Is it worth getting a 50 quid compound mitre saw

[Dave Plowman (News)]

In a word, skill.

That's pros. We're amateurs. Some will develop excellent skills, some won't. And a good power tool *might* help the unskilled. A poor power tool

*might* be able to be compensated for with skill. But a poor power tool and poor skills?

My skills are so so. But some time ago, I made a record player plinth out of veneered chipboard, and got the use of a pro workshop. Where there was a De Walt 3 phase radial arm saw. Lock it to 45 degrees either way and you got a *perfect* mitre. Lock it to 90, and a perfect right angle. All without much skill. And no chipping of the veneer.

My 150 quid PPPro just isn't in the same class.

[Tony Eva]

I'll second that. My cheapo circular saw from Argos has a laser guide: switch it on and you get a neat little red line on the wood in front of the saw. Too bad it's about 1mm away from the actual saw cut, and about

3 degrees off the blade line...

Needless to say, I don't use it much (the laser, that is. The saw is fine for quick and dirty jobs).

[Jim Alexander]

That's nonsense. Its the length of the fillet that governs that and they can easily all be cut to the same length. Agree that the spindle length needs to accurate enough to fit against the fillet, but the angle? Nah.

FWIW I made up a mitre block from scrap timber.

Jim A

[IMM]

Go away!......you don't say......wow!

[Andy Hall]

No it isn't.

Provided that the saw is up to it.

Of course the angle is important. If it's incorrect, the spindles don't make the correct angles with the rails and the job will look like a bodge.

[Andrew]

which cuts perfect, repeatable right angles (all I really wanted it for) but the laser line is about 5 degrees out.

Andrew

[Jim Alexander]

Pantomime season approaching - Oh yes it is.

More nonsense, its easy to ensure multiple fillet pieces are all cut to the same length. A hand saw will suffice.

Never done one myself nonsense. The spindles only requre to butt up against the fillet pieces. Verify with a spirit level that the spindle is vertical.

Jim A

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Which compound mitre saw do you possess? Given your usual lack of knowledge of all things practical it might be of interest to know?

[Dave Plowman (News)]

On some bannister types, the handrail is grooved to the width of the spindles. That groove is then filled by fillets which only need to be cut square and to length. But if the spindles aren't accurately cut in the first place, it will never be as rigid as it could be.

[Andy Hall]

It's behind you........

A hand saw and simple jig would certainly suffice, but that wasn't the question. That was about the use of a cheap power saw. These don't have the mechanical quality to produce cuts of repeatable accuracy and angle.

The angles and lengths must be accurate to achieve all of that.

[Capitol]

My experience of this does not agree with yours, I've used both a cheapo Screwfix and the expensive De Walt, and for repeatability of cut and accuracy, there was nothing to choose between them. IME the blade type and trueness, plays a far greater part than the price of the saw. Either can be made to cut at say 85.5 deg angles and as the setting and operation is a manual operation, care is called for. Modern alloy based tools are always IME more flexible than old cast iron ones, and there is very little to choose between makes IMO, other than power levels.

Regards Capitol

[Mark]

Dave Plowman (News) [e-mail] typed: Re: Is it worth getting a 50 quid compound mitre saw

Yes agreed I have a Colchester radial arm saw, But since the OP or you probably cant justify the £1k price for one of these, could YOU manage to make acceptable bannisters with your cheepie ? Id be bloody surprised if my daughter couldn't manage it.

[Andy Hall]

You must have had a dud blade or perhaps there was a setting problem.

I looked at both the DeWalt 708 and the Makita LS1013. I bought the Makita, because the slide action was smoother than the DW and it is more sturdy, although it has a 250 rather than 300mm blade

Cuts are spot on repeatable and there is also an adjustable depth stop

That's always true.

[IMM]

Nah. No difference.

[dave]

I took a peek at the cheap ones mentioned from argos and b and q . The blade doesn't look like it would produce a fine cut and if you are cutting soft wood it might produce some tear out. It also doesn't look like it has any 'positive stops'.If it just has a screw to locate the angle then personally I wouldn't like that. I am no expert but a good mitre box ( not a plastic b and q one, may be the chippy on this board may make one up for you :-) and decent quality handsaw might be good enough and probably the best value, again if you are pants at carpentry then this might not be suited to you. For some power tools spending a few extra quid would be worthwhile ,in the longer run, if you are going to extend the range of woodwork you do. Not an expert, just my opinion.

[usenet]

He said they *both* worked well so your response doesn't make sense!

[IMM]

Good point. Put top quality blade in a cheapo and it must be improved.

[Pete C]

Hi,

It's fairly easy to check if a saw will give decent cuts before switching it on.

I can post some details if you're interested, or try a post on rec.woodworking or search the archives.

Also a crap blade can give poor results no matter how good the saw is, it may be worth getting a decent blade with more teeth and saving the one supplied for rough work.

cheers, Pete.

[Andy Hall]

It is true to say that an improvement can be made to a cheap saw by replacing the blade with a better one, and that was really my point.

In terms of repeatability especially, and accuracy, the slop in the mechanics of cheap saws as well as the frame strength means that very frequent adjustment is needed.

[Andy Hall]

Typically, but not necessarily.

Your responses seldom make sense......