miter saw or table saw

[ranchhand]

I have an ancient, cheapo Black & Decker circular saw that just won't quit! Love the old workhorses.

 

[Msbear]

A lot of good point made here. We build chicken coops to sell and hubby works ini the construction industry so we have all of it. The miter saw was one of the best purchases EVER!!! It is so handy and easy to use.

The circular saw takes time to perfect but, after lost of practice, the straight cuts will come. We love the table saw for ripping long boards and sheets of plywood easier. When you have to make the same cuts several times, the table saw is your best friend.. just grab it and send it through.

But, if I had to choose one, it would be the miter saw hands down. Good Luck

 

[Mervin]

Quote:
Use a rip fence/guide

 

[sashurlow]

I'm opposite of everyone else. I don't own a miter saw, but wish I did, but use my table saw constantly. But then again, I use it for boat building where I rip long pieces of wood.
The real reason I posted was a tip to use your circular saw. I watched my friend, who frames housed use a circular saw. Adjust the depth so it goes through your board plus 1/4 inch and go SLOWLY. I was amazed how slow Mike went for a person who lives off of his circular saw.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I was amazed at how much I use a miter saw when I finally got one. You can make a lot of the same cuts with a hand held circular saw that you can with a miter saw, but the miter is so much easier to use and a whole lot easier to be more accurate. Some cuts may be theoretically possible with a circular saw, but I would not even attempt them. If you are into fine carpentry, such as furniture making, I think a miter is essential. For rough carpentry, like building a coop, you can do it with a circular saw but I find the miter to be a real convenience.

I find a table saw to be most useful for ripping boards. I rip a lot of 2x4's. You cannot do that with a miter and it is real hard to do a good job of that with a circular saw. If you do get a table saw, get a good one. Those cheap ones are no good for ripping through the 1-1/2" thickness of a 2x4. How big a piece you can cut depends on the size of your table and guide, but most of the time I use the method below for straight cuts on plywood. I do have a good table saw, but I don't use it for much besides ripping boards.

When I want to make a straight cut with a circular saw, I make a jig using clamps. Say I want to make a straight cut the length of a piece of plywood, I take a straight board and clamp it to the plywood to run the saw along. You have to allow for the distance from the outside of the saw that is following the guide to the inside of the cutting blade. You'd think the saw manufacturers would make that easy by making that a specific whole number distance, but no, I have to measure in 1/16's of an inch.

Both the table saw and the miter saw have their uses. Which one you get if you only get one will depend on what type of construction you are going to do. In either case, I advise getting a good one. A cheap one of either will not do what you want and will cause a lot of aggravation. I think a good one is a lot safer too. I'm a whole lot more comfortable ripping a 2x4 with my good table saw than using that old cheap one I had.

 

[CityGirlintheCountry]

Splurge on the miter saw. I use mine all the time. I bought a Hitachi from Lowes and it has been a trooper. I think Hitachi is the brand. It is green.

This one was a little more affordable than the DeWalt and Bosch brands. For what I do it has been perfect. In fact, my BIL tries to talk me into "storing" it at his house every time he is over here.

The circular saw gives me the willies, so by default I use a guide and go slow with it. I am neurotic about keeping cords body parts out of the way. The guide ensures that the lines are straight. I can imagine I'd do very well trying to freehand it.

I would think a table saw would mean a lot of schlepping wood around if you were building a coop. What I like about the miter saw and circular saw is that I can toss them in the back of the car and park the car wherever I am building. It makes the car something of a rolling toolbox, but it keeps everything handy and secure. A table saw would need to be in a shop or be hauled back and forth. That would get old.

Good luck shopping!

 

[fiddlebanshee]

Quote:
Good point. Also I realized from what someone else said above something that I hadn't considered. When you have a table saw you have to manipulate (potentially large and heavy) pieces of wood across the saw, with a circ saw you manipulate the (much less heavy) saw. Since I'm not so tall, and might not have the muscle power of someone much younger or of the opposite sex, getting something to aid the accuracy of the circ saw might be more useful than trying to manipulate a 4ftx8ft board across a table saw, without ripping any fingers or other body parts off.

 

[Intheswamp]

Quote:
You solved a lot of your issues with that sentence/question. Without a stable, secure surface your cut will definitely be "off". Set up some type of secure table to work on where you can clamp down guides and stock. Even freehand (no guide) cutting with a circular saw will improve dramatically with a good, stable work surface.

With a good circular saw and a stable work surface I would opt for the miter saw.

Best wishes and be careful

Ed

 

[ranchhand]

And don't forget the golden rule of wood cutting:

Measure twice, cut once!

 

[Intheswamp]

Quote:
I thought it was "Watch your fingers!"

Ed