Jon Endres
03-29-2010, 3:08 PM
For the longest time, I have been using a Bosch 10" SCMS in my shop, for both rough cuts and fine cuts. With a good clean blade and careful adjustment, it would cut perfect square ends. I built a whole kitchen, several bath vanities and a house full of trim and baseboards with the assistance of this saw. I restricted use of my table saw to ripping and dadoes, and have never thought much of the crosscut uses of a table saw before (owing to 30 years of OEM miter gauges and their limited usefulness, maybe). The only thing I really hated about it was the big cloud of dust that I could never really get rid of.
Now, for the last couple of months, the SCMS has been banned to the shed, 200 feet from the house. I used it to build the shed and a bunch of shelves, and never brought it back into the house. Recently I've had the need to make some face frames and minor trim pieces and reached for the miter gauge on the table saw instead. I've not felt the need to build a table saw crosscut sled, ever, but now I wonder - unless I'm doing crown molding or something that requires a difficult compound angle (which can STILL be done on the table saw) -why do I have a SCMS? For rough crosscutting of long pieces, I reach for a circular saw and speed square, for fine cuts and finish cuts, I seem to be just as happy on the table saw. I think I can get a cleaner cut, and a slightly more accurate cut (re: length) on the SCMS though. It's just easier to see the mark unless you bend way over the blade on the table saw.
So who here, does not use a SCMS or radial arm saw on a regular basis and still produces decent woodworking projects? I have almost justified the idea of permanently leaving the SCMS in the shed.
Now, for the last couple of months, the SCMS has been banned to the shed, 200 feet from the house. I used it to build the shed and a bunch of shelves, and never brought it back into the house. Recently I've had the need to make some face frames and minor trim pieces and reached for the miter gauge on the table saw instead. I've not felt the need to build a table saw crosscut sled, ever, but now I wonder - unless I'm doing crown molding or something that requires a difficult compound angle (which can STILL be done on the table saw) -why do I have a SCMS? For rough crosscutting of long pieces, I reach for a circular saw and speed square, for fine cuts and finish cuts, I seem to be just as happy on the table saw. I think I can get a cleaner cut, and a slightly more accurate cut (re: length) on the SCMS though. It's just easier to see the mark unless you bend way over the blade on the table saw.
So who here, does not use a SCMS or radial arm saw on a regular basis and still produces decent woodworking projects? I have almost justified the idea of permanently leaving the SCMS in the shed.