Looking for a good Miter saw for finish trim work

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67
I am looking for a quality saw that I can use on site to do architectural mouldings and trim work. Saw has to be durable and accurate. Dust collection is important but not a deal breaker. Give me your recommendations

Greg
 
Greg,

Great to talk to you again.... Hope to see a post of how you like the Kapex, if that's what you decide to get. I hope others will jump in and give you some other options. :thumb:
 
hi greg ,

the bosch 4410L keeps getting rave reviews over the past few years since its debut . its also one of the more expensive models on the market.

if it were my hard earned money i would give it a serious look.

i would also look very hard at makita , ridgid, hitachi. i would also ask if you need a slider ? the fixed ones are better in the long run. the 12" fixed ones are very close in capacity to the 10" sliders . i will be watching to see what you decide on , please let us all know :)
 
Makita LS1013FL

I am at the early stages of setting up my shop, but I recently bought the Makita and used it to install about 1000 square feet of flooring and associated baseboard moldings. I have not used it for crown molding, but I purchased the optional right side subfence in anticipation of doing some.

I have had excellent results so far. Cuts have been clean and accurate with the stock blade, and I haven't had any alignment issues. I'm anxious to see how it does with the Chopmaster blade.

I suspect it's not the equal of a Festool saw, but I have no complaints.

Tony
 
greg,
any name brand 10" slider will work well for you.....the 12" units tend to have some blade wobble when cutting large crown in position.
i like to remove the guard so i can better see the cut line, if you do this too then pay close attention to how the guard is mounted, some are a real bugger to remove!
dust collection for a chopsaw is only a dream (although maybe festool has solved it?)
i use milwaukees saws.
 
I have a DeWalt DW705. It is a single bevel 12in compound mitre saw. I replaced the insert with a shop made ZCI, for straight cross cuts. This has helped make the cuts cleaner - less tearout. The dust collection with the stock dust bag, is better not nothing, but not that good. I found when I hooked it up to my shop vac it does much better. I'm sure the Kapex is alot better, but for over $1200, I would hope that it would be:eek:.

I do wish it had a Laser guide, but they weren't standard when I bought it several years ago. I know Irwin has an after market one, that I might try at some point.

I have the Cut-n-Crown jigs for crown molding. I have to pin the guard back inorder to us this jig. It is pretty scarry to see that "12in wheel of amputation" spinning right in front of your face.
 
Greg,

I've got a dw708. You can't buy them anymore, so it's not a recommendation. Dust collection is a joke. But...

I've got the irwin after-market laser on there, and have it mounted on the ridgid mobile stand. The thing's a dream for everything from trim work to fence building. If I had the money, I'd get the kapex... but the one I have is good enough that I don't long for something else. Just don't try to do picture frames with it! ;)

Thanks,

Bill
 
Greg,

I've got a dw708. You can't buy them anymore, so it's not a recommendation. Dust collection is a joke. But...

I've got the irwin after-market laser on there, and have it mounted on the ridgid mobile stand. The thing's a dream for everything from trim work to fence building. If I had the money, I'd get the kapex... but the one I have is good enough that I don't long for something else. Just don't try to do picture frames with it! ;)

Thanks,

Bill
Bill,

How do you like the Irwin laser? Was it hard to intstall? Do you find that it is accurate? What is the battery life on it?

Thanks!
 
How do you like the Irwin laser?

It does improve accuracy and confidence.

Was it hard to install?

Hey, even *I* could do it! ;) Enuff said! ;)

Do you find that it is accurate?


Well, that depends. For framing and trim work, it's da bomb. For fine woodworking, it's pretty much worthless. It'll get you within about a 64th... beyond that, you're on your own. ;)

What is the battery life on it?

Don't know. About two years, so far. Fair warning... lots of people don't like it because it doesn't turn on till you spin the blade. I don't mind: I spin, readjust the workpiece, spin, lower the blade. For 19 bucks, it's easily worth it, just because it saves so much time. I used to fiddle a lot on each cut. Now, I don't need to... :thumb:

Thanks,

Bill
 
MY CMS has a laser guide I find (found) very helpful. Unfortunately, the on/off sides of the switch were not marked and I usually forgot to turn it off and burned out the batteries with every use. Now, for whatever reason, it won't work at all. Probably fixable. But, I do recommend.
 
The Irwin Laser is mounted to your saw's arbor so the site line would be to the left of the blade I would presume. Correct me if I'm wrong on that. If that assumption is true, then you would always have to line up to that side.
Laserkerf has solved that problem. The laser is mounted behind the blade and lights up the kerf that will be cut. I installed one on my DW708 and it is 95% accurate. I sent the company an email recently and they just sent me some new adhesive to reinstall it and make it 100% right. Anyway, at least the redline will let me know if my thumb is in the wrong position.:doh:

As to saw recommendations, I really like the looks and warranty of the Ridgid, but would recommend going with the DW 718. Ridgid does not have any attachments (i.e. crown molding stops) for their saw. I would recommend the Ridgid Miter Saw Utility Vehicle (MSUV) however, best money I've spent in a long time.
 
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All,
Thanks for all the recommendations. I went to Nashville this weekend and looked over the Kapex. I had the money in hand. Unfortunately they did not demo it for me because if they did I probably would have not left the store without it. Although expensive, it was my first choice for a saw. I have been doing my research and decided to go with the new Milwaukee. I picked it up today and so far so good. Everything was perfect right out of the box. Dust collection on this saw is great. Best in its class. I plan to replace the blade and it should be a great saw for years to come. No buyers remorse yet. If fact Im glad I did not buy the Kapex because there is no way I could convince myself that this Kapex is $600.00 better than this milwaukee. I looked at the milwaukee side by side to the dewalt and makita. IMHO there was no comparison. Only issue is it is heavy. However I wont be moving it around on a routine basis. Im going to put it thought its paces for the next couple of weeks. If it is still in the shop after the 30 day return policy runs out you will get a full review.

Greg
 
If you purchased the Milwaukee from the HD BORG, then you have 90 days to test drive it. Just keep the receipt and things will be hunky dora when and if you return it.
 
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