Skil MS6305-00 Review: a feature-packed 10" miter saw that doesn’t wreck your budget

I’ve been using the Skil MS6305-00 10" dual bevel sliding miter saw for a mix of home projects: finishing a basement room, trimming doors, and some deck repairs. I’m not a pro carpenter, but I’ve used a few miter saws over the years (older Delta, Ryobi, and a borrowed DeWalt). I bought this one mainly because it had dual bevel, sliding rails, and a decent reputation, without the price tag of the big pro brands.

Out of the box, it feels like a real tool, not a toy. It’s around 40 lbs, so not ultra-light, but still manageable to move around the garage or onto a stand. Setup took me about an hour, reading the manual, checking squareness, and mounting it to a stand. Most of the factory settings were pretty close, but I still went through the usual square test with a speed square and scrap wood just to be sure.

In use, the first impression is simple: it cuts straight and it’s strong. The 15A motor spins up fast and doesn’t bog down on 2x lumber. The sliding action lets you handle wider boards, so you’re not stuck flipping stuff around for basic crosscuts. For typical homeowner work—baseboard, casing, some framing—this saw is more than capable. It doesn’t feel cheap or flimsy when you lock in angles or pull the head through a cut.

It’s not perfect though. Dust collection is pretty weak with just the bag, and there are a few quirks with adjustments that feel more “DIY grade” than pro. But for the price I paid, I’d say it’s a pretty solid compromise between features and cost. If you’re doing home projects and want a real sliding compound saw without dropping big money, this one is worth a serious look.

Price-wise, this is where the Skil MS6305-00 makes the most sense. You’re getting dual bevel, sliding capacity, a 15A motor, LED shadow line, and a decent clamp for well under what the big pro brands usually charge for a similar feature set. When I compared it to DeWalt, Makita, and Bosch models with similar specs, those were noticeably more expensive. For a homeowner or serious DIYer, that price difference is hard to ignore.

Does it feel as refined as those higher-end saws? No. The plastics are a bit cheaper, the dust collection isn’t great, and some adjustment screws and stops aren’t as robust. But if you’re not making a living with it, the trade-off is reasonable. You get 90% of the functionality for a lot less money. I’d rather put the savings into a good stand, a better blade, and maybe some extra clamps than pay purely for brand and a slightly nicer finish on the controls.

The included accessories are basic but useful: extension rods, dust bag, clamp, and hex key. The dust bag is almost symbolic—you’ll want to hook up a shop vac if you care about cleanliness—but at least the clamp is solid and actually holds work. The fact that Skil gives a 3-year limited warranty also adds a bit of reassurance. It’s not lifetime, but it’s decent for this price level.

Overall, I’d rate the value as good to very good for a non-pro user. If you’re only going to cut a few boards a year, this is probably overkill and you might be fine with a simpler non-sliding saw. If you’re regularly doing home projects—trim, flooring, small framing jobs, building furniture—this gives you a lot of capability without draining your wallet. There are better saws out there, but in this price range, this one is hard to ignore.

Design-wise, Skil did a decent job of making this saw user-friendly. The horizontal handle with the center safety trigger is comfortable whether you’re right- or left-handed. I’m right-handed but tried it with my left just to see, and it was still manageable. The trigger position feels natural, and you don’t have to twist your wrist in weird ways to start a cut. That sounds minor, but when you’re doing a bunch of repeated cuts, it matters.

The miter scale is stainless and clearly marked, and the detent plate feels solid. Switching angles is straightforward: pull the miter lock, rotate, and it snaps into the detents with a noticeable click. The cam lock for the miter is easy to use and actually holds position; I didn’t have any issues with angles drifting between cuts. For bevel, the controls are on the back, which is pretty standard, but it does mean you’re reaching around the saw a bit more when you’re changing bevel angles often.

One design choice I really liked is the LED shadow line instead of a laser. It throws a shadow of the blade directly onto the workpiece, so you see exactly where the cut will be. No fiddling with laser alignment, and it stays accurate when you change blades. For trim work, this is genuinely helpful. I used it on baseboards and door casing, and lining up the pencil line with the shadow was quick and reliable.

On the downside, the saw is a bit of a chunk. At about 39–40 lbs, plus the rails sticking out the back, it takes up space and isn’t the easiest thing to move if you’re constantly setting up and breaking down. The included dust bag feels like an afterthought, and the overall shroud design doesn’t do much to contain chips. Also, some of the plastic parts (like knobs and covers) feel more "budget" than premium. They work, but you can tell where Skil saved cost. For a garage or basement setup, it’s fine; if you’re hauling this to job sites daily, you might find the bulk and plastic a bit annoying.

I’ve had the saw long enough to put it through several real projects, not just a weekend test. So far, nothing has broken or gone wildly out of alignment. The base and main structure are metal and feel sturdy when you clamp it down to a stand or bench. The fence is tall enough for 4-1/2" base and 6-1/4" crown nested, and it hasn’t warped or shifted on me. The sliding rails are still smooth, with no grinding or binding after a decent amount of use.

That said, you can tell this isn’t a top-tier pro saw meant to be tossed in and out of a truck every day for years. Some adjustment points feel a bit light-duty. For example, there’s a travel stop screw that can drift a bit from vibration, like one of the Amazon reviewers mentioned. It’s not a deal-breaker, but it shows that some hardware choices could have been beefier. A dab of thread locker or adding a locking nut is probably a good idea if you’re picky about consistent travel limits.

