Milwaukee Cordless 12-inch Sliding Miter Saw with One-Key | Hands-on!

Building on, but also completely revamping their 10″ cordless miter saw, the Milwaukee Cordless 12-inch sliding miter saw with One-Key (2739-20) impressed us with its power and stability. What we mean is that it cut more like a corded saw—and a high-end saw at that.

We did some hands-on at the Milwaukee NPS19 media event and made some cuts on several species of wood and trim. This Milwaukee 12-inch cordless miter saw is without a doubt one of the most requested tools ever.

Milwaukee M18 Fuel 12-inch Sliding Miter Saw Features

The Milwaukee M18 Fuel cordless 12-inch sliding miter saw is by no means lightweight. However, it weighs just 48 pounds with the M18 High Output 12 Ah battery pack installed. That equates to 26% less weight than their corded Milwaukee 6955-20 miter saw. With the easy-to-grab side handles, that makes this full-size saw as portable as possible.

Also, this 12-inch cordless miter saw can handle a decent day’s work. Milwaukee says that it can tackle up to 330 cuts in 3-1/4-inch baseboard on a single Milwaukee 12.0 Ah High Output battery.

It also includes Milwaukee One-Key, giving you tool tracking and locking. The One-Key functionality lacks any customization controls. Honestly, we wonder what those would offer on a miter saw regardless.

The rails sit out of the way, letting you see your entire bevel gauge. This helps when setting up your compound cuts.

Milwaukee Cordless 12-inch Miter Saw Cut Capacity

The Milwaukee 2739-20 miter saw delivers fantastic cut capacity. You can make 6-3/4-inches on your base molding and 7-1/2-inch on nested crown. All of this works because of the high clearance provided by the direct-drive motor.

Like we witnessed on the Makita 12-inch cordless miter saw, the rear side of the blade provides tons of vertical clearance. We love this for base molding and nested crown. This feature cannot be overstated. Not all saws include such rear cutting height due to the motor positioning required.

At 90 degrees you’re looking at a cut capacity that clears 2 x 14-inches. A 50-degree left and 60-degree right miter is fairly standard and gives you lots of options. Finally, you can bevel 48 degrees left and right.

See our article on How to use a miter saw.

Performance

We immediately noticed the lack of hesitation or RPM drop when getting into a thicker piece of 2X material. We also cut on some laminated beam (LVL) with no stalling at all. The saw just cut through it as if it was plugged in. Power is very impressive—this feels more like a corded tool.

The Milwaukee cordless 12-inch miter saw also has a little light switch right near the handle that gives you a shadow cut line. It works much better than a laser—with better accuracy and visibility in bright sunlight. This feature should be standard fare on all miter saws.

The saw has easily-adjustable fences and all the things you’d expect from a miter saw. The bevel adjustment sits on the back of the saw, but it works easily.

Milwaukee 12-inch Cordless Sliding Miter Saw Specs

• Speed: 3,500 RPM
• Max miter capacity (left/right): 50° / 60°
• Max bevel capacity (left/right): 48° / 48°
• Vertical capacity (against fence): 6-3/4 in.
• Vertical capacity (nested crown): 7-1/2 in.
• Cross-cut capacity (90°): 2 x 14 in.
• 45° miter cross-cut capacity: 2 x 8 in.
• 45° bevel cross-cut capacity: 2 x 14 in.
• Dimensions (LxWxH): 33 x 31.5 x 17.5 in.
• Weight: 47.6 lbs
• Warranty: 5 years

Price & Availability

The Milwaukee 2739-20 (bare tool) runs $699 and you can get the 2739-21HD kit for $849 with one 12 Ah High Output battery and a Milwaukee Rapid Charger (single M18/M12 version).

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