From the manufacturer
Sliding mitre saw
GCM 8 SJL Bosch Professional
Less weight, less dust, more performance: With the compact GCM 8 SJL Professional, you can cut large workpieces without making a mess. Its cutting capacity of 70 mm vertical and 312 mm horizontal makes it ideal for sawing large workpieces. With a 2-point dust extraction system, the mitre saw provides optimised dust management, allowing for a clean work area during operation.
GCM 8 SJL
Technical details
- Rated input power: 1,600 W
- No-load speed: 5,500 min-1
- Cutting capacity 0°: 70 x 312 mm / cutting capacity 45° mitre: 70 x 214 mm / 45° inclination: 48 x 312 mm
- Mitre setting: 52 ° L / 60 ° R; inclination setting: 47 ° L / 2 ° R
- Saw blade diameter: 216 mm/saw blade bore dia.: 30 mm
Drew –
I’ve been using a budget brand mitre saw since I got into woodworking a few years ago. It was OK (for the price) & did a lot of work for me but as I improved as a carpenter, I started to notice issues with accuracy & it began to vibrate, which seemed concerning. Plus no laser.I finally decided to splash out on a quality saw. After a lot of research the Bosch fitted the bill, in terms of features to cost (much like the table saw I purchased around a year ago). I was not disappointed. Easy to use (except for the slightly awkward safety catch button for the trigger) & accurate.With a little adjustment of the screw, the laser can be aligned to suit & it really is a feature I was missing on the old saw. No more having to wait for the blade to stop spinning to line up the next cut. Dust collection is decent with no modifications (though I may improve it). The cuts are very smooth. Nice length of cut & all the angled cuts seem spot on out of the box. I’ve seen how to adjust square if needed & that seems simple enough. Neat quick trench cut feature. Sturdy overall.Really pleased with this purchase, which will be a workhorse of my workshop for years to come.
Dave M –
Firstly let me say I’ve been a carpenter for over 30 years, so I have some experience with mitre saws.Ok I had three mitre saws that were all Dewalt. 1) a 305mm blade which tilts both ways which I use for larger roof framing projects etc. 2) The new cordless Dewalt which I use for smaller projects or if no plug in power is available. 3) A 216mm blade Dewalt which will handle most projects that I used daily, this saw eventually died after years of use so I needed a replacement.I don’t like the design of the new 216mm mitre saws from Dewalt, they remind me of an Elu I had many years ago. So I did some research and opted for the Bosch GCM 8 SJL on Amazon at the very reasonable price of £259. I almost went for the Makita equivalent which also looks a good machine, I have other Makita tools which are first class.Out of the box I checked the saws cutting accuracy, the saw cut absolutely spot on square so no adjustment required. The only thing I had to adjust was the laser. I always download the Pdf manual of all my new power tools from their makers websites, but this saw also comes with a paper manual which explained how to adjust the laser.The sliding action is very smooth and the saw has an adjustable depth stop for doing trench cuts etc, a very useful addition which I’ve used for lap joints. The saw has table extensions both left and right which I really like for extending the support of material. This saw only tilts one way, but that’s not an issue you just need to reverse your cuts. The mitre adjustment setup is different to what I’m used to on the Dewalt saws, but it works perfectly fine. The saw has plenty of power and comes with a very good quality blade, I’ve cut through 8″ x 2″ timber like a hot knife through butter.Another reviewer complained about the dust extraction? If you connect an dust extractor to the machine it works really well, if you don’t you will get a buildup of sawdust but that happens with all machines. I’d always recommend connecting an extractor if you’re working inside for health reasons, if you’re working outside it’s not an issue.Now this machine is a Bosch and it’s a mitre saw, so I certainly expected to pay much more for it. The fist thing I did notice when I unboxed it was it’s made in China, something a work colleague didn’t like. However I’ve had it about a month now and I must say I’m impressed with it, this saw certainly has German engineering.So I’d say it’s not the best mitre saw I’ve ever had, but for the money it’s defenatly the best value and will do just about any carpentry project thrown at it. So far I’ve cut a small hipped roof on an extension with it, it’s cut skirting, architraves, studwork, handrails, base rails and spindles etc all very accurately.If you’re looking to buy a mitre saw think about what sort of work you’re going to do with it and what size timbers you’ll be cutting, then buy accordingly. I use this saw for every day general carpentry and so far I’m pleased with it. So for that reason and especially for the price I’d recommend it and I’ve given it five stars!
