Why a miter saw?

setup time

Steve

I'll second that. You don't 'really' need one (IMHO), but it is convenient sometimes.

'I' have yet to see David Marks use a miter saw, but there must be at least one episode where he has.?.

I find it really difficult to cut a miter or straight cut on stock longer than about 4 feet on a table saw so the miter saw comes in very handy when cutting something longer than that.

Gary

upand_at snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com:

Take it outside, to where the "job" is. In my case the CMS was bought to build replacemenst for some "deck like" walkways around the house. No way am I slogging boards back and forth from outside down the shop (that's in a basement).

Yesterday I cut 112 pieces of 1x2 to a length of 14' 3", long point to long point, with a compound miter on both ends. It took about an hour on my miter saw. Can you cut a 14' piece with a compound miter on both ends with your table saw? How long does it take you to set it up (if you can do it at all)?

They are different animals entirely and I must have both. Many jobs I do not need a table saw at all, but I almost always use my miter saws. I couldn't live without them.

for cutting very long stock. plus the convenience. you might have your TS set up with a dado blade or molding head.

Dave

You're probably right. I suppose it's a matter of preference. But sooner or later I suppose you'd find yourself wrestling with a 12ft piece of something on a table saw...

Joe Barta

I have to ask... what were they for?

Thanks. I can see where having one would be helpful. Maybe one day when I get a bigger garage.

Mike

Joe Barta wrote in news:Xns975AA8229CBF8jbartaapknet@

He was obviously making long pointy sticks.

#1. When cutting rough lumber to length, it's far easier to not have to move the large piece of wood across a saw table.

#2. The MS crosscuts warped, twisted, etc... stock easier and safer.

#3. The MS is available when a complicated or precise rip is set up on the TS.

#4. The MS is available when the dado is installed on the TS.

#5. The MS is much more portable.

#6. One saw is available for 90 degree cuts when the other is set up and fine tuned for a precise angle.

Lots of folks do varied projects, so one is often far superior than the other for a particular task. Once you've got both it's convenient to have ready access to either.

Barry

heh heh... well no one really neeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeds one per say, unless you do a whole lot of cross cutting very long boards, like in furniture production, maybe even a tad less. Anyone can accuratley use a decent hand saw in a basic home shop. And you can't load a heeyyoooj looooooong board on a TS, really. But an electric miter saw provides a lot of conveniences in small work as well, without the hassle of clamping a board down on a set of saw horses. You can use a manual miter box as well, many out there. And that's the way I do it, I stick to: as "neander" as possible.

Cross-cutting on a table saw can be a PITA.

I built a jungle Gym in my back yard last year. Some of the pieces were

I have a miter saw on the way now...

On Sun 29 Jan 2006 03:23:06p, "stoutman" wrote in news:_maDf.40867$ snipped-for-privacy@tornado.southeast.rr.com:

Yeah, a couple. I think one was the workshop tour. Other times from what he said I got the distinct impression the pieces had been through a miter saw off camera.

I got mine for an upcoming bathroom remodel because I knew it was going to speed things up. I just didn't think it was going to speed things up THAT much, or that it would be the most-used tool in the shop. Not the most important to get that particular job done; it just usually ends up doing something for every job.

Need? You don't.

Want? Use? Yes

Trimming the end of an 8' board on a table saw can be unwieldy and unsafe at times. So simple on the miter saw. I bought mine to do some flooring, but I still use it for every project. if nothing else, it excels at making long boards into short boards.

Hint, If your TS has a long rip capacity,48"+, put a fence on that miter gauge or build a cross cut sled. I pretty easily square the ends of 8' long boards on my TS.

For those with challenging TS's it makes life easier. My Delta 12" CMS went to the storage shed a couple of weeks after I bought a Cabinet saw with