Thread: Budget Mitre Saw for novice / hobbyist

I have an Aldi Sliding Compound Mitre Saw (SCMS) had it for a few years now, brilliant for what it is. The gold standard among the mid-sized mitre saws, is Makita, but they are out of my price league and yours; I paid $160.00 for my saw.

What you are comparing is bottom feeder stuff, either will do the job, but, and there is often a but, you may wish to think about an SCMS unit instead.

I went to the Bunnings link then clicked on downloads for the users manual, there the specifications mention that the 210mm Ozito saw is capable of cutting a 120mm wide piece of timber with a maximum height of 55mm when the blade is at 90º, not exactly a great width. Draw up a piece of paper with a 120mm line, then see if that will cover most of your possible projects; it may do so.

I looked at the 210mm SCMS Ozito unit for $149, which I readily accept is well over the price of what you are thinking about, but, the cutting specifications are quite better than the fixed mitre saw. The users manual says this saw is capable of cutting a 310mm wide by 62mm thick (or deep if you prefer) piece of material.

In the long run you should get what feels right for you and your budget. The Aldi product or the Ozito product should, in my humble opinion, be great. But having any unit that is slightly over specification of your possible immediate requirements, will allow you to expand. Subject to your hip pocket allowance of course.

By the way, the name Ozito, is Bunnings house brand of tools, it is derived from the words, "Aussie Tools".

Mick.

Having not touched either or the above tools, here are a couple of general coments.
If you are pulling it out to do a project also consider how easy/hard it will be to move. I have a Martek/Makita compound mitre saw which sits in the back of the workshop. With a weight of about 15.5kg it gets to be hefty to move to the workbench or the back of the car. Have a look where any carry handles are. The blade will certainly effect the quality of cuts. If you are only doing framing rough cuts will not matter.
If there is a problem with the tool, what after sales service does the store or brand have. Even a 12 month replacement warrantry is no good if the store does not have anything similar after two weeks.
Cutting capacity is a big thing. If you need to gut garden sleepers for example, a bigger capacity will be required.

Originally Posted by Widget1983

(Australia)

Hi guys,

So, I'm planning on maybe making a couple of small projects, primarily at this stage, a basic work bench. I'm looking into getting a mitre saw, but am on a budget. I know, budget ones probably won't last as long, but my situation, won't be a daily use, or even an average weekend warrior. This will be more of a pull-out-of-shed when a small project comes along, so spending big on a brand name, at this stage, is out of my range.

So, first off, I was just looking at a standard mitre saw, and Steve Ramsey (youtube) says for most projects and hobbyist, that's all you'll need. Or, should I look at a for wider pieces of timber? (I guess it depends on the project ?)

Regarding the saw itself, ALDI have one coming up in their specials soon for $50,

https://www.aldi.com.au/en/special-b...p/8-mitre-saw/



Looking at Bunnings though, they appear to have an OZITO brand for $48

https://www.bunnings.com.au/ozito-21...e-saw_p0025645

[*]Alternatively, I could probably source a 2nd hand one from Gumtree, though the blade(s) might need replacing on it if I do...

Just wondering if anyone has experience / knowledge of purchasing / using, the 'entry level' mitre saws ?[/LIST]

Different badges but probably out of the same factory in China would be my take.
Just remember they can do most of the cutting you need for smallish projects ,they may also need to have some tweaking if you're wanting accuracy ,however ultimately you only get what you pay for .
As a starting tool for a workshop it will get you cutting timber without a big outlay .

Gumtree has mitre saws everyday local to me. I imagine it would be the same in most places. Do some research on reviews for various brands and models and then keep your eye out for them on a daily basis (save a daily search so you get email notification).

I picked up a 10" Hitachi which has excellent reviews for a third of new price ($100) and it was 3 months old - they even hunted for the receipt and emailed me a photo of it a few weeks later! I was originally looking at a sliding 12" but thought I would try this one first and see whether I would actually use one. It has now completed 2 huge decks for our 2 adult kiddies plus lots of other projects around the house and yard. I love the thing.

Jane

I started off with the Ozito non-sliding 210 mm saw. Steve Ramsey's advice is that that size (8 1/4") is too small, and you should get a 10 inch saw (254 mm). He's right - today I had to go out and buy the Ozito 254 mm saw to finish off a project.

You can get started with the baby saw but it will limit what you can do.