Dave –
I’ve never had one of these type of saws before and so read a lot of reviews before buying this one. No way was this the cheapest or the highest spec., but it would suit my needs – we’d just moved house and I had a lot of carpentry planned, so knew this saw was going to get a bashing. As soon as it was set up and in use I kicked myself for not buying one sooner. It is really accurate and nice to use – quality tools are always nicer and more relaxing to use, and I believe they last longer. I have a Bosch professional mains drill that is over 30 years old and all i’ve dome is buy a new chuck (the old one wore out), put a new flex shield on it (the old one cracked) and fit new brushes. It still works like new and doesn’t owe me anything. If this saw lasts as well as that I’ll be bequeathing this to my kids in my will!!! You will not be dissappnted with this saw.
Edd –
This is a serious bit of kit! I wanted a mid range saw that was not too expensive but that would last the distance. Well this is above and beyond what I expected. I’ve just laid a load of laminate flooring and this saw made the job effortless. It is really well made and easy to work with. You can set angles and depth in seconds so perfect for any job. The one thing I would say is this is quite big and heavy so I wouldn’t recommend it for someone who wants to move it around a lot. Other than that it ticks all the boxes for me and I would highly recommend it.
Simon –
I bought this for some outdoor house repairs like decking and cladding repairs. I am very pleased with the quality and accuracy straight out of the box.The dust extraction does need some attention. I am looking to see if I need a better extraction unit/ hoover or if something is not set up correctly.
Robin Watts –
I bought this to use while building a shed.It’s made massively light work of jobs that would otherwise be really hard or just plain impossible to manage accurately without.I worried that it was a really dangerous piece of kit, but the way it’s designed means it’s far safer than something like a simple circular saw. As long as you’re sensible about it, you’d have to work quite hard to hurt yourself with this (other than pulling your back trying to lift it).The laser gets covered in dust quite quickly, which might make you think that it’s broken, but it’s trivial to clear that (pop a thing out, blow, pop it back in).Very pleased with it. Be aware. It’s quite heavy. I’ve got it mounted on a mitre saw stand with wheels (which is itself a solid beast). Lifting it into/out of the van for storage is not for the faint-hearted.All in all though, a really excellent buy. Very pleased I didn’t just buy the cheapest one.
Gabriel W. –
This Bosch mitre saw represents excellent value and with a little setting up can produce some very accurate cuts.When the saw cam from the factory the bevel and mitre angles were slightly off true. With a little bit of research it wasn’t too difficult to work out how to calibrate this saw. The angle of the bevel can be adjusted so that the mark for 0 degrees is correct by adjusting a nut at the back. The mitre angle is adjusted by loosening the screws on the front gauge, lining the blade up to the fence using a roofing square or other decent sized 90 angle, then tightening the gauge back up again. Once this is complete all the angle are true.The saw is defiantly a work horse and has a decent cutting depth. With any mitre saw the dust collection is never going to be perfect, but at about 1/3 the price of a Festool Kapex it defiantly represents good value.The laser line works nicely, it doesn’t have the laser on both sider of the kerf like some of the more high end saws do. The handle is comfortable to use and adjusting the rear fence is pretty easy. The adjustable supports that extent to the left and right of the saw to support the work piece work well. It does make a lot of noise so hearing protection is defiantly a requirement.Overall very happy with this product. There is nothin else in this price range that have the quality of this saw.
Rovert –
This is rather big and heavy but very well designed and made and an absolute pleasure to use. Really accurate cuts are made with ease. I first bought another top make that I had to return for having an unremovable blade. I instead bought this for not too much more money. It turned out to be a great deal better in every way. I particularly like the effective dust extraction when attached to a Hoover, the slide-out side supports, the positive and accurate angle setting, the laser guide and it’s long slide action.
Fe’ –
Gift for my son, apparently he needs this, as fare as I know he is happy with his saw, if he is happy then I am happy. He said it was good value that’s great
Steve Townson –
I read a lot of reviews but don’t normally write them so something has to be good for me to do so. I have had numerous mitre saws including Einhell and Evolution but this one is in a different league. It is very easy to set up to get accurate cuts and ensure the laser is aligned perfectly. The motor is strong and the blade very good producing very clean cuts. The reach and dust extraction are where it comes into it’s own. The reach is over 30 cm allowing you to cut a wide range of timbers without the need to turn it round and suffer alignment problems. The dust extraction is fantastic. Despite me using a cyclone dust extraction system on my previous saws, I still had to clean up a fair amount of sawdust whenever I used them. This leaves very little sawdust and you can see the sawdust being extracted as you cut, the best I have seen by far and saves so much time after use. I spend a long time reading everything before I buy a new saw to ensure it serves my needs as a keen woodworker hobbyist. To save you that time and effort, if you want a great accurate saw with a fantastic extraction system then buy this, you’ll be more than please with your purchase.