Should You Buy A Miter Saw? - Beginner Woodworker's guide

In this video we take an in depth look at the miter saw and how it is used in the shop for woodworking and furniture. Hopefully this will help anybody who is considering one to determine if it is a good investment, or if they could get a better return by opting for other woodworking tools. In the video we cover the most common uses for a miter saw, and how to achieve the same results with other tools in the workshop.

#woodworking #mitersaw #beginnerwoodworking

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[Kozilak]

As a home owner? I love it.

As a furniture maker? It’s a waste of space

[Hellyers]

Admit it, my wife put you up to this didn't she! What's next, 101 reasons why you don't need a bandsaw? Will she stop at nothing to get the garage back?

[joek]

Every shop I have ever had or worked in had miter saws - normally more then one. I find them indispensable, and it is usually one of the first stationary tools I recommend someone get if they are considering woodworking as a hobby (or even more then that).

The reality is that if someone is a beginner woodworker, one of the best things which will motivate them to move forward are completed projects. With dimensional lumber and a miter saw, you can quickly and safely create hundreds of easier wood projects that will allow them to see results and allow them to decide if they would want to invest more into more expensive woodworking machines.

On the flip side, I have talked to a number of hobbyists who have given up because of the hassle of trying to calibrate things like table saws. While it might seem trivial, for someone who has spent 20+ years as an accountant or other office work, the idea of trying to man-handle the cast iron top which was misaligned in shipment to keep the blade from scorching that nice walnut you bought...well, it can take the fun out of learning something new really fast.

[carnold.knowledge]

Like a lot of others here, the Mitre saw is my most used power tool (except for maybe my drills/impact drivers). And a sliding one like a Bosch 12” can do almost 14” widths, which just covers so many situations. Couple that with a portable stand that has long collapsing supports, and the thing can grow when you need it and get out the way when you don’t.

[binbalebardac]

When I was a professional trim carpenter the miter saw was extremely handy as we spent 99.9% of our time mobile at a customer's job site. Base, crown moldings, building stairs, mantles and tons of closest shelfing. But now that my hobby wood shop is 100% at home, stationary and all my tools are in permanent positions, I prefer using a table saw for more accurate miter cuts for furniture and project builds, when the lumber dimensions are smaller. But I still keep a miter saw around.

[TheGrainMill]

I was in the same boat as Chris at the start. I watching a million youtube videos about woodworking and everyone had these impressive shops with every power tool imaginable. I was working in a tiny basement on a tight budget and a table saw wasn't an option for me. I own a circular saw but it is by far the tool that scares me the most and I don't always feel that the cut I am getting is straight, square, accurate, or any combination of those three things. I bought a miter saw to make repeatable cuts that were square and didn't make me nervous about my limbs.

While I agree with most points made in this video, the one I don't agree with is regarding space. You say having a miter saw set up properly takes up a lot space that could be better used for storage or whatever. But you don't even address that the alternative in this situation is a massive cabinet table saw that has a footprint larger than anything else in the shop. And I understand that the space:utility ratio of table saw to miter saw heavily favors the table saw. But I'd saw a large portion of your audience isn't fortunate enough to have a warehouse as a shop. Most of us are in our garages and basements, stuffing every square inch of space with tools and wood.

I go back and forth about whether my miter saw was worth the money and I ultimately land on yes. I wish that I could afford and store an awesome sawstop but I just can't. And a miter saw can handle a lot of what I'd end up throwing at a table saw. So yes, in the perfect world, I'd have a table saw like yours instead of a miter saw. But at the end of the day, when I am wrapping up in my 8x12 foot shop, I am happy to have a miter saw.

[Thergood]

Most "Beginner woodworkers" are going to be weekend warrior/DIY types. There are infinite home improvement and shop furniture type projects that can be done with just a miter saw and home store 2x4's. If you're going from zero to 100% building fine furniture and nothing else, then I guess this makes sense, but the miter saw is amazing for most "beginning woodworkers."

[jrfricks]

I agree with many of these points. But for me personally, I use mine daily. I'm a small business furniture creator. And am almost always working on 10 things at the same time. So being able to quickly and in one place break down material is beyond useful.

