Does a woodworker really need a sliding-compound miter saw?

[nate graham]

We have a Dewalt set up that handles breaking down materials into more manageable parts, along with cutting trim details, but as for final sizing, I prefer the table saw, which brings a question to mind that I have often pondered to no avail. why is a miter box inaccurate, lets say we have a tuned up sliding miterbox and you cut a compound miter, I have found that more times then not it will be inaccurate, whereas you do the same cut on a well tuned tablesaw the results are good, is it just the physics of how the material is presented to the cutter, or am I just way over thinking the whole dang thing

[lowell holmes]

Actually, a died in the wool woodworker needs one of each.

[John K Jordan]

I bought a Bosch glider when I started on my shop and gave away my other "chop" saws.

My opinion is a SCMS is invaluable for the construction carpenter but not necessarily for making fine cuts for furniture for a woodworker with other options. I used mine extensively when building my shop and other construction around the shop.

Don't forget another type of woodworker - the wood turner. I use my SCMS a LOT when cutting a turning blank from long stock or when breaking down pieces I can handle easily on the bandsaw or crosscut on the table saw. Even though I have a sliding table on my PM66, the chop saw is far quicker to use and works with boards so long I can barely fit into my shop. It will also cut stock thicker and easier and safer than I'd prefer to cut on the table saw.

I also use it a lot for jigs and platforms and miscellaneous things related to wood turning and working and farm maintenance. I haven't bothered to align it and except for the day I brought it home I've never checked the squareness of the cut. Singing "It don't matter to me."

JKJ

[Frederick Skelly]

I have a 12" Makita. It`s tuned to cut nuts-on square. (It's non-sliding, which probably helps that.)
I'm glad to have it.

[Robert Engel]

My experience is the same: the reliability of a RAS to cut true every time. It is just not going to happen unless you have the old iron or a very expensive model - an never change a setting!!.

A miter saw, OTOH, I would expect to get repeatable accurate cuts. I would be sorely disappointed if I had an expensive saw like a Kapex with unrepeatable results.

Therefore I use a RAS for a rough cut. I do final cuts on either a tablesaw sled or my Jessem miter gauge. If I'm looking to be dead on accurate, I go to the shooting board.

[Andrew Seemann]

I don't know that you "need" a SCMS for woodworking in that you don't "need" a Forrest blade for your table saw or you don't "need" an expensive set of chisels to cut a hinge mortice.

I have a Makita 10" SCMS that would be one of my last tools I would give up. It makes nice cuts, even with the stock blade, and properly set up I haven't had a problem with accuracy. I find trying to cross cut longer boards on a table saw to be clumsy and inaccurate, I don't have room for a sliding attachment on my table saw, and my arthritic body doesn't feel like spending a lot of time cutting hardwood by hand. Plus do need to cut accurate angles on occasion and it is nice for that.

I wouldn't mind a RAS, primarily to cut dados overhead, but I don't want to trade the space for it; there are other tools I find more useful. My SCMS is permanently set up on a combination saw table-downdraft table, with drawers and shelves underneath and decent dust collection for the SCMS. The saw fence is over the downdraft side, and can be removed for sanding larger pieces. I've used the setup for about 15 years and quite like it, especially for its footprint.

[Larry Edgerton]

I have a trained beaver in my shop, have not needed a saw since.

[andrew whicker]

This is funny. Sounds like I'm about to get a job that I put a bid on. If I get it, the first thing I'm doing with the money is buying a Bosch. I'm SO tired of cutting down pieces to a reasonable size on the table saw.

Also, the miter saw will be stored under my table saw. Sigh. Not ideal, but until I expand the shop I don't have room for a radial saw.

Does anyone use an upcut saw over a radial?

[michael langman]

When I installed a wide plank red oak floor on my living room, I had boards 10-12 feet long and bought a reconditioned Makita 10" CSMS to square the ends. It squared the ends seamlessly with 7" wide boards.
Then I used it for the molding around the room and another room. It gets used for various cuts, as the legs to my workbench coming up soon.
I see it more as a carpentry tool that can occasionally do wood shop work, but not a necessity in the shop.
I would not pay the going price for one, unless I made a living with it. A skil saw can get you by most of the time, when needed.

[scott vroom]

We've got a Bosch 12" SCMS with an articulating arm that allows it to sit against the wall. It'll crosscut 14". We use it frequently to break down long boards, for crosscutting drawer sides and face frames, and for general construction. It's handy for all types of quick convenience cuts and I wouldn't be without it.

[Dave Cav]

If you're a framer or finish carpenter, probably.** If you do mostly furniture, probably not. I am in the old iron RAS camp, using a vintage Delta turret RAS for breaking stock down. I never move it from 90*. I use my 10 TS for miters. I do have an old 12" B&D chop saw for the once in every two year project that involves some kind of outdoor framing work.

** Although the framing crew who were working on my house last month didn't have one. They got by with a jobsite TS and a couple of Skil saws (and watching them use those saws was downright scary). We'll see what happens when the siders and interior finish guys show up.

[Brandon Speaks]

Its one of my most used tools. Not for fine woodworking but for breaking down 2x4s more quickly than a circular saw.

[Art Mann]

I have a nice Bosch SCMS that I like and use fairly often. However, if I had to cut down my shop equipment, it would be one of the first things to go. I use crosscut and miter sleds on my table saw for real precision work.

[Brian Henderson]

Nobody "needs" anything. All tools are just a convenience. You could make all of your cuts with a hand saw if you wanted to and had the patience. Every tool has things it does well and things it does badly. It all depends on how often you do the things that it does well.

[Martin Wasner]

I have a trained beaver in my shop, have not needed a saw since.

I just yell at the lumber until it becomes whatever I was paid to make it into. I'm interested in acquiring one of these beavers though. I was thinking of training a Shetland pony to do the yelling, but I worry about it's voice being a little hoarse.....



I don't use a compound saw in the shop very often. Crown and that's about it, but that's rarely put on anything in the shop as well. That saw does get used for some for a moulding I use for wrapping doors that works really well if you do a 1/2 degree bevel on the one side and cheat the angle in a bit. They just slip together better. We don't do that door style very often either.


Need is subjective, until you have a deadline.