Spec me a Bench Saw

Matutu · 6 Oct 2013 at 09:24

Guys,

I require a circular saw which can cut large sheets, but also can be used to Mitre skirting boards. This needs to come with a bench as well

.

Any recommendations? seems to be a minefield out there!

Budget is not that high so that is trying to be kept as low as possible.

Thanks a lot!

Nightglow · 6 Oct 2013 at 09:34

Two totally different jobs, ideally for mitring skirting you need a mitre saw or sliding mitre saw, the latter allows you to cut wider boards.

Have a look on the bay for a used site saw, circular saw bench or table saw.

Could hire a sliding mitre saw for a weekend, week.

EDIT: What width skirting you cutting?

godinman · 6 Oct 2013 at 09:43

Aren't there combo-saws or something? I guess they'd be rather expensive however. I use a Draper mitre saw, it isn't sliding but it's very good for the money.

jonnyp1993 · 6 Oct 2013 at 10:14

Makita do a multi saw which will do the job for you, you might be able to get one from the bay, if not, it will set you back about £400 peanuts.

Matutu · 6 Oct 2013 at 10:30

Thats what I was hoping for was a good Combo set! Knew there had to be something that did both!

Nightglow · 6 Oct 2013 at 10:53

jonnyp1993 said:
Makita do a multi saw which will do the job for you, you might be able to get one from the bay, if not, it will set you back about £400 peanuts.

Your referring to the Makita LF1000 flipper chop saw, see them on the bay, but seldom cheap, your looking at £250 minimum for one, usually go for more.

You can also get Combination Mitre / table saw, Dewalt, Makita all make flip/ flipover saws, had a Bosch GTM12JL myself, couldn't on with it, table was too small for large sheets, didn't like the table obscuring the mitre saw.

Could look out for something like the Evolution Rage 6 255mm TCT Multipurpose Mitre / Table Saw,has a small table, or something better like a flip over saws, McAllister's they come up quite often on the bay.

Lopéz · 6 Oct 2013 at 11:07

Those Rage Evolution look decent value but I really wasn't impressed with the build quality when I used one, it felt quite cheap and nasty. I was surprised, I expected a bit more of a solid feel to it.

Nightglow · 6 Oct 2013 at 11:14

Lopéz said:
Those Rage Evolution look decent value but I really wasn't impressed with the build quality when I used one, it felt quite cheap and nasty. I was surprised, I expected a bit more of a solid feel to it.

Agree, they seem to have gone down in quality lately, another saw I like was the Dewalt DW742 or DW743 flipover saw, been looking for a cheap one on the bay.

paintguy · 6 Oct 2013 at 13:15

Nightglow said:
Two totally different jobs, ideally for mitring skirting you need a mitre saw or sliding mitre saw, the latter allows you to cut wider boards.

I'm sure you could get by with a bench saw though, if it wasn't a job you were intending to do regularly, providing the blade tilts to 45°

Makhaira · 6 Oct 2013 at 16:56

If you're going to spend several hundred pounds, I'd suggest doing what I did and buying industry-grade kit second hand. A dewalt 1251 RAS should set you back around £300/350 for an extremely good example, and will be all you ever need. I paid £250 for mine as it needed a bit of repair work doing that cost me around £50 or so.

Nightglow · 6 Oct 2013 at 17:32

paintguy said:
I'm sure you could get by with a bench saw though, if it wasn't a job you were intending to do regularly, providing the blade tilts to 45°

Trying cutting long lengths of skirting through a sawbench & keeping in parallel to the fence.
It's better to clamp the skirting & pull the saw through the wood.

Makhaira said:
If you're going to spend several hundred pounds, I'd suggest doing what I did and buying industry-grade kit second hand. A dewalt 1251 RAS should set you back around £300/350 for an extremely good example, and will be all you ever need. I paid £250 for mine as it needed a bit of repair work doing that cost me around £50 or so.

Dewalt 1251 RAS was fantastic, had one years ago, about 1996.
Being able to rotate the cutting head for ripping sheets was a great idea such a versatile machine, cross mitre and bevel cuts, ripping, bevel compound mitres, so many uses.
Had to sell it due to family problems at the time, sadly missed.

You see a lot of Dewalt DW125, DW1501 radial arm saws on the bay at a reasonable price, some even have the original drum sander & router bracket.