The plastic parts—knobs, handles, and some covers—haven’t cracked on me, but they don’t give you that “built like a tank” vibe. If you’re mostly keeping it in a garage or basement and treating it reasonably, I don’t see a problem. If you’re throwing it in a trailer with a bunch of other tools, I’d be a bit more cautious. The included clamp feels sturdier than I expected and actually holds stock well, but it would have been nice if a second clamp was easily available.

Long-term, I think durability will come down to how you use it. For a homeowner doing projects on weekends and occasional bigger jobs, it feels like it will last years if you keep it clean, check alignment once in a while, and don’t abuse the adjustments. For a full-time carpenter moving from site to site, I’d probably look at heavier-duty brands. For my use—semi-regular projects, mostly stationary on a stand—it hits a reasonable balance between build quality and cost.

Performance-wise, this saw does what most DIYers and even some pros need. The 15A motor has enough power that I never felt it struggling on typical lumber. I ran it through 2x12 treated boards, 2x4 studs, and a bunch of MDF and pine trim. As long as you don’t force the cut too fast, it stays smooth and doesn’t bog down. The motor spin-up is quick, and it doesn’t feel underpowered for a 10" saw.

Out of the box, the included 40-tooth blade is okay for rougher work and framing-type cuts. For trim and finish work, it’s usable but nothing more. I swapped it for a higher tooth-count blade (an 80T) when I started doing baseboards and crown, and the difference was noticeable: cleaner edges, less tear-out, and less sanding. That’s pretty normal though; I rarely keep stock blades for finish work on any brand.

The sliding action is fairly smooth. There’s a bit of play if you really wiggle it, but in normal use it didn’t affect accuracy for me. I was able to get tight-fitting miters on baseboard corners without gaps, which is basically the real test. The LED shadow line helped a lot with that, especially on white trim where pencil lines can be faint. The saw also handled compound cuts for crown (nested and flat) without struggling, and the dual bevel meant I could keep my work orientation consistent.

Where performance drops a bit is dust management and long-session comfort. After a couple of hours of cutting, the table and everything around the saw are covered in sawdust if you’re only using the bag. Hooking it up to a shop vac helps, but the port and shroud still don’t capture as much as you’d hope. Also, the motor is fairly loud—typical for a miter saw, but don’t expect it to be quiet. Overall, though, for actual cutting performance—power, accuracy, and repeatability—it’s pretty solid for the price bracket.

On paper, the Skil MS6305-00 checks a lot of boxes: 10" blade, dual bevel, sliding rails, 15A motor (4,800 RPM), and cuts up to 2x12 at 90° and 2x8 at 45°. In practice, those specs hold up. I’ve crosscut 2x10 and 2x12 pressure-treated boards for a deck, and it handled them without drama. You do have to make sure you fully extend the slide and keep a steady feed, but it doesn’t feel underpowered.

The miter range goes 50° left and right with 11 positive stops at common angles. The detents are at the usual suspects (0, 15, 22.5, 31.6, 45, etc.), and they feel positive enough that you know when you’re locked in. I checked the 45° and 90° cuts with a square and they were accurate out of the box, which was nice. I did a bit of fine-tuning for peace of mind, but you could honestly start working right away if you’re not super picky.

The dual bevel feature is where it really starts to feel like a lot of tool for the price. You can tilt 48° left and 45° right, with stops at 0°, 45°, and 48°. For crown and more complex trim, not having to flip boards constantly is a big time saver. I used it for crown in one room and it was just easier to keep my setups consistent without acrobatics.

Overall, in terms of raw functionality, it feels like a mid-range saw with a budget saw price tag. You get sliding capacity, dual bevel, LED shadow line, and a decent clamp included. It’s not as refined as the high-end yellow or blue brands, but for a homeowner or light-duty user, the feature set is more than enough. If you’re coming from a basic non-sliding saw, this feels like a pretty big step up in what you can actually do with it day to day.

In terms of pure effectiveness—how much it helps you get stuff done—the Skil MS6305-00 does a good job. Once I had it set up on a stand, I could rip through a long cut list for trim without constantly fiddling with settings. The positive stops on the miter table make it quick to jump between 0°, 45°, and the common crown angles, and they felt repeatable. I’d set 45°, cut a bunch of pieces, go back to 0°, and when I returned to 45°, the joints still lined up cleanly.

The dual bevel really shows its value when you’re doing anything more than basic 90° cuts. Being able to tilt left or right without flipping the workpiece speeds things up and reduces mistakes. When I was doing crown, I didn’t have to keep reminding myself which way to flip the board for inside vs outside corners; I could just adjust the bevel and keep going. That may sound small, but if you’re not a pro and you’re trying to avoid wasted material, it’s genuinely helpful.

The LED shadow line is one of the more effective features. I’ve used saws with lasers that were slightly off or hard to see in bright light. Here, the shadow is always aligned with the blade teeth, so if you’re lined up on your pencil mark, you’re good. It speeds up layout work, especially on repetitive cuts where you’re just marking and chopping. For accuracy, I was able to get tight-fitting mitered picture frames and trim with minimal tweaking.

Where it’s a bit less effective is in the mess and mobility department. If you don’t have a dedicated spot and dust collection, you’ll spend extra time sweeping and wiping down the saw. Also, because it’s not super light and the rails stick out, moving it in and out of storage is a bit of a hassle. But if you can leave it set up on a stand, it becomes a very practical tool that helps you move through woodworking and renovation tasks a lot faster than a basic non-sliding, single-bevel saw.