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Buying a sliding mitre saw

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Buying a sliding mitre saw

Postby tabs » 09 Jun 2018, 10:53

Now just about ready to start framing out my shed so I wanted to buy a Sliding mitre saw. Wanted some advice on what specs and what manufacturer.

I've got circular saw but thinkk it will be quicker to cut the timber with a sliding mitre saw set up on bench?

I've considered getting a cheaper one just for the framing but have come to the conclusion I may as well but a deccent one I can use afterwards as I'd like to do some furniture making once my shed is built.

Any advice gratefully appreciated on what size, what make, what specs, should it be a compund mitre? , What are good places to buy from ? etc


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Re: Buying a sliding mitre saw

Postby Bucks woodshop » 09 Jun 2018, 11:12

Id say you definately get what you pay for

I am doing the same research at the moment there are a lot of you tube videos and articles on this key points as i see them

1 Which ever one you get get some blades it will depend on the material and what you want to do

2 look at how easy it is to tune i currently have one that has no adjustment on 90 or 45 other than the fence which is fine if 90 and 45 are correct to each other but rubbish if i have to tune it when ever i change angle

3 if your going to use it in the shed, size and dust collection will play an important roll all mitre saws have less than great dust collection and sliding mitres can have a large space behind to allow for the slide which is a pain unless you go high end for a bosch glide or festool i have seen some cheaper ones similar but reviews are mixed

4 are you just chopping or are you going to try grooves and dados , i personally wouldnt as all the ones in the past fall over on this yet they still have it as a feature again in research only the bosch and festool perform acceptably at this

5 There lots of tips for auxiliary fences and zero clearance to so look at one that is easier to customise

Longish post as there is a lot to look at

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Re: Buying a sliding mitre saw

Postby tabs » 09 Jun 2018, 11:26

Thanks for the reply mate.

I've obviously got a lot of research to do. As a novice I don't even know what zero clearance or auxiliary fence is.

I was hoping to use it do lap joints for sole plate etc as I've seen them in various videos used to do this?
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Re: Buying a sliding mitre saw

Postby Bucks woodshop » 09 Jun 2018, 11:48

If its lap joints then point 4 is relevant as you will want to go half way though the timber consistently

Cheaper saws have this function but there is so much play ive seen over 5 mm of slack in the mechanism on this which leads to really bad joints

You can tune it a bit and with practise get a decent joint by knowing how to aplly pressure to the saw and where but it far from consistant

I personally use a table saw for lap joints or cut by hand

Like i say it depends on your needs after the shed build

If your just looking to knock up a few cheap and cheerful projects maybe look at a cheap table saw and a cheap mitre saw

If your going to be using hardwoods and doing high end builds then thenold adage rings true speculate to accumulate

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Re: Buying a sliding mitre saw

Postby tabs » 09 Jun 2018, 12:01

I'll be going for a quality one I think as I'm definately going to trying furniture making so need something that cuts accurately. If quaity sliding mitre saws are not really suitable for doing lap joints I'll use a hand saw and chisel for doing those on my shed build then. Thanks for your input.
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Re: Buying a sliding mitre saw

Postby Bucks woodshop » 09 Jun 2018, 12:06

Some of the quality ones are ok at lap joints

Id do some research and have a play with it before see what it looks like

Im sure another member mught have a saw that is good for this

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Re: Buying a sliding mitre saw

Postby 9fingers » 09 Jun 2018, 13:16

I went through this exercise a few years back when my cheapy non slider from FERM disintegrated.

I was mid job and not a lot of time for research and bought a non sliding makita 200mm as I was dubious of the sliding mechanisms and no time to try before I bought.

The makita has been spot on accurate after the first initial tune up and give a very fine finish with accurate repeatable mitres. I would expect their sliders to be of similar quality.

On paper I liked the look of the Bosch Glide system as it is more compact than one with rails but I think they only do it in 300mm and it is still pretty huge. If they had a 10" or even an 8" I think I'd buy it.

I think the rage evolution saws have guide rails to the front which should save space but I'm doubtful of the brand as a saw for fine quality work later once you have finished framing. I could be doing them a disservice here though.

Features that others have not mentioned that my few year old makita does not have are soft start and braking.

Both are very useful IMHO. When starting it gives such a kick that you have to hold the work very tightly indeed to avoid it moving and it takes a while to run down to a stop during which time you have to hold it in the end of cut position to maintain the fine finish to the cut which all adds time.

For the more money than sense brigade (or Pro's who can write off the cost) there is the Festool Kapex range that are very well engineered, well supported and hold their re-sale value.

Maybe look at second-hand where you can re-sell for little or no loss if you don't like it?

Good Luck

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Re: Buying a sliding mitre saw

Postby RogerS » 09 Jun 2018, 15:07

I did a review for these saw for British Woodworking a while back. Most of the points have been picked up o already.

If you are going to use it for trenching then make sure that you get one where the rails are fixed. My first mitre saw was a Dewalt and the rails hinged at the back which meant that the bottom of the trenches weren't flat.

There is absolutely no reason to discount many of the cheaper saws for trenching because, as Bob has said, a lot of them are very accurate. My old Bosch was one such. Don't forget that the maximum board width that you can trench is less than a normal straight-through cut as (depending on the design of the saw) if the blade doesn't slide all the way through the line of the fence then you end up with a curved bottom to the trench nearest the fence. If this is the case then you have to put a spaced between your stock and the fence.

