Which miter saw???

[danandersen3]

I am new to the forum and very new to woodworking.  I am in the market to purchase a new miter saw but I am having trouble selecting an appropriate saw.  Of all the miter saws you have all used, which brands and or models stand out apart as being excellent tools in terms of precision and durability?  

[Tpt life]

For what? Several make decent single bevel chops. If you need the depth of a slider is where you will notice a drop off in the quality of average machines. Give us your desired project load and you'll get more complete responses.

[danandersen3]

I guess I don't know.  I have watched some videos from the wood whisperer and he uses a miter saw occasionally.  I guess I have no idea what I would need it for.  Can you tell I am new?

[danandersen3]

The extent of what I know I need it for is to cut stuff.  Cut stuff neat and precise.  I like the lasers.   Maybe I want to cut a lot of stuff I don't really know.  

[Miles11we]

What kind of woodworking do you plan on doing? Budget? And what do you plan on using it for (and what kind of accuracy do you need from it)? (These will help the others help you narrow it down)

Personally my radial arm saw has served me well and for my work i prefer it to miter saws. I find that for the dewalts work great but the fences have a bit of slop and i wouldnt use it for things that need to be spot on. Never used the festool one or any sliding compounds though.

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[danandersen3]

Those are some good questions.  I didn't know there were different types of woodworking. My budget is flexible.  I would like the saw to be very accurate.  I pay attention to detail and if I am not able to get very accurate cuts I think that would cause me frustration.

[Tpt life]

For fine work, a lot of guys are using table saw sleds, or shooting boards etc to dial in on very specific repeatable cuts. Marc proposes normally using a chop when needed to break down stock to manageable lengths. Some guys build or buy track saws to do this task. Many will use a chop for household casings and crowns etc. but if you only do this once in a blue moon, a hand saw and miter box (version 1.0) will get you by. I blended my career between finish carpentry and rough framing. I use a chop to get highly accurate (for framing) framing members. I do not need a high dollar chop to do this and have been pleased with almost every version of cheap chop made in the 10" variety. I used a sliding 12" of Makita and DeWalt make and they do ok but they are really finicky and can leave you disappointed for fine work.  If you like to do work around the house I would recommend a chop for a number of other reaons.  I use my chop to cut PVC pipe, I use my chop to cut nickknacks for my wife.  I do a lot of furniture repair which means cutting lots of glue blocks and dowel lengths.  None of this needs a chop but the chop makes all of these tasks quick and easy.  I end up using the chop as an all around tool.  When I go to cut pieces that must be absolutely square, I stop trusting the chop.  If you are making furniture stretchers that will have the ends buried in a mortice, there is nothing wrong with a cut that is a touch out of square in one dimension or another.  This still feels rambly but I hope is showing that there is a place for the chop but many could live without one and still do monstrous amounts of work.  Maybe someone with an MFT will chime in also as I think this may take the place of a chop in some shops.

[danandersen3]

Thank you for the information.  There are some good points to think about.

[Tom King]

I don't even remember how old my Dewalt is, but it's the model before the current one.  I have a radial saw set up for only accurate 90 degree cuts.  The slider gets used to break stuff down to rough length, but it also cuts accurate angles, and lets me shave off a thousandth of an inch (with a good Forrest blade) if I need to. With those two saws, I rarely, rarely use a sled on a table saw.

 

I would have guessed that the linear bearings would have some slop in them by now if you had asked me when I first bought it, but it still cuts very true with no indications of slop. This on a pro job with three people using it almost daily for several years.

 

We have a couple of chop miter saws too, but those just get used if I'm up in the air on scaffolding, and need it for some repetitive job.  Back when they first came out with chops, I bought one and didn't like it.  I used a Millers-Falls box until the early '90s trimming out houses.  It still gets called on once in a while too.  The manual miter box was more accurate than the first chop miter saws, but I really get a lot of use out of the slider.

[danandersen3]

I don't even remember how old my Dewalt is, but it's the model before the current one.  I have a radial saw set up for only accurate 90 degree cuts.  The slider gets used to break stuff down to rough length, but it also cuts accurate angles, and lets me shave off a thousandth of an inch (with a good Forrest blade) if I need to. With those two saws, I rarely, rarely use a sled on a table saw.

 

I would have guessed that the linear bearings would have some slop in them by now if you had asked me when I first bought it, but it still cuts very true with no indications of slop. This on a pro job with three people using it almost daily for several years.

 

We have a couple of chop miter saws too, but those just get used if I'm up in the air on scaffolding, and need it for some repetitive job.  Back when they first came out with chops, I bought one and didn't like it.  I used a Millers-Falls box until the early '90s trimming out houses.  It still gets called on once in a while too.  The manual miter box was more accurate than the first chop miter saws, but I really get a lot of use out of the slider.

