On Tue, 3 Aug 2010, Karl Vacek wrote:
> Do I get the compound saw for more flexibility, or the plain chop-action
> miter saw for rigidity ? The compound seems fine in the store, though a bit
> clumsy and heavy for what it does. Rigidity seems OK if I'm not doing
> cabinet work. Any experience with HF saws ?
A quality compound on a non-sliding miter saw should have little or no
effect on rigidity; it will make it heavier. Adding a sliding mechanism
is where one usually starts having more issues with rigidity, and a more
rigid slider will be a lot heavier. No miter saw is going to beat your
Unisaw for cabinet work, but it sounds like you already accept that
limitation.
A steady hand and a sharp blade can still make straight cuts with a loose
saw, albeit with less consistency. You can have sideways deflection with
or without the compound; it's a function of the blade, torque, feed rate,
and operator, in addition to the rigidity of the saw. I consider myself
to be a lower-skilled operator, so I try to put the other factors in my
favor as much as I can afford to.
> And since I have lots of 10" blades I figure I really should get a 10" saw,
> especially if it's a compound, but then again I don't need lots of blades
> for a saw like this and a 12" cuts more stuff. Price at HF is maybe $10
> different, so that's not an issue. Weight and convenience might be. And
> 10" blades are just so common. How do I decide ??
If you're relying on a table saw for making accurate cuts and using the
miter saw for the convenience of making rougher cuts quickly on the
jobsite, I'd go for the lightest miter saw that has the capacity to do
most of your work. If you need to make compound cuts only occasionally,
then, save the weight and cash and don't get a compound. If you need more
width and/or height, going with a 12" non-sliding is usually better (in
cost, weight and rigidity) than a 10" sliding, unless you plan on doing a
lot cuts in wide flat boards (mitering the corners on a siding install,
for example). If you're doing crown molding, you'll likely want the
height of the 12" CMS, though there are ways to do it on a 10" SCMS.
I like your thoughts about not needing a lot of blades. Going up to 12"
gives you the additional excuse that the new saw can cut some things that
your 10" radial arm cannot, but before saying that the cost difference
between a 10" and a 12" is insignificant, you'll want to make account
of the more expensive blades. I haven't any experience with saws from HF,
but I can say that a quality saw can make horrible looking cuts with the
wrong blade and that I've seen cheap saws make very nice cuts with a good
(appropriate hook, number of teeth, freshly sharpened) blade.
One safety note on interchanging blades between table saws and miter saws:
many table saw blades have a large hook angle, which helps keep the
work on the table (among other things) when ripping. On a miter or radial
arm saw, a large positive hook will increase the tendency for the work
piece to lift up, so most miter saw blades have a zero or slightly
negative hook angle. Ripping blades also tend to have larger gullets
which can allow too fast a feed rate when used on a cross-cutting saw.
We're I you, I'd go for a cheaper saw and put a nice cross-cutting blade
on it. No matter how rigid a miter saw you get, it won't have the
precision of your Unisaw, and if you're not using it for precision work,
why have extra cost and weight? Especially since one of your tasks is a
flooring install where clean cuts are more important than precise ones,
you'll get more for you dollar by putting your money into the blade.
Have fun,
Andrew Roberts
Seattle, WA
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