S/C Mitre Saw or Table Saw

[Obi Wan Kenobi]

I'm purchasing power tools to equip my workshop, and was going to get a s/c mitre saw. When funds permit, I was going to purchase a table saw, but having watched some YouTube vids and Googled the subject, I'm having second thoughts:? I'm now thinking that a table saw should be my first choice.

I'm certainly no expert when it comes to power tools so I'd like to know what's preferential - a s/c mitre saw or a table saw?

TIA

Obi Wan

 

[dynax]

A table saw can do what a scms can do and more, but a scms can't do everything a ts can do,

 

[RobinBHM]

Table saw
- needs plenty of space
-primary function is ripping timber using the rip fence
-secondary function is for cross cutting either using a mitre running in slots, home made sled or with a sliding table.

It cant cross cut very long timber

If you want to rip bits of timber and sheet material then a table saw if very versatile and can be a precision machine

Mitre saw
- for cross cutting,
-angled cross cuts
-compound cross cuts

Ideal for cutting very long parts to length

Cannot do rip cuts at all

 

[dynax]

It cant cross cut very long timber

i beg to differ, before i got my mitre saw, i crosscut 9 x 2's and 8 x 3's on my ts, not ideal but can be done with care,
but most were cut at the merchants into managable lengths 4 and 6 foot mainly,

 

[Pink Freud]

I made that mistake, got the mitre saw & stand and i rlly wish i had put it towards a table saw fund. don't get me wrong it will prob get alot of use knocking up cheerful garden furniture and such, but the table saw is a staple for anything past this i think. Also how big is your workshop / budget?

 

[Obi Wan Kenobi]

Thanks for the replies chaps - exactly why I'm in a dilemma :?

My workshop is in two parts - one approx. 3m x 3m and the other slightly odd shape but roughly 2.5m x 4m. I've certainly not got deep pockets but I'm not a cheapskate either :wink: I'm happy to go for a decent make that's second hand rather than something new and cheap.

Obi Wan :wink:

 

[RobinBHM]

Thanks for the replies chaps - exactly why I'm in a dilemma :?

My workshop is in two parts - one approx. 3m x 3m and the other slightly odd shape but roughly 2.5m x 4m. I've certainly not got deep pockets but I'm not a cheapskate either :wink: I'm happy to go for a decent make that's second hand rather than something new and cheap.

Obi Wan :wink:

You probably know the decent makes around: Wadkin, stratrite, multico, robland, scm. Aluminium options, Kity, scheppach.

 

[Pink Freud]

I'm happy to go for a decent make that's second hand rather than something new and cheap.

Obi Wan :wink:

I'm inclined to agree with u there. I mean the real cheapies can be anything between inaccurate and dam right dangerous.

 

[Obi Wan Kenobi]

You probably know the decent makes around: Wadkin, stratrite, multico, robland, scm. Aluminium options, Kity, scheppach.

Errr, no I didn't, but I do now

I'm inclined to agree with u there. I mean the real cheapies can be anything between inaccurate and dam right dangerous.

Worrying eh!! :shock:

Obi Wan

 

[RogerS]

It depends a lot on what you're doing/making. For example, I'm in the middle of a total house renovation project where many items need cutting at an angle just 'off' 90 degrees. That's so much easier to do on the SCMS.

I have a £99 table saw which does rip cuts. It fettled up tolerably well and is 'fit' for my current purpose. But even when I did have a larger cast-iron table saw, I usually ended up using the SCMS for most cuts. Sheet stuff I rarely use and hate lugging 8 x 4 sheets onto the table saw. I'd rather use a track saw and a sheet of Kingspan and do it on the floor.

 

[Obi Wan Kenobi]

Thanks RogerS Another side to the 'debate' and to be honest was my original train of thought. I'm watching a SCMS and TS on eBay and looking around elsewhere, so may end up with both :wink: :wink:

Obi Wan

 

[Selwyn]

Get a good table saw and make.do with a compound mitre saw to save money. Will still cross cut 10 inches

 

[Obi Wan Kenobi]

Get a good table saw and make.do with a compound mitre saw to save money. Will still cross cut 10 inches

Thanks Selwyn, more food for thought :wink:

Obi Wan

 

[AjB]

I would go table saw personally. With a homemade cross it does it's very versatile. You won't find it easy to crosscur long stuff but a cheap circular saw and a speedsquare will do that for you.

