Woodworking crosscut tools: Feedback needed

[2manyrocks]

Radial saws lost out to miter saws because radial saws aren't easy to transport to a jobsite and because they go out of alignment if you so much as move them a fraction of an inch in the shop. Then there are the safety issues with radial saws. I'm not even sure they had saw guards for many years and then the ones they put on them were not so great protection.

The OP realistically needs to look at what he's going to cut and then decide if he needs or wants a slider.

 

[dragoneggs]

Radial saws lost out to miter saws because radial saws aren't easy to transport to a jobsite and because they go out of alignment if you so much as move them a fraction of an inch in the shop. Then there are the safety issues with radial saws. I'm not even sure they had saw guards for many years and then the ones they put on them were not so great protection.

The OP realistically needs to look at what he's going to cut and then decide if he needs or wants a slider.

Yeah, I was always a bit scared of my radial arm saw. Absolutely hated turning the head to rip boards. As far as slider vs. non mitre, I suggest getting a slider and a compound so you aren't kicking yourself later on capacity/capability.

 

[tjkubota93]

Appreciate all the feedback.

I'm thinking about the Craftsman 10" compact sliding miter saw, and the Ryobi 7 1/4" sliding miter saw. Both use up about 32" of depth, which is a lot less than most of the sliding miter saws, and both have good crosscut capacity (12" and 10", respectively). Craftsman markets a 7 1/4" compact sliding miter saw, but it maxes out at a 8" crosscut, which is too small.

I have a dewalt 12" compound sliding saw like alot of others. Before that I had a dewalt 10" non slider and a kobalt 7 1/4" sliding compound bought as kind of a stop gap to make bigger cuts.

Getting the big high quality saw was extremely painful to me being a real tightwad, but that thing is a joy to use. Buy once cry once right?

Getting dewalt 12 compound slider, there are 3 basic options high dollar with shadow laser thing, midway saw with no laser thingy but same high quality mechanicanism, and cheapy big box crappy one. Dont get the crappy one. You can google that or read amazon reviews to figure out the right part #.

The only disadvantage to it besides the price is it is a heavy turd to move around. It's so nice to use, that doesn't bother me at all.

If you dont do any fine projects it may not matter to you as much.

 

[sld]

I have a panel saw that will cross cut 48". It is a very useful tool for the times when my chop saw is too small. Table saw for any sheet ripping.

 

[2manyrocks]

With Sears having filed bankruptcy this week, it brings back memories of buying a radial saw from them and the days when so many homeowners bought power tools from them before Harbor Freight and Home Depot came along.

There could be some liquidation sales on tools at Sears coming soon which is sort of a bittersweet situation for those of us that miss the old Sears and have plenty of Craftsman reminders in our shops.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Yeah, I was always a bit scared of my radial arm saw. Absolutely hated turning the head to rip boards. As far as slider vs. non mitre, I suggest getting a slider and a compound so you aren't kicking yourself later on capacity/capability.

I prefer to rip on a tablesaw.

I have sears radial arm saw, joiner, routers, scroll saw.

 

[downsizingnow48]

This thread made me remember the old Rockwell miter saws, the first on the market. We used the dickens out of those things. Lots better available now, but for its time, this was a real game changer.

 

[ededic]

Like most who posted here, I have DEWALT 12 compound miter bought in 1990. I recently built a out feed table setup similar to HJCTractor. Gotta love Rockler, I think I spend more there than we do on groceries. For reference, here is the Kreg Precision Measuring Systems Kit

My out-feed table has built in dust collection for the sander (finished dust collection not in pictures) and the bench mounted Kreg Jig K4 Pocket Hole System. I have the saw table on a screw lift to allow vertical adjustment on other tools like the planer.

 

[/pine]

This thread made me remember the old Rockwell miter saws, the first on the market. We used the dickens out of those things. Lots better available now, but for its time, this was a real game changer.

I've still got a couple of them (the original "chop saw")...sure speeded things up from a miter box and back saw for production work...!

The darn drive belts cost more than the saws are worth these days...

 

[Egon]

With Sears having filed bankruptcy this week, it brings back memories of buying a radial saw from them and the days when so many homeowners bought power tools from them before Harbor Freight and Home Depot came along.

There could be some liquidation sales on tools at Sears coming soon which is sort of a bittersweet situation for those of us that miss the old Sears and have plenty of Craftsman reminders in our shops.

There was a time Quality and Sears went together. In the present the quality has been left behind.

I have a 1968 sears RAS. It has and still does see a lot of use.