Hi all,

I need to do just a few angular cuts but they have to be very sharp and nice. Its for doing the picture-frame cuts with hardwood strips along a fireplace hearth. Now is it well worth to rent a compund miter saw ($50) or would the miter saw kit (cost like $10) give me the same sharp cut?
I am not worried about the cost but the cut has to be sharp and nice.
Would both give me the same type of cuts and difference is only that the compound can be used for any-angle cuts and that its powered?
Needless to say, I am using the miter for the first time!!

Thanks

dilipvh:

The old timers could do it with hand tools but I have a feeling you won't be happy with a $10.00 miter box. I tried one a few years back when I didn't have my chop saw on the truck and had problems getting precision cuts with pine(very soft) quarter round.

I hope you're not using the hand tools for the rest of the floor. In my opinion you'll be there forever especially with a real hardwood and not pine.

Ken, No, I am gonna get a table saw and pnuematic nailer. I was not sure if I need a compound miter or a manual miter would do the job. More than the cost, the good benefit of manual was that I could start a day or two in advance and have the cuts made before the actual installation day. With the rental, I would have to do all on one day. But if the cut would not be good then I would go with the rented power miter. Thanks.

Table saw not such a good idea. Chances are good the strips or planks will be hard to cut due to the lengths, get twisted and can kick back on you.

Have you seen this page yet?

http://www.hardwoodinstaller.com/hardwo ... -tools.htm

Get yourself a nice, cheap 10 inch Ryobi compound miter saw at Home Depot. $75. Is it the highest quality tool you'll ever buy? No, probably (hopefully) not. But it's more than enough to do a wood floor. But it pays for itself in one project, and you can use it to cut most anything you need to cut in the future.

Plus, you won't be in a hurry to return it on time. I'm a big proponent of takign advantage of the money you're saving doing work yourself. Do a project yourself, buy yourself some nice tools that you can use on future projects. You still save a ton of money in the long run (especialyl if you're already going to rent), and it becomes much easier to do other projects for yourself inthe future now that you have the right tools.

When you do work yourself, treat yourself, too.

I like the cheap Craftsman (w laser)better than Ryobi.

Watch those fingers!!!

Hi, So are you guys suggesting that a compound miter saw would do miter cuts as well as rip cuts through 3/4" hardwood strip which could be as long at 5-7'? That would be very nice.....Do I need to get any particular blades for the solid wood strip?

Thanks...

Rip cuts are to be done with a table saw. And those cut outs, like at a doorjamb.

A Festool set up would be neat.

Dili,

I have never seen a miter saw with a 6 foot blade. If one existed,then yes,you could make rips with it.......
You can use a jigsaw to make rips,but that would be some laborious work. If you are going to rent a saw,rent a good,quality saw that has both a fence and a sled with it. You can produce some makeshift table extensions using scrap lumber or whatever you want to dream up. You can make accurate mitre cuts with a sled if you pay attention to what you are doing. I have done it. If your miter is steeper than 50 degrees,you are forced to make them that way.(Or use the festool and the festool table. )

Perry,
I have the big festool ,the 6ft straightedge and the table. It is a must have in must have situations,but it is a pretty clunky substitute for a table saw. I remember when Ken P and I were down in Fla with Howard B all of the rips were made with the festool. Major PITA.

Hi, I did take a look at the suggested Robi compound miter. It costs 87/ at HD. But I am not sure what blade to use with hardwood (3/4" thick). How costly should I buy? Also would it give me a good clean cut?
As I said, I would not like to compromise on the cut quality. If it means renting a good one is safer, I better do that. Please suggest.

Thanks....

If you rent a saw,you can expect it to have a dull blade . If you buy a new one,you can expect a brand new blade.

The lousiest new blade in the world will last for one job. I use Freud Diablo blades on my saws. If you are worried about the blade that comes with your new saw,you can always run buy a different one. Manufacturer blades are usually of higher quality than aftermarket.

The best blade I ever had was a brand new Makita. I buy the Diablo for the sake of convenience. I am a Makita man when it comes to saws.

I just got a new contractors table saw (bosch), in part to work on the flooring. The guy who made my custom treads (open treads 2 1/2 thick bubinga) brought his Festool plunge saw along one day, and I immediately wanted to buy one (this saw kicks butt!), and got sick to my stomach, since I had spent all this money on the bosch.

So are you guys saying that it's not so good for ripping flooring? What if you have taper the board?

There is only one saw that can make every cut accurately and that is a radial arm saw. It will make compound miters, rips, cross cut up to 12" and more, depending on size. Many are capable of attaching different cutting devices such as planner blades, dado heads, even router bits. It truly is the best all around saw. The downside; the good ones are not portable nor are they inexpensive and they take time to set up for your cut. But if you had room for only ONE saw in your workshop/garage, the radial arm saw will do it all, and quite well.

dilipvh.

When I did my floor, I bought:

- $100 Ryobi Compound laser miter saw.
- $100 Ryobi Portable table saw
- $20 60-tooth finishing blade

I borrowed a very cheap Black and Decker jigsaw, for strange cutouts (which I had several of).

The laser on the miter saw, to me, seems worthless. It does not tell you precisely where the cut is going to happen. So I'd buy the one without the laser and save the money.
The miter saw gets the finishing blade. The table saw uses the original blade, since most rip cuts will be covered by trim. Between the table saw and the miter saw, for the cost of $200, you have all your cuts taken care of, and you don't have to bother with renting the tools, which in the end probably runs you $100+.

I like having high quality tools, but if you're only a casual DIY'er, these are perfect tools that you will not regret buying.

Plus, they're small and store easily.

Thanks a lot for all your help. I think I will invest in the tools as Schelzel suggested.