Sliding compound mitre saw suitable for home DIY use. Rage 3 / Bosch PCM8S?

[moonhog]

Hello

I am currently renovating / improving my Victorian terrace, and I have new (tall) skirting boards to fit in several rooms, laminate flooring to cut and various other jobs - making a couple of small cabinets etc.

It seems that a mitre saw with sliding function would make my life much easier, but there is such a range of choice - from kit under £100 up to £800+.

I've ignored the very cheap stuff in B&Q/Homebase/Wickes. Two that I have been looking at are the Evolution Rage 3 (which seems to get good reviews everywhere):
http://www.screwfix.com/p/evolution-rage3-fp2552-255mm-compound-mitre-saw-230v/26612

and also the Bosch PCM8S, that I have seen for sale at £169.95:
http://www.tooled-up.com/product/bo...ith-laser-guide-216mm-blade-1200w-240v/215852

Any thoughts? I know the green Bosch stuff isn't as good as the blue, but I don't know how it might compare to the quality of the Rage 3 (which comes with a 255mm blade too).

At the end of the day, I'm not a Pro.......I won't be taking it on-site/to a job. But I don't want to spend £150, and then wish that I had spent a bit more in 6 months time.

Hiring doesn't make sense, a Makita is about £50 a day - and I'll need it for various jobs over a number of days.

Any thoughts or suggestions greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

[magicmushroom666]

For general DIY use, I've got one of these from Argos
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/7113079.htm

Works great, and haven't felt I've needed anything more, put up stud walls, a shed all sorts and its been ideal. Only thing I did was buy a decent blade for it.

 

[moonhog]

Thanks mm, I'd overlooked anything under £100 as I thought it would be of poor quality / would burn out easily under load. Have you found the laser accurate enough for general DIY?

 

[magicmushroom666]

I must admit I thought the laser was a bit gimicky and haven't even turned it on once! I wouldn't like to rely on it anyway on a cheap tool.

 

[gregers]

i dont rely on mine and thats a bosch blue.ask yourself how many times do you think you will use it?

we have a rage jobby at work and its not a bad machine.and gets some abuse,just bare in mind on the height from the body of the machine to the table of it,because if you intend to cut bigger timber it does get trapped.

 

[catlad]

The bosch saw must be perfect for home diy. If you purchase one you could give some feedback

 

[Tigger90]

I have the Bosch PCM8S that I brought from Amazon as a warehouse deal, it came in at about £100. It was a customer return, the box had been opened but it still has all the factory fitted packaging installed. I have used it to build a stud work wall and a patio wine table from scraps to get used to using it. I am really pleased with mine

 

[noseall]

Forget lasers, you will follow the line with your eye as the saw cuts.

Cheap does not necessarily mean bad, but it does tend to mean that it will be unserviceable. If stuff breaks or fails, the manufacturers will either replace the whole machine or ask you to throw it in the bin, depending upon warranty.

I would imagine compound cuts will suffer as a result of a cheaper, less well built variety. However, if you are just cutting ordinary mitres and straights etc, then a cheaper non branded will be ok.

Don't forget that builders are humping (banging and bouncing) their gear around on a daily basis. They also are exposed to the weather and are used a hundred times more than a DIYers kit. For this reason a builder wants a lasting, robust serviceable machine.

 

[DeadBeat]

I bought a rage 3 about 8 months ago, since then ive used it a lot, just DIY, ive built a stud wall, and made the loft floor higher and also installed a lowered new ceiling, and ive used it in all these jobs and more. I bought the one with the biggest slide so i could get the biggest peices of wood into it which im really glad i did now as cutting 2x6 would be really hard with a smaller one, so far im really pleased with it. its probably my third most used power tool after the makita impact drill and my SDS. you can calibrate it pretty easily to make sure the cuts are accurate. Ive not done too much with it yet in terms of compound cuts thats yet to come in my projects, but it gets a big thumbs up from me. use the lazer a lot on mine.no doubt its not as accurate or as hardwearing as the top end cost stuff, but mine goes from the shed to the room im doing, back to the shed, it doesnt really get abused like something used every day might so i think it was a good choice.

 

[moonhog]

Thanks for all replies on this. I bought a Rage 3 (255) last weekend and I'm really pleased with it so far. Brilliant for clean, straight cuts on tall skirting.