Noob urgently needs advice on tools

[J_SAMa]

Hi there,
I am ABSOLUTELY new to woodworking and I just thought I could get some help from you guys :)
I'll need a new saw for cutting lumber and MDF and a replacement blade for cutting metal. So could you guys maybe just recommend some good miter saws for me (circular saws work for me as well)? My price range will be 70 EURO to 110 EURO.
I already have some in mind:
GMC SYT210 (quite a tool for its price, and it comes with a laser guide)
Draper 76217 (just cuz its cheap...)
BTW, what the hell exactly is a "rip guide", is it really that important? Cuz it's mentioned in every review I've read...
Thanks in advance
Sam

[Handyjack]

Hi there,

BTW, what the hell exactly is a "rip guide", is it really that important? Cuz it's mentioned in every review I've read...

Sam

Sam welcome to the forum.
I am based in Australia as are many other forum users so am unable to recommend any particular tool.

A "rip guide" is an attachment to a circular saw to assist in cutting a straight line. Unless you are very skilled it is difficult to cut a board down in a straight line with out an aid. Most guides are very basic but good enough to do the job until you get to the end when they come of the board before the blade has finished cutting. The best one I have used is on my Festool TS55 which goes the full length of the base plate. Unfortunately such a tool will be out of your price range, the guide alone is worth about 39 Euro!

[vk4]

Sam,

I would not recommend GMC, they were sold here in AUS , by 2 of the largest hardware outlets , they have stopped selling them as have their competitors, due to issues with durability and parts, also their saws use odd sized bores in their blades.

I would look at Bosch,( trade quality), Makita, Hitachi, as preferences for power tools

Jeff

[J_SAMa]

A "rip guide" is an attachment to a circular saw to assist in cutting a straight line. Unless you are very skilled it is difficult to cut a board down in a straight line with out an aid. Most guides are very basic but good enough to do the job until you get to the end when they come of the board before the blade has finished cutting. The best one I have used is on my Festool TS55 which goes the full length of the base plate. Unfortunately such a tool will be out of your price range, the guide alone is worth about 39 Euro!

So circular saws wont be my thing... Miter saws dont need something like this, right?

[J_SAMa]

Sam,

I would not recommend GMC, they were sold here in AUS , by 2 of the largest hardware outlets , they have stopped selling them as have their competitors, due to issues with durability and parts, also their saws use odd sized bores in their blades.

I would look at Bosch,( trade quality), Makita, Hitachi, as preferences for power tools

Jeff

How about Bosch PCM 7
And have you heard of "Einhell" (they seem to sell a lot of tools in Europe), are they good?

[Handyjack]

(Compound Slide) Mitre Saws such as the Bosch PCM7 are used to cut boards to length and really come into their own if you need any sort of "accurate" angle on the cut, eg for picture frames.
You can do most things with a hand held circular saw but to get accuracy and straight cuts you need to be very skilled or like me you have some sort of guide.

[J_SAMa]

(Compound Slide) Mitre Saws such as the Bosch PCM7 are used to cut boards to length and really come into their own if you need any sort of "accurate" angle on the cut, eg for picture frames.
You can do most things with a hand held circular saw but to get accuracy and straight cuts you need to be very skilled or like me you have some sort of guide.

I'm gonna be cutting some 5cm by 10cm lumber (or say 2" by 4"), and I need them to be quite accurate, so PCM7 is good, ryt?

[Handyjack]

To cut to length, yes. To resize, no.

[J_SAMa]

To cut to length, yes. To resize, no.

so PMC 7 is an option
but still, can you suggest some miter saws that are for about 110 EURO? cuz the 140 euro PCM 7 is way out of my price range...

[Master Splinter]

Einhell (which has had brief retail appearances here in Australia) is another generic budget brand.

Your generic budget tools (Einhell, GMC, whatever-ALDI's-house-brand-name-is and so on) are luck of the draw; sometimes they'll produce something good, and sometimes it's just an expensive way of filling your rubbish bin.

My guess is that designs 'borrowed" from a 20-30 year old tool from a major manufacturer tend to have a higher chance of being good, than a new, original design from these budget brands. (for example, budget brand Ozito has had a well reviewed rotary hammer that looks almost part-for-part interchangeable with a Makita rotary hammer from the 80's) - so don't be persuaded by laser sights, swooping design curves, fluro colours, soft grips and other marketing fluff.

If you are inexperienced with tools, and want a tool where problems (lack of accuracy, chews through attachments, wobble, hard to use, fiddly to adjust) are more likely to be with the user rather than the tool, buy one of the better known trade brands (Makita, Bosch (blue), Hitachi, Panasonic, DeWalt ).

A tool like a compound sliding mitre saw has a lot of dependencies in its design to make it accurate; not only does it need good bearings, but good casting design, good selection of alloy, careful machining and so on; getting one of the trade brands means that these items have at least been considered in production and tolerances established, rather than the more pot luck approach that you get with budget tools.

[J_SAMa]

A tool like a compound sliding mitre saw has a lot of dependencies in its design to make it accurate; not only does it need good bearings, but good casting design, good selection of alloy, careful machining and so on; getting one of the trade brands means that these items have at least been considered in production and tolerances established, rather than the more pot luck approach that you get with budget tools.

wait... what's a compound sliding miter saw?
thank you, after reading your post ive decided to buy PCM 7, just not to get myself into too many troubles:)
one last question, does a miter saw produce a lot of dust? do i need to wear goggles or work outside (i have some respiratory problems)?

[Master Splinter]

A compound sliding miter saw...well, a miter saw cuts miters, and a compound miter is where you cut the mitre at two angles (a normal mitre might be where one face is cut at 45 degrees, but the blade is still at 90 degrees to the other face of the wood; a compound mitre might be 45 degrees and 45 degrees...think of it as cutting in 3D, not just 2D).

A reasonable amount of dust is made; most saws have a slightly effective dust bag, but the fine stuff still gets out and it's the fine stuff you have to worry about.

All wood dust (from cutting natural wood or man-made boards like MDF) is classified as carcinogenic, so do the cutting outside or with plenty of ventilation. Some species of timber are known for particularly irritating dust and can cause allergic reactions in some people.

Safety glasses should be worn; it's cheap insurance. Hearing protection is an idea if you are cutting intensively.

[J_SAMa]

actually, i've changed my mind...
i've just decided to go with an entry-level circular saw, like PKS 40. have you ever used a "green" tool like this? how do they compare to other budget brands like Einhell?
since i would only be building some large-scale things, i dont need very accurate saws. i would only be cutting to length, so i dont even need a guide stick (besides making a simple guide stick doesn't look so hard)

[wun4us]

Re GMC: read this for why there tools are no longer available in stpres in OZ, http://www.smartcompany.com.au/retail/wealthy-power-tool-entrepreneurs-watch-empire-collapse.htmle

and this for the GMC tools of today available in a large part of the Western world (including Germany) except OZ:

ttp://www.gmctools.com/about/

I I have still got a GMC Mitre saw, and a GMC 1/3rd sheet sander which I've had for probably 6 or 7 years and no problem. No doubt they are not the best in the world, but dollar for dollar and depending on the work you excpect of them, they have stood up pretty well Each to his own, and you only have to read some of the posts that have been made about some of the best names in the industry...all brands can have their faults and inherent idiosyncrasies.

JMHO :rolleyes::)