Best Budget Compound Mitre Saw?

[Neil]

Hi Jason,

Oops sorry! I thought I would be smart and check my local stores in Ireland - for the first time in recorded history the price appears to be lower here than in the UK (87.49 in Euro), but of course it is completely out of stock...

Very naughty of Argos - I'm willing to bet that they were already out of stock when the sale began.

Good luck finding one - I see that the sale is on until the 3rd December so you may be lucky.

Neil

 

[Signal]

Jason,

Ive checked all my local stores for you as well, 30 in all and their
all out to.

pippers

Signal

 

[Anonymous]

I just tried all of the stores in and around Uxbridge (work) and High Wycombe (home). None have stock. But, I just ordered it instead from the web site - the 3.95 delivery charge is bearable for the 25% off which you still get by ordering this way. The site was dog slow at about 3pm on Monday 1 December, and with luck it will arrive on Wednesday.

The on-lline purchasing supposedly checks for stock before continuing to payment extraction, so hopefully it will actually turn up. I'll be in Sweden on Wednesday but as long as my dearest wife is not on the school run when they call I'll let you all know if their delivery claims are up to much.

Update - checked my mail at 3:30pm and there is a message telling me that they are out of stock. What a waste of time. I'm willing to bet that the replacement stocks all magically appear on Thursday, just after the 25% off period ends. :evil: :x

 

[Anonymous]

I'm still in a bad mood over Argos and their possible tactics but.... I checked the Axminster site for alternatives and found their version of the saw http://www.axminster.co.uk/default.asp?part=AWSMS10. This is another forty quid over the Argos one but looks to have a different base and probably a better blade.

While I was on the Axminster site I noticed another product that is a consideration for this thread. http://www.axminster.co.uk/default.asp?part=109456. This would be relatively easy to make yourself too so if you already have a circular saw and can put up with a max cutting depth of about 55mm (allowing for the guide rails) this would make a reasonable alternative for the part time hobby user. You can also make it to whatever scale you wanted. It's rather like the panel cutting jig that I've seen Norm use but instead of running it into the table saw blade, the saw runs over the jig (if you see what I mean). One of these and a reasonable saw at one hundred notes and you have two tools for the price of one.

Perhaps I'll ask for a circular saw for Christmas instead.

 

[Alf]

If you want to make one of those mitre boards, you might find this article helpful. Ignore the drawing on the first page; that's the other jig.

Cheers, Alf

 

[gidon]

Nice article Alf - be nice if had a drawing to go with it. Still I may make one - I have some wooden floor to lay and at 200mm wide would need a big mitre saw to cope.

Trevor, this link on google discusses that mitre board you're looking at (the last reply) and gives an address of the manufacturers:

To google ...

I really would warn against one of those cheap sliding crosscut saws. I had my fingers burnt with the B&Q perf pro one. It went straight back to the shop. It would be ok for household DIY but not for woodwork in my opinion. Although in this months GW, Andy reviews pullover saws starting at £400, and to my mind none of these could take the place of a decent radial arm saw. Nearly all the saws had 1mm vertical play across 200mm! The B&Q saw had more than that, but more worryingly lateral play too! It's one of those tricky ones. I can do accurate crosscuts on my table saw, but many a time a mitre saw would have been handy. But I don't really want to spend £500+ on one ...

Cheers

Gidon

 

[gidon]

Well it did inspire to make one - specifically for crosscutting my 200mm floorboards. As basic as they get but does the job pretty well. The base is conti board, the runners oak and the cross pieces pine. I will probably make another one when I get some time with an adjustable fence. Here are some pics:

Thanks for the ideas Trevor and Alf. Saved me a couple of hundred quid (for the time being anyway ...)

Cheers

Gidon

 

[Scrit]

That really looks neat, Gidon! Add a second piece which goes under the workpiece with a couple of toggle cramps to hold the work, perhaps in T-slots, then pivit your top over the bottom using a coach bolt and you'll have a mitre saw..... Maybe....

I've used similar stuff to cut housings (dados) using a router.

Scrit

 

[gidon]

Thanks Scrit! Good ideas - and it would be quite handy making one for my router too.
Cheers
Gidon

 

[Alf]

Flippin' 'eck, Gidon, that's been on my Tuit list for months. You're making me look really bad...

I have a similar set up for the router too. Useful for the housings that the 'Rat can't cope with.

Cheers, Alf

 

[gidon]

Thanks Alf. Well I went up to my shed last night (finally some escape from household DIY) and most of the oak I had planed, thicknessed and cut to size for a blanket chest-come-chest of drawers-come-window seat had warped! Arghhh - the joys of the occasional woodworker! So it was time to make a jig ... I tried to duck questions from my wife on how the blanket chest was coming along :roll:. (I've put all the oak under some weights and am hoping for the best.)
Cheers
Gidon

 

[Anonymous]

I know its alot of cash but the Makets saw for (£190) is the best tool I ever bought, I reccon it'll last longer them me!

I always spend as much as I can on my tools (within reason) as I hate to use a tool in a few years and think "mmm abit naff this"