Im introducing myself to the world of DIY, and been watching lots of youtube videos regarding my coming projects…probably comes spring/summer . 1st project is wooden flooring 4x4m floor space (there is a weird angle in the foot of the stairs) ..2nd project is 4x6m patio decking

Question are: what to look out for buying mitresaw? Can you recommend something cheap and cheerful but do the job flawlessly. Thanks

I have one I was going to list for sale. Been in back of shed for years so will have a dig if interested. Would be cheap. Might be suitable. Alternatively I have a lovely quality bandsaw for sale with a mitre attachment, but at £200 may be more than you were looking to spend.

For cheap and cheerful look at saws that don’t slide. The sliding mechanism on cheaper saws just allows the blade to twist and wander. The bigger the blade the better to get the best cross-cutting capacity you can and budget to buy a new blade when you get the saw as the ones supplied tend to be too course and the quality of the cut can be much improved by a finer pitched blade.

There are a lot of fans of the Evolution saws, which are good for their cut anything abilities, but compared to other saws their wood cutting capacity is pretty modest and setting and adjusting angles is annoyingly fiddly, unless you think you’ll use the metal cutting capacity stick to dedicated wood saws – you’ll get a more robust and accurate machine for your money and cheaper blades.

I just bought a 210mm sliding compound mitre saw and matching circular saw (both evolution rage) for a few projects I’m doing around the house.
I’m an inexperienced amateur so my advice is worth not a lot but so far I’ve been hugely impressed with them. I’ve fitted mdf skirting board with beautifully accurate and sharp MITRE’s and this weekend ive been cutting down a flat pack IKEA wardrobe to fit inside some fitted cupboards and both saws have given straight and smooth cuts as good as the factory edges.
Both saws were b grade factory refurbs from their eBay outlet (I’ll find a link if you like) so were around £120ish for the pair delivered and both appeared to be brand new. Certainly clean and the blades were unused.

I had similar requirements to you and ended up going for the Makita MLS100.

As its non sliding has a max crosscut of 130mm which covers pretty much all my needs.

Did look at the cheaper end of sliding saws but the Makita felt more solid with less to go wrong or develop play.

Supplied blade is decent for wood and its accurate in use once setup.

thanks for the replies guys, mind if I can have link to the “saw” (make/model) mentioned? any cheap and cheerful on £100 mark or is it wishful thinking, decking boards are probably the most I can cut, do I need finer blades for the wooden floor (engineeed &laminated).

that Makita looks cheap and cheerful by the way.
http://www.screwfix.com/p/makita-mls100-2-255mm-compound-mitre-saw-240v/49074

I got one of these for flooring etc

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bosch-PLS-300-Station-Jigsaws/dp/B002LC6UWM

You’ll probably need a jigsaw for the twiddly bits anyway.

Here’s the pair I got.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/111567893043

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Evolution-RAGE-185mm-Multipurpose-Circular-Saw-B-Grade-230V-/131361280977?pt=UK_Home_Garden_PowerTools_SM&hash=item1e95be13d1

I’ve cut timber, MDF and IKEA chipboard stuff and the blade deals with them all nicely. Apparently it cuts steel, ferrous metals, alumimium and plastic too but I expect that would take the edge of the blade quite quickly.

You will need a sliding mitre saw if you wish to cross cut laminate and engineered flooring, fixed saws do not typically have the capacity to cut your
boards.
Any saw you get will need setting up – you will need a decent square and spend time ensuring the saw is adjusted to cut square in both planes.
Blades – invest in a decent 48+ toothed blade – they are cheap these days.
Cheap saws can be surprisingly good with a decent blade and properly adjusted.
Go and have a look at some and see if they twist or are loose at maximum reach.
I have a cheap performance power B&Q slider , its 10 years old and rock solid ,
it is heavy and bulky and very noisy – ear defenders needed.

I’ve had a cheap (Ferm from Screwfix) mitre saw but when we moved I needed one with more ‘capacity’.

So treated myself – it is great to use 🙂

http://www.my-tool-shed.co.uk/p13933/DeWalt_DW717XPS_Sliding_Compound_Mitre_Saw_250mm_240v/product_info.html?utm_source=googleversafeed&vfsku=13933&gpla=pla&gclid=CLrsv9fPjMMCFdQZtAod_TAAwg

very good and portable. find one on ebay for about £200 makita

jamsie – link doesn’t work? I’m curious and after one too.

Thanks.

preview at D and M tools. http://www.dm-tools.co.uk/

my choice.

Cheers!

I have the big brother still going strong 10 years on.

I have an evolution rage 255 – it is ok.. Did me for long enough

I happened upon a well used elu flip saw for 100 bucks when looking for a table saw zthe one modern dewalts are derived from.

Its like night and day , induction motor , very quiet and smooth .

Blade runs faster and cuts smoother than the tct blade – has more teeth than the tct.

Does all i need it to .

I’ve got a sliding Rage Evolution thingie … ‘Rage’ is an understatement, it is the noisiest thing in the world and cuts through things brutally fast whist distributing mess over the surrounding area (everywhere!). Great for rough cutting metal tubing, not great for clean cuts and the range of alternative discs doesn’t seem great, all I want is something less aggressive!!

A mitre saw is a useful tool but I never bother with one for laminate or solid wood floors (I am a joiner btw). A sharp handsaw is almost as quick, produces much less dust and is much easier to carry (important in Edinburgh tenements!). A jigsaw for weird shapes and a multitool for undercutting door frames are much more handy. Plus, now that recycled timber is used for laminate and worktops, you need to use the cheapest blade possible due to them being full of bits of metal + grit.

Couple of cuts from today with standard tct blade

Admittedly the top surface can chip a bit but if that matters its just a case of using a sacrificial piece on top