Life without miter saw

I am getting ready to do the same thing. The only difference for me is that I plan on putting the MS on a small cabinet with wheels so it is portable and doesn’t eat all the space.

I use a hand held circ saw to cut lumber to rough length and final trim on the TS. Never owned a chop saw until gifted one that I use occassionally.

M

-- The hump with the stump and the pump!

Getting there myself. Its a great tool for crown moulding. The new sleds for table saws to an incredible job and reduce space. Incra 5000 is a good example

-- Petey

My chop saw was on a rolling jobsite stand and was always in the way. I decided to go table saw only and have survived. If you have a large shop you would probably want to keep it but if your shop is small move it to storage.

I got rid of my mine about 5 years ago and have never regretted it

-- Retired and lovin it

I just downsized my shop and got rid of my 10” sliding compound miter saw and stand since it was just taking up space on the shelf. The single car garage stall I have for a shop isn’t big enough for it without moving a lot of other stuff out of the way. After pondering my options, I came to the realization that I didn’t use it very often and I could use the table saw for all of the things I was using the miter saw for.

I’ve been looking at other equipment in the shop and asking myself why I have the tool, how often I use it, how big it is, if there are other tools that could do the same thing, and what would I use the space for if the tool wasn’t there. I’m taking my time at the evaluation because I don’t want to get rid of something and find out I need it the next day.

-- Earl "I'm a pessamist - generally that increases the chance that things will turn out better than expected"

Too much of a cabinet maker to get rid of mine.plus lazy and the Saw is behind the bench where it is handy not obsolete. .. it would drive me nuts to do all the walking to cut these strips down at the tablesaw. Much easier on tge miter saw…

My CMS hangs on a cleat on the wall now. It used to reside on one side of a flip-top cart until I realized that it was always pointed down. I hang onto it mostly to take to other people’s houses when they need something done. As far as work done in my shop though, if somebody stole it, I probably wouldn’t notice.

-- Kenny, SW VA, Go Hokies!!!

I think it’s about perspective. I built a full miter station for my miter saw BUT the primary purpose was storage and organization. I get the best of both worlds and it’s fantastic. Not sure what kind of space limitation you have, but if you have a few storage cabinets lined up somewhere, this may be an option with storage as being the primary reason for building one.

Did you use it this week? Last week? When was the last time you used it? It seems like these are questions we should be asking often, and about much of our “stuff.”

-- Phil Allin - There are mountain climbers and people who talk about climbing mountains. The climbers have "selfies" at the summit!

Yup, last time I used mine was to cut 4” pvc for the D.C. piping, time to put it into storage shed? :)

-- Lifting one end of the plank.

I think this is like all of these questions about need for a given tool. There are always alternatives, and the “need” for a tool really comes down to convenience. I do not have a miter saw in my shop. And I have never felt the need for one.

Most of the time I just use my table saw. On long boards, I use a roller stand that is normally used as in-feed support on my table saw. I can place the stand to the side to support a long board. The roller is so smooth I actually have the board slide down the length of the roller.

I also use a table saw sled for almost all cross cuts.

I have a small shop (one car garage size) and I sometimes do have to rotate the table saw to have clearance when cutting a long board. Works fine for me. If I were cutting long boards or trim constantly, I’d want a miter saw workstation.

-- Clin

Personally I wouldn’t be without my MS. There are lots of space saving options for a MS on youtube.

-- Andy - Seattle USA

Not all miter saws have a motor…

Used mine this afternoon….

-- A Planer? I'M the planer, this is what I use

Too much of a cabinet maker to get rid of mine.plus lazy and the Saw is behind the bench where it is handy not obsolete. .. it would drive me nuts to do all the walking to cut these strips down at the tablesaw. Much easier on tge miter saw…

- JackDuren

-- Alaskan's for Global warming!