What type of mitre saw?

[chr15b]

I borrowed and made a lot of use of a mitre saw recently, still have quite a lot to do, skirting and stuff so am thinking of buying one.. however when looking around i see there are many different types.

sliding / non sliding is fairly obvious but then we have compound and various other variations.

What would be a good type for general home DIY, skirting, straight cuts etc..

Cheers
Chris

[mgtony]

A standard mitre saw like this, which is pretty good value, will cut upto 75x130mm. So okay for smallish stuff like architrave, but no use for a decent size skirting.

http://www.screwfix.com/p/makita-mls100-1-250mm-co...

This one will cut to 89x162mm

http://www.screwfix.com/p/dewalt-dw713xps-lx-250mm...

A sliding one will give a longer cut, something like this will have a shallower depth of cut at 62mm, but a cross-cut of 270mm, so ideal for most stuff.

http://www.screwfix.com/p/dewalt-dw777-gb-216mm-sl...

A compound mitre can be achieved on most saws.

On the larger Dewalt saws available, you can cut skirting with it upright against the fence, with the sliding one above, you'll mitre it lying flat.

[hairyben]

mgtony said:

On the larger Dewalt saws available, .

Is there a reason you suggest the dewalt/makita gear?

I'll be wanting one myself soon for similar use (home renovation), and while I love good kit (most of the tools I need for my trade are dewalt so I'm no cheapskate) I'm wondering if dewalt isn't overkill when you can get something like this:

http://www.screwfix.com/p/erbauer-erb238msw-254mm-...

Is there any drastic dropoff in accuracy/robustness that you'd notice in light use?

Edited by hairyben on Friday 19th August 18:24

[chr15b]

This is the one I was looking at, though it's not a make I've heard of before.

http://www.toolstation.com/shop/Power+Tools/GMC/Do...

[DavidY]

If its for general DIY I would recommend the Evolution saws, only because they are so flexible in that they will cut virtually anything.

http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/categories/searc...

[roofer]

hairyben said:

Is there a reason you suggest the dewalt/makita gear?

I'm wondering if dewalt isn't overkill when you can get something like this:

http://www.screwfix.com/p/erbauer-erb238msw-254mm-...

Is there any drastic dropoff in accuracy/robustness that you'd notice in light use?

Edited by hairyben on Friday 19th August 18:24

An extremely good point, domestic use will only need a cheap one, as long as its got a good blade....however, its a 'mantool', therefore a sliding compound table version from De Walt is the only choice.

[mgtony]

hairyben said:

Is there a reason you suggest the dewalt/makita gear?

I'll be wanting one myself soon for similar use (home renovation), and while I love good kit (most of the tools I need for my trade are dewalt so I'm no cheapskate) I'm wondering if dewalt isn't overkill when you can get something like this:

http://www.screwfix.com/p/erbauer-erb238msw-254mm-...

Is there any drastic dropoff in accuracy/robustness that you'd notice in light use?

Edited by hairyben on Friday 19th August 18:24

I mentioned Dewalt for the larger ones as I wasn't sure who else made one with around a 300mm blade capable of cutting skirting upright.
All my stuff is Dewalt or Makita,had most of it for years and never had a problem with any of them.
I'd never buy an unbranded make power tool, even the DIY shed own brands are a bit of a poor quality. Even if it's only for occasional use, if it burns out after the 3rd or 4th time you use it but it's outside its 12 month warranty, then it's got to go in the bin.
All that said, that Erbauer saw looks good enough for home use, and for the price, you probably can't go wrong.

[sparkythecat]

mgtony said:

I'd never buy an unbranded make power tool, even the DIY shed own brands are a bit of a poor quality. Even if it's only for occasional use, if it burns out after the 3rd or 4th time you use it but it's outside its 12 month warranty, then it's got to go in the bin.
All that said, that Erbauer saw looks good enough for home use, and for the price, you probably can't go wrong.

For occasional use, you can buy cheap perfectly serviceable power tools from Aldi.
They come with a 3year no quibble warranty

[oniznorb]

roofer said:

hairyben said:

Is there a reason you suggest the dewalt/makita gear?

I'm wondering if dewalt isn't overkill when you can get something like this:

http://www.screwfix.com/p/erbauer-erb238msw-254mm-...

Is there any drastic dropoff in accuracy/robustness that you'd notice in light use?

Edited by hairyben on Friday 19th August 18:24

An extremely good point, domestic use will only need a cheap one, as long as its got a good blade....however, its a 'mantool', therefore a sliding compound table version from De Walt is the only choice.

I have the Erbauer, does everything I have asked of it including installing 25sq metres of decking. Ok, so It may not be as robust or accurate as the DeWalt, but it does the job.

I also have a manual guided mitre saw which is better for things like skirting and framing joints.

[s3fella]

DavidY said:

If its for general DIY I would recommend the Evolution saws, only because they are so flexible in that they will cut virtually anything.

http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/categories/searc...

I have one and it is brilliant. Just watch doing thin plastic, it can shatter it as it goes a bit quick, but if you use the slow start and keep the balde speed down it works a treat.

[hairyben]

mgtony said:

I mentioned Dewalt for the larger ones as I wasn't sure who else made one with around a 300mm blade capable of cutting skirting upright.
All my stuff is Dewalt or Makita,had most of it for years and never had a problem with any of them.
I'd never buy an unbranded make power tool, even the DIY shed own brands are a bit of a poor quality. Even if it's only for occasional use, if it burns out after the 3rd or 4th time you use it but it's outside its 12 month warranty, then it's got to go in the bin.
All that said, that Erbauer saw looks good enough for home use, and for the price, you probably can't go wrong.

There's a few brands like erbauer who are aiming for the higher end DIY, pitching between cheapo and proper pro stuff, most of which tends to be pretty decent and should last a busy DIYer a long time. And if you have 10 tools and 2 or 3 go pop and need replacing, you've still probably spend less than half what you'd have spent buying big brands anyway. And in reality you normally get better customer care from DIY sheds flogging cheap kit than you get from top end brands selling trade.

As for that "rage" stuff, isn't it just fairly normal tools with fancy all-purpose blades? Which is fine for wrecking, but it won't give you the choice of speed/finish/detail etc that anyone thinking of so much as imitating a craftsman needs

On the subject of which, top tip: before buying a machine check the blade size including bore and make sure you can get spares easily and cheaply. Blade fitment availability should be a prime consideration when buying any tool, but often gets overlooked especially when something seems cheap.

[66comanche]

chr15b said:

I borrowed and made a lot of use of a mitre saw recently, still have quite a lot to do, skirting and stuff so am thinking of buying one.. however when looking around i see there are many different types.

sliding / non sliding is fairly obvious but then we have compound and various other variations.

What would be a good type for general home DIY, skirting, straight cuts etc..

Cheers
Chris

IME a cheapy £40-50 job from B&Q or similar does the job for occasional home DIY (for the past 10 years it has anyway), can't see you reaping the benefit from a £150+ tool since once you've done the skirting/architrave etc, you're unlikely to ever have to do it again!

[Happiness Stan]

http://www.axminster.co.uk/jet-jet-jsms-10l-slide-...

I've had this a year. Very pleased with it and the laser works well.

[eskidavies]

lidls tommorow parkside saw 69 quid decent size aswell,

[chr15b]

What do we think to Hitachi?

http://www.screwfix.com/p/hitachi-c8fse-216mm-slid...

[Globs]

I bought this one:
http://www.google.co.uk/products/catalog?hl=en&amp...

and it's been very good. I needed one big enough for compound cuts to 8"x2" rafters in a hipped roof.

Else I'd recommend Makita for high-speed tools, they always seem a bit plain but work extremely well!

[chr15b]

Globs said:

I bought this one:
http://www.google.co.uk/products/catalog?hl=en&amp...

and it's been very good. I needed one big enough for compound cuts to 8"x2" rafters in a hipped roof.

Else I'd recommend Makita for high-speed tools, they always seem a bit plain but work extremely well!

thats the one i started looking at

[Globs]

chr15b said:

thats the one i started looking at

Does the job very well. Forget about the laser though - the plastic shield is in line of the warm wood cuttings and unless yu want to clean it before every cut it's back to the traditional method of pulling the static blade down and seeing where it touches.

[chr15b]

Are there any on the Market that don't do that? The one I borrowed was just as bad...

[hairyben]

Ahh fk it.

Can afford the dewalt, but am trying to restrain spending (new house!) and had pretty much resigned to something like the erbaurer being "good enough"... till I spoke to a carpenter/builder mate who told me to stop being silly and buy the dewalt. He reckons the difference is noticable, not just robustness but tolerance etc...

So the dewalt it'll be.