Miter saw: first one

Tom Geary

Member
Messages
7
I just blew a wad (for me) on a Triton router, but thinking about getting a Miter Saw, as well. Would appreciate good value suggestions, as I can't go full tilt on this tool, as well.

Merci.
 
I received the DW703 as a housewarming present before I had a CMS. It's not fancy but is a solid, consistant performer. I have yet to upgrade it or replace. They can generally be had on sale at Lowes for around $150.
 
tom, welcome!

what types of tasks do you want the saw to perform. there are many different options on saws these days.

i always thought a 12" was better, then someone here mentioned the tendency of the blade to deflect, since then i have really noticed this for myself. if you don't need to cut really big stuff, i would go with a 10" cms, if you need to cut big stuff, consider stepping up to a 10" scms (slider)

i have used all but the bosch and milwaukee in a production setting. they all eventually break. if this is for hobbiest use, i think any of the major brands will do. possibly even some of the off brands if it won't see much use.

keep your eye on amazon for deals.....also check out www.toolseeker.com

good luck, i always hate making tool buying decisions

chris
 
Here I go again. :rolleyes: No, not Grizzly this time, but a low priced unit that surpassed all my expectations when I got it and performs like a champion. I wouldn't expect this unit to hold up for frequent professional use but if it lasts me ten years, I'll be happy. It is powerful, accurate, has a laser guide and other goodies. And, it's only $99.99 from Northern Tool. At least worth considering.
http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200199824_200199824
 
I have a old delta shopmaster (before they were rebadged to shopmaster) that I picked up for 99. 7 years later it works as well as it did when I bought it.

Take your time to set it up accurately and put a good blade on it and your good to go.

This will get replaced with the kapex once its available and I've sold a kidney to pay for it.
 
Like Patrick I have the old pre-shopmaster 10" Delta CMS. Nice little saw, does a fine job for me, and I doubt I'll replace it until/unless I hit the lottery. Not a slider, but does what I ask of it, which is mostly cut two by stock to length for my eternal shop project (yes, roof is going on eventually Mark k. ).

Most of my experience with miter saws, however, comes from back when I used to share a shop with my mentor John Shaffner, who has a 10" SCMS from harbor freight! For $100 that saw did a fine job. We put a much better blade on it, set it up on a dedicated table with infeed/outfeed and it was very accurate. ymmv of course.
 
Hey, gents.

As a newbie, dumb ish question. Two, actually.

First, how common is kick-back with miter saws, in general. My experience with them is pretty limited, but I would think that the combo of the guide and fixed blade would limit the incident of wood binding.

Second, could someone explain the single bevel vs. dual bevel option?

much thanks.
 
Tom,
welcome aboard. one of the nice features of a CMS is that the blade pulls the workpiece down and towards the fence, which helps control the potential for kickback. As for single/dual bevel single bevel is that the head of the saw can tilt to one side to make the Compound cut, I'll be honest, mine has not tilted much, as I generally use mine in 'chop saw' mode. dual bevel machines can tilt to both sides.
 
Ahhhh. So if you need a reverse 45° compound cut, you merely have to flip the stock, if you are using a single bevel machine.

I got it.

Thank you. Very helpful.
 
I splurged and bought the DeWalt sliding compound miter saw when we built onto our old home. It has done everything and more. It has features I am still learning about! Now this is a big bulky critter to move around so when doing trim in the house I bought a Shop Tool or whatever the generic brand name is in Menard's on sale, and it has done a very good job for a cheap little portable MS.
 
I have an older Hitachi CB8F is is an 8" saw, darn good saw, if you could pick one up used......??

I very much like it, and it is still dead accurate.

Cheers!
 
tom,

in the area of safety, miter saws are pretty good. however there are always those instances where things could happen. sometimes if a board is slightly warped so that the board doesn't touch the fence near the blade, as you cut through the board will try to straighten and i can bind the blade, and the blade has the ability to grab the board and make it jump. scary more than anything.

also just make sure you clear off those small little blocks that get cut off the ends of boards sometimes, they tend to gather behind the blade and if the blade catched them, then you have a projectile on your hands

overall they are pretty safe to use.

chris
 
I had a kickback on my cheapie Ryobi miter saw last Spring. The cutoff was small, I'm sure it got kicked up but it shattered the rotating guard and sent plastic flying all over the shop. Another time, a cutoff piece got kicked up into the guard, and bent the blade into the metal part of the shroud. An impromptu Miter Stop of sorts.:D I'm saving to get a new one, hopefully this next Spring. Looking at the Makita 10" slider, and possibly the Hitachi 10" slider, although with the Hitachi, it blows the reason I built a box bay window in the middle of my long wall in the shop, right in the middle of the multi-station benches. It was supposed to be for the miter saw to fit back into without poking too far into the shop space! Jim.
 
I bought a 10" firestorm from Lowes about 4 years ago and it still works great. It has seen alot of use as my ongoing house remodel continues. I use it all the time I put a good blade on it. I wouldn't mind having a 12" slider but until I can kill this one i'm stuck with it.
 
Hey, gents.

As a newbie, dumb ish question. Two, actually.

First, how common is kick-back with miter saws, in general. My experience with them is pretty limited, but I would think that the combo of the guide and fixed blade would limit the incident of wood binding.

Second, could someone explain the single bevel vs. dual bevel option?

much thanks.

If the wood surface against bed and fence is flat possibility of kickback is minimal. When cutting small end pieces off be sure the gap between the rear fence pieces is narrower than the cutoff or you can launch the little cutoff back into the throat area. Another good practice is to make the cut and let the saw stop before raising the blade.
 
I was a the blue box today...well several times and I spotted a Kobalt SCMS for 199.

I had a play with it and it seemed quite capable. It wasnt bolted down properly so it was hard to tell how much play it had in the sliding mechanism. It certainly seemed to wobble more than the Hitachi but its also almost 250 cheaper.

It had a nice extending fence mechanism and had clamps on it for your stock. I bet if you threw a nice blade on it you'd be laughing. I'm certainly keeping it in mind.
 
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