Mitre or table saw?

Alexis said:

Odds are I will probably be removed from the site for this posting, however I need your help. I am not a contractor, however, my husband is an apprentice carpenter 2 years in. He has many expensive tools however needs to add a mitre or table saw so he can do more jobs. (Obviously)

My problem is deciding. What does he need? Which saw is the best for him? He finishes basements, builds shevles, coffee tables, etc. I`m completely torn. I found a Ridgid 10" table saw w stand for $499, otherwise, if I go Mitre, I`m thinking something from Dewalt. Double Bevel, but it seems they are EXTREMELY expensive. I think the most I am willing to spend is $499. Can someone explain the limitations that a table saw will give opposes to the Mitre saw, or vice versa? And is a circular Saw and a Mitre similar?

If you guys could help me out it would mean a TON. I would rather ask real contractors who live this day in and day out, opposed to some kid that works at Home Depot. Much appreciated.

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You may have better luck in the tools section. But my first choice would be a Makita LS1016L for around that money. He would be extremly happy with that just as any of us would. Also he would more than likley get far more use from a Mitre saw than a table saw. I use my Mitre saw 100x more than my table saw.
Home depot also sell that saw for a good price.

I am of just the opposite opinion. To me, a table saw is indispensable. You can do many things on a table saw that you can do with a miter saw. On the other hand, a miter saw just plain will not do many of the cuts a table saw will do.

When I was still a framer, I would have said go for the miter saw. Because about all I ever did was cut off sticks of lumber. Now that I do a lot of cabinet work, I say (if you are to have only one) get a good tablesaw.

If he does a lot of finish work like crown molding and baseboard, and mitered cuts on door casing, etc. then he really needs a miter saw.

It comes down to exactly the kind of work he predominately wants to do.

A circular saw is the little one you see carpenters carrying around in one hand. About the size of a toaster. A miter saw is a circular saw mounted on a table with a pivoting arm. It's a stationary tool.

BCConstruction said:

You may have better luck in the tools section. But my first choice would be a Makita LS1016L for around that money. He would be extremly happy with that just as any of us would. Also he would more than likley get far more use from a Mitre saw than a table saw. I use my Mitre saw 100x more than my table saw.
Home depot also sell that saw for a good price.

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Agreed, I posted over in your other thread.:thumbsup:

See, ultimately he plans to do it all. (Gut and re build the entire home) This is moreso to get him through the next couple of years as he progressively gets more and more experience and to be able to do "more" jobs. He really wants to build "things" Or at least have the option to. I like the idea that the table saw which comes with a stand, is technically portable. Is he able to bring the mitre with him? I found a cheaper lightweight Dewalt one, but I really want to buy him something better. Is the difference in job ability a big deal between the 10 and 12" mitres? What about single or double bevel. This is where I get confused. I know he essentially wants both a table and mitre, but yes lol, this Christmas, he only gets 1!

Thanks guys

This is an interesting question. The answer really depends on what his needs are and the intended use of the tool. An apprentice should not be supplying miter saws and table saws on the job for his employer. The employer should be providing this equipment for job site use if they are necessary to complete the task at hand.

Back to your question. If he is in the process of building up his tool supply in hopes of eventually going on his own a miter saw may be more useful for day to day construction activities. If you go that route then get him a 12" sliding miter saw. I like the Makita LS1221, Rgid R4121, or Milwaukee 6950-20 for sliders. Any of these three will serve him well.

If this is a tool that needs to serve multiple purposes and he is looking to do more cabinet making type work then go with a table saw. I would say based on that he is an apprentice and shouldn't be supplying either at work he may get more out of the table saw. I run the Rigid table saw you are refering to and highly recomend it for a portable saw. I have run Hitachi, Dewalt, Bosch, Delta, and Ryobi tablesaws and none have performed as well and I have burned up all but the Rigids (14648) and one Ryobi (BTS20R) which has been delicated to those who are hard on tools.

The difference between the 10 and 12" saws is coming down with the recent models. If you get that Makita LS1016 or the DeWalt DW717, they both are 10" saws but can cut large molding standing upright against the fence, which is key for many people. Both are dual bevel, which allows you to tilt the saw head down the left and right, as well as rotate left and right, makes alot of cutting easier as you don't have to flip moldings around on the saw to make certain cuts. I ALWAYS get double bevel.

As far as tables saw go, and miter saws, I am a BOSCH fan....never been a DeWalt guy,


Bosch tools just look sexy don't they? LOL

Yes, a miter saw is relatively portable. Although you will hear a lot of people running down the Ryobi brand, they make an absolutely beautiful folding miter saw stand for less than $100. I have one, and it is rock-solid.

The Ryobi A18ms01

Willie T said:

Yes, a miter saw is relatively portable. Although you will hear a lot of people running down the Ryobi brand, they make an absolutely beautiful folding miter saw stand for less than $100. I have one, and it is rock-solid.

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:thumbsup::thumbsup: I thought I was the only one on here that new that? I did find that when I put my Bosch 12" Slider on it that the saw would rock back a little in the mounts when slid to the rear...but right on the box it says they don't reccomend 12" sliders on the stand...:no:

I put my 10" Delta on there....SOLID....light, supports long lenghts, sets up FAST, none of the sharp, pointy edges like the Bosch Track-rak, and CHEAP!:w00t: AND it is BEEFY....I bent a support arm ONCE, closed a double bay garage door on the very end while it was fully extended...

One thing to keep in mind on any of these tools is just how portable he needs to be. And if he works alone. Some of these monster saws with huge wheeled stands are great.... until you try to get them into or out of a truck by yourself. Sometimes you eventually learn some sort of system for it, but it's tough.

Willie T said:

One thing to keep in mind on any of theese tools is just how portable he needs to be. And if he works alone. Some of these monster saws with huge wheeled stands are great.... until you try to get them into ot out of a truck by yourself. Sometimes you eventually learn some sort of system for it, but it's tough.

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Hey now. It's a good warm up for the gym. I just pick them up and put them in the trailer no big deal really.

I'm going to agree with Willie on this one. Big and bulky is not good.

Years ago I put my miter saw on the shelf and bought one of the new compound miter saws. It was bigger did more, and was sexier. It was also heavier. A couple years ago it was stolen so I pulled the old one off the shelf to finish that job. Yes, it was smaller, it wouldn't do stuff as wide. It wouldn't do the compound miters either. Of course, I'd already given up on the compound miter thing after a couple tries and gone back to upside-down-and-backwards because it was a lot faster.

Bottom line, I gained a lot of new respect for that old, light, simple miter saw. It was in fact, more convenient. For the work I was doing, I wasn't using the extra features of the modern saw but I was still lugging around all that extra weight.

Trailer you say? Looks like the wheeled stands are the way to go then...hell I have the wheeled stand on my bosch table saw...loading it is easy, just takes two steps.

Roll it up to the truck and place the handel on the tail gate,


Go to the back of the saw, lift the back end up, and push in.

You guys are awesome, based on all this feedback I`m learning a ton, and seems to be about 1,000,000 x more helpful then walking into a home depot and dealing with 1 opinion from someone who quit possibly (and probably) knows close to JACK about what I really need.

Portability is important, it seems the mitre appears to be smaller and less awkward.

It looks like Mitre is the way to go, I`m just concerned about how limited he`ll be with a 10" vs a 12. LS1013L appears to be the only model on the home depot website, (in the Makita`s) and its the one in my price range at $549. That really is one sexy looking saw! lol