Thread: Advice sought re Mitre saw

Whatever you get, make sure the fence is a single piece, not two separate pieces; it's a massive PITA to get 2 fences aligned and square, I've given up on the saw at work. Fortunately we don't need it for anything precise, got a panel saw for that.

I am afraid that having accuracy and without repeated adjustments to the standard required for woodworking purposes unfortunately will require a miter saw from the top drawer. Most handyman type saw would only give you the accuracy that is only suitable for building a fence. While A tradesman qualty saw can always give you the accuracy that is required for house construction but quite often falls short in terms of the precision and adjustability needed for woodworking. The bigger the saw the harder it is to get accurate cut because of the flexing of the blade. The sliding mechanism is also a source of run outs. Then there is the fence and the table which sometimes isn't substantial enough to hold the larger pieces. A non sliding chop saw is thererfore the most accurate and at the same time inexpensive but can only cut 4x2's. I have 3 mitre saws. One is the bosch gcm 12 gdl. The other is Swarts 12 in and a very old 10 in non sliding chop saw. All are accurate. The bosch also has a very substantial fence and table and it's very simple to set up the the correct angle. The Swarts don't have as substantial a fence and it takes a bit of work to iteratively set and test to get the angle spot on. The chop saw doesn't have a wide range of adjustments but they are accurate enough.

Having said that I don't believe a mitre saw is absolutely necessary for woodworking. A table saw plus a handsaw are more than able to cover most of your woodworkin requirements. If you must get a mitre saw then get a top trade qualty saw like the bosch or Dewalt. 10 in would be sufficient. Swarts would be value for money as long as you are doing mostly square cuts because changing angles take time.

I went through the same process and ended up with the Swarts. I posted a review including my rationale in another thread on the Swarts.

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For "accuracy & repeatability" you'd be hard pressed to buy better than a larger capacity Radial Arm Saw. As they've now all but disappeared from the market, they are B/S expensive new, but can be an absolute bargain S/H.

Eminently adjustable & rebuildable & with legendary longevity, it's not unreasonable to expect a lifespan of 100 years plus if properly used & maintained. Some of the poorer examples of SCMS, by contrast, will be inaccurate out of the box & may remain so for their limited lifespan. Some 110v examples of a surprisingly expensive much-vaunted model may only last a few months between motor swaps!

You've not mentioned portability. Will you be carting it around the yard regularly, to the shack occasionally, or permanently nomadic on or in the van or ute? Cordless is the most easily mobile, although it doesn't mate readily with dust extraction in this guise. Makita, Metabo & DeWalt all make good cordless examples, the latter with a bit of fiddling can be configured into an AC/DC machine, offering the best of both worlds. None will have the absolute capacity of a dedicated mains machine however.

The biggest mains machine (in capacity) is the 120 x 400mm Bosch GCM 12 SDE Professional, which approaches Radial Arm Saw capacity, if not accuracy & repeatability. My GCM 12 GDL glide saw is just big & heavy. Really heavy. Approaching Radial Arm Saw heavy. But nevertheless has the distinct advantage of lacking rearward extending guide arms/rollers.

A Radial Arm Saw is ideally configured in a permanent fixture or workbench with rear dust shrouding for cleanliness.

A GDL or other big & heavy SCMS like the 315mm Metabo or the fantastic "old school" induction motored 250mm Metabo is similarly most usefully permanently installed in a dedicated workspace too.

Smaller or lighter saws like the Kapex for example will be more portable, but can be compromised in terms of capacity, accuracy, extraction, or even reliability.

Cordless SCMS are relatively inexpensive (my Metabo cost me a mere $270 minus batteries or charger), are extremely lightweight & portable, but suffer in comparison with most others in terms of capacity & repeatability. Given that Cordless SCMS are a relatively new innovation, matters like longer term accuracy & longevity are unknown, but given the low price will necessarily lag behind more heavily constructed mains models I suspect.

Originally Posted by hendo42

Very new to this woodworking game, will be kitting out my new shed soon.

- I want to be able to trust the saw will cut accurate mitres, without repeated readjustment.
I.

Hi Hendo,

Do you need to cut the mitres on the vertical (mitres) or on the flat (bevels). I ask this because unless you want to do bevels there is no need for a compound mitre saw really. A chop saw can be set at angles and a 12" can have a deep cut at the fence.

I have has the Bosche 12 Glide ... very nice saw ... (apart from the atrocious dust collection) 12 months now ... lots of mitres cut on it.... and never used the bevel function. I use a table aw for bevel cuts and occasional mitres (with Incra jig).


