Does a woodworker really need a sliding-compound miter saw?

[Bill Carey]

I thought about getting one but couldn't justify the expense. I have a 30 year old Ryobi 8 1/2" miter saw that still cuts dead on at 90. Bought when I was trimming houses. I use it mainly to break down rough lumber, square up board ends, etc. Most everything else is table or band saw work. Or hand saw. As you can see from the picture I break down a lot of oak boards! Now if I could just get the cleaning people to show once in a while....
ryobi miter.jpg

[Peter Christensen]

I have a Makita mitre saw that I bought around 1980. It doesn't slide or even tilt over so just good for simple cuts so hardly ever gets used. The go to saw after the Beavers of course is the table saw. Certain members of the animal kingdom have wonderful abilities to work wood and you don't need ear protection with the exception of Woodpeckers and they excel at mortices, dados and holes. That is likely the reason I have no interest in a Domino or a SCMS.

[Osvaldo Cristo]

For furniture and fine woodworking it is nice to have, but it is a luxury IMO.

I see them as a construction tool. Its compound mitering is godsent for moulding. Also great for hard board flooring.

[Bill Graham]

I just want to thank everyone for their responses, it's certainly been interesting following the thread!

I guess I fall into the camp that thinks it's a must for the trim carpenter(although a non-slider would work just as well if you could find a decent one these days) and it's very convenient for breaking down long boards or when you need a quick crosscut.

Since I have two of the beasts(along with the Kapex an older(circa 2004) 8-1/2" Hitachi slider) I guess I'll keep them. The Hitachi lives in the storeroom and gets hauled out for outside work, the Kapex resides in the basement in a shop-built cabinet with folding wings and it's own vac. The dust collection is far from advertised but I only have to make a few cuts with the Hitachi and no vac appreciate the improvement.

I asked the question because I was seriously considering replacing the Kapex with the new Makita 10" slider, the one with the front rails. It allegedly has pretty good dust collection, crosscuts the same 12" and would be a new toy. But the more I thought about it and read the responses here, the more I think I'll just dance with the one that brung me. Along with that, I don't have to deal with selling off the Kapex, tinkering with the cabinet and buying a whole new collection of blades. If it ain't broke you don't need to fix it, right?

Anyway, thanks again to all who took the time to offer their thoughts.

Merry Christmas!

[Jan Carr]

I think it depends on the type of work you do and the space you have. I've had a 10" Makita SCMS for years, and would be lost without it in my cabinet shop. As far as accuracy is concerned, if you true it up, and then use it sensibly, it will stay accurate for months, and months, and months. I don't think I've had to adjust mine in about 2 years.

[Justin Ludwig]

I think it depends on the type of work you do and the space you have. I've had a 10" Makita SCMS for years, and would be lost without it in my cabinet shop. As far as accuracy is concerned, if you true it up, and then use it sensibly, it will stay accurate for months, and months, and months. I don't think I've had to adjust mine in about 2 years.

Yup. I haven't had to true mine in 5 years and it gets moved from shop to site all the time. I have a dedicated insert spot for mine in a 30' run of table where it sits 2 feet right of my RAS. I just built a set of cabinets that had T&G doors with applied molding. I rigged up a board to run off my tigerstop (that's usually only measuring to my RAS) that reached my SCMS to cut all the miters. SOOOO NICE, dead accurate, and FAST!

I saw another comment that stated it's "relative". That's always the case. If mine exploded today, I'd drive 90 miles to Lowe's and buy a new one ASAP.

For those saying that it won't cut accurately: your saw is old and worn, your blade is too thing and run-out is a problem, or (most likely) you haven't taken the time to dial it in.

Do you need one for furniture building? Not at all.

[Mike Henderson]

I just want to thank everyone for their responses, it's certainly been interesting following the thread!

I guess I fall into the camp that thinks it's a must for the trim carpenter(although a non-slider would work just as well if you could find a decent one these days) and it's very convenient for breaking down long boards or when you need a quick crosscut.

Since I have two of the beasts(along with the Kapex an older(circa 2004) 8-1/2" Hitachi slider) I guess I'll keep them. The Hitachi lives in the storeroom and gets hauled out for outside work, the Kapex resides in the basement in a shop-built cabinet with folding wings and it's own vac. The dust collection is far from advertised but I only have to make a few cuts with the Hitachi and no vac appreciate the improvement.

I asked the question because I was seriously considering replacing the Kapex with the new Makita 10" slider, the one with the front rails. It allegedly has pretty good dust collection, crosscuts the same 12" and would be a new toy. But the more I thought about it and read the responses here, the more I think I'll just dance with the one that brung me. Along with that, I don't have to deal with selling off the Kapex, tinkering with the cabinet and buying a whole new collection of blades. If it ain't broke you don't need to fix it, right?

Anyway, thanks again to all who took the time to offer their thoughts.

Merry Christmas!

I agree with you about the Kapex dust collection. It might be better but it still makes a mess. At least for me.

Mike

[Larry Edgerton]

One thing I think a lot of people miss is that a slider usually has a lock to eliminate the slide mechanism. All of mine do anyway. If you need more precision, then you lock the slide out and it is now a standard chop saw. I do it all the time.

By the way, my favorite after the finish beaver is a Makita.

[William Shelley]

I have a Ridgid 12" non-slider and a Kobalt 10" slider. Both of them get occasional use but likely the 12" non-slider will get sold and the 10" slider will go in storage until I need it for remodeling type projects on my house. Neither of them are very accurate, and I picked up a Milwaukee 18v FUEL brushless-DC 7-1/4" circular saw earlier this year and it's so much quieter and portable, I use that exclusively now for breaking down rough-sawn boards into shorter lengths. I find it invaluable when I'm going outside to my wood pile, because I can cut wood down before bringing it into my too-small shop.

My table saw does crosscut duty when I need accurate cuts.