Looking for a "light duty" sliding miter saw

[John Pollman]

Howdy all.

Long time no see. I've been busy and had some major computer issues lately that I've thankfully finally resolved. I'd just like to see if any of you have some input on a possible new tool I'm looking for. I'm currently on a huge job. It started out big and just keeps getting bigger. Originally it was about 1250 square feet of a combination of laminate flooring, ceramic, and marble. (About 1k s.f. of laminate and 250 tile/marble mix) Well the job has gotten substantially bigger. Now I've got an entire new kitchen to install and the laminate job has increased to about 1300 s.f. with a possible additional 550 s.f. in the near future. Also the marble/tile combination has increased to about 400 s.f.
I've got a DeWalt DW708 (12" sliding compound miter saw) that is a great tool and works well but it's mounted on a cutting station and not very easy to move around. Also a good deal of this laminate work is upstairs in a loft and two stairways. Normally when installing flooring I do my cutting outside to avoid the cleanup mess. But this job is just too big to do that. I can't be making dozens of trips up and down the stairs to cut each piece. Is there a small light duty sliding miter saw that I could pick up that will crosscut an 11.5" board ? I saw a nice light little (cheapie) at Home Depot a month or so ago. It was an 8" but wouldn't be wide enough. The flooring that I've got to cut is 11.5" wide. I'm thinking that in order to find a saw big enough to crosscut the pieces I'm going to have to get into a big saw. My other thought is possibly picking up a cordless trim saw. Then I could set up right on the spot and do my cutting right there and save a lot of time going back and forth to the saw.

Thanks for any input you may have !

John

[Stefan Schoenberger]

Hi John

I use a "Makita LS 1013" for my jobs. I have this saw since two years and I am very statisfied with it. The saw is not realy heavy and has a handle in the centre for good handling.

http://www.makitatools.com/menu.php?pg=product_det&tag=LS1013

Stefan

[Dave Falkenstein]

Hitachi makes a SCMS with an 8-1/2 inch blade and a 12 inch depth of cut. It is reasonably portable, but dust collection is very marginal.

An alternative to your indoor cutting problem is a more expensive, but very effective way to crosscut with good dust pickup - I'm referring to the Festool plunge circular saw used with the Festool Multifunction table, hooked up to the Festool dust extractor. See the tools here:

http://www.festoolusa.com/

If you are interested in pursuing this alternative, I can recommend Bob Marino as a great Festool resource:

http://festool.safeshopper.com/

[Steve Cox]

One other option might be a new stand. I use the Bosch 12" slider mounted on a Ridgid "MSUV" which stands for miter saw utility vehicle. It folds down into a package about the size of a dolly and while I wouldn't want to wheel it up and down two flights every day it would be fairly easy to get up there for the duration of the job.

[Michael Charles]

John,

FWIW, I feel for you. I just installed around 800 s.f. of laminate flooring. I used my delta CMS, CS, and TS to make all the different cuts necessary. I sitll hvae to finish up by installing the quater round molding around the base boards. I hope I dont have to do the rest of my house. It was not a hard job, however the constant up and down, and going outside to make the cuts was a little rough on the bak and knees.
IMO, from what I have seen, you may want to check out the Dewalt SCMS. They can be a little pricey but they are also very good machines. Just FYI, I dont know if every laminate manufactuer is the same, but the laminate floor I used had some metal in the laminate. It was very hard on the saw blades.

[tod evans]

check out the trojan saw stand. it`s the best thing for installs since sliced bread.......02 tod

[Mark Singer]

The 8 1/2" Hitachi is a classic standard of trim carpenters and flooring installers....12" wide capacity...It is my shop CMS that I use all the time

[John Pollman]

Thanks for all the input guys. I'll have to check in to those. As I said before I normally do all my cutting outside on a flooring job unless it's a new build or major renovavtion. But in this case with a job of this size it just wouldn't be feasable. I'd spend half of my time running back and forth to the saw. I just want to be able to have a saw close by. That DW708 is my favorite tool but just too darn big for this application.

