Replies

1. 
   PeterDurand | Oct 12, 2008 01:49am | #1

   Good question.

    

   Better life through Zoodles and poutine...

1. 
   Napie | Oct 12, 2008 05:31am | #5

   I have both and use them.  I tend to favor the tablesaw though.

2. 
   FrankDrackman | Oct 12, 2008 03:02am | #2

   I have a few friends who gave up their miter saw/station after using a true sliding tablesaw for awhile.  Their main reason was space.  After they adapted their work habits to the slider, with cut-off sled, the miter station became waster space. 

   I think the same happened to some RAS stations after quality CMS/SCMS became more common.

3. 
   forestgirl | Oct 12, 2008 04:07am | #3

   It can be hard to make a totally precise cut on a miter saw, especially if the cut is not 90 degrees.  Mostly, stock will move.  Even if it's just a fraction of a hair, it can make a difference down the road.    That's my guess.

   forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-) 
   
1. 
   dgreen | Oct 12, 2008 04:47am | #4

   Same problem with a sled. If the blade is not meeting the work at 90 deg. it will try to push it to the side. The solution is the same in both cases, more friction on the fence or clamps.

   I think it comes down to how much space and time you have. My RAS is no more accurate than my CMS or SCMS but it has an induction motor that is far more suited for an hour of heavy crosscuts. The CMS and SCMS are far faster to set up for accurate miters and bevels.

   The table saw has an induction motor and revels in heavy cuts but even with a sled or sliding table is not really ideal for crosscutting long materials.

   Panels can be reduced with a guide and circular saw and a large horizontal surface or with a sliding table saw but a vertical panel saw is much faster, requires only wall space and does not require wrestling  4X8 sheets in a horizontal position. 

   The work of all can be accomplished on the table saw but if one has the space and the budget one can produce far more quality work in much less time with tools made for a purpose. 

    

   ................................................

   Men will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest.~ Denis Diderot

4. 
   Samson | Oct 12, 2008 05:50am | #6

   Crosscut sleds can trim panels much wider than a SCMS can.

   Crosscut sleds are easy to set up for identical repeat cuts.

   Crosscut sleds can do certain tricks - smaller pieces; box joints; etc.

1. 
   PeterDurand | Oct 12, 2008 08:01am | #7

   <<Crosscut sleds can do certain tricks - smaller pieces; box joints; etc.>>Quite true. I find it easier, when not needing those cuts, to go to the cross cut saw.Cheers,Peter 

   Better life through Zoodles and poutine...

1. 
   roqqytop | Oct 13, 2008 01:31am | #8

   I have both but wonder - how do you cut long pieces to length with only a cross cut sled?
   Say, anything over 50 inches.
   I make a lot of large pieces requiring accurate cuts on pieces of 100"+.Now, if all you have is a cheap/small miter saw and only cut shorties (30" or less), then the cross-cut sled should suffice; otherwise,
   dont know how anyone can give up a well tuned double bevel 12" slider.

1. 
   KiddervilleAcres | Oct 13, 2008 03:25pm | #9

   Might want to have a look at FWW #199 if you have access to it.  I think the article is also posted somewhere here on the FWW WEBsite.  Title of the article is The Ultimate Crosscut Sled.

   The one in the article is an aircrafte carrier class of sled and too big for me so I built a smaller version with some of my own mods.  It really works great for me.

   I too use other tools/methods for crosscutting but when it comes to getting pieces really square, out comes my ultimate sled to fine tune my cuts.  Works great for cutting dados too.

   I've fine tuned pieces that were approaching 7' with clamps.

   Regards,

   Bob @ Kidderville Acres

   A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!

   Edited 10/13/2008 8:27 am ET by KiddervilleAcres

5. 
   hammer1 | Oct 13, 2008 04:25pm | #10

   The table saw sled and miter saw each have their place depending on the task you are performing. Most of us use both. I don't use the sled for wide crown moldings and I don't use the miter saw for tiny moldings, for example. With a 45° miter sled, you can cut both left and right without moving the saw, unlike a miter saw. You can do dadoes, laps and other limited depth cuts more easily on a sled. Compound cuts are easier on a miter saw. A table saw has a larger capacity than a miter box, you can cut wider and thicker material with them. You move the saw on the miter saw and you move the stock on the table saw. 16' material on a sled requires a lot of room and supports that allow the stock to move unobstructed. You don't have to have such critical support or room with an MS. You can take miter saws out on the job site and move them from room to room. That's not so easy with a cabinet saw. The list of differences goes on. They are both important in a working shop. They can perform the same functions for ordinary work but one out shines the other when the cut is more specialized.

   Beat it to fit / Paint it to match

1. 
   SARGEgrinder47 | Oct 13, 2008 04:38pm | #11

   I use a SCMS which has a mobile stand.. extendable top mounted on top of my SCMS cabinet. This is 4' wide closed but... I can roll the mobile SCMS base off the wall.. pull out the extensions and cut down 10'-14' stock coming into my shop before it goes to the wood rack.

   I do all my cross-cutting with the SCMS basically with the exception of short finish pieces that have to be duplicated. Then I use my TS with an Incra V27 (?) and a stop block on the miter fence to assure same length. I do not have a sled as the way I use my SCMS and TS combined gives me all the capability I need for the least amount of space required.

   Sarge..

6. 
   integrity_woodworks | Oct 13, 2008 09:12pm | #12

   I personlly don't have a mitre saw set up in the shop because of my sliding table , mostlly because the table makes muiltable cuts for furniture making more presice and much safer/faster. For Me this holds true anyhow!

7. 
   user-547915 | Jan 31, 2018 12:15pm | #13

   New guy here!

   came across this as I was wondering if I should get rid of my mitersaw because of limited space. And I’m convinced. 

   I might by by a standard miter saw down the road. Could see it being handy for larger work like building decks etc where portability and size is and issue when working with long stock.