Which would be the better mitre saw to buy?

[yngndrw]

I have to respectfully disagree. I have an evolution mitre saw, and an evolution circular saw, they aren't aweful for the money, but IMO they aren't that great, I don't find the mitre saw accurate enough for anything more than rough work. The normal advice is to buy a better blade on any budget saw, but because they are designed to cut anything, they spin slower than standard saws and so you will never get the best cut. These are things I wish I'd realised before I bought mine

I'm surprised you've had such a different experience with them. Their circular saw certainly isn't anything special (Not terrible, nothing special, probably overpriced to be fair.), but for me the mitre saw on their standard universal blade has been accurate for me. Especially with the measurer - I can cut multiple pieces, stack them up and they feel the same length to the touch. The depth stop is worthless of course, I never rely on the laser and I've never checked to see how accurate the angle stops are, but for straight cuts mine has been at least very repeatable.

I will say that mine is a very old (Over a decade old) model so it's possible that they have changed over the years, or maybe their quality control was poor and either I got a good one or you got a bad one. (Which isn't a great sign if they are that variable in quality) Having said all of this, as others have mentioned they do have an older rail design which isn't ideal for a smaller workspace.

But for the sorts of projects mentioned and the budget, my thought was that a cheaper (And more universal, being able to cut steel) mitre saw for the quick and rough jobs paired with a decent track saw for precision work could be a good option.

 

[TRITON]

As above really. If you're workshop based then a 240v would be easier.
That said, you might at some point need to work away with it, so maybe cordless would be good there, but its a case of how many times you think you'd be out in the open away from a socket that makes cordless a real help.

Cordless are better suited to joiners working on site.
Theres another point. Unless you're intending to use this a lot, batteries dont like sitting idle for a long time.
If you have a driver, and some assembly is going to be required at a customers home, then maybe cordless would be good. But maybe then as part of a compliment of site tools. Sander, planer,drill/driver and saw.

 

[TheUnicorn]

I'm surprised you've had such a different experience with them...

to be fair we might be comparing apples and oranges, mine is a non sliding mitre, maybe five years old, orange trim (can't remember the difference between orange and green, I think one is 'professional', a very dubious statement) I do wish I'd got the sliding version, I realised quickly the limitations of the non sliding mitre in terms of what you can cut, and how you can cut (trench cuts for instance). that said, my saw lives tucked away in a trunk, I'd need a very big trunk for a sliding saw

However, I still think that unless you know you need to cut metal regularly buy a saw and blade that will do the best job for the material you plan to cut which in this case is wood.

Evolution seem like a great choice for cutting up pallets, reusing scrounged timber etc

 

[Etaf]

ou can cut (trench cuts for instance).

FYI
not all saws do this
My dewalt does not

my son-i-l has an evolution rage i think version and he has made a lot of furniture , draws , cupboards, toilet cistern holder and sink etc etc with
he also has the table saw and very pleased with that as well,
Makita Plunge saw

 

[Terrytpot]

Generally pretty happy with my Dewalt DW717XPS with the exception of how much room it needs behind it and how inefficient the dust/chip collection is. The Bosch glide stuff would be my preferred kit although they still have pants dust collection too. I’m generally quite keen on cordless equipment and have a fair smattering of it but have never felt the need for it with a mitre saw as it’s a stationary piece of equipment that you’re not struggling with holding at arms length for protracted periods of time. Mine lives in a typical fold up wing cabinet with a rudimentary hood over the top to try and catch what it throws everywhere but if needs be, it lifts out and with the aid of a suitable extension lead can be dropped on any old flat surface you feel capable of carrying it to as long as you’re prepared for that area to get covered in sawdust..

 

[MikeJhn]

Pretty much all mitre saws do not have very efficient extract systems, I modified my saw as below, made a world of difference.

 

[macca]

in my opinion, in your situation with your budget you would be far better served with a festool Hkc 55, you can make super accurate compound mitres, over a greater length than a mitre saw, you have the ability to run it on the fs track system and you can even plunge cut. by far the most versatile saw I own and is pretty darn good in all of these tasks which is a rarity! with your budget you could have the saw, 2 batteries, an fsk track and an fs1400 and be able to perform most straight cuts you can think of. plus the dust extraction is superior.

The dewalt flexvolt sytem is fantastic. I have worked alongside a carpenter who is very well kitted out with the system and in that time we built several houses and spent about 6 months working on a mansion with everything from rough framing through 2nd fix with them. although the flexvolt batteries will work on your small cordless tools the batteries are significantly more substantial than regular 18v offerings so you wont want to. in terms of power there really isn't much in it between corded and flexvolt and you can buy an adapter to power the chopsaw through mains although id pressume that to be 110v.

unless you plan to work in a field or on a site you really don't need flexvolt, ferrari's are great cars but dont make great taxis.

 

[Droogs]

+1 for the Bosch GCM 12

 

[Spectric]

in my opinion, in your situation with your budget you would be far better served with a festool Hkc 55, you can make super accurate compound mitres,

But the OP said

I plan to make simple dog houses that don’t require complex joints, just simple cuts with the saw

As mitre saws go at this moment in time the Bosch GCM 12 is hard to match let alone better for many task in a workshop enviroment.