Two junk electric miter box saws

[CAtruckman]

My Delta 10" compound miter box died this afternoon. It hadn't even dulled it's first blade. I think the armature is broken in half. It had been making strange noises since SWMBO helped me straighten a big pile of cedar shingles. Cross cutting shingles is heavy work, right. Since my good miter box (Milwaukee sliding head) was a few blocks away and in the attic of the new house I went across the street to borrow the neighbors. His was a brand new DeWalt compound but not sliding and quite nice. When I returned it I mentioned that it was nearly new. He agreed and said he finally got rid of his POS Ridgid that had caused so much trouble for several years. I had forgotten about the angle adjustment problem and agreed he made a wise decision. These are two makes of tools I really can't warm up to. Bought an older Powermatic 12" planer and 6" jointer a month or so back and I am in love with them. You can't beat good heavy old American cast iron when it comes to getting big piles of chips fast. Leigh

[Dave Jackson]

Funny, the saws you mentioned I have owned. The delta 10" was bought for punch out and the 12" Ridgid for trimming homes. I thought i'd like the Ridgid, but it has proved to be a POS, especially the clunky blade guard. I had a garage sale this summer and put a price tag on the thing of $25 with a NEW BLADE i paid $50 for and no takers. (3 yr old saw). Also have a Makita 12" slider, It's another POS that couldn't cut square to save my life and the damn fences will not adjust enough to fix the problem. The 10 Delta just gave up the ghost one day. The DW 12 CMS is a workhore and probably the best all around 12" CMS on the market today. The Bosch 4410 (10" slider) will be replacing all my junker saws soon. I might even set the old ones out by the curb with a "free" sign just to get 'em outta here! --dave

[Paul Kierstead]

Hmm, I have a 12" Ridgid. Now I can't say it has been used heavily; maybe a 1000 cuts with it (maybe). But you stick stuff under it and it cuts it off pretty well. Blade guard moves out of the way very well, it holds an angle OK. Bit too much flex here and there, blade rings like crazy. I put a zero clearance insert in it, which makes alignment of cuts much easier as well as cleaner. All in all, not bad value for the money, IMO. I will admit to not having done crown with it. I will also admit to not having used any other.

So, is it that I don't know any better, haven't stressed the saw enough, or something? What angle adjustment problem? What guard problem? I am genuinely curious, since I have considered upgrading it a few times, just for more cross cut ability. I will admit, I never use it for picture framing (not accurate enough or clean enough), so I have run into so limitations...

PK

[mark]

I bought the DW 12" a few years ago. I was trying to cut some brazilian cherry at a 45, and every damn time I would get some minute blade flex when it first hit the wood, so I would end up with a slight step. This is with a laminate trimming freud teflon coated blade. Any idea what I'm doing wrong? The guys at wood craft seemed to think it was because the blade was 12 instead of ten.

[Leon]

I am guessing thin kerf blade.

[mark]

Nope, not thin kerf. Maybe too many teeth?

[Charlie Self]

Leon responds:

So am I. There is no need nor any other real point to a thin kerf blade in short crosscuts.

Charlie Self "A politician is an animal which can sit on a fence and yet keep both ears to the ground." H. L. Mencken

[Leon]

No not too any teeth, you can effectively make a blade cut like one with many more teeth by simply cutting more slowly. If your blade is leaving a full 1/8" wide cut in the wood then I would suspect the bearings having too much slop.

[Dave Jackson]

I haven't had any problems with my (3 yrs. old and used often) Ridgid as far as accuracy, but i keep it tuned up. The problem i do have with it is sometimes when i grab the handle to lower the blade to make the cut, the mechanism that works the guard binds up, preventing the saw from lowering into the wood. The guard is just clunky by design. If you check out the blade guard on a 12" DW MS you'll notice it is attached to metal and the metal attaches to the saw. The Ridgid is just flimsy plastic. When i bought the saw, i went in to the borg with full intention of buying the DW. I just got caught up in the fact that the Ridgid came with a stand for the same money and went with it. I don't necessarily regret it, but its long overdue to be replaced with a slider, the Bosch 4410. --dave

[Dave Jackson]

12" blades to tend to flex more than 10" ones, especially the thin kerf ones. It is also possible the blade is slightly warped. --dave