Miter saw question

[Craig Johnson]

Depending on your needs, you could opt for a used radial arm saw instead of a miter saw.
Personally, I have a Makita LS1040F 10" non slider. Works great.
A place you can check a video or two of a demo is Dewalt.com

[Laurie Brown]

Well, unfortunately, I think I'm going to have to stay under $300 for this item. I know I probably won't be able to get a great saw for that price, but if I can get something usable and accurate enough to cut square, I'll be happy. I'm thinking I probably don't need the sliding feature, but being able to cut angles by both sliding the table and rotating the head would be good. (Compound, right?) So, in the under $300 range, is there anything decent I could get? I went to Lowe's the other day and they had about 6 different saws in that range, but I honestly can't tell by looking whether one is junk and one is decent or not.

Also, is there a big difference in the table height of these saws or is there a standard? If I build a benchtop miter station like Norm did on his show, would I have to worry about altering/rebuilding it if I later upgrade my saw?

[David DeCristoforo]

This would be a great saw for three hundred:

http://www.amazon.com/Hitachi-C8FSE-...753412&sr=1-10

Don't let the 8 1/2" blade fool you... This is a very well made saw... very rigid and accurate. In this sense the smaller blade size is actually an advantage. Plus it's a lot easier to move around that the larger saws and unless you are cutting giant crowns or six by six posts, you are not likely to need a bigger saw.

[Laurie Brown]

I really would prefer a 10" saw. I already have a really nice 10" crosscut blade that I'd like to use in it, and I'd like to keep it so the blades are interchangeable between the miter saw and the table saw. I don't want to have to buy different size blades.

[Tom Veatch]

...I'd like to keep it so the blades are interchangeable between the miter saw and the table saw. I don't want to have to buy different size blades.

You might want to exercise a little caution here. Blades that are suitable for a table saw might not be suitable for a miter saw even when they are the same diameter. In general, saws which have the blades above the workpiece and table, i.e., radial arm, sliders, etc, should have a negative hook angle on the teeth while blades for table saws are typically ground with a positive hook angle. The packaging on many of the blades you'll see in the Borgs will show the recommended use of the blades, miter, RAS, table saw, etc.

I'm not saying that if you use a TS blade on a CMS you'll wind up in the hospital, but you may be more likely to encounter unsatisfactory results than if you stick with the recommended tooth profiles for the various types of saw. I don't use my table saw blades on my SCMS or vice versa so I can't relate any first hand experiences in that area.

I can't say anything one way or another about the 8.5" SCMS mentioned but I have a Hitachi 10" SCMS that has been satisfactory for my use. The positive detent stops aren't quite as crisp and definite as I'd like, but seem to be accurate. Don't know how well that might carryover to the smaller saw.