Thanks

[Cochese]

I had a Hitachi 10" MS and I was impressed with the quality so I upgraded to their C12RSH model last year, a 12" slider. I've been frankly astounded how accurate it is from the laser all the way to squareness across a board. Since I don't cut at angles frequently, I haven't looked carefully at how accurate it is there, but at this point I don't know if I would ever part with it.

[Guest]

I don't want to be the safety police, but it sounds like you don't have a lot of experience and just want to start cutting stuff.  I can relate.  IT is fun to cut stuff.  Please do some research on the proper way to use a miter saw.  They can be unpredictable at times I have had more "close calls" with my miter saw than any other tool. 

 

I have a Bosch slider that I bought 10 years ago for about $400.  It is a good saw and has stayed accurate. 

[Llama]

I have a 12" Ridgid Slider that is great for making quick cuts for getting pieces into manageable sizes. It is usually on sale, I think mine was around $500 or so... There are better deals, but I needed it NOW to get the crown molding cut for my home. I bought a Freud blade for it, which was around another $80 or so... Again, there are likely better deals, but I needed it. 

 

One thing to consider with a slider is that you need a very sturdy surface, more so than just a simple 10" non compound saw. You also need to make sure you have adequate room for the saw to retract fully. There are different models out there, mine slides on a shaft that sticks passed the back of the saw. Meaning it needs about 12 more inches or so behind the saw to the wall.

 

They are great to have. I would look on Craigslist and get a 10" model, perhaps a Delta or Dewalt or similar for around $100. That will likely get you where you need to go for now. Then when you know what you want, and know how to use it properly, get the bigger unit.

[wintersedge]

another question is will the saw reside in your shop 100% of the time or do you need it to be portable? Do you plan to have a permanent place for the saw or do you need it on a stand to break down and roll into a corner? When you say you have no budget, is 800-1200 out of your budget?

 

For the most part... if you are under 300 Ridgid with a 10% coupon is a good deal so are used saws in the next price range up, 300-500 range Dewalt, Bosch, and Makita are good(I personally prefer the Makita), 500-800 Bosch and Makita 12" sliding are good saw, over 800 the Bosch glide is a great saw, and if you truly have no budget then just get a Festool Kapex.

[woodieboy]

It is important that before you purchase tools , you know exactly your plans/projects . Miter saws are made to cut precisely  angled cuts and for a quick to cut length.  No personal experience, just general advice, you check the dust collection, prefer decent dust collection. Like in band saws, I prefer cast iron frame ones. 

[Guest]

It is important that before you purchase tools , you know exactly your plans/projects . Miter saws are made to cut precisely  angled cuts and for a quick to cut length.  No personal experience, just general advice, you check the dust collection, prefer decent dust collection. Like in band saws, I prefer cast iron frame ones. 

 

i think dust collection is poor for all miter saws, the festool might be an exception but i don't know if even their dust collection is much better. 

[Tom King]

The first post in the thread linked below has pictures of my dust collection box around my miter saw.  It still works great.  Recently I added a couple of 10 dollar clip on, flex neck lights from Lowes to it.  It works great.

 

Why can't I copy and paste links here anymore???  Do a search here for "miter saw dust collection", and it will show up.

[..Kev]

There's a thread about that in the support section about that.  Seems it's an IE11 issue.

[Tpt life]

Here you go Tom.

[..Kev]

Thanks, I'd of done that but still can't copy/paste

[Llama]

Just a heads up, the Ridgid SCMS is on sale now... It's normally $600, as is now $400.

Very good saw, great price.

[ChetlovesMer]

I'm a fan of the Hitachi 12" slider as well.
It's the only one that I know of in the price range in which the rails can be pointed forward. This is a nice feature in that you don't need nearly as much room behind the saw. Which for me is important because I built a house around it to collect dust in my shop.

 

I will say this, the 12" slider made by any company is NOT very easy to tote around. If you are going to be moving the saw from place to place often get a 10" compound non-slider. They are far less costly, and far more portable.

[chrisphr]

Beginner here too and one of the first tools I purchased was a sliding miter saw, because that is what I thought I needed to get into the hobby (12" sliding Kobalt, been very happy with it).

After building a cross cut sled for the table saw, I now hardly use the miter saw. I do get precision cuts off the miter saw, but I can work faster and with more accuracy on batched cuts with the sled. In hindsight, I should have just purchased a non sliding model to save on the space it takes up.

[danandersen3]

thank you all for the information.  I haven't yet decided what saw I will get.  I might look into a cross cut sled that was mentioned in one of the comments.  You all are a great resource.  Thanks for helping a newby like myself.

[dwacker]

I see miter saws as a convenience tool and a job site tool. For the most part they are semi accurate but that is about it. It take a whole bunch of money to buy a miter saw that is dead on accurate time and time again. None of the contractor grade saws are going to be dead on. On the other hand a few bucks on a cross cut sled you can get great results and have a whole bunch of money left over for more toys.