Cutting mitres - hand saw or electric?

[phykell]

Hi,

I need to fit the cornices and pelmets on my kitchen cabinets and for this I'll have to cut some pretty good mitres. What's the best or most reasonable way of doing this? I've used a hand-mitre saw before but with less than acceptable results. Is it worth me investing in an electric compound mitre saw bearing in mind I will also have some 5" and 6" skirting to do? What benefits exactly does an electric compound mitre saw give? Is it more accurate? Does it give a better finish?

Thanks

 

[2scoops0406]

Well, it kind of depends on how much use you are going to get from the saw. Yes a reasonable quality mitre saw will give better results than a hand saw. I would probably look at either buying or hiring a sliding mitre saw. Whether or not you want to buy one depends on the differential in hire / purchase costs.

 

[PowerTool]

Quite agree with Eddie - if you are going to be doing 6" skirting,a sliding saw is probably the only way you will be able to do it (I have a hand mitre saw,only does 4" max;don't think my electric would do any more)
The only point then is whether to buy or hire.

 

[phykell]

Point taken about sliding ones. There seems to be some remarkably cheap ones on EBay and from online tool retailers (I thought I'd be paying much more). Have a look at this:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=4385418659&rd=1&sspagename=STRK:MEWA:IT&rd=1

It's also here:

http://www.toolsonline.co.uk/woodworking/radialmitresaws.php

I think a kitchen fitter would charge around £100 to come and finish the job for me, so paying £50 extra and getting the tool for other jobs seems a good idea to me

 

[Diyisfun]

You can always hire one. If you plan your job, you could probably do all the cutting in 1 day.

 

[Dewy]

I have a job to do at home on a number of fence posts and joists (similar to a carport) and was not looking forward to cutting everything by hand.
It is beyond the capacity of my workshop sliding mitre saw so I kept putting the job off.
A couple of weeks ago I was skipping through the TV shopping channels when I saw a Bosun 10" sliding mitre saw with 290 x 75mm capacity.
This was an own brand make but was so cheap I ordered it for £86 +p&p.
When it arrived I looked it over and tried to decypher the appaling translation from Chinese in the instruction booklet.
I then found that it has a greater capacity than advertised and also that it had a depth stop for trenching.
It says how to achieve 305x90mm cuts.
This is 12" x 3½".
I tested it and it was indeed capable of this cut.
I sawed a piece of 12" contiboard and a 90mm thick piece of pine.
The cut wasn't at 90° so I played around with the fence for a bit to get it square.
With a 60 tooth TC blade it maked good quality cross cuts.
On looking through some catalogues I realised this tool is identical to the Fox 290x75 mitre saw sold by Rutlands for £149.95 so is probably made in the same factory and just badged differently.
I found the laser merely a guide as it lines with the blade centre instead of being adjustable for either right or left of the blade.
It is unlikely to last very long for trade use but is ideal for DIY and its capacity should be enough for any work anyone is likely to need around the house or garden.
Today they had a different brand name for sale which has the same specs but costs £10 more because it has a bolt together floor stand.
This was from the YES shopping channel which can be seen at http://www.yes661.com/
Ignore the prices shown on the web because they are just used to make the sale prices look better.
Most prices are between 25-40% of the shown price with some even lower.
This mitre saw must be one of the methods used to keep production up in China.
They are sold cheaply because the shopping channels use the old low profit quick returns sales method pioneered by Tescos here.
For a total of £94.50 inc p&p I think the saw will have paid for itself on just the one job.
Anything else will be a bonus.
Had I ever used this channel before the price would have been reduced by 5%.
I have bought 3 other small things since all of which were reduced by the 5%.
Maybe I should have bought the £5 rubber broom, with one free, first, to get the 5% off the £86 mitre saw....
I am so pleased with this cheap mitre saw that I am seriously thinking of changing my mitre saw bench to take it instead of the 8" sliding saw it is set up for now.