Thread: Minimum quality CMS or SCMS for picture framing?

I would suggest that you work out the maximum you can afford first. And then purchase the highest quality saw that you can get. Buying the minimum quality saw is full of danger and is likely to cause you endless disappointment. We all have to work within the budgets we have and money is, for most of us, one of the factors which determines what we buy and when we buy it. But, in my opinion, it is never a good policy to go looking for the lowest quality tools we can buy. Rather look for the best you can afford.

However, whatever saw you purchase, I would also suggest getting hold of a good hand plane and making a shooting board to shoot the mitres to exactly the right size and angle once you have cut them on the saw. Again, you will need to get hold of a good hand plane and ensure that it is properly set up and sharpened. There is plenty of information on the web and in this forum on hand planes. The same for shooting boards. A search of shooting mitres will give you lots of info on making and using a mitre shooting board.

I have a Dewalt drop saw, accurate out of the box. Slide and click into the 45 deg notch and cut, perfect mitres with minimum fuss. A really good blade will help with a nice cut too. I picked up a negative hook angle 80 tooth blade designed for mitre saws - big difference...

If all you want to do is framing, I'd buy a CMS, not a SCMS. The slide function is really good for cutting big timbers and beams, but not at all necessary for picture framing. You will also get a better quality CMS than SCMS for the same money (as it doesn't need to include a slide function).

I personally have a cheap GMC SCMS but don't cut much on it at all. I'm thinking of buying a quality CMS as well, leaving the SCMS for building projects (decks, pergolas, etc).

Trav