CTD, Kapex, RAS or other?

[Mark Gibney]

What are your thoughts on a miter saw for a shop?
- a good regular miter saw such as a Kapex (I tried a Bosch 12" non-slider a few years back and couldn't get it to work well enough to keep, so this time I might avoid that brand)

- a CTD cut-off saw (used!! so I can afford it). My only concern here is most of them don't have that much cut width, but then again when I get to the point of trimming pieces to final length that might be fine.

- a radial arm saw. A friend suggested this to me, but I'm wary of this sort of saw having accuracy issues similar to the regular chop saws.

This topic has indeed been covered in the past, and on other forums as well, but I haven't found clarity in what I've read so far.

thanks, Mark

[Phillip Mitchell]

I would add Omga to the list if you’re considering CTD.

I think you will hear a lot of mixed feedback concerning the Kapex, but I have never used one very much personally.

[Brian Holcombe]

Regular miter saw is fine for rough cutting to length, wouldn’t trust it beyond that. Omga or similar for precision work through either small or large parts.

[Kevin Jenness]

What Brian said.

[Andrew Hughes]

I have the Bosch glide with a 12 inch blade. I thought is was great for cutting crown molding and trim work.
Its not something I rely on for squaring up thick boards. With a Forrest chop master I’ve done well cutting miters in solid woods like 1 inch hickory.

[Bernie Kopfer]

I have a Kapex and it is a good saw. Particularly I like the material hold down and compactness. IMO the idea that a miter saw cannot be used for accurate final cuts is nonsense. With a good blade, hold downs, and solid stops it makes great cuts and beats firing up and setting up the TS every time I want to cut a board. If cutting to a gnat’s eyelash accuracy is what you are seeking perhaps the other saws mentioned are worth the $. The Kapex was a gift but if I had to do it again the 10 Bosch Glide would be my choice at half the price. O

[roger wiegand]

Unlike many others here I've happily used a Hitachi SCMS for final crosscutting and miters for over 20 years now. I get better results than using a sled on the table saw, I think because moving the relatively light saw head is much easier and more controllable than horsing around a long workpiece and sled. A slider would probably change this calculation, but I don't have one and don't have room for one.

Like everything else in woodworking I think technique has a lot to do with it, as well as starting with a good tool, a sharp blade of the right sort, and maintenance. I have a pretty serious saw station with a Biesemeyer fence and stop set up that completely supports the work and allows for work reproducible to my ability to measure it. I use a light hand on the saw and, obviously, don't toss it around in the back of a truck.

Crosscuts and 45's are straight and square, there is never any light showing when I put a good square on them and hold them up to a bright light. With the Forrest chop blade the ends are as smooth as anything I can accomplish on my table saw.

I honestly don't know what I'm missing, or what more I could ask. The dogmatic "only good for rough cuts" responses that invariably appear in these threads are simply inconsistent with my observed reality.

[Bradley Gray]

I have an older delta turret saw, 14". I keep it @90 degrees and use pitch blocks to cut angles. Super accurate, smooth cuts and can be had for low low prices. Mine cost $300 with a $300. blade.

[Bryan Hall]

I'm a finish carpenter, and love my dewalt 716xps. In the shop though, I don't even have it set up. I just use a mafell crosscut saw.

[Brian Holcombe]

I honestly don't know what I'm missing, or what more I could ask. The dogmatic "only good for rough cuts" responses that invariably appear in these threads are simply inconsistent with my observed reality.

Well, it is consistent with my observed reality, and my experience.

[Warren Lake]

old guy had no faith in radials for fine work. Same time told me he knew one trained guy who did all his work on one. Its a wood table and thats not an ideal start. Id bet most of the better ones could do decent work the old solid ones.

I see it as an old radial to cross cut rough material. No interest in doing that on some compound mitre thing and putting extra heavier wear and tare on it. I had a crap radial for years that would time out and go for a siesta cross cutting solid so I stuck it in the back yard and went to a worm drive. Then got an Old wadkin Radial, its purpose will mostly be cross cutting. Id like to convert one to do haunching maybe as well one of the big old solid ones.

[Michael Drew]

I've been using a 12" Dewalt for years. It's one of the originals with two vertical support rods. It cuts just fine. Clunky - yes. I just know its limitations.

For what it's worth, I just bought a new one on Amazon this morning. Black Friday deal for $399, or roughly $200 off. I'll use my 'old' one for mobile construction work, and keep this 'new' one in my shop.

For critical cutting, I'll use my table saw.

[Michael Schuch]

My 1947 16" Redstar radial arm saw is the most used saw in my shop. The Redstar usually has a Freud Ultimate Cut Off blade mounted on it but I also have a coarser blade for rough lumber, pvc pipe, etc. I also use a Dewalt compound miter saw (no slide) which is great for quick angled cuts. The Redstar cuts a perfect 90, does very accurate angles then returns to a perfect 90 but is somewhat cumbersome for a quick miter which is where the Dewalt is nice.

A quality RAS will keep its angles very well and a RAS has a much wider range of use than a miter saw. I appreciate having both!

I am in the process of fixing up a sliding table saw to add to my shop but there will always be long boards which will be much easier on a saw with a moving blade instead of moving the stock through a fixed blade.

I had a Bosch sliding miter saw and sold it. It did not keep as good of an angle as my RAS or Dewalt miter saw and took up considerable space behind the saw. All the sliding miter saws I have used have had a fair amount of flex in them. To me sliding miter saws are a compromise and no where as ridged as a good RAS or even a non-sliding miter.

[Dave Sabo]

Well, it is consistent with my observed reality, and my experience.

Perhaps you’ve just chosen the wrong saw , or blades , or just don’t have the right training.

Or, more likely - your reality is just different from roger’s and others. Doesn’t make your way correct/incorrect or better or worse than someone else’s. Plenty of people can make accurate and repeatable miters on a decent jobsite miter saw. Plenty of people make firewood on them too.

I’m with roger shaking my head on the disdain guys have for mitersaws around here. I’m also not naive enough to think people won’t use or do what works best for them. Or that what the herd thinks is best - is gonna be best for me.

[Brian Holcombe]

Frankly, what it comes down to is acceptable tolerance. I used a Kapex with a Tenryu miter pro plus prior to the Omga. That saw would come slightly out of square about every few weeks of daily use. The Omga and the smaller aluminum Omga prior to it stay and stayed square permanently.

A big part of my work is making kumiko and when gang cutting kumiko this is a critical factor especially so when they are grouped tightly in a frame. I had kumiko with 3/4” spacing earlier this year, 25 pieces per panel. There isn’t any solution to gapping parts here, they stick out like a sore thumb, so the work needs to be exceptionally tight.

So, I could readjust the saw every few weeks or each time I have highly accurate work to do, or I can do what I did which is to buy one I can count on for the work I do.

The OP asked for one’s experiences, which I shared and you are welcome to share. However, I am taking exception to my experience being referred to as ‘dogma’.