Miter box or hand miter saw

[rodster_67]

I have some small pieces of molding I need to cut and prefer not to have my hands that close to a spinning blade so I was searching for a nice miter box or hand miter saw. Other than the cheap plastic things, seems the big box stores don't carry much and what they do carry don't get very good reviews.

Any suggestions where to look? Not looking for a high end professional model but it would be nice to have a solid unit that makes decent cuts.

Thanks

 

[rodster_67]

Checking this one out on CL. Looks to be a decent unit. I have to check the quality of the saw, anything else to check?

 

[McFarmer]

That will do the job. Might have to have the saw sharpened.

 

[TomB19]

If you have a table saw with a sled, that would be better still. You'll get less blow-out and more precise cuts with a table saw.

 

[rodster_67]

Yea, I figured worse case is the saw will need sharpened. Looks like an older solid unit.

No table saw, I will have to buy more tools to build my garage addition to house the tools I need to do my projects and will need more storage for the new tools to build the addition which will be too small when I get done buying all the tools.

Does it ever end??

 

[PBCampbell]

Looks like a Craftsman from the 70's maybe. I have one somewhere, but haven't used it for at least a couple decades. Worked well enough from what I recall. Having a sharp properly set saw will be key.

 

[rodster_67]

I asked the seller if it had a name on it, he is checking (if he remembers) I wouldn't mind adding an old Craftsman Miter Saw to my collection!

Maybe it wasn't used hard and the saw is decent. We'll see.

 

[turbowoodworker]

Rodster, I have that exact saw. Bought from Sears about 1982. I still use it for small stuff. Best piece on it is the saw, very high quality. Beware there are rubber O rings that are long gone, disintegrated. But it seems to function as if it never needed the "bushing" function of the O rings.

 

[TomB19]

Yea, I figured worse case is the saw will need sharpened. Looks like an older solid unit.

No table saw, I will have to buy more tools to build my garage addition to house the tools I need to do my projects and will need more storage for the new tools to build the addition which will be too small when I get done buying all the tools.

Does it ever end??

Futility is a big part of the enjoyment of this hobby.

 

[Stuart in MN]

The miter saw in the picture above should work just fine. My old roommate had one, it was accurate and for cutting trim was nearly as fast as using a table saw.

 

[bczygan]

Checking this one out on CL. Looks to be a decent unit. I have to check the quality of the saw, anything else to check?

I have a similar one.

Clean, polish, wax, lubricate, sharpen.

Fasten securely to a stable bench.

Go slowly and securely fasten the work and the cut will be smooth.

Bill

 

[fivespdcat]

For cutting small trim, I miter first then cut for length. I sometimes scrap a few but it's better than losing fingers or wasting time going out somewhere and buying something that may work.

 

[rodster_67]

Thanks for the info guys and turbowoodworker thanks for the positive ID. Assuming the saw hasn't been used to trim tree branches and the rest of it is decent I think it will be worth $15 to take a chance on it.

 

[rharman]

I have a similar one.

Clean, polish, wax, lubricate, sharpen.

Fasten securely to a stable bench.

Go slowly and securely fasten the work and the cut will be smooth.

Bill

Thanks for the info guys and turbowoodworker thanks for the positive ID. Assuming the saw hasn't been used to trim tree branches and the rest of it is decent I think it will be worth $15 to take a chance on it.

Absolutely worth $15. I have one. It's a Craftsman model. As Bill said, you need to keep the vertical guides and rollers clean and lubricated. It works quite well but I have tended to go to my 10" power miter saw for quite some time. The manual one is garage sale material soon.