Ryobi TSS102L Review


Ryobi 10" Sliding Compound Miter Saw
	Ryobi TSS102L Review Highlights Cuts 12" wide board Speed and accuracy with Laser system Great reviews on cutting quality Really light weight for its class 2-year MFR warranty Priced good for basic sliding miter saw Poor dust collection Only single bevel
For the Professional Contractor	4 out of 5
For the Do-It-Yourselfer & Weekend Warrior	3 out of 5
For the Hobbyist and Beginner Woodworker	5 out of 5
For the Serious Woodworker	5 out of 5
	10" blade, 5/8" arbor 110 vac standard plugin 15 amp motor Bevels 0° to 45° to the left Miters 0° to 45° to the left Miters 0° to 50° to the right Saw weight of 35 pounds Blade speed is 5,500 rpm Crosscut capacity @ 90° is 12" Crosscut capacity @ 45° is 7-1/4" Vertical nested capacity 4-1/2"

The Ryobi TSS102L Review Summary

In this Ryobi TSS102L review I’m going to show you why this sliding compound miter saw should be on your short list for tools to get for your shop, in 2018.

I would consider this a mid-range saw when it comes to price. It’s not a super cheap discount tool, and it Ryobi didn’t want it to be. It’s built to last, and it’s made for DIYers, professionals, and hobbyists alike.

This is a sliding compound miter saw, meaning the blade and motor assembly slide out away from the fence, and this adds crosscutting capacity of up to a full 12″ width.

Ryobi miter saws are known for their lower cost, lower end options, and big box store availability. However, with this Ryobi compound sliding mitersaw, they really went all out to make sure they can compete against other manufacturers in the mid-price range of good-quality tools.

Out of the box, this Ryobi miter saw comes with a 24 tooth carbide blade, blade adjustment allen wrench, hold down clamp, a dust bag, and 2 table extensions.

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Ryobi TSS102L Review – What’s to Like About It?

Designed for accuracy with an impressive Laser guide system

This Ryobi miter saw comes standard with a laser guide built right in. Ryobi calls this their Exactline (TM) system. This makes lining up your next cut very quickly, and as long as the laser is set up properly, it makes for an exact cut, right where you need it.

Some laser systems tend to be off by a 1/6th of an inch or so. Others seem to not be parallel with the blade. Ryobi’s Exactline (TM) system was made to avoid these pitfalls and provide the end user with a saw laser guide that works perfect, and as expected, each and every time.

Another cool part of this laser guide system is that it’s powered internally. It’s very common for a woodworker or contractor to turn on the laser, line up the cut, make the cut, then pick up the board and remeasure to check for accuracy.

At this point, we tend to walk off to continue on our next step. The laser gets left ON probably 75% of the time. Some saws have a battery compartment for their laser system. This one does not! It’s powered internally so you no longer have to worry about draining the laser battery after making a single cut.

A mid-range priced saw that is built for weekend projecters and professionals alike

If you enjoy the occasional do-it-yourself project around the house, or if you are a professional finisher, construction worker, or contractor, or maybe you even a hobbyist who loves building wooden furniture, this saw has something for you. It’s built with high-quality material, and has really cool features, all of which makes it easier to use quickly, efficiently, and most importantly, with incredible accuracy.

The laser system is a big part of this tools cutting accuracy and set up speed. The laser system was covered already in this Ryobi TSS102L review just above, so I’ll move on.

It’s got a large comfortable handle for improved comfort. This helps with larger jobs when your making repeated cuts for long periods of time. It also has a powerful 15 amp motor which cuts through thick wood, even hardwoods, like butter (assuming you have yourself a nice sharp blade!).

Dust collection is also included on this Ryobi miter saw. It’s got a 1-1/4″ dust port that can be connected to a shop vac, or a central dust evacuation system. This is usually a big deal for hobbyists and woodworkers, as our shops are typically smaller, many times being our garage. Keeping dust down to a minimum is essential for our lungs, but also to keep the mess down so we don’t track so much into the house.

Lots of capacity and cutting features

The Ryobi TSS102L miter saw is compound, meaning it can cut bevel angles and/or miter angles. This makes for a very versatile saw that can cut multiple types of angles for trim work, baseboards, door casings, and crown molding projects.

The miter adjustments are also very versatile. You can make miter adjustments in both directions, up to 50° angles. So it goes over 45°, which is great because sometimes for one reason or another, what should be a 45° angle needs just a tad bit more taken off to make the fit perfect. This extended miter cut capability provides just for that.

The saw can handle cutting through a 4×4 post in one action. It can cut across a 12″ wide board due to its sliding ability. This means thick boards and wide boards alike, this saw can cut through it without having to flip the piece over and making multiple passes to finish the cut.

Opinions Based On Real User Experiences

Positive Reviews

Smooth cutting and a powerful tool
Users found the bevel and miter adjustments are very user-friendly and the angles are easy to read
It’s described as a step above other compound miter saws in this price range

Negative Reviews

Users find that the dust collection bag doesn’t do much, you would likely need a shop vac hooked up to do any good.

Is This Ryobi Miter Saw Worthy?

I think this is a great saw that provides everything you need as a basic consumer end tool.
This saw is for serious do-it-yourselfers, and also for woodworkers and hobbyists, due to the accuracy and 12″ cutting capacity.

In my Ryobi TSS102L review, I would conclude that this Ryobi miter saw is everything a woodworker needs to make quality cuts for many types of crosscutting applications, which means building panels for table tops, doors, shelves, and much more.

It’s great for angled cuts to make awesome picture frames and furniture bases. Standard crosscutting is a breeze, and necessary for stiles and rails, and more. Plus with all the miter and bevel capabilities, home projects that require trim work will be fun and simple.

The sliding capacity means you can cut the pieces needed to glue up a large panel, like for a table, with fewer pieces. This is because you can, for example, make a 36″ wide table top with (3) 12″ wide boards.

Since you can cut that wide, this becomes very handy, because the fewer pieces needed for the panel, the easier the glue-up becomes. Compare that to a standard miter saw, you would probably need 6 or 7 boards for the same 36″ wide panel.