Getting rid of the SCMS

[Jon Endres]

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.

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi Jon, I've never owned a SCMS, I used a table saw and a Jessem mitre gauge or a cross cut sled.

Regards, Rod.

[michael osadchuk]

....here's a homemade upgrade for dust collection on a scms:

http://forum.canadianwoodworking.com/showthread.php?t=31915

good luck

michael

[Lee Schierer]

I'm with Rod, I've never owned an SCMS either. I do own a RAS, but find the TS far more accurate so the RAS rarely gets used. I added a Kreg Miter Gauge to my TS and it is extremely accurate. In the mean time you can check your set up on the "factory Miter Gauge" you have with some drafting triangles. You will find your TS highly accurate once you've taken the time to align it properly, assuming you haven't already done that.

[glenn bradley]

My CMS was very useful when I started out and was slapping together shop fixtures. As of the last couple years, it has lived behind the jointer taking up valuable space. Every time I start to sell it I remember my plate jointer . . . . I would have only used it 2 or 3 times in as many years but I sure would have like to have it. Just call me gun-shy now ;-)

[Brian Penning]

I lent mine to my neighbour a year or so ago and haven't needed to ask for it back.
was only using to make rough cuts anyway.

[Van Huskey]

I have/like and use both a CSMS and RAS, like most other tools there are work arounds but some things they just do better, easier and or quicker.

[David Prince]

Impossible to replace if you do any job-site trim / base / casing / crown for a project!

[Jamie Buxton]

I own a Hitachi SCMS. It is a good machine for what it is intended to do. It used to be part of my furniture-making shop, but has been relegated to my collection of housebuilding tools (like the sawsall, the hole hawg, the sheetrock tools, and such). It is indespensible for on-site jobs like crown molding. However, for most furniture work I can do a better job with the table saw or the track saw.

[Erik Christensen]

RAS - 12" delta with ridge carbide blade and laserkerf laser = blade width, 6" DC hookup to clearvue system

SCMS - festool kapex with factory laser & festool vac

if I have to cross-cut > 18" I'll use the sliding table on my robland table saw but for most stuff the RAS/SCMS is faster, more accurate, better cut surface and safer IMHO.

both SCMS & RAS generate negligible dust, are easy to setup for repeatable cuts and there is not the laser equivalent for the TS

[Nathan Callender]

I have a CMS and used to use it, but now it's in a cabinet sitting there. I will only pull it out for general framing or trim/moulding (for which it is TOTALLY worth having a CMS tucked away somewhere). I was about to build out a complete station for it and all that, and I came to the realization that they take up SO much space for the job they do - plus mine is a SCREAMER and the DC is pretty horrible.

I do most of my cuts on a TS simply because I can't be bothered having it out and set up all the time and I've not really found any increase in accuracy or quality of cut if done right on a TS. Now, if I had a huge shop, I'd probably have a station set up for it, but I have better uses of my current space.

[Ramsey Ramco]

I couldn't live without mine, its a little overkill for cabinet face frames, but as well as cabinets I do production trim work, and in my field it is a necessity, I keep one 12" dewalt in the trailer and have a 12" makita in the shop, other than my TS it is my next most used tool.