compound mitre saws

Mike,

Basically, the sliders allow you a longer length of cut. Usually you can cut boards around 12 inches (300 mm) width with a slide compound mitre saw. May also use it to cut dado's/housing joints etc if it has the locking/stop feature to do this.

-- Regards,

Dean Bielanowski Editor, Online Tool Reviews

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The sliders are a bit more versatile as they can cut a wider board. They are also more expensive.

I just bought a DeWalt DW705 12" saw. It can cut a 2 x 8. The 12" slider can cut a 4 x 12.

The price difference was about $400 or so. Worth it? Depends on the work you do. I lived without one for years but bought this to do some flooring work this coming week. Since I have it, I also found other chores for it. I cannot justify the extra $ for the slider, but did justify the extra $80 for the 12" over the 10" for the wider cut capability. Ed snipped-for-privacy@snet.net

Not a slider, but I've had a DW705 for about 5 years now, and it's had a lot of use. I'm very happy with it, even the DW blade proved pretty good, but I have a Forrest I reserve for fine work.

Barry Lennox