Thread: Compound saw

Originally Posted by Upsy

hi everyone,

just moved in my new house with a beautiful old shed that I am fixing up.

Nice!

Originally Posted by Upsy

Now time to fill it with tools

Even more fun than buying the shed!

Originally Posted by Upsy

Having to make workbenches and other "big" stuff i m looking for a compound saw ( not sliding I just don't have the space it is a single car garage)

What would be your advices ? I don't have any price reference for the moment so hit me ! ( I will not need anything fancy )

Thx everyone

Mate, hopefully you'll get a lot of good replies to your post.
I have experience with the big Dewalt sliding saw, and the Festool Kapex. The Dewalt has been indestructible and a real workhorse for me (still going after 10 years, used to build a 6m x 6m covered deck, and lots of furniture projects besides). I like just about everything about it, except that the electric brake is starting to fail -- only works half the time. I imagine the fixed (not sliding) Dewalt saw would be just as nice? I have nothing bad to say about the Kapex except the price -- some will think it is completely overpriced; some will think it is overpriced but worth it -- I fall in the latter category.

Good luck, and have fun!

I would suggest you visit a hardware or tool shop with a tape measure and size up a straight mitre saw and a sliding mitre saw, there really isn't that much in it footprint wise.

A smaller 250mm sliding mitre saw is able to (often), out cut a fixed mitre saw.

I have a 250mm sliding mitre saw with a 340mm width cut, depth is somewhere around 80mm, I would have to check. To obtain something in the vicinity of that length of cut in a non sliding mitre saw, means you are going to be looking at 300mm units. Going up to that size of blade, unit wise, adds bulk and footprint big time, not to mention the cost factor.

One of my brothers has a fixed mitre saw, he now has a sliding 250mm mitre saw as well. Pretty much never uses the fixed mitre saw these days, unless he's chopping up fence palings and what not for firewood.

Mick.

+1 for sliding, they really aren't that much bigger but much more useful.

Got a Hitachi at work and used Makita at TAFE, both are great machines but the Hitachi has a two-piece fence which is a massive PITA to align (square one half to blade, then align the other half to it and pray it doesn't cop any hard bumps) while the Makita has a single-piece fence which, I think, gives it the edge over the Hitachi.

+ 1 for SCMS, carry one with me in the back of the van, used to have a standard drop saw but after getting the 184mm SCMS, haven't looked back.
Dramatically more versatile, scarfing, dadoes, etc, and i t has a smaller footprint than the standard drop saw and lighter too.

So much goodness about all these replies thx guys.

LuckyDuck I love your style! I am definitely interested in the fixed 250 dewalt which is i m pretty sure sold at bunnings for $399 am I right ? Also any festool tools are definitely out of my price range.

Optimark I never realised that a sliding saw could end up being the same length as a fixed one so I ll definitely look into that.

elanjacobs are you talking about the 255mm makita sliding saw ?if yes I think it is also at bunnings for $390.

The only worry that I have would be that a good sliding compound saw would generally end up much more expensive than a simple drop saw.

For the moment my price range is around $400 to $500 top is this reasonable to get something decent ? woodworking is a hobby I definitely don't need "the best".

I would definitely rather save for longer to get a good quality tool but if the price of a sliding saw is too much of a difference i would rather stay with a good quality simple drop saw but i ll definitely consider it.

You have already been really helpful thx for that !

Yes the 255mm saw is it.
$400-500 will definitely get you a high quality tool, have a play with different makes/models to find one you like as at that price you should only need to buy once.

My current Sliding Compound Mitre Saw (SCMS) is from Aldi, if you are not in a screaming hurry it could be worth the wait until they have them on special again.

It's a 250mm SCMS with the ability to do in excess of 45º left or right. It can also, thanks to the angled motor, do a 45º mitre cut at a 45º bevel angle on both sides, something that most of the cheaper units struggle with or cannot do at all; quite a few very expensive units cannot do that either..

It has a motor brake, meaning you take you finger off the go switch and the blade is braked to a very quick halt.

It has a laser function, not the greatest, but if you mark some odd angle up with an angle rule with a pencil line, you just swivel the blade around until the laser line aligns up with your pencil, then make your cut.

It has a trenching facility, something virtually impossible to do with a small fixed mitre saw.

One of it's best features is it's massive 340mm full depth cut.

It's dust collecting ability with the small bag at the back is pitiful, even when hooked to a vacuum system. However I have built a rolling workstation with a suction box at the rear, pretty much a dust free environment now.

Once I set the angles correctly it cuts at 90º straight and 90º vertical. I then adjusted the bevel angles to 45º for both left and right. With the reasonable rigidity of the parallel sliding tubes and their holding mechanism, it's pretty good.

It is a well thought out unit, engineering wise. Build wise it is certainly not up there with far more expensive units, but it more than favourably compares to the $250 to $400 competition.

It also came with three blades, they are not brilliant, however for the stuff I'm mostly cutting, they are alright.

It's price was, for me, it's best feature, $169.00.

2200W_Sliding_Compound_Mitre_Saw_Aldi.jpg


Mick.

I've got an old Elu 8 1/4 inch SCMS but have used the Makita 7 1/4 SCMS and was impressed. It's very light and didnt appear to have a drastically reduced cutting capacity (although you'd need to check the specs). What ever saw you get either buy or build a good stand for it.

Thx to you all you have been really helpful.

I am definitely gonna go to a few shops and mesure some SCMS.

Sam : I am planing on making a slightly smaller sturdy bench so the saw table is at the same high as the other benches.

It looks like most saws you guys are talking about are sold at bunnings which makes things easier to look at

thx again to all of you, i ll let you know what will be my final decision

Apart from the cutting capacity, one of the difference for most but not all makes of compound sliding mitre saws with compound mitre saws is the amount of space required behind the saw for the guide mechanism. Allow for this when setting up workshop and making your purchase.

Thx Handyjack that was exactly my problem.

I went to bunnings today and didn't have to mesure anything, the sliding compound saws need way too much space at the back that I can't afford.

On a drop saw version I am really really tempted by the Dewalt 250mm 1600w which is at $399 i m pretty sure.

any one has some experience with this saw ?