a good price. I have used it for a few small jobs in a reno over the past few weeks. The saw works OK but will require setting up to reasonably accurate. Mine was at least a few degrees off. Furthermore… Read more

the milled back stay was warped and out by about 1mm end to end. I fixed it by filing the supposedly precision milled surface close to flat and reinstalling and adjusting to square. Also the laser is not very bright and I would say hardly usable even indoors. It was also not adjusted to be parallel to the blade. The saw is a lot more noisy than my induction motor table saw but I can't compare to others.

In summary, perhaps a good saw for construction but not for finer cabinet work. I would suggets a better model if more precision and build quality is requreid

Works well! – I have not experienced all the problems mentioned in the reviews. Four projects I have finished now and it is still running like a dream. The pcm 1800 sd I bought in August 2016 for the price of AUD 399.00 included with stand at Mitre10. I am a satisfied user.  Show details

I rate my PCM 1800SD – Contrary to all above opinions...I am well pleased with mine and have not experienced any issues as above. I have both the saw and the stand. Straight out of the box...a familiarisation for about 1/2 an hour and then a general check that all was tight and as should be. It was all good. I then gave all nuts and bolts my customary pre use… Read more

"maintenance" with a WD40 spray can and did some test cuts on various timbers. Crrosscuts, mitres and bevels. I checked all the cuts against set squares and against each other. Specially wanted to now where the blade was cutting and if there was any whiplash side ways or thru the slide action. Solid as a rock both ways. I loved the torque and power of this saw. Cuts like butter.

Then same day straight into a project. New pergola.

Cross cuts , notches and end bevel cuts in 210 metres of 4x2 and 2x2 . ( Thats a lot of notching)

I cut it all , painted it ( stain) and constructed it in 11 hours over 2 days.

With out this saw and the solid bench to easily manage the 3 4 metre lengths...this would have taken at least twice this. I enjoyed every moment using this piece of kit.

I modified the depth screw for better depth control and I removed the thumb activated safety latch as over kill safety.

Laser works fine but I think its largely a gimmick. I kept it off for 90% of the time. I cut to the waste side of the mark by dropping blade down and lining it up. Very quick to do. The laser is right in the centre of the blade. Not so good but it can be adjusted how you might want it. I might adjust it to suit my preference.

Some knobs a bit plasticky and I will make a lever instead of a knob for the bevel cut lock off.

Dust to the dust bag . Collects about 40-60 % of the dust. I will modify it for better effectiveness.

Its a noisy saw. Must wear ear protection!

Generally...I found this a great tool at a great price and I expect many years of use from it.

Bosch shows us a good example of ineptitude that could produce injury in my opinion! – I returned my PCM 1800 SD to Bunnings warehouse today after the blade kept loosening creating a disaster about to happen. When I first purchased this it came with the Bosch PTA 1 work stand and unfortunately Makita would not work with so I was stuck with another PCM 1800 SD which is still unopened in my garage as I am trying to find a Dewalt that… Read more

I can trade for.... Bunnings would only allow a store credit and had no Dewalts with similar specs. I will never purchase another Bosch product again and I will never recommend a Bosch made product- I have a Dewalt 12" slider at my home back in the states which makes this Bosch PCM 1800 SD look like a piece of junk.

JM

Sloppy adjustment – Straight out of box to begin 90 degree cuts and basically stopped. Using it as adjustment was a tedious process. The turret is just sloppy when locking angle. Eventually tightened the turret spindle nut which helped a bit. Realigned the backstop which also helped. Basically have to check with set square each time I set up. A complete waste. Simple parts should not be designed to be crap cos there cheap. Never buying green Bosch again.

Not a good product – I tend to concur with all the prior reviews condemning this product. I purchased this saw 15/07/2015 before I looked at the reviews in question and that was a mistake. The laser light lasted about 3 minutes after removing it from the box and using it. The accuracy of the degree scale is not the best, requiring much experimentation to get accurate cuts. I purchased this saw at Bunnings warehouse and hope I hope to return it ASAP.

