Looking to get a mitre saw....

[Matty Alou]

It doesn’t have to be battery powered. I’m just having a hard time deciding on one. Any help would be great. I’m just starting to get into woodworking as a hobby.

[Guyinatree]

The DCS361M1 is a good little saw. Used it for work for years. Battery powered is a real help.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[deedub35]

Most of my work is bathroom renovations and basement developments. I have a DCS361 which I use for the trim work - casings and baseboards.

 

I do the occasional deck here

and there so then I use my DW718.

[Paddy]

1 hour ago, deedub35 said:

Most of my work is bathroom renovations and basement developments. I have a DCS361 which I use for the trim work - casings and baseboards.

 

I do the occasional deck here

and there so then I use my DW718.

You've got the best of both worlds with having a 12" slider along with a 7-1/4" cordless. I've got the same Dewalt 7-1/4" saw and my boss has the Ridgid version. What's your choice for blades as they all seem to flex and lead to blade wander? 

I picked up a Concord blade from Amazon and that seems to be stiffer than most but haven't tried it out yet 

[Paddy]

2 hours ago, Matty Alou said:

It doesn’t have to be battery powered. I’m just having a hard time deciding on one. Any help would be great. I’m just starting to get into woodworking as a hobby.

You can't really go wrong with any of the Dewalt saws, they know how to made a good one. I'd stay away from the new makita ones since they have what seems to be an aluminum detent plate so after a while they become sloppy and throws your cuts off, that along with the table getting super stiff as the grease wears off. 

 

I have the Dewalt cordless 7-1/4" saw and it's a great portable saw to have. My boss has the DW780 which we setup for longer jobs and that has been working great for us for the past 4 years without any issues. He also has the cordless Ridgid 7-1/4" saw that works good but now the light stays on all the time and drains the batteries. The key is to get a good stiff blade for those smaller saws since most of them are thin kerf and flex. This weekend is a good time to buy with all the Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals going on

[rcarnes911]

Hey man depending on your budget and just using it for hobby purposes I would probably just get a cheap harbour freight or Ryobi 7 1/4 corded use it and if you use it enough to break it then buy the good stuff going this way also allows you to get more tools

Sent from my ONEPLUS A6013 using Tapatalk

[ToolBane]

Yeah if you’re just getting started you really may not benefit much from “prosumer” level stuff. I used a decent amount of inexpensive brands as a kid/young adult including Ryobi. In retrospect I think it was the best thing because you’ll probably figure out what your preferences are as your skills and needs evolve and you can be buying tools that are better matched for you in the long term and they’ll be more advanced by the time you get them too. I’m just DIY myself and I still have a few Dewalt tools but ended up preferring Makita for what I do.

[khariV]

2 hours ago, rcarnes911 said:

Hey man depending on your budget and just using it for hobby purposes I would probably just get a cheap harbour freight or Ryobi 7 1/4 corded use it and if you use it enough to break it then buy the good stuff going this way also allows you to get more tools

 

I'm of two opinions on this one.  One one hand, I totally agree that if you're just getting started out, you really don't want to start out buying top of the line gear.  You're still learning and, speaking from personal experience, you'll likely make a bunch of bone headed mistakes and don't need the precision of high end wood working tools.  I have a friend with too much $$$ and not enough common sense who went out and bought a 12" sliding bosch and could never get a consistent cut because he was marking with an un-sharpened pencil and didn't take blade kerf into account. (this was not me btw, but an actual acquaintance)

 

Now that having been said, I do have a real problem recommending that anyone buys cheap, throw-away tools.  Years ago, I bought a cheap miter saw (craftsman) that was probably fine for framing.  However, the miter and bevel adjustments could never tighten up and my cuts routinely ended up not square and off by a little to a lot.

 

I'd say buy a good, reliable brand, but maybe their entry level saw. A good quality entry-level saw from Dewalt, Hitachi, etc. is going to be better than a 12" slider from HF (maybe).  You can also find some killer deals on CL, though if you're not comfortable fully checking out those, it might be better to stick with new.

 

 

[ChrisK]

Good luck in your endeavors. What are you planing on cutting with the saw? Wide pieces, flooring, do you want or need a slider?

[Jronman]

@Matty Alou if you are getting into woodworking I would buy a miter geared more for woodworking and not framing. When I think of woodworking, I think trim work, cabinets, furniture, flooring, etc. I don't associate woodworking with rough wood cutting like framing, sheathing, etc. even though it technically is woodworking. The DeWALT 12 inch sliders are tried and true if you want to go the DeWALT route. They are a good all around saw. One that might be worth looking into is Hitachi's C12RSH (discontinued) or the C12RSH2 (replacement). The original pioneered some features great for woodworking. It was a saw that grained credibility amongst woodworkers. The replacement is still a good saw. 

[method]

If you're looking at it for woodworking, personally I would say to buy the best you can afford so that you do not find yourself selling it to upgrade later on. I would stick to as small diameter as possible for a much more accurate cut. I haven't used many but I do own the makita ls0714 which has a 190mm blade, 300mm slide and 52mm depth of cut. Bevels left and right (I think only 5 degree right though. Dust collection is excellent when hooked up with a vac and it is very light and compact. It makes accurate cut and the 300mm slide is a good feature for a compact saw.

 

If you're not fussed about cordless, I would recommend buying a corded saw as you will get a better saw for far less money.

[Framer joe]

Framing mitre saw? What's that?...we use mitre saws just like finish Carpenters. We cut trim, moldings ,case doors, intricate exterior detail work on homes....the same mitre is used for rough framing only thing different is the blades.......but it has to be a good saw...we use flexvolt because it's cordless and no power on site but for years before we used corded DeWalt sliding mitres, very job tough saws...