Help with a miter saw

[Lodi781]

Hi all,

Looking for a a decent miter saw. I’m in no way a professional nor do I play one on tv. I didn’t even stay at a holiday inn last night. But I did just purchase a house, so I have lots of trim to do, and would like to start building a couple of TV stands, an end table and maybe some shelving. Obviously I’ve looked on line, but frankly, if I don’t know what I really need for the above projects, I cant really make an educated pick. Hopefully some of the more experienced people here can help a newbie out. All help is greatly appreciated.

 

[The Cobbler]

12" dewalt , non slider version

 

[Lodi781]

That was one of the main features I was curious about. Thank you.

 

[The Cobbler]

longer travel of cut , but you compromise quality( IMO) and add weight & bulk.

 

[Lodi781]

Gotcha. I was just trying to figure out what project I would use that feature for that I couldn’t accomplish with other tools.

 

[kenc184]

Hand miter box, Langdon Acme, Stanley 358 or other high quality 70 year old box and saw. Cheap on C.L, clean cuts, quiet.

 

[nmk_61802]

Gotcha. I was just trying to figure out what project I would use that feature for that I couldn’t accomplish with other tools.

My opinion, but I wouldn't get one without a slide feature. If you want to cut anything wider than 6" without flipping, you need a slider. I use my slide all of the time.

If you are just doing trim work, fine, but mine is my mine form of cross cutting. If it can fit on the stand, it gets cut there.

I'd skip the compound feature..unless crown mold is in your future.

Also for your furniture projects you are probably going to need a track or table saw as well.

 

[Black300zx]

When I bought my miter saw, I splurged on a 12" slider because I had a few $100 in lowes rewards that were expiring. At first I thought it was overkill, but I've found tons of tasks that were made so much easier because of it. For me the extra capacity was well worth any small amount of extra inaccuracy there may be. It's probably my second favorite tool, only slightly behind my M12 RA Die Grinder

 

[Robinson1]

If all you are doing is standard size base board, door and window casing and maybe chopping some 1x4s or 1x6s a 10 inch non slider is perfect. Lighter weight and has the best accuracy.

12 inch non sliders are heavier and dont give much more cut capacity. In my eyes they are a speciality saw for cutting thicker stock. They also shine for cutting wider crown nested

10 inch slider is a nice sweet spot for most users as its lighter than a 12, smaller than a 12, blades are cheaper than a 12. It can cross cut a 1x12. Nest and cut most crown and handle any trim duty you're likely to encounter. And while you will experience a bit of deflection its nowhere near as noticeable as a 12 inch slider will be.

12 inch slider dont even consider unless you have a legitimate need for the cut capacity and a dedicated space to leave it set up. They are heavy and huge. Best in a shop setting.

While not super common youll also run across 7 1/4" and 8 1/2" slider and non slider saws. Those are pretty much niche market saws. They won't do anything a 10" saw cant do better and I own a 8 1/2" Hitachi slider that has made me lots of money installing flooring.

At the end of the day a good table saw with crosscut sled is better than any miter saw for furniture making

 

[Ton ton]

I like Makita 10" slide mitre saws pretty good. The motor is about burned out- it's an old saw. LS1011.

 

[Firebrick43]

If you want to shoot for the moon as they are expensive, the Bosch glide saws have the advantages of a slider with much less deflection than the linear rod models and no issues with clearance behind the saw. I would dare to say the nicest saw on the market.

Cons is price and the damn thing weighs over 80lbs. Neither is an issue for me but the first could for many and the second if your a finish carpenter hauling it from site to site. One guy I know has one on a gravity rise stand and does ground floor trim with it and keeps his old 10” makita chop saw just for upstairs where weight matters and it’s rare for crown molding.

 

[Landscraper83]

I know you’re asking about miter saws but just a heads up......a table saw will do everything a miter saw can do....and more. If you’re only going to have one saw......get the tablesaw.

 

[homebuilt burner]

12” Dewalt non slider double bevel DW716
Last Saturday I cut 60 feet worth of 8” baseboard
The only time I wished for a slider was for cutting double 5” dutch lap siding which was over 10”.

