dual bevel compound miter saw vs single bevel

I just bought a dewalt 12" single bevel compound miter saw, my craftsman was just not staying accurate. I'm starting to wonder though if I should get a dual bevel. I'm relatively new to furniture building. Is there anything that I can't do with this saw that I could do with the compound bevel? Is the advantage just convenience?

Reply to
Doug
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You will get some disagreement with the following opinion but this is cyberspace and we all get to speak with impunity.

In my opinion, if you want to build quality wood furniture there are too fundamentals to follow. Make every piece is as flat and square as possible and sand, sand, sand. Bottom line first; I have just had too many heartbreaks with bad cuts from a miter saw to ever want to use them for anything as accurate as a fine piece of furniture; crown molding 5 feet over my head, sure, but not furniture (insert flames here.)

Therefore, I never worry much about the accuracy of a cutoff saw because I am only using it to make big pieces smaller before I cut them to final size (rip, cross cut and bevel/angle cut), typically on the table saw. Yes there is the odd time the cutoff saw is the best tool for a certain cut, and of course the wily ole bandsaw, but I'll always just dial it in for that one cut, so most saws will hold a setup for a cut or two.

Many of the designs that I produce over and over are assembled almost without the use of a square. If the parts are square, the piece will be square. Of course large open boxes require a quick check across the diagonals but that's done with a tape anyway.

I also sand the boards flat with maybe 80 or 100 depending on their state, before I rip or cross cut. Then I sand with 150 after all the milling is done and before I assemble anything. Then I'll ease the edges with 320, not for the smoothness, just so I can control how much material I take off.

BW

Reply to
SonomaProducts.com

Reply to
Mike Berger

No argument from me.... I do not even own a Miter Saw... and have been a serious woodworker for over 40 years now and really do not have a need for one... Now if I were a trim carpenter ... lol.

Bob G.

Reply to
Bob G.

Couldn't agree more... a chop saw is virtually useless for anything that needs more accuracy than a fence or deck. Not sure why though... three things I noticed:

- For some reason blade deflection seems to be a big issue, even with beefy-plated blades. I definitely wouldn't use it with a thin kerf.

- On my dewalt, only the left fence can be made square with the blade. The right side cannot -- although it's one piece!

- The cut always has saw marks. Don't know why. Might be the same reason as the first, bearings seem pretty tight and so forth.

Reply to
root

Most people never take the time to set up their miter saw to get it to cut correctly. You can adjust fences, stops, tilts, etc. on just about all of them, but almost no one I know takes an hour (or two) to set their saw up correctly.

I have a 12" Rigid that I use for decks and the like, and it is OK. With a great blade, you can do some really good work after tuning even on large, painted crown molding.

My 10" Delta never would "get right". I worked and worked on it with my engineer's square, and no matter what, I couldn't get it satisfactorily square. Close, but no cigar. So... OK for baseboard, decks, door trim, etc.

My 8" Delta is a great "handy" saw, and is super for running small house trim and shoe molding. It will match it own cuts as in a scarf joint, but will not, cannot cut square. After using it for the last few years off and on I am sure that never was a design concern.

My 10" DeWalt is actually one of the few DeWalt tools I like. I came reasonably square from Taiwan, and it has plenty of adjustment screws and room. However... the right side of the pivot base on the one I bought was around 1/64" out of whack no matter how I tried to square it. Finally after adjusting, testing, aligning, etc. for about two hours I went to my shop and got a large wood mallet, set a 2x4 across the offending offset and smacked it a couple of times.

It is now square, I am happy to report. It will stay that way until someone knocks it over, or jams it up when they let the material move while cutting, or forgets and tosses it in the truck bed at the end of the day instead of in the front seat with me.

Once I got it squared to my satisfaction, I don't let anyone use it at the shop or out on the job unless it is an emergency.

BTW... I never have seen a dual bevel that you could get nicely squared on both sides of the blade. Some are better than others, but none seem to be great.

Robert

Reply to
nailshooter41

Apparently you've never used a good miter saw. I've made 12 sided polygons that fit together "perfectly" (quotes to indicate nothing is perfect) without the pieces needing any touch up. The miter saw is a Makita LS1013.

Reply to
no(SPAM)vasys

Thanks for your reply --- that is my saw, and that's exactly what's wrong with the right side. I didn't try the bigger hammer approach though, I'll try being a little less subtle :-)

I actually figured there was some deeper reasoning DeWalt had by factory adjusting it that way that I couln't fathom (like, maybe, it has dual use as a jointer fence)

I'm usually pretty careful with it, but I loaned it to to a guy to lay a few kilofeet of maple flooring and it came back with the yellow plastic "throat plate" in the middle all cut to shreds by the blade... how's that for *massive* blade deflection?

Didn't seem to hurt the saw, but the blade was "consumed" ... I'm sure it didn't help that it was the 25-year Aluminum Oxide coated stuff.

Which is a good tip... I always keep a good supply of trashy blades (usually the > My 10" DeWalt is actually one of the few DeWalt tools I like. I came

Reply to
root

At the time I was looking for a solid, non-disposable saw. Other than the accuracy (which nailshooter has given me some hope that I can improve) I'd definitely still say it's a good saw.

I'm not sure any miter saw is really marketed or designed as a heirloom-quality-furniture-making saw... they generally seem to be a construction-grade items. Sometimes, though, I guess you get lucky.

Reply to
root

I wouldn't call it luck. It's a quality saw and I took the time to set it up properly before using it. The factory set up was close but not exact.

Reply to
no(SPAM)vasys

There you go. I use my Makita LS 1013 every day and it is just a fantastic piece of equipment. That Freud LU85R doesn't hurt either. I might spring for a for Chopmaster one day, but I can't foresee a quantum improvement.

Reply to
Robatoy

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