sliding miter saw suggestions

[fleab4me]

hello, my beloved 12" makita slider was just stolen and i'm coing to replace it with a 10 inch to improve the accuracy of my cuts. With a twelve inch blade the cut of bannister parts would sometimes be slightly convex. Anyway, the 10" makita has rightside bevel cutting capacity limitations so im thinking about getting the bosch or the good old hitatchi c10fsh. Are there any strong opinions about the either? The bosch is a little plasticky/gadjetty but maybe they got it right? The table and fence on the hitatchi are just a little tiny. Any input will bve greatly appreciated. thanks, chris.

[Roemax]

I JUST BOUGHT A 10" HATACHI (C10FSH ) DUAL BEVEL SLIDE ARRIVES TODAY FROM AMAZON $388.00 W/FREE SHIPPING WILL TELL YOU HOW I LIKE IT LATER

[efgh]

When you do, please don't use all caps.

[BDBConstruction]

One of our saws for about 10 years (homebuilding) was a Bosch 3915 and it was my favorite saw. An employee nagged us to buy it so we sold it a couple years ago and replaced it with a 5412L. In my opinion Bosch hit the nail on the head with the improvements. The up-front controls are really nice. The fence could be a little better in my opinion but its fine for everything we do in a homebuilding setting (trim/ millwork, crown, staris, etc.). Running a thin kerf blade we have the same problem you mention and the 12" saw does have some flexure so accuracy is definatey affected if you dont plan for it. I have never used a slider that didnt have some flex. For me personally though, I use the flex to my advantage "cheating in" cuts and can eliminate when I want to but I am use to the saw. Dont know what blades you run but we dont have concave the problem with Freud's industrial blades. Our only problem with sliders that if you just grab and cut (employees) I dont think big sliders are the best option for high precision work. Other features of the new bosch are very nice, the ergo handle is great, extension wings, onboard wrench/phillips for blade changes. I really like the saw myself.

That said, if accuracy is you aim, do you really need the slider? Its handy but if you are building stairs (sounds like it?) maybe a 12" dual bevel miter saw and a blade change is a better fit? I use the slider so much now I dont know how I would do without it but for quick/ precision, if I didnt need the travel, I would have a straight miter saw. But thats just me.

Mark

[fleab4me]

thanks for your insight, the slider is really handy for mitered skirts etc., and its what I'm accustomed to using. I believe that the curve in the cuts is not due to head deflection because i was VERY careful to let the saw do the work for especially troublesome cuts. I use a freud, but maybe not an industrial one. Reflecting on your comment the problem might lie in my sharpening service. perhaps their grind is/was causing the blade to walk within the cut. Still i think a 10" must reduce the deflection. I think I'll give the bosch a run and the factory service shop is 6 blocks from my house. hopefully once set up it will remain true. thanks chris

[Jay Pique]

Festool's got a miter saw coming, and I'm betting it's excellent. For $1500, it oughta be...

JP

************************* CTD, Pistorius, Omga?

[toolman946 via CraftKB.com]

A little known phenomenon when making miter cuts is that the wood will "creep". As the blade cuts through the wood, whether a straight cut or a miter, the blade pulls the wood. When straight cutting the wood is pulled into the fence and the cut tends to be straight and square. During a miter cut the blade "pulls" the wood "along" the fence in the direction opposite to the blade, and can result in a "curve" in the cut. Cutting more slowly minimizes but doesn't eliminate this phenomenon.

To check if this is the problem, clamp the wood securely to the fence or table and make a miter cut. If the cut is true with no "curve", then you've discovered that the problem is caused by "freehand" holding of the workpiece.

I seldom clamp small pieces of my work now because I've become accustomed to putting a very tight "squeeze" with my hand onto the wood and the fence. If the wood "creeps" you can usually feel it once you know how to sense it. I still may use a clamp for larger pieces of crown molding or dimensional lumber.

Hope this info is helpful.

Cheers.