Introduction to the Mitre Saw

The first tool I have chosen to introduce is one of the 3 most used tools in my entire workshop… the mitre saw!

 While saws can be intimidating, this one has been a game changer by allowing me to finish all sorts of projects around the house in addition to my shop. As I mentioned in my first, ‘so you want to start using power tools’  post: always wear your safety gear, keep your fingers away from the blade, hold the wood tight, and you are ready to “rock-and-roll” as my dad says!

The mitre saw, also known as the chop saw, has a stationary base with a pull-down blade.

These saws are designed for SHORT straight and angled cross-cuts (aka cutting across the wood). You can cut pieces that are usually less than 14” inches wide depending on your blade size and style. The mitre saw isn’t really your tool of choice when needing to cut paneling or plywood, for that you’ll want a table saw or circular saw, but I’ll save that for another post!

Some common brands are Ryobi, Mastercraft, Milwaukee, Bosch, Rigid and Dewalt (the brand that I have) and it can range in price from $150-$1000 CAD depending on the brand and functionality.

So why is there such a huge variation on pricing?! Well there are a bunch of fancy words describing the different functionality you can get in a mitre saw, and these key pieces are linked to where it will fall on the price range scale:

As an example, a Dual Bevel Sliding Compound Mitre Saw (say that 10 times fast!) will be at the top end because it has ALL OF THE THINGS.

 

In all honesty, I actually have two mitre saws in my workshop. Because of the range of work that I do, I own a 10” compound mitre saw ($320 CAD) and the 12” double bevel sliding compound mitre saw ($630 CAD shown above).

Personally, the most useful bonus feature is the sliding function. As an example, my 10” saw can only cut wood that is 7” wide (because of the fence) while my 12” sliding saw can cut up to 14” wide...literally doubling my cutting surface, even though technically its only 2" inches wider.

The final piece you’ll want to consider is the blade. Saws typically come with one, but if you need one or are looking to upgrade yours be aware they are expensive, so be sure to budget in for this. A great tip to remember is the number of teeth in a blade determines how smooth the cut will be.

Don't sweat it! All of this information (and MORE) can be found on my Instagram IGTV where you can see me, up close and personal, talking about a whole bunch of tools.

Click below to watch the video on Mitre Saw: