[Closed] What sliding mitre saw?

Have you tried ebay?

I got a s/h mitre saw, (an Elektra Beckum which are suspposed to be good quality I think), for £40 off ebay. Due to the size they are generally "collect only", so some bargains can be had.

I haven't but I will now!!

At that price get your hands on anything before you buy - perhaps more so new than second hand - it can be really hit and miss as to how straight and square they'll cut. Pull the saw forward and down and wiggle the handle and see how much flex and slop there in the mechanism by watching the blade against the slot in the fence - wiggle left to right and twist. At that price point and even at double that you can get some real turkeys, but the odd gem too. I once had a cheap own brand B&Q one that was an absolute gem but there is a lot of rubbish

Theres lots that Evolution stuff is good at, but - being rigid isn't always one of them, I've got a non sliding one which I only use for steel cutting as it flexes and slops far too much for woodwork

Personally, unless you want to make trenching cuts I'd spend the same money on non-sliding saw, perhaps with a bigger blade, it'll be much more accurate.

cardiff, just to note mine wasn't a sliding saw.
It's as good as I will ever need though, even cut neat mitres in plastic mini trunking for cables.

Sounds interesting, maybe a non sliding one is the way to go then....

find the widest bit of board you're likely to cut and measure it.

You need a saw that'll comfortable cut that wide - the non slidign ones are often limited int his respect unless you get one with a massive blade.

Thickness also determined by blade size but unless you're regularly doign 80mm+ deep cuts most blades will be fine.

what maccruiskeen says + a lot

hands on or its a lottery

I also still have a cheap B&Q slider - that I have had for 7+ years and
it has been lent out dropped and generally not taken care of - I still marvel at its smooth no slop slide and general solid feel. I think it was £99.99 ...

hands on or its a lottery

Nearly all of these on ebay are "collection only" so hands on is no problem.

Evolution blades are excellent, the motors are good but as has already been said they are not as good as they could be.

I've got the evolution from screwfix. Its actually pretty decent. Good capacity on the slide, not super stiff but can cut very square if you go steady. The blade will go through anything. I chop aluminium on mine, as well as plastic and wood. I've even cut steel with it. It'll happily go though unseen nails. I looked on ebay for ages but the good brands went for proper money. Can't really see the benefit of a non sliding one from a stiffness point of view as you can lock the slider, and the slide gives a load more capacity and general usefulness.

I have an Evolution Fury and it worked very well for me. Cuts were all accurate, and mitres were consistent.
Going to build a Wood fired oven in the garden next year, so we'll see if it can handle chopping lots of firebricks (with the appropriate masonry blade).
Agree with nickjb about the sliding vs non-sliding versions.

I *think* a chap from Evolution is a poster on here. At least, when I was researching buying one, I'm sure I happened on some old threads.

I got an Evolution slider. For my use - cuts to build a wood store, so hardly fine work - it has been incredibly useful. I spent a day cutting all the wood (a lot), which made building the store so much easier.

EDIT: mine's a Stealth, which was a special edition model. Got it discounted from B&Q.

I've got a B&Q one I got years ago. It's very good - cuts bang on every time. Used it to build an understairs panelled cupboard and door and to cut all the downstairs skirting when I did the damp proof course a few year ago. Made easy work of it and cuts consistently once set up.

Cheapo B&Q one here, £50

[url= http://www.diy.com/search/Mitre%20saws/Performance-Power-210MM-Compound-Mitre-Saw-10957623 ]210mm mitre saw[/url]

Only rubbish bit is the "laser" (its an LED really) line isn't powered from the mains, and has a separate on/off switch to the saw, so i'm forever leaving it on and flattening the AA battery it runs off. Also the dust collection bag is terrible, so just use a hoover.

If i were using it full time i'd spend more, but for occasional use and £50 it's fine!

Went through the same process a few months back and ended up with this.

http://www.screwfix.com/p/makita-mls100-2-255mm-compound-mitre-saw-240v/49074

Thought it would be better going for a non sliding as there was less to go wrong.

Built the mandatory log store and shelves and cuts cleanly and straight.

I looked last year, ended up spending a lot more on a discontinued De Walt - it was worth it 🙂

But my 10 y/o old mitre saw is still doing firewood duties.