Which Mitre Saw- Can't afford Kapex (Yet...)?

[justinh]

You don't have to buy all of them.  Buy what you think you need as you need it.  Mastering the Miter Saw, Base and Casing, and Crown would be a good place to start.  $150 for all three.  The cost of learning the information contained within the hard way is much more expensive.  If you are looking for free check out This is Carpentry or use the search function at the JLC Forum.  There is a massive amount of valuable info there.

I don't consider using a saw other than a Kapex "making due".  There are any number of professional grade saws on the market that yield excellent results.  I can swipe my card and buy the saw but don't because I can get reliably accurate results from every saw I own none of which owe me a thing.  The only feature of the Kapex that could potentially make me more money would be the dust collection but there are any number of ways to collect and contain dust on the occasions that I need better than what I can get from using a Midi vac, a drop cloth, and maybe a Chopshop Hood. 

 

[sae]

I have the Bosch GCM12SD glide saw. It's heavy, but heavy adds stiffness, right? I'm young and limber so I really don't care about the extra weight. The glide action is effortless and nothing short of amazing.

Home Depot dropped it to $649, I had a 10% off coupon to drop it to $584.

The upfront controls are awesome, not sure how I lived without them, and it's pretty dead accurate once you calibrate it.

It also tucks away neatly into a cabinet when not in use.

Dust collection is borderline bad, I haven't hooked it up to a DE yet so I don't know what will happen there. Sawdust isn't nearly as intrusive as sanding dust so it's lower on my priorities of dust problems to "solve".

My hobbyist [2cents].

I'll still probably end up with a Kapex down the road because I'm a gear-slut and don't know how to be satisfied when knowing there's something better out there.  [doh]

 

[wow]

If I hadn't purchased a Kapex, that Bosch is EXACTLY what I would have purchased. Nice choice!

 

[JLB builders LLC]

I have the Bosch GCM12SD glide saw. It's heavy, but heavy adds stiffness, right? I'm young and limber so I really don't care about the extra weight. The glide action is effortless and nothing short of amazing.

Home Depot dropped it to $649, I had a 10% off coupon to drop it to $584.

The upfront controls are awesome, not sure how I lived without them, and it's pretty dead accurate once you calibrate it.

It also tucks away neatly into a cabinet when not in use.

Dust collection is borderline bad, I haven't hooked it up to a DE yet so I don't know what will happen there. Sawdust isn't nearly as intrusive as sanding dust so it's lower on my priorities of dust problems to "solve".

My hobbyist [2cents].

I'll still probably end up with a Kapex down the road because I'm a gear-slut and don't know how to be satisfied when knowing there's something better out there.  [doh]

How do you like the Bosch router base/table?

 

[Tinker]

I had thought about the Bosche glider until I got to the weight part. 
I also had read somewhere (when it first came out) that the weight of the glide mechanism was warping the table.I am sure Bosch has solved that problem by now.
I wood love to have a Kapex, but there are still a few toys (Festoys are on that list) on my list before i even think of spending the bucks for that. 
Tinker

 

[sae]

I also had read somewhere (when it first came out) that the weight of the glide mechanism was warping the table.I am sure Bosch has solved that problem by now.

I heard this too, but it seemed to have good flatness as least when using my engineer square (that doesn't list a tolerance). I don't own anything "certified" unfortunately.

How do you like the Bosch router base/table?

It's been just okay so far, my results weren't great the two times I used it, but I can probably attribute it to not being bolted down properly. I need more time to re-evaluate my workshop setup to give it a more permanent home.

These supposedly had flatness issues too so something to check before hand, maybe the process engineer at Bosch didn't have a good grasp of surface grinding. This one seemed good as well though.

 

[Grasshopper]

Thanks again to all who helped me out with my questions!  Unexpectedly, my Dewalt saw sold (for giggles I threw it on Craigslist at a price that covered my cost+tax) To my surprise, it sold pretty fast. 

That was the moment of truth for me when I had a buyer with cash ready to pay me for my saw.  (My inner voice said, "what are you doing!  You are selling a very good saw, and now spending twice as much to replace it!")  It was still a tough decision, but I sold the Dewalt and am now looking for a Kapex (Ideally reconditioned, but if not I will be getting one soon).

Kapex, here we come!