I'm using the term 'trench' but other terms are used.

When you come to use it try and see if you can do the trench for both top and bottom rails at the sme time. That way, it guarantees that your vertical rails will be exactly that. Vertical.
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Re: Buying a sliding mitre saw

Postby 9fingers » 09 Jun 2018, 18:17

You will be hard pushed to beat this for quality and a superb price but move quickly as it is a special offer.

I've used FFX before and they seem fine

https://www.ffx.co.uk/tools/product/Fes ... -Mitre-Saw

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Re: Buying a sliding mitre saw

Postby Bucks woodshop » 09 Jun 2018, 18:52

Ill start saving :)

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Re: Buying a sliding mitre saw

Postby Rod » 09 Jun 2018, 21:01

Already gone up in price

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Re: Buying a sliding mitre saw

Postby TrimTheKing » 09 Jun 2018, 21:08

Or here for even less...

https://www.toucantools.co.uk/festool_k ... iYQAvD_BwE


I haven’t sanity checked to say it’s identical but it looks it.
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Re: Buying a sliding mitre saw

Postby 9fingers » 09 Jun 2018, 21:29

TrimTheKing wrote:Or here for even less...

https://www.toucantools.co.uk/festool_k ... iYQAvD_BwE


I haven’t sanity checked to say it’s identical but it looks it.



Yes but it was £439 earlier today at ffx

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Re: Buying a sliding mitre saw

Postby TrimTheKing » 09 Jun 2018, 21:31

9fingers wrote:Yes but it was £439 earlier today at ffx

Bob


Ahhh okay, I assumed the price showing was the offer price.
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Re: Buying a sliding mitre saw

Postby RogerS » 10 Jun 2018, 04:10

TrimTheKing wrote:Or here for even less...

https://www.toucantools.co.uk/festool_k ... iYQAvD_BwE


I haven’t sanity checked to say it’s identical but it looks it.


It's not. The other one was the SET version that comes with a few goodies.
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Re: Buying a sliding mitre saw

Postby Malc2098 » 10 Jun 2018, 15:00

Bother! Blow and blast!

You boys made me go and buy one, even though I’m on holiday!
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Re: Buying a sliding mitre saw

Postby Andyp » 10 Jun 2018, 16:01

You guys dont know how lucky you are to get those FFX discounts. Impossible to get anywhere close over here. If I try and order for France delivery the price goes back upto to over 500 quid. Not sure how they manage that with EU competition rules.
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Re: Buying a sliding mitre saw

Postby 9fingers » 10 Jun 2018, 16:09

Andyp wrote:You guys dont know how lucky you are to get those FFX discounts. Impossible to get anywhere close over here. If I try and order for France delivery the price goes back upto to over 500 quid. Not sure how they manage that with EU competition rules.


Andy I'm quite happy to act as your uk agent if the situation arises again. You only have to ask!

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Re: Buying a sliding mitre saw

Postby RogerS » 10 Jun 2018, 16:44

And I'd even road-test it for you !
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Re: Buying a sliding mitre saw

Postby Malc2098 » 10 Jun 2018, 17:35

You’re a bad influence, you boys are!
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Re: Buying a sliding mitre saw

Postby 9fingers » 10 Jun 2018, 17:45

Well we have to help you spend all those consultancy fees Malc

:lol:

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Re: Buying a sliding mitre saw

Postby Malc2098 » 10 Jun 2018, 21:09

9fingers wrote:Well we have to help you spend all those consultancy fees Malc

:lol:

Bob


:lol: :lol: :lol:
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Re: Buying a sliding mitre saw

Postby 9fingers » 10 Jun 2018, 21:16

Malc2098 wrote:
9fingers wrote:Well we have to help you spend all those consultancy fees Malc

:lol:

Bob


:lol: :lol: :lol:



When I first started work, whenever I got the chance of extra overtime or mileage expenses, I always used it to buy tools rather than losing it to "the pot" I made the ime sacrifice all the more worthwhile.

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Re: Buying a sliding mitre saw

Postby Malc2098 » 10 Jun 2018, 21:20

9fingers wrote:
Malc2098 wrote:
9fingers wrote:Well we have to help you spend all those consultancy fees Malc

:lol:

Bob


:lol: :lol: :lol:



When I first started work, whenever I got the chance of extra overtime or mileage expenses, I always used it to buy tools rather than losing it to "the pot" I made the ime sacrifice all the more worthwhile.

Bob


Now I’ve finished full time work, I have a slush fund that any extra work goes into, but I’m struggling to get the HMRC online SA work. I’ll have another go when we get back.
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Re: Buying a sliding mitre saw

Postby 9fingers » 10 Jun 2018, 21:45

I set myself up as a sole trader and when I went over to SA, the early part of the form asked about income sources as added pages to the form to cover all the sources. I invariably got tripped up by representing capital allowances correctly. I suspect yours might well be computing related which I think are written off on a current year basis (check this!). I had depreciation of machine tools and maintenance to deal with and used to buy myself a computer every few years - or tell them that I did :lol:

I've not done any sole trader work for a couple of years and last year they said I did not have to fill in a SA return any more from this year on.

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