 

[focusonwood]

I bought a mitre saw first, although the main driver for that at the time was that I needed to fit skirting boards throughout the house I was renovating.

I've since bought a table saw, although I now use that more than I use the mitre saw.

The mitre saw is useful for some builds where there's an extensive frame of some kind, for example I built a log store and used the mitre saw for all of it.

The table saw takes up a lot of space in my workshop, although I could probably make better use of it and incorporate an out feed table to be used as a workbench, rather than have a separate workbench. The workbench was the first thing I made so I'm a bit attached to it.

I've wondered whether I would be better with a good plunge/track saw rather than a dedicated table saw.

 

[MusicMan]

Get a good table saw and make do with a compound mitre saw to save money. Will still cross cut 10 inches

The difference between a poor and a good table saw, besides safety, is versatility and accuracy. I started off with cheap Evolution SCMS and table saw. I still use the SCMS which is perfectly adequate for cutting things to length and angle, with some care in setting up the fence. I use it a lot. The cheap table saw was OK for ripping small stuff, but I now have an old Wadkin AGS10, which is brilliant. I can rely on the right angle being a right angle (hence don't need a planer/jointer), the saw finish is excellent and needs little smoothing, it can cut to accurate widths, down to about 1 mm, and in general I can rely on it to do what I want it to do. Night and day.

As has been said, it depends on your work. I do a lot of restoration, involving cutting things accurately to size and preparing them for the thicknesser. I do often make bookcases, for which the table saw is great. I never work with full boards of sheet material but get them cut approximately to size in the store, and don't use them much anyway. Someone who does mostly sheet material work, e.g. a kitchen cabinet maker without a full panel saw, would find a good tracksaw more useful.

I suggest you think of your past and future projects and think through how you would make them on different tools.

And actually, you have more workshop space than I do, so you do have room. I have a 16x8 shed where I do hand tool work, joint cutting and assembly. The SCMS and morticer live there. A small 12 x 6 shed houses the table saw near the door, a router table by the door forming the outfield for the saw, a lathe in a corner, and a small Inca bandsaw on a freestanding bench, which can be moved around out of the way of long plank feed. The door is opened for long stuff, and this shed has the more serious dust extraction.

Keith

 

[AJB Temple]

Age old issue. I have table saw (needs replacing), big band saw and two compound mitre chop saws. If I were equipping a workshop as an amateur, I would probably get a portable track saw for breaking up sheets, rather than using a table saw. My table saw gets comparatively little use and they are a pain in a small workshop.

 

[memzey]

I bought a mitre saw first, although the main driver for that at the time was that I needed to fit skirting boards throughout the house I was renovating.

I've since bought a table saw, although I now use that more than I use the mitre saw.

I'm the same. Since I bought the table saw my SCMS gets comparatively little use but it still comesout for certain jobs. A good table saw (or sliding table dimension saw like mine) is a much more versatile tool and I'd hate to see the back of mine.

 

[Obi Wan Kenobi]

Thanks AjB, focusonwood, MusicMan, AJB Temple and memzey for your input. Different opinions again :wink:

I was following a couple of SCMS's and table saws on eBay, but after getting let down by a seller of a Makita scms :roll: I had a rethink about buying second hand. I decided that I'd benefit from an SCMS now to continue with ongoing alterations to my house and my workshop, so I purchased this https://www.angliatoolcentre.co.uk/bosc ... 42091.html It will certainly be capable of doing everything I need it to do, it has decent reviews, it's well built and the price is very good.

I ordered it yesterday and it arrived today, which is great service. It's a well made saw and have made a few test cuts which were extremely good straight out of the box. I look forward to using it in earnest over the coming weeks.

I'm still considering a table saw, so we'll see what happens there.

Thanks again for your thoughts.

Obi Wan

 

[Pink Freud]

Nice wan Obi ...hope u have lots of enjoyment with it :wink: