Woodworkers

[Jmort1754]

Whats a good affordable miter saw, and table saw?

 

[sconnieVLP]

How often are you going to use them, what are you using them for (types of cuts/sizes/materials) and are they staying in one place or do you need to be able to transport?

 

[jayhawk]

What does “affordable” mean?

 

[strousek]

Buy once cry once. Getting a good quality tool for the appropriate job is priceless.

Obviously need more info on if you are looking for framing type cuts or cabinetry making before recommending any specific saws.

 

[grfox92]

I ruthlessly make fun of and hate on Dewalt Cordless tools. But, the miter Saws and table saws are the best in the business.

If I need to buy a new table saw I will go with the Skil Brand worm drive table saw. You could check those out too.

What is your price point and how often will you use them?

Sent from my SM-G990U2 using Tapatalk

 

[SWOHTR]

I bought a GCM12SD and "gravity rise" stand from Bosch 7 yrs ago. Great saw and stand, wasn't cheap though - about $900 at the time.

Whatever you do, I recommend a compound slider or gliding model.

 

[TaperPin]

I ruthlessly make fun of and hate on Dewalt Cordless tools. But, the miter Saws and table saws are the best in the business.

If I need to buy a new table saw I will go with the Skil Brand worm drive table saw. You could check those out too.

What is your price point and how often will you use them?

Sent from my SM-G990U2 using Tapatalk

The other lead carp I’ve been working with is all Dewalt - he even bought that goofy cordless slider and cordless compact table saw. I have the same saws with cords. I never thought the day would come, but there’s not much of a practical difference. With heavy cutting the dewalt 110 converter that slides in the battery slot of the slider works great. For cabinets and trim the cordless table saw is very quick to move around and use. I’m a 18v Makita guy so those big Dewalt batteries wouldn’t do me any good, but he’s almost all cordless for framing and finish.

The wormdrive tablesaw makes so much sense it’s strange it hasn’t come out sooner.

My tablesaw for heavy use is a compact direct drive 15 amp Makita in a Rouseu stand - that has been a really strong saw - nothing else about it is engineered well, but it’s been good paired with the little Dewalt.

 

[TaperPin]

Whats a good affordable miter saw, and table saw?

In my travels I’ll cruise through pawn shops, marketplace, and Craigslist keeping an eye out for good tool deals - usually to sell or give to younger carpenters.

When a 12” nonsliding Dewalt single bevel mitersaw is $100 or less, the table isnt scratched up and the original cord is in good shape, it’s a good deal. These saws shed water well so it might look like crap otherwise, but with a good cord and minimal scratches it’s a low hour saw. A full time trim carpenter will wear one of these out every four years or so making a couple hundred cuts a day, the cord will be cracked, and the table will be really scratched. The 10” is ok, but everything is wide and not being a slider it needs a big blade. Used sliders should be avoided - literally one drop from hip level can tweak these enough to never work well again.

If you are only cutting 2x4s, the old school 8-3/4” Makita that doesn’t have a compound miter, is very durable. In the past year I’ve seen two of these sell for $50 ea with very few hours. They’re ugly, weird size, heavy, ugly, not pretty, and a little homely, but they are a great deal.

The compact Dewalt tablesaw is ideal for finish carpenters, kitchen installers, homeowners and is just a well thought out saw. There is one at a local pawnshop in near new condition for $200 and that’s a great price.

The used compact Makita table saws will run 8 hrs a day for a couple of years, or a couple hours a day for 8 years - the motor is very durable, but the top isn’t flat, it’s loud, the fence sucks, but these pop up regularly for $150. I’m on my fourth one and run them until the bearings start cutting rough and give them away.

Having said all that, most homeowners could buy any cheap saw and never wear it out. On the cheap side, you should avoid fancy features and gimics - just get a basic saw and you’ll have far fewer issues.

 

[Jmort1754]

I don't want to spend thousands however, I want something that's going to be accurate enough to make mitered cuts. As well as finish some rooms off in our house that we're doing trim work and molding work with.

 

[GSPHUNTER]

Check out Dewalts 12" radial arm saw.

 

[huntsman22]

 

[Mighty Mouse]

$350 for a 12" DeWalt sliding compound miter saw is a good deal IMO. I've had one for 5 years and have been very happy with it. The dual bevel capability is very handy for trim/molding work, and the sliding action allows you to cut much wider material than a non-sliding saw.

DEWALT 12-in Sliding Compound Miter Saw

DEWALT 12-in Sliding Compound Miter Saw - DWS779

www.acmetools.com

 

[WV Mountaineer]

If you are building furniture, buy a table saw meant for building furniture. If you intend to only mitar cut for standard building, there are a lot of good ones that’ll work. But, Milwaukee, DEWALT, Kobalt, and Metabo are going to offer you the best clearance from blade to deck when open. Meaning they’ll mitar bigger stock. I own all four and I prefer the Milwaukee or DEWALT if forced to choose. But, all are fine saws.

Table saws for standard applications come down to Metabo, DEWALT, and Milwaukee. I have no preference. They are all good. This is for electric tools.

Battery tools, buy the Milwaukee and a 12mah battery. There is nothing else that compares in my opinion.

 

[AndrewD]

I have a Bosch table saw with a Rosseau extension table and a Dewalt corded 10" chopper. Used the hell out of them for the last decade for everything from framing to building cabinets (all non-professional personal jobs ) with lots of oddball hobby jobs in the mix like making a 2x72 belt grinder (John Heisz plans) out of plywood to cutting woodturning blanks on a circle jig (dangerous and dumb, but I don't have a bandsaw). Between the two, I probably spent $500 on them approx. 10 years ago. Along with the Rosseau table, I bought an Incra miter gauge, and a zero clearance insert for both tools. At our last house, I had the room so I mounted the chop saw into a wall-length bench I built with Rockler fences on either side of the saw and all the little Rockler gizmos like sliding stops. The saw was bolted down so it wasn't that portable any more, but it sure was nice to be able to quickly take a 1/16" off the end of a 10 footer without spending 15 minutes setting up janky support stands.

Like others said, it kind of matters what you will be using them for. But it also kinda doesn't. The chop saw is pretty forgiving in terms of precision, so it works well for both rough and fancy stuff. Just having the 10" saw has limited me quite a few times, but other than that, it works for just about anything.

The table saw is where the intended job is something to consider. For me, using the Bosch, which is intended for use as a jobsite, rough carpentry saw, for precision stuff like cabinet making and cutting precise parts for the belt grinder build, is something that is completely doable, but it takes some trial and error, a little bit of wasted material, and a moderate amount of frustration, but it is very doable. This biggest limitations when using a decent jobsite "portable" table saw for precision work are the consistency of cuts and the looser tolerances that come with not spending a couple grand or more on a nice full-size shop saw. The motor can be a bit underpowered when ripping through hard or heavy stock as well.

The biggest limitations when using it for cutting sheet goods is the smaller table surface and the lack of availability of quality, precise side and outfeed table extensions. Plenty of people spend the time to build plywood extensions for their jobsite saw to turn them into shop saws with great results, but a master cabinet maker is probably never going to go this route. They are going to drop thousands on their table saw setup and probably never regret spending the money.

My Bosch is starting to complain a little bit, and the cut consistency is starting to slowly get a little looser. Whenever I get around to replacing it, I will probably look pretty hard at one of the SawStop saws, because I like my fingers.

 

[IDShane]

I have had a few of the Dewalt miter saw's over the years and they have been pretty good. My last one had to be taken in for some work so I purchased a Rigid saw pretty cheap to get by and that has worked pretty well. That said I am not a fine woodworker most of what I build is "rustic" which allows for imperfections. I was able to buy a used Grizzly table saw off of CL a few years ago for like $600 and that has worked pretty well for me. My next table saw will be a Sawstop not just for the safety aspect they are extremely well built. The guys who assemble them at the local woodworking shop tell me that they never have to worry about fit when they assemble them.

 

[Billogna]

I'll preface this by saying I'm a hobbyist woodworker that has a few years under his belt as a finish carpenter/kitchen installer. I have the Hitachi 10" single bevel miter saw and its hands down the BEST saw for the price ($120 or so). They've since been rebranded as Metabo. As long as the QC hasn't slipped, this is the route I would go if all you're doing is a few baseboards and trim here and there. Rock solid adjustments and NO side to side play on the saw arm. Plus its fairly compact so its easy to store and move around. I also opted for a 10" table saw so I can repurpose blades when they start blowing out cuts on the miter box. 10" inch saws will handle most chores you'll have and blades usually cheaper! I also have a 12" DeWalt single bevel miter saw, and while it has better cutting capacity it still doesn't handle as well as the Hitachi/Metabo.

edit for clarity

 

[WoodBow]

Miters are fairly inexpensive so i would buy them new. I don't think you can go wrong with any of the big brands. I bought a hitachi (now metabo) 10 years ago that was on sale for 50% off. I like I paid $50. I have absolutely zero complaints. I have done framing, trim, hardie, you name it. It works perfect and is accurate. I will likely update to a dewalt sliding eventually just because it sucks to flip larger stock to get a full cut.

Table saws I would buy used. The older ones are still great. Unless you're going to need to mobilize it, get one with a cast iron top and extensions. Facebook marketplace is a great resource. It may take some time but you can find a great saw for a couple hundred bucks. Mine is an old craftsman that I bought for $100 from an old man who approached me in a book store while I was looking at wood working books. I have used that saw a ton. It works perfect. Is it is as nice as a saw stop? No. But it works great for me.

 

[riversidejeep]

My $.02 , I was a remodel contractor for 30 years, retired 5 or so years ago. Table saw is only as good as the fence. If its in one spot in your shop a Delta Unisaw or equivalent with a good fence will last you a lifetime. if you are working at different locations you need a portable, any of the top names will serve you well as long as you couple it with a high quality base/ table/fence. Chop saw= Makita, Dewalt, etc. a sliding 10"/12" ( 10" preferably) are hard to beat for most finish work. Again its the table/ infeed outfeed roller system that makes or breaks the saw. That said I have become to HATE Bosch tools, I've very bad luck with their electronics and bearings.

 

[Kindo]

Depending on where you live, if you have Menards around, wait for a sale and combo it with the rebate on a Metabo sliding compound miter. I got mine (12”) for around $190 or 210 on sale. Usually a 400ish setup, been plenty happy with it.

 

[sojourner]

$350 for a 12" DeWalt sliding compound miter saw is a good deal IMO. I've had one for 5 years and have been very happy with it. The dual bevel capability is very handy for trim/molding work, and the sliding action allows you to cut much wider material than a non-sliding saw.

DEWALT 12-in Sliding Compound Miter Saw

DEWALT 12-in Sliding Compound Miter Saw - DWS779

www.acmetools.com

Great saw- I would hazard to say best bang for your buck by far. (I’m a professional)