Miter Station or Crosscut Sled

[mpisani]

I want to get more into woodworking. Nothing big like fine furniture or anything - just crafts, deck planters, etc. I'm torn between making a portable miter station with stops for repeatable cuts, or making a crosscut sled that can cut angles. Any thoughts on which to go with first to get start started with small projects? 

Thanks - Matt

[BillyJack]

I just use a miter station, but depends on what you are cutting

[Botch]

I do smaller projects too, but took a slightly different tack than you're proposing.

For precision angle cuts like picture frames, boxes, and six-sided thingies, I got a manual miter saw similar to this:

EDIT:  bottom picture in this post; I'm new here  

(I really had to search for a bit to find this picture, maybe they're not made anymore)

I did make a standard-design crosscut sled for my tablesaw, 90º cuts only, which is large, heavy, and not terribly accurate.  I've bookmarked this video, a much more sensible and light design, that's on my Build list:

I don't have the space for any kind of power miter saw, but this system has worked for me for 28 years, so...  Hope this helps.   

[wtnhighlander]

IMO, a miter saw is a great tool for framing and trim, but every one I've used was fussy to set up to give accurate reapeatable cuts for things like joinery. It is also more difficult to hold small pieces safely on a miter saw. My preference is the table saw, so much that I sold my mitersaw to recover the space it occupied. Unless you expect to cross cut a lot of really long pieces, I vote tablesaw and sled.

Having said that, tablesaws can be quite fussy, also. Especially true of the portable, benchtop variety.

[Mark J]

If it is important to you, a 12" miter saw can cut through much thicker pieces than a 10" TS, particularly if using a sled.

[BillyJack]

I find most woodworkers don’t want to put enough time into setting up a miter saw or slider. 
 

Having the right miter saw or slider and taking the time to correctly set it up, it becomes very valuable to fine furniture..

 

Like a framing square….it’s just a square unless you learn how to read it…

 

[Tom King]

Most hobbyist woodworkers work in a garage or basement with limited space, so you see the tablesaw getting used for crosscutting more than a miter saw.  I expect most see a lot of using a sled online and think it's the best way.

I almost never crosscut on a tablesaw.  For really precise crosscuts, I use a radial arm saw set to only make 90 degree cuts.  For all other cross cuts I use a sliding miter saw.  Crosscutting on a tablesaw scares me, especially when I see people using a sled with no safety box on the back.

There is no "best" way, only what works best for you and often involves compromises.  Don't compromise safety above all else.

[BillyJack]

I work in a garage these days. Around 600 sqft. Yet it’s over run with lumber and leaves me with a little more than half. This was an argument on another forum. I would eliminate a RAS from accuracy before the  slider, but… if your unwilling to put time into the slider as you would in a table saw for sled and setting it up accurately, it’s obviously going to be a forced fail..

 

Now if you’re going to buy a nice blade , set it up and next week cut treated lumber on that blade. That would be a waste . I run a $100+ blade on mine and use it for angles..

 

Now a lot of people as will be mentioned consider the sliding miter saw a construction tool, but so is a skill saw and yet I see so many on track saws…

[gee-dub]

For smaller items I would prefer a small sled at the tablesaw.  A sac fence and ZCI can minimize launching of off cuts at the miter saw.  If I had neither I would build a small sled first since that is low cost and can be abandoned if it does not meet your needs.

[BillyJack]

I still cut small items on the miter saw. I just use a sacrificial fence ..

[Ron Swanson Jr.]

Matt,

I assume you already the actual table saw and miter saw, correct?

 

If so, make one of each and see which you prefer. Both can be done in short order and without breaking the bank. 

[Von]

If forced to choose, I'd keep my crosscut sled.

A miter saw is faster, especially for longer pieces and quick imprecise cuts, but a crosscut sled with good hold downs is just empowering in its ability to get a piece held exactly how you want it and then cut it. 

[BillyJack]

imprecise cuts, 

Maybe in your shop, not in mine..

I used Incra at work because too many people used my miter saw after I was gone and couldn’t guarantee it till ai checked it, but I do not have an Incra at home and still use the miter saw for angles. 

[Coop]

My first saw was an old Craftsman radial arm saw, probably made back before my mamma knew who my daddy was going to be. It scared the bejabbers out of me. I’m sure they’ve come a long way since and my lack of knowledge probably didn’t help. 

[wtnhighlander]

@Coop, my gand-dad was a carpenter, and part of the crew that built the Oak Ridge laboratory facilities during WW2. He told me of the first job site he worked that had a "Dewalt Saw", the original RAS. He said several of his buddies liked to prank one of the older guys on site, sneaking around the corner to unplug the extension cord to that saw for a second or two, every time the guy got half through a cut. Said the poor old coot had a blistered trigger finger, and was mad enough to have a stroke, by the end of the day.

[Ron Swanson Jr.]

On 11/16/2023 at 10:57 PM, wtnhighlander said:

He said several of his buddies liked to prank one of the older guys on site, sneaking around the corner to unplug the extension cord to that saw for a second or two, every time the guy got half through a cut. Said the poor old coot had a blistered trigger finger, and was mad enough to have a stroke, by the end of the day.

I don't know if you remember Candid Camera but one of the cruelest (and funniest) pranks on that show involved a carpenter who was framing a wall. Unbeknownst to him, they rigged the partially framed wall so that they could move it a few inches. 

So he would take his measurement, and then go cut a stud, and they would move the wall a few inches. So the piece that he had just carefully measured and cut wouldn't fit. He would scratch his head, take a new measurement, cut a new piece, and then they would move it back. This went on and on and the poor guy was about to lose his mind!

Your story reminded me of that!

[Tom King]

If I have hundreds of one particular crosscut to make, such as the shoulders in the picture, this is the setup I use.  This RAS is set up to cut dead perfect 90's and nothing else.  The stop block is screwed to the deck and has an undercut so sawdust can't easily change the measurement.  This particular shoulder cut was for a run of 38 reproduction 1798 sash.  I forget the exact number of these shoulder cuts I had to make, but it was hundreds.  Every joint is a mortise and tenon with no glue.  In the picture, pegs haven't been added yet.

 The blade is a thick, stiff 10" on a 12" RAS.  The saw is just a Craftsman, but the model is made all from fairly heavy cast iron.  The rollers on the arm all have eccentric centers so each one can be tweaked so there is absolutely no slop and the blade runs dead true.  I bought it new in 1974.

 

[BillyJack]

This is the reason I have a double setup. Regular miter square cuts everything square with a Beisemeyer  stop and the slider for angles  or wide parts. I can 1 or 1000 parts at a time, all accurate…

 

 

[BillyJack]

Don’t get me wrong….. I’m not trying to one up the RAS . You have to use what you got. 
 

Im just making a suggestion

[Coop]

Just curious. Why the redundancy if the slider can do the work of both? 

[BillyJack]

On 11/19/2023 at 8:20 PM, Coop said:

Just curious. Why the redundancy if the slider can do the work of both? 

The miter saw is fixed.. The Makita  slider isn’t as accurate as the standard miter saw.

If your doing face frames, why wear out a slider..

I have a Dewalt 708 I chose not to lock into the bench and use portable.