Which to buy -- table saw, compound miter saw, or ...

[fatfingers]

So if I'm following correctly, the twin laser puts one line on the left side of the 'blade cut width' and a second line on the right side of the 'blade cut width'?

If so, yeah, that sounds pretty nice!

[ScottS]

So if I'm following correctly, the twin laser puts one line on the left side of the 'blade cut width' and a second line on the right side of the 'blade cut width'?

Correct: it shows you exactly what wood the blade will remove. This is pretty useful because you can have the "waste" wood on either side of the blade, which is surprisingly convenient. It also tends to eliminate the measuring mistakes that happen when there's only one laser.

[fatfingers]

Any reason to even consider this router?

[DrewKaree]

Any reason to even consider this router?

My dad has one of those.  All the plastic adjustments and the general cheap feeling of it are reasons NOT to consider it.  IIRC, everything that moves the motor up and down are made of plastic, as well as the latch to close/lock in your depth setting.

If I need to do router work at his house or he asks me to help him out, I bring my own router.  IMO, a brand-new Ryobi is a better purchase than that one used, and for pretty close to the same price, if not even a bit cheaper.  Save your money and skip the Sears model in your link - at the very least.

[fatfingers]

Any reason to even consider this router?

My dad has one of those.  All the plastic adjustments and the general cheap feeling of it are reasons NOT to consider it.  IIRC, everything that moves the motor up and down are made of plastic, as well as the latch to close/lock in your depth setting.

If I need to do router work at his house or he asks me to help him out, I bring my own router.  IMO, a brand-new Ryobi is a better purchase than that one used, and for pretty close to the same price, if not even a bit cheaper.  Save your money and skip the Sears model in your link - at the very least.

Thanks for the info.  Consider it skipped!   

[NiteWalker]

IIRC ryobi made that router for craftsman. Craftsman is notorious for outsourcing it's machines. Palmgren, Bosch, Yukon Tools, Ryobi and Rikon are some of the bigger names that manufacture Craftsman tools. Some craftsman machines are great, others are great crap.

[grundle]

I can't recommend what to buy, but tell you my plan...

I signed up for an "Adult Education" class given by the county I live in on woodworking.  The class is 14 weeks and the first six weeks are a how to use the tools intro.  The rest of the time is just free time with an instructor in the wood shop to make whatever project you want.

Also, if you don't need to take the class, they offer access to the shop on Wednesday nights and a few hours on Saturdays for $10.

Since I don't have room for tools, plus no budget for them, this will hopefully work out well!

[Rusty]

I signed up for an "Adult Education" class given by the county I live in on woodworking.  The class is 14 weeks and the first six weeks are a how to use the tools intro.  The rest of the time is just free time with an instructor in the wood shop to make whatever project you want.

A friend of mine teaches a class like that around here.  Its a great idea, especially if you only have one or two projects that you want to complete and don't want to buy a bunch of tools.

Plus, its a pretty good bet they'll have exactly the right tool for the job.

[fatfingers]

I signed up for an "Adult Education" class given by the county I live in on woodworking.  The class is 14 weeks and the first six weeks are a how to use the tools intro.  The rest of the time is just free time with an instructor in the wood shop to make whatever project you want.

A friend of mine teaches a class like that around here.  Its a great idea, especially if you only have one or two projects that you want to complete and don't want to buy a bunch of tools.

Plus, its a pretty good bet they'll have exactly the right tool for the job.

That sounds super-cool!  I haven't heard about anything like that around here (Minneapolis).  Perhaps I'll have to look around.

[Rusty]

That sounds super-cool!  I haven't heard about anything like that around here (Minneapolis).  Perhaps I'll have to look around.

Check with local high schools or community colleges.  My buddy is a HS shop/CAD teacher and his class meets right in his shop at school.  You could probably find out from a local woodworking store, too.

[fatfingers]

On the miter saw, look for a laser line.  You'd be surprised how much nicer it makes things.

If you think one laser line is nice, you'd love the TwinLaser setup that's featured on some Delta and Porter-Cable miter saws. I wouldn't have thought it make much of a difference, but after using it for a year I wouldn't want to be without it. My dry cut (= metal cutting) chop saw doesn't have any lasers and it's a real pain-in-the-neck...

As far as miter saws go, I prefer the increased accuracy of a 12" miter saw over the slightly longer cut capacity of a 10" slider.

Hi ScottS,

I've been looking for these in 10" but cannot seem to find them.  Any links for me?

Thanks!

[DrewKaree]

Here's a PC - couldn't find a 10" Delta, they seem to only be in 12" versions

CRAP this is a LOOOONG link!

[ScottS]

Hi ScottS,

I've been looking for these in 10" but cannot seem to find them.  Any links for me?

Unfortunately, it looks like Porter-Cable/Delta is in the middle of re-vamping their miter saw line-up. As a result, there isn't much in their miter saw line-up at the moment. Google for 'Delta 36-255L' and you'll find the saw I own. It bevels in only one direction, unfortunately. There was dual-bevel version of the saw, produced after I bought mine (darn it!), but I don't remember the model number. If you're not in a hurry, you might wait and see what P-C/Delta comes up with to replace the 36-255L...

[fatfingers]

I was impatient what with the 15% off sale at Lowe's plus the 10% off coupon and bought these today...

Dewalt DW618PK

Hitachi C12FDH

(yes, I totally succumbed to feature creep)

Thanks for any and all help!  I don't plan to open these for a while in case anyone has anything bad to say about them.

P.S. Unlike others I have a good "test project" -- new flower boxes for the wife!   

[NiteWalker]

You did good with that router. It's a great tool.

[Rusty]

The Dewalt router kit is great!  You won't be disappointed.  

As for the miter saw, I don't know anything specific about that one, but I do know that Hitachi's sliders get excellent reviews so I wouldn't be surprised if that one does, too.

Congrats!  

[ScottS]

Thanks for any and all help!  I don't plan to open these for a while in case anyone has anything bad to say about them.

I'd have gone with the 3-base kit for the DeWalt. I think a D-handle base gives you better control for most hand-held routing tasks...

You'll need to buy a decent blade for the miter saw. The 32-tooth blade that some with it is useful for rough carpentry projects, but that's about it. I put a Forrest Woodworker I on my Delta and it makes amazingly smooth cuts. Any other 80-tooth blade would probably do the same; I just happened to get a deal on the Forrest.

[Rusty]

I'd have gone with the 3-base kit for the DeWalt. I think a D-handle base gives you better control for most hand-held routing tasks...

I agree with Scott on this.  I own the 3-base Dewalt kit and can vouch for it being wonderful.  And like he says, the D-handle give much better control than the standard base.

Also, if you plan on building a router table, you can leave the standard base right in the table and use the D-handle and plunge bases for freehand routing.

FYI - I picked up the 3-base kit for ~$180 at Amazon last summer (for price comparison).

[fatfingers]

You'll need to buy a decent blade for the miter saw. The 32-tooth blade that some with it is useful for rough carpentry projects, but that's about it. I put a Forrest Woodworker I on my Delta and it makes amazingly smooth cuts. Any other 80-tooth blade would probably do the same; I just happened to get a deal on the Forrest.

Yeah, I assumed that whatever saw I bought I'd end up buying new blades.

Thanks.