Have a great weekend !

John

[Bill Fields]

John:

The Ridgid MSUV has been mentioned. I bought mine at HD and it is the standard in mobility, stability and fold-up ease.

Bill

[Walt Pater]

Doesn't Makita make a cordless slider?
Might fit the bill

[John Pollman]

That Hitachi looks like a sweet saw ! But at this point I don't really want to drop another $400. I just had a thought though. I think I'm going to make up a cutting jig so that I can just use my circular saw. I made a similar setup a couple of years ago when I was residing the soffits and gables of my house. I wanted a quick way to cut the strips of vinyl soffit material. I'm just going to take a piece of high density particle board as a base then put a strip of 7/16 material accross the top and bottom of the base. The laminate flooring that I'm cutting is 3/8 thick. This will allow it to slide side to side freely but still keep it in place. Then all I have to do is run a couple of pieces perpendicular to the first two and they will act as a guide for the saw. I can then just set the depth of cut to be just below the surface and I should be all set. Sure I could do it freehand but I think this method will be much faster and it basically won't cost me anything. ;) I've got enough scrap material to make up the whole thing. I'm thinking that I can then flip the laminate over so I'm cutting from the back side and it will reduce the chipping. Then I just mark the length I want at one spot and slide it into the jig and line up the mark with the edge of the groove the blade makes and cut away. This way I'll get good square cuts on every piece and it'll be quick. I can just clamp the jig into my B&D Workmate and I can have the saw right near where I'm working at all times. I'll let you know how it works out.

John

[Bill Fields]

John-

OR--you could get the HF 12" slider for about $180. I have one and it is more than OK. Weighs about 43#, and is a good teammate to the Ridgid MSUV mentioned above. They also make a 10" saw. Chinese copies of DeWalt, I think.

There are many items that one should NOT buy mail-order from HF and this is one of them. If someting is wrong (and there is a reasonable chance there will be, you will be told to ship it back, etc.) If you get it from a HF retail store, it is a no-hassle return.

Everyine neeeds a new tool--but your solution sounds quite reasonable. Guess it depends on how frequently you will be faced with the same challenge.

Bill

[Burt Waddell]

Makita has two 7 1/2" sliders. One is cordless with a 7 1/2" cross cut. the other is 110 volt and has a 12" cross cut capacity. I think weight for the corded one is about 25 pounds.

[Burt Waddell]

The new EZ Smart sliding square/fence would be a great answer to this problem. It is portable, clean and eliminates the blow-out from a miter saw.

[Justin Nelson]

Just another opinion on mobility, I would look into the delta "kickstand". Two 6" - 8" wheels and very stable when set up. I think they have them for around 170. Very worthwhile, and with some ingenutiy it will hold your dewalt.

[Rob Will]

Howdy all.

I've got a DeWalt DW708 (12" sliding compound miter saw) that is a great tool and works well but it's mounted on a cutting station and not very easy to move around. John

I use Dewalt's portable (aluminum) mitre saw stand on my 706 saw, I wonder if it would work on a 708? Either way, I like the Dewalt saws. Would a 706 do the cuts that you need? The belt drive and remote motor give the 706 a lot of capacity.....and lighter than a 708.

If you look at the DeWalt stand, get an extra set of the work supports and put them on the inner table to support short work.

.02 Rob

[John Pollman]

Howdy folks,

here's what I've come up with. I tried it out and it works great. I get a nice smooth, square, chip free cut just using my DeWalt 7-1/4" circular saw. And the best part of all is that it was basically "FREE". :) (Made completely from scrap that I had laying around the shop) I just measure the length of the piece and mark it on the back side. Then slide it into the jig upside down and this helps reduce the chipping. Line up the mark with the cut line and cut away. Here are some pics....

http://home.comcast.net/%7Ejpollman/jig1.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/%7Ejpollman/jig2.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/%7Ejpollman/jig3.jpg