Robert Walker
01-23-2001, 12:49 AM
Why the need for two miter saws?
Fully realizing that he who dies with the most woodworking toys wins, I found myself looking at sliding compound miter saws a few months ago. Here's what I decided.
I had a radial arm saw and a standard miter saw. When I started looking into sliding compound miter saws, I came to the conclusion that it would be a waste of money for me. Although they provide more accurate cuts that a radial arm saw, they lack the ability to crosscut 16” (a 4 x 8 panel ripped into three pieces) like my radial arm saw (which does just fine on 90 degree cuts). I am also a woodworker, and not a carpenter, so I seldom need compound cuts on 2 x 8s or 2 x 10s.
My need for compound cuts is for crown molding, and other cabinetry or funiture moldings... exclusively... so I do not need the extra capacity of a sliding miter saw. Since a small compound miter saw (like the 8 ¼” Delta) provides all of the compound capacity that I will need, I decided to buy this saw in addition to my larger miter saw. This was not only less expensive than buying a 12” compound miter saw (and far less than a sliding compound miter saw), but it provides the benefit of having one saw set at an angle that you do not want to reset, and the other at the same angle in an opposite direction... or one at a set angle other than a standard stop, and the other at 90 degrees. The small compound saw was $80, factory refurbished. That's a lot less than $600 and getting $100 for your old saw... and you are still in the game for having the most equipment.
Fully realizing that he who dies with the most woodworking toys wins, I found myself looking at sliding compound miter saws a few months ago. Here's what I decided.
I had a radial arm saw and a standard miter saw. When I started looking into sliding compound miter saws, I came to the conclusion that it would be a waste of money for me. Although they provide more accurate cuts that a radial arm saw, they lack the ability to crosscut 16” (a 4 x 8 panel ripped into three pieces) like my radial arm saw (which does just fine on 90 degree cuts). I am also a woodworker, and not a carpenter, so I seldom need compound cuts on 2 x 8s or 2 x 10s.
My need for compound cuts is for crown molding, and other cabinetry or funiture moldings... exclusively... so I do not need the extra capacity of a sliding miter saw. Since a small compound miter saw (like the 8 ¼” Delta) provides all of the compound capacity that I will need, I decided to buy this saw in addition to my larger miter saw. This was not only less expensive than buying a 12” compound miter saw (and far less than a sliding compound miter saw), but it provides the benefit of having one saw set at an angle that you do not want to reset, and the other at the same angle in an opposite direction... or one at a set angle other than a standard stop, and the other at 90 degrees. The small compound saw was $80, factory refurbished. That's a lot less than $600 and getting $100 for your old saw... and you are still in the game for having the most equipment.