Looking For A Cheap Mitre Saw

[freddiemercurystwin]

So I've been thinking I'd like a sliding mitre saw for various DIY tasks planned, nothing too fancy more like shelves and time saving cutting 3x2's etc, been looking out for second hand jobies but nothings taken my fancy so far, seen this today https://www.diy.com/departments/scheppach-216mm-mitre-saw-5901219985/4046664129974_BQ.prd which seems to tick plenty of boxes on paper but reviews do seem to pick up poor dust extraction and rough cuts, I don't expect to do an awful lot so can live with the dust extraction, besides I'll have a Henry attached rather than the bag which the reviewers were using and presumably the rough cuts can be sorted with a finer blade? Any thoughts. I don't expect to be producing fine quality furniture but I don't like rough cuts.

 

[Deleted member 174758]

TBH there is no such thing as a mitre saw with brilliant dust extraction - I have a Festool Kapex, which has the reputation of being about the best extracted mitre saw on the market and it's still messy to use on some cuts, even with an M-class vaciuum, so I'd just live with it were I you. £100 is cheap as chips for a mitre saw. Cut quality is very dependent on the blade quality and tooth count, so a 48t blade is OK for softwood, but for plywood, MFC or MDF you need to be looking at 72 to 100t. Take a look at saxton blades or Dart for mid range blades that cut well

 

[SFK]

My £100 cheap miter saw is great (I have a different brand no longer available).
But i do notice my mitre saw cheapness.
It cuts great, but I use good blades.

It's low price means getting accurate angle cuts is more time consuming than on more expensive machine. I need to use set square on both horizontal and vertical to set it up before each day of use due to setting slippage.
For 45deg cuts I always test on scrap first.

Saying all of that, for its price it is a great tool to have. And one I use frequently.

For the one you are looking at, make sure that blades are easily available (both diameter and bore size). As an example, in my opinion, the evolution brand machines has a low availability of blades due to its differing bore size, and so I did not buy that brand.

Sfk

 

[Deleted member 174758]

Ø216 x 30Ø bore is a fairly standard size (I have a deWalt DW777 which uses the same size) - if so, no problems. Have you tried using blade washers? Ø30 x 25,4Ø should increase your blade availability

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

Thanks all, ended up going for the 254 model as it was only an extra £20 and comes with an additional finer blade. Have a bit of a drive to collect it mind as was unavailable for delivery so that'll be about an extra £12 on fuel too.

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

Ended up buying a stand for £45 too, saves all the hassle of having one on a workbench or similar.

 

[Deleted member 174758]

A stand and a couple of trestles (to support long materials such as skirtings or architraves) are always well worth having - saves your back, knees and neck

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

OK so I've been using this sliding mitre saw happily for a few months, it's not without its foibles even I can tell and I'm no master craftsman but seems perfectly adequate for my purposes and what I paid.

Anyway I decided to try and make my own bendy (6mm) plywood by cutting a load of kerf cuts in the rear of the sheet as this project called for zero spending if at all possible. All fine in theory but what I've found is that the run of the blade of the (sliding) saw does not run parallel to the saw table, it's maybe 2mm lower at the front compared to the back. Is that kind of inaccuracy typical of a sliding saw or (as I suspect) merely in keeping with the budget saw that this is? It's made it extremely challenging (and time consuming) to get a consistent cut depth. I suppose I should be using a crosscut sled on a table saw? I've just bought a new budget table saw having been through two second hand ones but I've not made a sled for it yet.