Performance Pro Mitre saw

[Martin Carroll]

B & Q have the "Performance Power Pro Slide Compound Mitre Saw 2000W

250mm" for sale at £112.38, are they worth buying? Anyone bought one have anything to say about how good/bad it is?

Cheers

Martin

[Mathew J. Newton]

I've been using one for about a year although given it's the only one I've ever used it's difficult to say how it compares with others at its price and/or cheaper/pricier ones.

However, it certainly does what it says on the tin and IMHO very well. The sliding mechanism is still smooth and secure despite a *lot* of use. If I had any gripes about it they'd be i) my laser couldn't be aligned particularly well one axis - the range of adjustment was slightly too limited, ii) in some configurations the motor body can fowl the material clamp and given the limited positions available to put the clamp this can cause problems, and iii) it may as well not have the dust collection bag - the amount it collects is insignificant with the amount that ends up on the floor. Regarding the laser, I don't actually use it anymore - not because it's no good but I can get just as good accuracy by pre-placing the blade.

The quality of cut is as smooth as you could imagine, and the accuracy appears spot on (and repeatable) to me... apart from, of course, when I buy banana wood from B&Q. Speed wise, like all mitre saws, you'll never lift a hand saw again if you can use the mitre.

All-in-all it's a big thumbs up from me. I certainly don't expect to be taking advantage of the 3 year guarantee which is one of the reasons I felt safe buying it (not the implied quality, but rather the hassle-free aspect of returning it).

Mathew

P=2ES. Bought a B&Q folding mitre saw bench with adjustable height and extending supports for =A330 which I can also highly recommend.

[r.rain]

I haven't had any experience with a PP Pro Mitre saw, but I have purchased a circular saw and a jigsaw from them and I am very pleased with both. Each one was around the 50-60 quid mark and so far so good.....

Cheers

Richard

Mart> B & Q have the "Performance Power Pro Slide Compound Mitre Saw 2000W

[Rick]

IMHO these are one of the better PPro tools, you need to work hard to get accuracy, the devices they give to aid you are not much good, but mine cuts just fine.

Rick

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Yes. You can do a rough check on this type of saw by seeing how much sideways movement you can get out of the moving bits. Any slop on the motor bearings or slide mechanism?

The other thing is the quality of the blade itself.

For accurate 90 and 45 degree cuts I line it up with a drawing square.

[Roger King]

replying to Martin Carroll, Roger King wrote: Great saw until you want to replace the blade. The blade that comes with the saw is very poor quality but cannot be removed without cutting off the retaining bolt head and drilling out the remaining shank of the bolt. Avoid unless you intend to use the saw only a few times.

[Roger Mills]

Why? Is there a reason why you can't simply remove the bolt?

[Tim Lamb]

Unexpected thread direction?

[Roger Mills]

It could well be a left-hand thread. But it seems a bit drastic to chop the head off and drill out the shank. You'd then need to source and fit another bolt. Odd!

[Roger King]

replying to Roger Mills, Roger King wrote: Roger Mills - First thing I tried, but the factory fitting made it impossible. Might have been unlucky with a Monday morning or Friday afternoon unit but worth a caution to someone thinking of buying the saw. Check if the bolt can be removed as soon as you have the saw home and return if it won't release.

[tabbypurr]

threadlock probably. It might reduce the warranty returns 1% while ruining the saw 2-3 years later. I definitely have an aversion to PPro stuff.

NT

[Moron Watch]

The thread holding the blade onto the spindle of a circular saw tightens in the in the same direction as the rotation of blade. If the blade was tightened in the other direction then the result could be catastrophic with the blade unthreading itself from the saw simply as a result of the rotation of the blade in use. Think about it. Because each use of the saw where the blade meets resistance effectively tightens the spindle bolt, they can be buggers to loosen using the totally inadequate hex key supplied in the box with the tool. Therefore in order to loosen the blade is necessary to exert leverage either by using a long ratchet handle with the appropriate hex head attached, gripping the long end of the hex bar with a large pair of pliers, or using a short piece of steel conduit if available. HTH

[The Natural Philosopher]

+10001

[tabbypurr]

That would explain it. That self tightening process doesn't always happen though, I've got one whose blade has repeatedly come loose after manual tightening.

NT

[Roger Mills]

So what happened when you tried? What tools did you use? How much torque did you apply? Did you consider the possibility that it might be a left-hand thread?

[Apologies if 'first thing I tried' applied to the left-hand thread idea, but you didn't quote any of my previous post so I'm not quite sure exactly what you're replying to.]

[The Natural Philosopher]

Back in the day getting a saw blade off me old B & D consisted in clamping mole grips on the blade, jamming the whole lot against the saw frame and using a socket and a long bar, or a shorter bar and a hammer.

I expected nothing less. That assembly had to take full moor torque without slipping.

[John]

My 45 year old Black & Decker 9¼" saw is nothing like that. Never had to use any more than a normal spanner and there is a hole in the blade so you don?t have to use mole grips either.

[Roger King]

replying to Roger Mills, Roger King wrote: To Roger MIlls - Can't be sure but I think that the blade clamp might have been the problem as it had a gouge and lifted section which is possibly what locked the bolt in place. Removing the bolt shank was not a major problem once drilled and I could insert a square head into the hole. Still pretty tight. I got a replacement LH thread bolt from Banggood and cleaned up the blade clamps and have not had a problem since.

[The Natural Philosopher]

Not the replacememt blade there wasn't after te first on wore out...:-)

[Mike]

replying to Mathew J. Newton, Mike wrote: Do you know where I can get parts, I broke the tilt adjustment knob?