The trick to using a CMS or Chop saw for mitres is to secure the piece firmly (not a sceric of movement) and to lower the blade in the same manner each time. Please note that the accuracy of the saw angle can be easily upset by the way the blade is dropped, giving the saw a bump when passing by ... or letting the wood move a teeny bit.

Regards

Rob

Originally Posted by hendo42

I'd prefer a 12" saw, but 10" won't cause me undue heartache.

There is a 10" version of the Bosch Glide Saw available now.

Where will you be using the saw? Residential - rural?

I have two MITRE SAWS.

A makita SCMS and an induction motored arrow brand CMS. The arrow is a rebadged Jet which is a rebadged Axminster.

Anyways - the quietness of the induction needs to be heard to be believed. I live residential and use it at night and no one hears it.

Not as powerful but bloody quiet.

You can get a metabo induction SCMS for around the 1100 mark.



Here are the two I mean.




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Originally Posted by Ratbag

For "accuracy & repeatability" you'd be hard pressed to buy better than a larger capacity Radial Arm Saw. As they've now all but disappeared from the market, they are B/S expensive new, but can be an absolute bargain S/H.

Eminently adjustable & rebuildable & with legendary longevity, it's not unreasonable to expect a lifespan of 100 years plus if properly used & maintained. Some of the poorer examples of SCMS, by contrast, will be inaccurate out of the box & may remain so for their limited lifespan. A Radial Arm Saw is ideally configured in a permanent fixture or workbench with rear dust shrouding for cleanliness.

A GDL or other big & heavy SCMS like the 315mm Metabo or the fantastic "old school" induction motored 250mm Metabo is similarly most usefully permanently installed in a dedicated workspace too.

Some excellent points from Ratbag. I have both the Bosch GDL and a RAS, and while they are both capable of cutting mitres and bevels, they have their own strengths and weaknesses. The GDL is a fairly recent acquisition, and the advantage is speed. Lots of detents for common mitre angles and good capacity, and you know where the cut will be because the pivot point is in plane with the blade. The best choice for a novice is a SCMS.

A radial arm saw typically has much larger capacity - mine is a Dewalt 8103 and can crosscut 620mm at 90°. But while they are almost infinitely adjustable, they lack the numerous detents (0 and 45 only) that make cutting mitres and bevels so quick and easy on the mitre saws. And as the blade is offset from the pivot points for mitres and bevels, where the cut will be is not fixed relative to the table. The high quality of construction means that once set it will produce accurate cuts all day long, but getting it set up takes much longer. Good for production work, not so good for ad hoc mitre cuts. However, they are much better for trenching than the mitre saw, and can take dado blades or even a trenching head. And being able to tilt the blade parallel to the table means you can do all kinds of things that would give a WHS officer a heart attack. Forget portability, they are almost always a workshop only tool. Mine weighs about 90kg without the stand or table.

Originally Posted by dazzler

Where will you be using the saw? Residential - rural?

I have two MITRE SAWS.

A makita SCMS and an induction motored arrow brand CMS. The arrow is a rebadged Jet which is a rebadged Axminster.

Anyways - the quietness of the induction needs to be heard to be believed. I live residential and use it at night and no one hears it.

Not as powerful but bloody quiet.

You can get a metabo induction SCMS for around the 1100 mark.



Here are the two I mean.




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That is a beautiful workshop! Looks great!

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The Bosch GCM 10 SD can be had for $700, good all round saw.

Originally Posted by DaveVman

That is a beautiful workshop! Looks great!

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Aww shucks - thanks.

I have just built it. Should put a thread with some more pics.

Cheers.


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Originally Posted by dazzler

Aww shucks - thanks.

I have just built it. Should put a thread with some more pics.

Cheers.


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Yes please.

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Wow, some very good advice here - thanks guyz. (note: 'guyz' is gender neutral).

To answer some of the questions:
+ My intention is to fix the saw to a dedicated bench in the shed - portability not required.
+ I'm on acreage out of town, so noise isn't such an issue.
+ A radial arm saw is out of my league.

Given responses here (and a few youtube vids) I might end up getting a less expensive SCMS. If I do most mitres & bevels on the table saw with a decent jig, I can save the drop saw for square cuts & long sticks that'd be unwieldy on the table saw.

The SWARTS 305mm looks fairly compact & inexpensive. or maybe a lower end Bosch.

Many thanks again for the input.

That makes sense. Any of the decent brands will be fine IMO. If you live coastal grease the slides and cover when not in use. The chrome pitted on mine in 6 months up here.