 

[waho6o9]

Wise choice Grasshopper.

 

[Grasshopper]

Unboxed my new Kapex tonight!  Yahoo…and in a lapse of good judgement (or in a brilliant move depending on how you look at it), have a:  Domino, Carvex, CMS-VL MFT/3 Router Table Set, RO 150 coming soon. 

….operation "slippery slope" complete  [scared]

 

[curt boyer]

It's about time! Enjoy
Cheers
Curt

 

[sae]

….operation "slippery slope" complete  [scared]

Complete. Hah.

 

[Tinker]

A few replies back, the subject of off cuts becoming missiles was discussed.  At the time, i had not had that problem.  I seldom use my Hitachi SCMS anymore since coming home with my old ATF 55 and MFT 600.  I still have not had such problem with the SCMS, but a couple of days ago, I was ripping some 3/8" strips off of 6/4 Walnut with my TS 55. The bottom of the tray is 3/8" thick spalted maple.  Usually, i make bottoms of such trays about 1/4", but kept 3/8" for added strength to the spalted wood. Usually, i clamp a stop to the end of the cut when ripping thin strips from short pieces of any kind of wood.  In this case, I had made a serving tray with high sides on it.  The ends were about 12" and the sides were about 16".  When it had all been assembled, i did not like the weight.  The sides were around 1" wide so I decided to rip 1/2" all around. There were only 4 cuts to be made so I just set up the rail and saw was set to proper depth and i made the first cut.

Since I was only making 4 cuts, I did not take time to clamp a backer to the cut and as i finished that first cut, there was a very mild explosion.  Nothing had happened to the saw, and I felt no kickback.  The explosion had not been close to my hands in any way.  The noise i had heard was the thin piece of walnut sinking, like an arrow, into the sheetrock wall about 5 feet away from where I was cutting.  I am leaving that "arrow" sticking out of the wall to show my grandson, the next time he works with me in the shop, just why i harp on him to never stand in line of any cutting machinery.  He has experienced both his father and grandfather very emphatically preaching about staying away from moving equipment of any kind since he could walk.  We have not had occasion to show him samples of being run over by tractors, trucks and backhoes, but i can now show him a real danger of working in a woodshop.
Tinker

 

[Jaybolishes]

Grasshopper, let us know if you find small 1" or less cutt offs flying like missiles.  My axial has never done this, but I want a much lighter accurate saw like the kapex.  Missiles of wood make me jump and uneasy when using others saws that fling wood, and that's not something I ever want to deal with.

 

[Grasshopper]

Whoa. I'd love to see a picture.

(And glad you are OK!)

A few replies back, the subject of off cuts becoming missiles was discussed.  At the time, i had not had that problem.  I seldom use my Hitachi SCMS anymore since coming home with my old ATF 55 and MFT 600.  I still have not had such problem with the SCMS, but a couple of days ago, I was ripping some 3/8" strips off of 6/4 Walnut with my TS 55. The bottom of the tray is 3/8" thick spalted maple.  Usually, i make bottoms of such trays about 1/4", but kept 3/8" for added strength to the spalted wood. Usually, i clamp a stop to the end of the cut when ripping thin strips from short pieces of any kind of wood.  In this case, I had made a serving tray with high sides on it.  The ends were about 12" and the sides were about 16".  When it had all been assembled, i did not like the weight.  The sides were around 1" wide so I decided to rip 1/2" all around. There were only 4 cuts to be made so I just set up the rail and saw was set to proper depth and i made the first cut.

Since I was only making 4 cuts, I did not take time to clamp a backer to the cut and as i finished that first cut, there was a very mild explosion.  Nothing had happened to the saw, and I felt no kickback.  The explosion had not been close to my hands in any way.  The noise i had heard was the thin piece of walnut sinking, like an arrow, into the sheetrock wall about 5 feet away from where I was cutting.  I am leaving that "arrow" sticking out of the wall to show my grandson, the next time he works with me in the shop, just why i harp on him to never stand in line of any cutting machinery.  He has experienced both his father and grandfather very emphatically preaching about staying away from moving equipment of any kind since he could walk.  We have not had occasion to show him samples of being run over by tractors, trucks and backhoes, but i can now show him a real danger of working in a woodshop.
Tinker