Miter saw - A different question

[theoldwizard1]

Forget brand for this discussion.

For the average DIYer, which should he buy ? 10" slider or 12" non-slider ?

Is compound angle pretty much standard and it not, is it worth the additional cost ?

 

[ddawg16]

Based on my experience...(click on the links in my signature if you doubt me)

I would go 10" slider.

That would pretty much replace my radial arm saw....and do a whole lot more.

Get the Compound Miter....You won't use it that much.....but....it adds little to the cost...and when you need it....priceless.....

When I was doing my 2-story addition...I was kicking myself in the *** for not buying a slider....anything over 6" required wither 2 cuts or a skill saw.

 

[Ohmthis]

I agree, get the slider. It can make life easier on wider boards and definatly get a compound miter saw. Once you have a saw you can do tons of projects that are harder on a regular miter.

 

[Leaflessshadetree]

Depends on the type of work you'll be doing.
Most sliders I've seen have too much slop for fine trim work. I'm sure there are better available if you have the $$$.
I have a cheap 10" slider I use for framing and other rough work.
For finer work I have a mid-level 12" non-slider.

 

[exmaxima1]

Forget brand for this discussion.

For the average DIYer, which should he buy ? 10" slider or 12" non-slider ?

Is compound angle pretty much standard and it not, is it worth the additional cost ?

Good 10-inch blades are cheaper and more available than 12-inch.

 

[Craftsman1]

I prefer the non sliding ones personally. I just think they work better for 95 percent of my projects. But the sliding one would obviously work better for the other 5 percent when needed. So it all depends on what you wanna do. But the compound is definitely worth the money in my opinion as long as you have a need for it.

 

[snorky18]

I own a top of the line Bosch 12" dual bevel compound slider b/c I got a screaming deal on it.

But if I bought a new one, as a DIYer, I'd buy a 10" slider. Less flex. Better/cheaper blade choices. LIGHTER.

Mine gets used from everything from rough framing and cutting up scraps to fine trim work.

 

[djjsr]

I have 3 miter saws. A 10" slider, a 10" non-slider and a 7" non-slider.

The 10" slider will cut about a 12" wide board. The 10" non-slider will only cut about a 5 1/2" wide board. The 7" is best for smaller work like moldings.

 

[Terra Nova]

I have a Milwaukee 12" compound non slider. As a DIYer it's accuracy exceeds my abilities

It really comes down to what you intend to do with it and how much you want to spend. Trim and picture frames; go with a 10" non slider. Compound is really only needed for odd stuff and crown molding, and there are ways to work around that with a non compound saw.

I've done a fair amount of trim and built a deck with mine. Never felt the lack of sliding was a hindrance. Only thing it wouldn't cut were the joists and that's easily done with a circular saw and speed square.

 

[RCman]

I'd also go with the 10" slider and a compound one at that.
I recently did all the interior woodwork on one for my house (trim work, window moldings, stairs, door frames, baseboard, etc) with both a radial arm and and 10" compound slider. The slider was very useful and beyond something that was really wide (some of the 12"+ trim boards required a spin) it was the "go to". I setup the radial arm on a perfect 90 and did everything else on the slider.

On my slider you can also lock the slide portion so it becomes a non-slider if one needed too.

Depends on the type of work you'll be doing.
Most sliders I've seen have too much slop for fine trim work. I'm sure there are better available if you have the $$$.
I have a cheap 10" slider I use for framing and other rough work.
For finer work I have a mid-level 12" non-slider.

Sounds like something is wrong. I've used a number of different models ones and never experienced any slop unless it was one of those really inexpensive units.
With a good blade on mine it cuts just as smooth (if not smoother because I can control the angle of approach into the work) as my radial arm or non-slider.

 

[CobraRed]

Based on my experience...(click on the links in my signature if you doubt me)

I would go 10" slider.

That would pretty much replace my radial arm saw....and do a whole lot more.

Get the Compound Miter....You won't use it that much.....but....it adds little to the cost...and when you need it....priceless.....

When I was doing my 2-story addition...I was kicking myself in the *** for not buying a slider....anything over 6" required wither 2 cuts or a skill saw.

Exactly how I would put it.

 

[Major Ramifications]

I don't think there are many non-compound miter saws out there. The only one that springs to mind is Hitachi's 15". Now dual bevel is another option that you may want to consider depending on what type of work you will be doing.

 

[tarbellb]

10" slider hands down.

 

[Notgrownup]

10" slider for me is what i got and i am glad i did...I picked up a Craftsmen on sale for i think $150...with laser guide and it works great.

 

[lars]

I picked up a Dewalt 12" double bevel non-slider on CL a couple years ago when I started my home rennovations. I've been pretty happy with it. Here are a couple of my observations:

There have been few places where I have needed a slider. In those cases I flipped the board over and made a second cut.

The 12" gives me a little more height for cutting taller baseboard and crown. I don't have to lay anything flat when doing trim work, I can keep it in the "correct" position.

I like that there is no slop in the non-sliders.

12" blades aren't that bad price wise if you look around.

I haven't used the double bevel feature much but I really appreciate that the motor is not in the way on the right side. It's soooo much easier to see what you're doing.