Miter Saw Help Needed

[Richard Madison]

Posted on other forum but maybe need to ask here. Considering purchase of a non-sliding miter saw and requesting comments from segmenters who cut segments with a miter saw and DO NOT sand ends of the cut segments. Can you recommend a saw (brand and model number) that is acceptable for this use? Need cuts to be vertical with no "burn" marks. Have used sled on table saw for some years, but as written recently, there is always some "slop" with this method. Thanks for your help.

[joseph merz]

i have heard the festool does this well .you can fine tune the fence with built in adjustments . i do ok with a 12" dewalt ,seems like something happens in the process and perfection is missed

[Joe Chritz]

If there is slop with the tablesaw sled you need to do some tweeking to the sled. In general the sled is really the most accurate way to do miters once it is built accurately. I always did picture frames on the SCMS and it did great but it took a fair amount to get it set just right. I am switching to a sled.

However, to answer the question, nearly any quality miter saw with a decent blade will do what you want. Clamping the stock to the fence makes a huge difference since cutting at an angle makes the stock want to walk into the blade. This is a big cause of burns.

Another thing is to keep the blade sharp and try to use the same technique each time you move the saw.

Joe

[Jeff Nicol]

Richard, When I was looking for a bigger cut off saw I started out wanting a BOSCH, but when I got to the BORG they were out of the one I wanted so I looked at the MAKITA's. It very smooth and the blade brake is very nice. I have an 80 tooth blade on it and with every thing set up and using even cutting pressure for the type of wood you are using no burns. This is probaly a repeat of what you already know but the harder the wood a little less pressure but steady for the cuts. Like said above a good clean sharp blade is the key.

Jeff

[Malcolm Tibbetts]

Richard, I've always used a "sliding" model, so I have no experience with the "non-sliders". In general, you get what you pay for. I've used three of four major brands and haven't seen a big difference in proformance. As has been said, a sharp blade and good technique are really the keys.

At the top end of things, I'm the proud new owner of a Festool Kapex chop saw. It's simply amazing; the cut surfuces are prefect, requiring no sanding. For the casual user, the price probably can't be justified, but for me, the time-savings in not sanding is worth it.

[Harvey Crouch]

Richard, I've always used a "sliding" model, so I have no experience with the "non-sliders". In general, you get what you pay for. I've used three of four major brands and haven't seen a big difference in proformance. As has been said, a sharp blade and good technique are really the keys.

At the top end of things, I'm the proud new owner of a Festool Kapex chop saw. It's simply amazing; the cut surfuces are prefect, requiring no sanding. For the casual user, the price probably can't be justified, but for me, the time-savings in not sanding is worth it.

Malcolm, After all your lectures, I can't believe you are not sanding. Are you kidding.

[Richard Madison]

Thanks all for your replies, as you have helped clarify my thoughts and probably saved me some $$. The plan is to clean the crud off the 80 tooth Freud, snug up the sled runners a few thou, and reevaluate.

Malcolm, happy new saw! Have never been able to get my head around the idea of sanding all those thousands of segments. Hope you can show us the new ribbon piece (the 24 bowler from your Ci1 post).

Thanks again y'all. Appreciate your help.

Edit: Gadzook, there are segmenters on the regular woodworking forum. Perhaps they are lost. John Lucas is ubiquitous.