 

[Lodi781]

I know you’re asking about miter saws but just a heads up......a table saw will do everything a miter saw can do....and more. If you’re only going to have one saw......get the tablesaw.

So I thought about this, but don’t really have the room for one. Well, my garage is going to be my workshop, so I would want something that can fit in the corner then get pulled out when I need it. My most ambitious project after the two or three small things is I want to build a dining room table out of the wood from an oak tree coming down in my yard next month, but that’s way off. I wasn’t sure whether or not the table saw would be out of my league for what I was doing.

 

[manwithtools]

I know you’re asking about miter saws but just a heads up......a table saw will do everything a miter saw can do....and more. If you’re only going to have one saw......get the tablesaw.

Have you ever cut the miter on the end of a 12 foot long piece of trim on a table saw by yourself? I didn't think so

 

[manwithtools]

So I thought about this, but don’t really have the room for one. Well, my garage is going to be my workshop, so I would want something that can fit in the corner then get pulled out when I need it. My most ambitious project after the two or three small things is I want to build a dining room table out of the wood from an oak tree coming down in my yard next month, but that’s way off. I wasn’t sure whether or not the table saw would be out of my league for what I was doing.

Get the miter saw for the house trim projects, a table saw is a great tool to have, but be sure you get one that will do what you need. That can wait.

 

[AZ Pete]

that is excellent advice!

 

[The Cobbler]

I don't agree with the "you can do anything with a table saw that you can with a miter saw" (efficiently) theory
I can't imagine doing outside corners on a 16' pc of base or trim on a table saw and getting as good results as a miter saw, in the same or less time, and not being much more cumbersome

 

[c5greg]

If you are looking for a do it all saw - 12" compound slider. If you are only doing a certain type of job then a 10" saw or a non slider may work, but my opinion is that if you want a general purpose saw get the one that is the most flexible.

Biggest issue with the 12" compound slider is the bulk/weight (and price) so if you are moving it around it can be a pain. I am leaving it in one spot so I actually prefer a heavier more stable saw.

I have the Dewalt 12" compound slider and I really like it. My dad has the 12" non-slider and likes it as well but since he also has a table saw he does not mind not having the slide feature.

 

[Lodi781]

Get the miter saw for the house trim projects, a table saw is a great tool to have, but be sure you get one that will do what you need. That can wait.

This was kind of my feelings on the situation. I think I am going to stick with the mitersaw for now.

 

[MushCreek]

I bought a Ridgid 12" slider to build my house. The bigger capacity is great for construction. I mounted mine to a Ridgid folding/rolling stand, and can set it up in about 30 seconds. At 63 lbs., it would be useless without it. It has been very accurate, despite being rolled all over the place on rough ground. My one complaint is parts support. The plastic kerf plate got destroyed when a piece of wood blew up, and it is no longer available. The saw is less than 10 years old, and originally sold for $650. By comparison, my cheap 10" Ryobi is 30 years old, and they still sell kerf plates for it.

 

[Ton ton]

Makita has decent parts support for some stuff at least.

 

[Kscardsfan]

When I was a working carpenter, we used Makita or DeWalt almost exclusively. We tried a Rigid and one other brand, neither of them could hold up to job site conditions and lost tolerance pretty fast. If you’re going to be cutting anything with some width to it, splurge and get a slider. The problem with a slider is you need a bunch of space behind it and it’s a heavy sob to setup and take down. I’ve looked at the Bosch and Delta “robot” saws and think they’d be nice in smaller spaces, but I can’t find anybody locally using one to ask about it. But if you’re only going to do smaller stuff, not going to be hanging crown etc a non sliding 12” would probably do everything you wanted and then some. If you’re set on a slider, Skilsaw has introduced a worm drive mitre saw that has some potential in my eyes. But it’s largely untested as of now.

 

[Lodi781]

Thank you all for the advice, it’s greatly appreciated. I’ll keep you posted on the purchase. I move in Sat and have to figure out the layout of the garage, so that is going to play into the size saw I get as well.