Mitre saw (and stand?) recommendations

[matthelliwell]

Can anyone recommend a mitre saw make and model for me?

I'll reliably informed by SWMBO that we have five rooms in which I need to lay engineered/laminate flooring. Next summer I plan to build myself a dece nt workshop/shed at the bottom of the garden. So I think it is probably wor th buying myself a half-decent mitre saw.

I've currently got a table saw which is very nice but difficult to accurate ly align the cut and obviously it won't be good cutting the stud work for t he shed. So I'm after something that can speed up the cutting for the woode n flooring and cope with cutting the wood for the shed.

Something that is compact when not in use would also be good as I don't wan t it taking up all the space in my shiny new workshop next year.

Does anyone have any suggestions? I don't want to waste money buying someth ing over engineered for the jobs but equally I don't want to faff around wi th something that struggles to cut a piece of 6x2 and keeps going out of al ignment.

Thanks

[The Medway Handyman]

It pretty much depends on what you want to cut. A mitre saw has a limited width & depth of cut, whereas a sliding mitre saw has a much bigger capacity.

If you want to cut 6 x 2 you will need a slider.

Axminster have some decent ones

Or the Evolution ones

[Roger Mills]

Depends on how much you want to spend. I bought one of these several years ago when they were £70, and have found it very good as a sliding mitre/chop saw. The dust bag doesn't collect all the dust, and the laser isn't very reliable - but that's a bit of a gimmick, anyway.

I've mounted mine on a piece of old worktop, with 3 battens screwed to the underside so that it can be clamped in a workmate when in use, and parked on top of my table saw when not. See:

and

[John Rumm]

If you build a cross cut sledge for the table saw, then you can make accurate and easy cuts on studwork etc.

Well if buying cheap, then a normal mitre saw is a better bet than a slider. You need to buy a fairly decent saw if you want a slider that works and carries on working.

A good compromise might be something like a Makita LS0714 its a good quality slider that is light and easy to use and will stay accurate and graunch free. Only a 7.5" blade, but the twin rail slider gives you extra capacity and keeps it compact.

A bigger workshop saw would be the LS1013. Bosch and Hitachi and do some very good SCMS.

See also:

[matt]

Thanks. I didn't spot the Axminster one when I looked earlier - its not listed under power tools->mitre saws, but is under woodworking->mitre saws.

I'll see what the lcoal screwfix have in stock, otherwise I'll order the Axminster one.

[Mark]

Not sure if it has an induction motor or not, the page doesn't say one way or the other.

I have a "PPP" cheapo mitre saw and if I was to buy another I'd look for a model with an induction motor.

I do wear ear defenders but still, what a noise!

[Dave Plowman (News)]

I'd say it quite difficult to make a decent one using an induction motor due to the size. Unless three phase, of course.

[stuart noble]

The old style flipover saws are still a favourite with shop fitters I notice. I have the Elu TGS and I think the de Walt equivalent is still produced. Just about portable

[fred]

o lay engineered/laminate flooring. Next summer I plan to build myself a de cent workshop/shed at the bottom of the garden. So I think it is probably w orth buying myself a half-decent mitre saw.

tely align the cut and obviously it won't be good cutting the stud work for the shed. So I'm after something that can speed up the cutting for the woo den flooring and cope with cutting the wood for the shed.

ant it taking up all the space in my shiny new workshop next year.

thing over engineered for the jobs but equally I don't want to faff around with something that struggles to cut a piece of 6x2 and keeps going out of alignment.

I have an Elu model ( Elu were a Swiss company, the fore-runners of Festool until taken over by Black and Decker, rebadged as DeWalt and down graded t o cheap tat status), complete with Axminster stand which you are welcome to if you can organise collection from Dublin Ireland

[matthelliwell]

If anyone is interested, I bought this one in the end:

This was on the basis of price range, reviews and local stock (which turned out to be a big factor). It was cutting laminate yesterday, which unsurprisingly it didn't struggle with.

[RobertL]

o lay engineered/laminate flooring. Next summer I plan to build myself a de cent workshop/shed at the bottom of the garden. So I think it is probably w orth buying myself a half-decent mitre saw.

tely align the cut and obviously it won't be good cutting the stud work for the shed. So I'm after something that can speed up the cutting for the woo den flooring and cope with cutting the wood for the shed.

ant it taking up all the space in my shiny new workshop next year.

thing over engineered for the jobs but equally I don't want to faff around with something that struggles to cut a piece of 6x2 and keeps going out of alignment.

A negative: I bought the Erbauer compound sliding mitre saw but I wouldn't do so again. Mine does not cut straight; the blade is not exactly paral lel to the slide and there is no adjustment for it. It was cheap though.

Robert

[Rick Hughes]

I bought 305mm McAllister from B&Q .... more than paid for itself .... they do a smaller (210mm?) version. I did have NuTool and then Performance Power both failed in warranty period.

Engineered floor will cut fine ... on Laminate you are effectively cutting hard plastic, it will blunt blades very quickly ... just watch when it starts 'burning'

[Dave Plowman (News)]

I have a PP 250mm one which is yonks old and wouldn't be without it. Will cut 12" shelving etc. Anything less would be a PITA. With this larger size, anything better tends to cost a great deal more, unlike the smaller sizes last time I looked.

[meow2222]

see the wiki mitre saw review page. I love my Rexon.

NT

[dom]

Beware of very cheap stands. I bought the top-of-the-range (at that time) Bosch slider from Axminster, and got a free Axminster-branded stand.

The stand I gave away on Freecycle - it was worse than improvising with tables and oil drums. Then bought the genuine Bosch stand, something I found to significantly improve my productivity when handling longer timbers.