Thread: Is a SCMS less accurate than CMS

My first response would be that ALL saws with a moving blade will have some degree of slop simply due to the nature of their design - if you try wiggling the handle side to side you will find a bit of movement, even in a $3k radial arm saw.

Naturally every additional moving part will add another measure of inaccuracy, but I can't imagine it being enough to be noticeable, especially if you're willing to pay for a high-end saw.

IMHO no to a point, my Makita cuts very well, but in saying that, I spent some time in setting it up and I'm careful with it when moving it.

I've done numerous pictures frames with mine for galleries and use it to trim box bits before they go on the Incra router jig for dovetails and finger joints.

Don't know what saw you've been using but my ageing Hitachi SCMS, now 23 years old, has no movement at all, well none that you'll see. It's had new brushes only.

Originally Posted by elanjacobs

My first response would be that ALL saws with a moving blade will have some degree of slop simply due to the nature of their design - if you try wiggling the handle side to side you will find a bit of movement, even in a $3k radial arm saw.

Naturally every additional moving part will add another measure of inaccuracy, but I can't imagine it being enough to be noticeable, especially if you're willing to pay for a high-end saw.

Probably should have expressed myself better. When I say that all saws have movement I was referring to the small amount of flex in the blade carriage rather than poor manufacturing tolerances.

That being said I still don't think that said flex will make a noticeable difference between sliding and fixed.