Not Happy Northlander – Laser light has stopped working within a few hours or cuts, getting ready to take back to Mitre 10 and note the slides have gone rusty inside the housing, saw has never been out side, always been in the shed, like Bosch brand but this is a let down. Now I have to waste time to get the issues sorted

This is a big disappointment – I purchased this saw from Mitre10 New Zealand as Bosch is a decent brand and there is a promotion to give a free stand (please resist the temptation of getting a free stand as you may not even need it). But it has three major problems I've met so far: 1, the laster was ok in the beginning but then lost its alignment with the saw blade on… Read more

the second day.

2, the dust collection is very ineffective, as the collection hole was too high so that majority of the dust could not go into the bag. I think this is a design flaw.

3, the saw could not be push down after 5 days of use. Although adding some lubricant solved the problem but I would not expect that a new saw would have such a problem in such a short time.

My recommendation is: avoid this saw even if it is a free gift.

Disappointing – First thing I checked when I got home, were the mitre and bevel angles: Bevel angles were fine at -45, 0 and 45deg. The mitre table angles were fine at 45deg left, and zero degrees, but was off by about 1.5deg. at 45 degrees right. Laser came conveniently pre-broken from the factory. At least I can say I owned one for about two hours, and… Read more

that was long enough- it took it straight back and exchanged for a Makita LS1018L, which was spot-on straight out of the box and has a lot more of a quality "feel" about it.

I've been using Bosch power tools for over 25 years without hassles, so this one was pretty disappointing.

Dissapointed – Based on my experiences, this saw does not live up to Bosch’s advertised claim of easier precision cutting. It is important that right angle cross cuts are at 90 degrees. However, the right angle lock down for the saw falls short of 90 degrees. This requires time consuming adjustments and test cuts to lock the saw in at a position where the… Read more

cut is 90 degrees. Based on advice from the hardware store (there were no instructions that I could find with the saw for doing this) I tried adjusting the back fences to the maximum extent possible but the right angle lock still falls short of 90 degrees. Once locked in place (at around 88 - 89 degrees according to the scale on the saw) I am reluctant to change settings knowing that it will require some difficulty in once again finding a position that will achieve a precise 90 degree cross cut.

I have no confidence that the angle scales on the saw are accurate and that other standard lock down angles, eg 45 degrees, will give that precise angle. Test cuts are mandatory - and when you work with these angles a lot of timber is quickly consumed in test cuts.

My laser beam works only occasionally but even when it does work it is well out of alignment or projects a blurry line that is wider than the kerf of the saw cut. I tried to realign and refocus but inevitably it vibrates out of position. For the last few months it has not worked at all.

The dust bag collection system is ineffective. I have replaced the bag with a connection to my dust collection system but even this only picks up a small amount of the saw dust generated. I consider that more thought needs to go into the design of the dust collection system.

The quality of the cuts is not the greatest and probably requires the standard saw to be replaced with a better quality cross cut saw.

For many years I have looked forward to getting a cross cut mitre saw. This saw has not lived up to my expectations and has left me feeling very disappointed. I did not address these problems under warranty because soon after purchase I sustained an injury that meant the saw remained in the box for a year before I could set it up. At that stage I was confident that I did not need to worry about the quality of Bosch products. I am now disillusioned that Bosch’s quality control system has not met my expectations. I liked the sale price which at the time also included a stand. Overall a value for money product for the home workshop but I would encourage potential buyers to take out of the box before purchase to check that the right angle lock down is accurate Standard angle lock downs are not accurate, laser beam does not work properly, dust colletion system is not very effective.

Poor product. Poor service – Bought the 1800 SD on local promotion at Mitre 10 store. Was told I'd receive a saw bench as a bonus. On attempting to redeem I was told all were redeemed. I received a promise that it would be resolved, but 6 months later and several emails.... still no resolution. Now the saw isn't working correctly. Has hardly been used and already has to be returned for repair. Good price Felt I was deceived at purchase. Now not working.