Do I need a miter saw? Suggestions or Opinions needed for a FOG newbie

[nkitnj]

Good afternoon!
I have a question to ask everyone.

I am a somewhat of a "newbie" in woodworking. My job allows me to be around and working with cabinet shops and door manufacturers every day for the past 13 years.  I sell PVC film used for RTF cabinet doors, table tops, and millwork. If you have been in Lowes or Home Depot, you have probably seen the product I sell and sold on display in the kitchen and bath section and millwork section in these stores.

I figured I can make my own cabinets, doors, book cases, etc., for my own home. Most of importantly, I want begin a great hobby to enjoy the rest of my life.
I recently purchased TS55, MFT 1080, RO 125 FEQ, and the OF 1400 EQ. This is basically what I am starting out with beside a Sears cordless drill and jigsaw.

Over the Christmas holiday, my father gave me his old Sears Craftsman 9? radial arm saw. I brought home and put it together. I was doing some research on it and found there is a recall on the saw due to safety reasons. My father was totally unaware of this.
So, I am returning the saw to Emerson, who is handling the recall.
I was hoping to use the radial arm saw for repetitive cuts on smaller thinner stock like stile and rails and millwork in the future.

Here is my question. Do I or should I replace my radial arm saw with another radial arm saw or a miter saw?
Can the TS55 do the work of the miter saw or radial arm saw?

I know you have to be careful with the TS55 on cutting small parts like stiles and rails. I have seen ways from FOG on how they cope with problem.

At some point, I know I will be cutting molding and millwork.

Any thoughts or suggestions would greatly be appreciated!

Thank you and keep up the great work and wealth of information provide to people like me!

 

[Daviddubya]

First - welcome to the FOG,

I would recommend a sliding compound miter saw (SCMS) over a Sears/Craftsman radial arm saw (RAS).  The current crop of SCMS's are pretty accurate and stay that way, which cannot be said for a Sears RAS.

I cannot see using a TS55/MFT to make accurate and repeatable miter cuts, let alone compound angle cuts.  The setup time on the MFT to make an accurate angle cut is way beyond my level of patience.  The angle setting mechanism on the MFT has far too much play to rely on it for an angle measurement.  I suppose you could make a set of angle setting jigs for the MFT.  OTOH, a SCMS has positive stops at several common angles, and yields the same cut every time you set it.

I have a TS55 and a MFT1080 and use it all of the time.  My MFT fence and rail gets set to square and stays that way.  I also have and use a SCMS, and have a hard time imagining living without it.

 

[Eli]

Radial arm saw is one of those things people love or hate. They generally scare the crap out of me. But they can be really useful. But I haven't needed one yet. A miter saw is quite a bit more portable.

The TS55 can do a lot of the work, but not all of the work of the two other saws. Each tool has a smaller area of expertise. I'd say the TS55 could do enough of the work of a radial arm saw that you wouldn't know the difference if you didn't get another one. The miter saw can be really handy for mitering small pieces. I'd rather use that saw for that purpose than the TS55.

To answer your question. I personally would get a miter saw. I have one. I don't have a radial arm saw. Hopefully you'll hear from someone who does.

 

[semenza]

Hi,

     I have an old RAS that I keep because it is handy for certain cuts especially if they do not need to be real accurate. I do not need the shop space that it is in otherwise it would go in favor of something else in that space. If I didn't have one I would not buy an RAS.  A sliding compound miter saw will do a better job than the RAS for wide cross cuts and miter cuts. The MFT, Router, miter saw and TS55 combo will do everything the RAS does and better.   If you plan to cut molding and millwork you will definitely want the miter saw.
    I have a compound miter saw also.

Seth

 

[nkitnj]

Thank you for our responses!
I really appreciate your input!

Tom

 

[Bill in seattle]

Tom,
Just thought I'd chip my 2 cents in. I had 6 radial arms set up in a shop and they did their job most of the time. the biggest problems I had were staying in alignment. Every time when you adjusted up or down or angled or beveled they always needed to be tweaked. They were better for fixed tasks imo. We had ones for 12, 16, and 24'' cross cuts but you had to check squareness many times a day when cutting 1000's of pieces. Most ras's are direct drive and even the big 3hp 220 ones would at times bog down and some would bind the blades occasionally. The best use we had was to be able to set up a dado stack and run fixed reference trenches. This was nice as the wood thickness's would vary but the finished groove would be consistent in regards to the bottom. I think scms are a good all around choice for most tasks, and kinda a modern replacement for the ras. thou not best for all. the right tool for the job scenario fits here. All but the dado one were replaced by scms or routers at some time and the dado one became obsolete due to plant on faces.
Bill

 

[Jesse Cloud]

Tom,
I agree that the miter saw is probably a must have for a shop, especially if you are doing moulding.  Rumor has it that the Festool miter saw, KAPEX, is coming this spring!

 

[Bob Marino]

Tom,
I agree that the miter saw is probably a must have for a shop, especially if you are doing moulding.   Rumor has it that the Festool miter saw, KAPEX, is coming this spring!

Jesse,

Spring? Unless something changed big time, I am hoping for summer...of 08!

Bob

 

[nkitnj]

Hello again!
Thank you again for everyone's input!
I feel I will be looking at buying a ms. Which one, I am not sure yet. I may wait for the Kaypex.
I agree with Bob. I sell German products so I know when they say Spring, it means Summer/Fall. The Germans are very technical and precise and will only introduce a product when THEY are ready.

Thank you again!
Tom

 

[chughes]

  When I got started on my own, back before the sliding compound miter saw, I could see the need for longer cross cut, at times at a miter.  I borrowed my dads RAS.  I think I ruptured a disk, not a portable saw.  Thank god for the SCMS.  For the most part you could get away with straight up compound miter saw, a dual would be a little more useful, a slider just adds so much more capicity for things like miter returned trim stringers. 

 

[Dave Ronyak]

Tom,

I used a Craftsman 10" RAS for >20 years.  I generally agree with the comments others make regarding the need to check alignment, but I did not find that my unit was problematic in maintaining alignment.  Maybe I was lucky, or maybe it was because I assembled and aligned it carefully when new, and did not move it about.  Anyway I sold it after deciding that a table saw would better suit my work habits and discovery of Festool's TS 55, 1400 router, and MFT 2080. I  also purchased a basic 10" Hitachi CMS mostly for its portability and use in installing mitred trim.  I regret that I did not spend more and get a 12" CMS because I have found it much more convenient and faster (at least for me) to cut baseboard with it standing vertical against the fence.  In other words, I don't find myself frequently using the compound capability.  Even with all the options I now have I sometimes miss my RAS, but it had to go due to space limitations.  A quality slider CMS won't have quite the crosscut range of a typical 10" RAS, but will be lighter and take less space.  Certain Makita sliders are well regarded by others on FOG, I suggest you search out and read those threads, and of course Kapex should outperform them all when it finally becomes available in NA, especially in regard to trenching cuts (dados), dust collection, reduced tabletop space requirement and lightweight.  If you are still interested in an RAS, I recommend you consider an older DeWalt model.  Although they lack the additional safety features of newer RAS (especially no autobrake after de-powering the saw), their build quality produces repeatable, reliable accuracy.  The difference between the old 9" DeWalt RAS of a friend and my Craftsman 10" (near top of their line when I bought it) was immediately noticeable.

Dave R.