[DarinBeard]

I guess I am the DIY guy because it's probably the most used tool in my shop. I don't really build a lot of complex furniture. I have never used the compound cut that I can remember. I do use the circular saw quite a bit, too. I guess everyone is different in how they do stuff and the stuff they do. Love you, man... men?

[danthemakerman]

I don't usually leave negative comments but I figured I miter as well. I am very disappointed in the lack of puns in this video. I felt like you two were just cutting corners.

[thegoodfight]

I'm thankful that you guys pointed out the pros and cons of having a miter saw. And as useful as it was (and entertaining) I still think I'll be adding a miter saw to my small tool collection. Mostly because I'm still a novice and living in an apartment 18 and 36 volt tools make me more mobile. In the winter months I use the basement or roof of our apartment building. In the summer I use the backyard. And I haven't had to punish any of my neighbors for complaining about the noise I make😆👍🏾

[jmarkmorford]

I have a small shop, but I designed it with a dedicated miter saw station along one wall. I use it every day. Yes, as some other commenters suggested, I use it for rough cutting raw lumber. I harvest, mill, dry and resaw 75% of my stock, so most projects start with rough cutting thick stock. With a 12” blade, it’s capacity exceeds all my other circular saws. But I use it more for precision cross cuts. I use a Forest blade that makes excellent finish cuts and stop blocks for repeated dimensions. I only use my table sled for cross cutting wide panels; and many times I use a track saw instead. I think the biggest reason I do most of my cross cuts on my miter saw is convenience. Super easy to set length and angles and I don’t have to muscle a bulky sled off the wall and onto my table, which is a real PITA when I’m going back and forth between rips and crosscuts. I appreciated your arguments here, but I think you may have rationalized your way into defending work methods to which you are accustomed rather than truly evaluating the options objectively. Love your channel. Thanks for all the great tips.

[nyccontrabass]

This video has convinced me to get a miter saw.

[thePavuk]

Pro builders: "you don't need miter saw"
also Pro builders: uses miter saw in every single project.

[kleinisfijn]

If you only have a jobsite table saw a miter saw is a great item to have.

[runnertowchain]

Top notch advice chaps. I’ve been building a shop out for 3 years, and I’ve had a mitre saw on the floor, struggling with where it needs to live, and I recently decided that it is unnecessary in my shop. It’s more of a “grab and go” tool and doesn’t deserve a permanent home in my furniture making shop. It’s funny how difficult it can be to make these decisions, and I think your words are spot on. Also freaking hilarious, seriously. Gets better with every video. I also love your podcast. I usually have to listen a few times though because the tablesaw and sander drowns out audio, and I have to delisted to catch all of the puns.

[jasonsahadeo]

I agree with all their points and if I was in their position I'd feel the same way too but I'm just starting to make money with woodworking and I'm only buying tools with the money I make from woodworking. I'd love to have a huge table saw that I can make jigs for and have basically an unlimited cut capacity and options. However, the reality is that it's too expensive right now. Most of what I build is with solid wood up to 2x8's. So a miter saw really speeds up my workflow and everything it can't do can be done with my circ saw/jig saw (both also very affordable). The miter saw adds a lot of consistency vs just a circular saw. I've had to square up table legs using a flash trim bit on my hand just to get them to the same length. So I agree with them but if you're just starting out with a limited budget, I think you can buy a decent quality miter saw for not much money which will be far better than a cheap table saw with a bad fence and an uneven table. Please let me know if I'm wrong. I'm still learning.

[barwithm]

I want to add to previous comments about the lack of space for the big table saw. On top of that, we need space to store the jigs to accomplish the equivalent cuts. I am using my miter saw much less since I got my job site table saw, but can't completely eliminate it from my workflow. They are both foldable on wheeled stands and I pull them out and work on my driveway.

[FuzzyScaredyCat]

If you're starting out, a mitre saw is a sensible, useful tool to have that doesn't take up a lot of space. i.e. you can put it on a shelf out of the way. If you've got a huge workshop it may well be possible to do things without one. Most of use don't have mega workshops. A circular saw and a square are not a decent alternative.

[uglybaldmandesigns]

I really like my miter saw. I don't use it every day, but it's on a flip-cart with my planer, so taking up space isn't really an issue. I use it (as you mentioned) to break down lumber at the start of a project. It also does a great job on steel (yes, it's a low speed miter saw).