Mitre Saw Choice

[coenie]

Hi Guy's,

I am new on the forum but have been reading your advice and review’s a lot and it is great thanks a lot.

I need some advice, my wife started framing and due to arthritis she cannot use a hand saw so I am in the market for a mitre saw that will give me a consistent 45 degree cut. I have been shopping for a week and the two best I could find with regards to locking dead set on 45 degrees was the Bosch 10" at $370 and the De Walt 10" at $535. I found the locking system of the base on these two saws to be the steadiest on 45 degrees.

Is the De Walt worth the extra bucks and will the Bosch be consistent.

Thank you

[Bluegum]

Hi virgin and welcome aboard. Dunno what you think of Makita, but I own the LS1040 and I am really happy with it. Cuts on the left and right side, seels for about 350 - 370. I think its great saw and good value for money.

[coenie]

Thanks Bluegum,

I found the Makita you have on special last night for $299, real bargain. A lot of people recommended the Makita, I will stop at Total Tools today to see if they still have stock of the Makita.

Regards

[Milo]

Hi guys

Just looked on the Makita website and it states the Mitre saw only cuts on the left side?

[mickelmaster]

Just dont forget that DeWalt is made by Black and Decker, just a thought.

[Bluegum]

Hi guys

Just looked on the Makita website and it states the Mitre saw only cuts on the left side?

Milo, you are right mate, error on my behalf. Thanks for picking it up for me.

[rrobor]

Thought Dewalt bought out Black and Decker not tother way Anyways I hear B & D are back to being top tools. I had a B & D half inch drill years ago, that one could break your arm and was the best drill I ever owned. But to get to the subject Im not sure a compound mitre saw is your tool, I think you need a very fine multi toothed blade and in my experience drop saws tend to cause splintering on the back side. You also need to clamp it well. My experience though is get one you can fine tune the 45 to as even the best are out and picture frames you need 45.0 not 45+- 0.5

[coenie]

The Makita can definitely cut both sides at 45 degrees but can only do bevel cuts to the left hand side. I found a DeWalt repair shop in Brisbane city that sell items returned within 30 days that was repaired for RRP minus 35% with a full guarantee as if purchased new. I bought the 10" mitre saw and was disappointed when discovered that it comes standard without a clamping tool and that it had to be purchased separately. I am planning on doing a few test cuts today and will give feedback on the quality of the tool. If this Dewalt does not perform as required it will be much cheaper to purchase two 10" Ryobi mitre saws from Bunnings at $130 each and permanently fix each one by setting them up and drill and tap their bases to cut 45 degrees left and right and design a measuring system that I can bolt on them for the exclusive use of cutting frames, do you guys think it will work?

[rrobor]

I think you would find the cheap saw was a lot lighter and has slop left or right. Cutting to 45 is not so hard as you can fine tune but if the blade is sloppy its no goodfor your precision work.

[munruben]

I do a lot of framing and have tried several mitre saws and find that none of them were true 45deg. For a more precise cut you need a "Precision Mitre Trimmer" for that final trim on the joints. you still need a saw to make the primary 45deg cut and then "shave" the cut with the trimmer to true it up.
You can buy the trimmer from Carba-tec but they are not cheap, current cost is $329. (page 129 of Carba-tec catalogue) This, on top of the cost of a mitre saw works out expensive. If your wife is not making frames at a semi commercial level then maybe a good mitre saw might be the way to go for her. One of the most important things in framing, is to make sure that your sides and top and bottom are of exactly equal lenghth as each other, the slighest difference in length will make for a joint that is not a good join.
It is best to make up some kind of a jig for this so you get the lengths exact..
You may like to consider a cheap table saw for the mitre cuts. With a mitre sled (easy to make) you can achieve good 45deg mitres and control the lengths of your timber with a simple jig (again easy to make)

Another option is a shooting board which is probably a cheaper option. Might be worth considering.

[johncee1945]

[QUOTE=munruben;986919]I do a lot of framing and have tried several mitre saws and find that none of them were true 45deg.
I agree with the above and the blade on a electric saw flexes as it spins! I once rang DeWalt and asked their advice and a rep there recommended a 7 and 1/2 inch sliding saw for best results. He explained sub contractors liked that saw for cutting the architrave moulding.

Mitres are difficult because you have 8 cuts in every picture frame so if you are out a degree you are out 8 times. As well, the moulding is sometimes warped and twisted slightly. I am trying now for a mitre plane and shooting board. What I was impressed with these is you can get very fine shavings and in practise fine accuracy.
A Stanley picture framers mitre clamp is a must which can overcome some faults in cutting. This puts the pressure right where it is needed where the two mitre cuts meet. Any of the cheaper ones do not do that. As well as straightening out to a degree moulding twist.

[Bledrin]

Just a quick observation of second hand experience....

My Father who has been a builder for 40 years or so, highly recommends Makita & Hitachi power tools. I know he has bought a Dewalt drop saw and battery drill and both of them died in a very short period of time. He has some seriously old looking Makita drills and circular saws hanging around that he still uses.. He also has a massive Bosch hammer drill that seems to soldier on with years of abuse..