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Which do I want - miter saw

DrPizza

DrPizza

Administrator Elite Member Goat Whisperer
I was going to grab the Kobalt 12" sliding dual compound miter saw at Lowes - $300. But just saw that the Hitachi 12" dual compound (not sliding) miter saw is regularly that same price, but currently on sale for $80 off. I like the DeWalt with the free stand, but that's $600; I don't like it that $600 worth. Reviews of the Kobalt and Hitachi are favorable, except for the laser on the Kobalt, which really isn't an issue, since I always line the teeth of the blade up to my cut for precision.

I already have a smaller miter saw, but the back stop isn't tall enough for cutting crown molding (and it's not a compound miter saw, so I can't go that route with it either). And, when I recently did my ceiling, it was a pita to have to cut through 5" of the board from one side, then flip the board, line the cut up to the teeth, and finish the cut on the other side. It's been perfect for a lot of other jobs I've had, and cuts very accurately; but it's time for a bigger toy. (Will be getting a ton of use.)

Thanks. 🙂
 
If it's going to get a lot of use, step up to the plate and get the DeWalt. I have three of them, one is around 25 years old and still works like a charm.

Other than that, I'd pick Hitachi over Kobalt any time.
 
DrPizza said:
I was going to grab the Kobalt 12" sliding dual compound miter saw at Lowes - $300. But just saw that the Hitachi 12" dual compound (not sliding) miter saw is regularly that same price, but currently on sale for $80 off. I like the DeWalt with the free stand, but that's $600; I don't like it that $600 worth. Reviews of the Kobalt and Hitachi are favorable, except for the laser on the Kobalt, which really isn't an issue, since I always line the teeth of the blade up to my cut for precision.

I already have a smaller miter saw, but the back stop isn't tall enough for cutting crown molding (and it's not a compound miter saw, so I can't go that route with it either). And, when I recently did my ceiling, it was a pita to have to cut through 5" of the board from one side, then flip the board, line the cut up to the teeth, and finish the cut on the other side. It's been perfect for a lot of other jobs I've had, and cuts very accurately; but it's time for a bigger toy. (Will be getting a ton of use.)

Thanks. 🙂
Click to expand...

Since you plan on doing a lot of molding work no matter which saw you choose get a chopmaster blade by forrest blades. They are fairly expensive but do a wonderful job (no splinters and no blade flex like the supplied blade you get with the saw.

http://www.forrestblades.com/chopmaster/
 
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I know you may not want to spend this much but the Milwaukee 6955-20 12 sliding saw ( ~$650 ) was what a master finish carpenter/cabinet maker insist I get (as well as the blade in my post above) The saw has digital readout of the cutting angle as well as detents of all the most common angles. The detents are spot on. I hated to shell out the money for this saw at the time of purchase, but after several years of using it( moderate use... all my window door casings baseboards and built a bar ) I'm glad I bought it.
 
echo4747 said:
I know you may not want to spend this much but the Milwaukee 6955-20 12 sliding saw ( ~$650 ) was what a master finish carpenter/cabinet maker insist I get (as well as the blade in my post above) The saw has digital readout of the cutting angle as well as detents of all the most common angles. The detents are spot on. I hated to shell out the money for this saw at the time of purchase, but after several years of using it( moderate use... all my window door casings baseboards and built a bar ) I'm glad I bought it.
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That's a good looking tool, and has pretty good reviews.

I stopped buying Milwaukee power tools a few years back after a string of three catastrophic failures with their products, all three were new tools and failed within a year. I haven't even looked at what they offer since then.
 
edro said:
Wow, wat?
$150 saw blade?!
They can't be that much better, can they?
The $50 12" blades at the hardware store work pretty good.
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To be honest I cant personally say how much better better it is than a $50 blade. All I can tell you is that the advice I got from a person who makes his living doing very high end wordworking basically told me thats the blade I should get . This person has a business that only makes custom hardwood moldings and cabinetry.
 
Greenman said:
That's a good looking tool, and has pretty good reviews.

I stopped buying Milwaukee power tools a few years back after a string of three catastrophic failures with their products, all three were new tools and failed within a year. I haven't even looked at what they offer since then.
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I have had good luck with just about every/any brand of power tool I ever owned (dewalt,makita,porter cable,bosch,) The only Milwaukee tools I have are the sliding dual bevel saw I mentioned in this thread and a router( which sees little use). I did have a dewalt cordless drill fail but it was my fault for really abusing it. At work we have a Milwaukee 6370-21 hand held metal cutting circular saw that just amazes me. It cuts 1/4-3/8 steel plate like butter. It will even do O.K. on 1/2-3/4 steel plate.
 
echo4747 said:
To be honest I cant personally say how much better better it is than a $50 blade. All I can tell you is that the advice I got from a person who makes his living doing very high end wordworking basically told me thats the blade I should get . This person has a business that only makes custom hardwood moldings and cabinetry.
Click to expand...

He said that because that's the blade he would get.

It is important to use quality tools. It is not necessary to use Expensive tools. $150 will buy three quality blades for a 10" saw, and 2-3 for a 12" saw.

You already bought the right tool for your needs.

TBH if you're using trim that will be painted as opposed to stained wood, the stock general purpose blade is probably fine. However, I would suggest spending $40-60 on a trim blade (more, finer teeth for smoother cutting). Save the general purpose blade for lumber work, or a laminate floor (which will wear out virtually any blade quickly).
 
3chordcharlie said:
He said that because that's the blade he would get.

It is important to use quality tools. It is not necessary to use Expensive tools. $150 will buy three quality blades for a 10" saw, and 2-3 for a 12" saw.

You already bought the right tool for your needs.

TBH if you're using trim that will be painted as opposed to stained wood, the stock general purpose blade is probably fine. However, I would suggest spending $40-60 on a trim blade (more, finer teeth for smoother cutting). Save the general purpose blade for lumber work, or a laminate floor (which will wear out virtually any blade quickly).
Click to expand...

Agreed ... In my case that is what I wanted.. The blade he would buy. All the projects I've done required staining. Again, like you say, if you are going to paint your trim instead of stain even a sharp gen purpose blade and a tube of painters caulk will be just fine.

* Actually the blade I mentioned can be had for closer to $130 instead of $150 ( still an expensive blade)
 
Imho, buying a non-sliding miter saw is a mistake nowadays, what if you need to cut a lot of 2 x 16 quickly later, now you gotta buy another saw.
 
Actually, the blade that came with the saw cuts as smooth as a baby's bottom. I'm not thrilled with the job I've done so far - but it's not the saw; some of the lumber was slightly warped. It's not for a really important job though; and my wife thought it was good enough. When I made the first two cuts, and started on an outside corner, I was really thrilled - grabbed my pin nailer and stuck the two pieces together (the shorter piece was only 6 inches or so) and they were perfect. But, when I got up on the ladder to fasten them, the warping of the 8 foot section of trim was a little worse than it looked.
 
that's good

the stock blade on my craftsman 10" was mediocre, so I bought a freund diablo and its been fantastic
 
edro said:
Wow, wat?
$150 saw blade?!
They can't be that much better, can they?
The $50 12" blades at the hardware store work pretty good.
Click to expand...

the ones I have my eye on to replace my 12" blades when they need it, are 100-120

thin kerf(less was from cuts), fancy coatings, etc


you will notice that all the GC's on home improvement shows(including the random hires on the crashers shows) almost all run 100+ dollar blades on their miter and circular saws....
 
You really think the amount of waste due to the kerf matters at all? You'd have to be incredibly lucky for a length of lumber to be exactly long enough after making a couple of cuts. I was thrilled last night when my waste piece was only 1" long on two pieces of trim; most of the waste was closer to a foot in length.
 
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