Miter-Saw

A Miter-Saw is a standard tool for the professional handyman and a must for any diy'er. There are basically two types.

The first one (shown to the right) is an inexpensive 10 inch model perfect for the home handyman. These saws are sometimes referred to as compound miter-saws and are great for cutting wood flooring, dimensional lumber, trim molding and picture frame molding.

For the professional handyman I suggest a saw like the one I use. It's a Bosch 4412 sliding compound-miter-saw (SCMS) with a Sawhelper fence. I purchased this prior to starting my handyman business so I wasn't concerned with mobility. Although I love it, but it's not easy to move around. The saw is heavy and would better serve you if you had a stand with wheels.

A compound miter-saw can make quick and accurate crosscuts. A 10 inch miter saw will do the job most of the time but when you purchase a new saw, you must consider getting a 12 inch sliding compound miter saw (SCMS).

If you are ever tasked with cutting large crown molding, you don't want to be without it. Keep a good 60-80 TPI blade for cutting molding to keep your cuts clean and smooth. Change the blade and use it to cut everything from 2x4's, 2x10's, and 4x4's to 4x6's.

Put it on a portable stand and it's easily set up and taken down to save time on the job site. If you really want to make money with your miter-saw, you must learn how to use it. Gary Katz is the man in my book. Visit his Website at www.garymkatz.com. He has tons of free information and, in my humble opinion, the best video series on trim carpentry.

Let's review some of the features of a typical 12 inch sliding compound miter-saw:

• Compound feature allows for cutting bevels. The angle of the blade changes relative to the horizontal plane.

• A slide moves forward allowing for cuts much longer than the length of the blade. Remember the radius is only half the blade so a regular 10 inch saw can't cut completely through 5 inches of material.

• Blade guard automatically retracts out of the way when engaging the material and then returns to cover the blade as you raise it out of the material. This safety feature is on all the newer saws.

• Laser guide shows you where the cut will be on the work-piece. Be careful with this to be sure you are aware of which side the blade will be on. Your cut could be off by 1/4 inch if you place your cut line on the wrong side of the laser. I usually bring the blade down (prior to pulling the on switch) to the work-piece to make sure my blade will cut where I want.

• Dust bag. pretty much useless. You're going to get dust everywhere so be careful where you set up.

• Safety clamp keeps your work-piece in place. Especially helpful on large pieces.

• Put your saw on a portable stand! It's much better than a stationary one since you're going to need to move it from you truck to the job site. You can put your saw on a piece of wood between two saw horses or set up a portable workstation such as the B&D mentioned above but for real convenience take a look at a dedicated portable miter-saw stand.