Bosch’s Global Leadership Tour 2010

As we move into summer, many tool manufacturers have events where editor-types are brought in to look at new tools set for release during the year, or in some cases the tools might not reach store shelves until the following year (these later releases are what we are not allowed to mention or talk about).

Yesterday I traveled to Mt. Prospect, Ill., to the U.S. headquarters for Robert Bosch Tool Corporation for what the company calls the “2010 Global Leadership Tour,” a two-day tool summit. This is the company’s time to shine with new tools, and shine it did.

New tools are released all the time, so it takes something innovative to be real news. Bosch certainly caught my eye with the new router that I wrote about in our June 2010 issue, the MRC23EVSK. The trend continues this year with a new miter saw that Bosch originally showed as a prototype product at last year’s event. At that time, attendees were sworn to secrecy. This year though, it’s about ready for release, so we can talk it up.

This is a revolutionary design for miter saws. You haven’t seen this before. It’s the GCM12SD , a 12″ dual-bevel, sliding compound miter saw. Big deal, you say? Yep. Check out the photo. There are no rails. Instead, you can see what the company is calling an Axial Glide System. It looks like something from the “Terminator” and is as smooth a glide as you can imagine. In fact, some early users commented that the glide is too smooth, so the engineers added a way to tighten the arm movement to increase the resistance.

As a result of this new design, the saw sits closer to the wall, saving you shop space. And you get a full 14″ of cut travel. Additionally, the controls are all located up front at the handle , no more reaching around the back of the saw to tilt for a beveled cut. The 15 amp motor has a bit of a kick as you start the blade spinning, so Bosch suggests that you have the saw fully up as you begin. Remember “axial glide system.” I’m sure you’ll hear more about this design.

A big hitch with many miter saws is the fence. It can get knocked out of alignment easily, or if it’s a single piece that horseshoes around the cut area, sometimes warps. To take care of these problems, Bosch outfitted this saw with a split fence that connects directly into the back of the table , both surfaces are machined to meet exactly at 90Ã?° . So at 60 pounds, you won’t need to worry when you move it around your shop.

Dust collection is another area in which Bosch went the extra mile. This miter saw comes with a standard bag or is ready to attach directly to a vacuum without having to find some kind of adapter. What are you asked to pay for this new miter saw design? $699.

Also, Bosch is set to tackle organization and storage issues with a new product called the Bosch LBOXX system. I’ve added a couple photos for you to get a look at, but as of right now, the information is a bit sketchy. (I hope to get more about these the next time .)

I can say that the LBOXX boxes are hinged in the back with two clamp connections at the front. They easily stack and lock to one another. And the smallest box will be priced at $49 with each step in size adding $10 to the cost. The units have multiple carrying handles and should be available as stand-alone items and some tools may be sold with these boxes as opposed to plastic cases (which seldom find use in my shop).

One last thing I can leave you with is that 2010 is the year of the jigsaw at Robert Bosch Tool Corporation. We had a look at a number of new jigsaws coming out, from top handle saws to barrel-grip tools. You’ll have to come back to get the story.

-Glen D. Huey