Ryobi 2000W Mitre Saw & Stand Combo RMS254DB-K

Surprisingly good....but not so the included stand – Spotted this saw/stand combination on a recent Bunnings visit. Whilst I had been looking for a sliding mitre saw, was cautious about tools that “looked” good bit did not have the quality required for longevity or to accurately produce a quality article. After having taught woodwork for some forty years, I had used a wide range of quality branded… Read more

professional trade tools and wasn’t sure how a Ryobi tool (targeted at the home handyman) may measure up. However, after giving it a good look over and feel, thought it was worth a try as the price was good ($349), the castings and general structure felt solid and the warranty was for four years replacement. Worth a go I thought.

APPEARANCE Coloured in the typical Ryobi bright yellow/green, the saw looks the part (an assembled one in store was what caught my eye initially). Saw and stand came in two separate boxes, were well packaged and easy to assemble. Parts felt much the equal of the “trade brands” with the exception of some minor adjustment knobs which seemed to be a slightly cheaper plastic. Total unit weighs around 20kg (saw and stand). Saw is attached to stand with quick release grips which do a good job of securing it while still allowing it to be quickly removed for bench work or just to allow easy storage with the folding stand. Stand will extend out to be around 2m end to end.

FUNCTIONALITY Operation of the saw slides was good with no perceptible slop or twisting in the mechanism. Surprisingly, the saw itself had a good feel, also with no slop in the arbor and the power trigger feet sturdy in its operation. Grip was comfortable and safety release fell well to hand (not quite so if you are left handed however). In fact, I really couldn’t fault the saw at all in comparison to the other “trade brands” I have used. It has plenty of power and I was surprised to find the included blade appeared to be of reasonable quality as well (not to say I wouldn’t change it in the future nor how well it might hold up under extended use). Also surprising was the saw was spot on in alignment straight out of the box. Perfect 90 degrees while angles were also perfectly aligned with the scale. Could not fault the flatness and accuracy of the mitred and bevelled cuts (up to 45 degrees in both directions for each). Both aligned perfectly with the marked scale. There is a laser guide to assist in positioning the timber correctly in relation to the blade and this can be separately switched on or off as needed. Thankfully, this is powered by the mains power rather than the battery powered laser units I have come across. Saw guard is well positioned and smoothly moves out of the way when you use the saw while still maintaining a safe level of coverage for the operator.

Saw is a 2000w with a 254mm 48T blade with 30mm arbor. Dust extraction is supplied as a bag but you could add a vacuum hose. Average at performing dust extraction but I have yet to come across a mitre saw that does do it well. Not an issue for me as I use it outdoors only.

With 0 degrees mitre and bevel, saw has a capacity of 340mm x 80mm which is fine for my requirements. With the angle on mitre and bevel both set to 45 degrees the capacity reduces to 240mm x 25mm. Both mitres and bevels have indents at the “popular” angles.

WHAT COULD BE BETTER? *Laser guidance could be a lot better. While accurate out of the box (with adjustments available if it even needed it), it was impossible to see outside (even in partially shaded sunlight) and, in any case, was quickly blocked by sawdust as it was positioned directly behind the cutting section of the blade. Probably needs cleaning after every third cut.

*Included stand was a great disappointment. Reasonably priced at about $50 over the cost of the mitre saw on it’s own, that’s about all its worth. The supplied stand is unique to this saw/stand combo and is a less functional version of another Ryobi sells separately. There are no adjustable legs (apart from being able to fold) so it should only be used on a flat surface. It’s reasonably sturdy (stated 150Kg capacity) but there is a bit of movement as it doesn’t sit as solidly as I would have liked. However, the end supports are its worst feature being of poor design and manufacturing implementation (in my opinion). Full marks that they used cylindrical (moving) rollers at each end but these are attached to the stand by a single offset support that is a sloppy fit into the main stand. The combination of offset and poor tolerances on the fit means the cylinders always lean and are never parallel to the bed of the stand. Granted the timber you are supporting really only needs to touch the stand in one place, not touching the whole face can cause the timber to slide sideways thus impacting the accuracy of the cut. Securing these ends to the main stand consist of sliding a square tube into another and securing it with bolt which sits at 45 degrees on one corner (see picture below). While this should push it flat up against the opposite two sides, it just doesn’t seem to work that way and I’m concerned that over tightening will strip it out. I guess I can shim out the slack but I think that would only be a marginal improvement.

*There is no quick release to alter the saw angles on the mitre. Not a big issue but something every other mitre saw has that I have used so I miss it.

*Ryobi could easily have provided some means of securing the supplied spanner (used to remove the saw blade). I’ve attached it with a cable tie to the stand but it really needs some means of keeping it with the saw to prevent loss.

*Instruction manual supplied is heavy on diagrams with little wording. The manual is full of pages like that shown in the picture below. Fortunately I have a background in use of these type of tools but it could be somewhat confusing to the novice. On a saw like this, you really don’t want to be confused!

Granted, the above issues are only minor (except maybe for the stand) but as a combination, it’s hard to fully recommend this. While the Ryobi saw is great and does get my full recommendation, I would purchase it on its own and then add a stand of my own choosing. Either the better quality stand that Ryobi sells separately or another brand.

Five stars for the Ryobi mitre saw itself but only three for the included stand.