Can a sliding table saw...

[BKHam]

I dont have a miter station due to also being in a single car garage space. when I did, I was only using it for rough breakdown of lumber. In order to replace that capability i have the makita *cordless* tracksaw, empahasis on the cordless. its amazing. and then i got a cordless jig saw. its not as fast in 8/4 material but i use that for breaking down material. i take the saw to the material instead of the reverse.

cross cutting heavy or super long things is always a bit of a challenge in a small shop (car gets in the way, etc.). that would be the big advantage of a miter saw. wide crosscuts....i'm going to the tracksaw.

maybe downgrade to a small but reliable mitersaw that can be stowed away. then when you have a project using something super long, you break it out for that.

 

[Warped Woodwerks]

I do most of my crosscuts with a table saw sled. I built it 26" deep so I can cross cut 24" pieces of ply for cabinet sides. Works great and I only use the miter saw for rough stuff now.

A cross cut sled is definitely a lot cheaper over a sliding table.

Yeah, I am thinking the same, with regards to the miter saw, so I just might sell it. :\

 

[smallboat]

FWIW I’ve never owned a miter saw.

I do rely on a cross cut sled for the TS and more recently built a dedicated miter sled.

For cross cutting long boards, I have an outboard support (picture a saw horse with a PVC pipe around the top rail) set to the deck height of the sled to support the overhanging end. I position it to the left of the saw and parallelish to the blade. The boards will just slide along it when I push the xcut sled through the saw.

I think it’s 36” long. That’s enough travel for anything that will fit in the sled.
With a stop block I can get good square, repeatable cuts.
When not in use it doesn’t take much real estate

 

[Warped Woodwerks]

@smallboat Interesting. I never thought of that (saw horse with PVC) before.

And regarding my sliding miter saw... I've owned that since 2018 (?) and have only used it a handful of times.. Not enough use, imo, to keep it around. I can either user my track saw & TSO guide rail square, to cross cut, or TS.

One concern I have are the cross cuts (on my table saw) for boards that are deeper than 14" and over 30" long. Like you, I'd need support for those wider\longer boards, so maybe something similar to your setup would work.

Thanks for that visual.

 

[HMH]

I'm in the camp that a SCMS is certainly valuable in the shop - but I also admit that I only rarely use it for finished/ final crosscuts. I have the Bosch 10", and have it dialed in so that its super accurate, but really mainly use it to break down long stock, and for bevel/ miter cuts. For finished piece crosscuts - I use a crosscut sled on my TS ~90%+ of the time.

For utilization of space, I have my SCMS built into a dedicated bench, w/ lots of drawer storage below, and upper cabinets, etc encasing the saw for dust collection, and serving double duty as storing all/ most of my misc hardware, etc, so the space it takes up isn't 100% for the saw itself.

 

[Warped Woodwerks]

So this popped up, today...

I'm very tempted to grab one. Not sure.. Been thinking about the Incra miter 3000SE, or the Incra 5000, too
Dilemma Any suggestions? I'll admit, this is a tough one for me. Thanks again.

 

[Wilsoncb]

Personally, I would just make a miter sled if you want to use your TS for miter cuts, unless you want the sliding table for also doing big sheet cuts. You could also look at buying something like this that should give you the same capabilities for doing miter cuts.

Tablesaw CrossCut Sled with CrossCut Sled Drop-Off Platform

Cut precise miters and crosscuts while enjoying a spacious smooth-sliding table and large-easy-to-read scale.

www.rockler.com

Having said that, I would rather do my miter cuts for stock longer than 2 feet on the miter saw. I have the same space issue with my miter saw. Currently it's on a fold up cart, so every time I need to use it, I need to unfold it and roll it somewhere I can use it...preferably outside due the the dust issues. It does have extension wings so it can handle longer stock, but if I want to set up a stop for repeatable cuts, it's more time than if I just measure and mark every piece. I find myself asking, do I have this shop to make things for the shop, or to make other things (furniture or whatever).

 

[Warped Woodwerks]

I forgot to mention, but I ended up selling my 12" DeWalt slider. Too bulky, dusty, and just never really used it.

Regarding the Rockler crosscut sled... thank you for the suggestion.

 

[Rwe2156]

I forgot to mention, but I ended up selling my 12" DeWalt slider. Too bulky, dusty, and just never really used it.

Regarding the Rockler crosscut sled... thank you for the suggestion.

Funny I got rid of my Bosch axial glide, but b/c it was inaccurate (or not accurate enough for me).

I went back to a radial arm, this time a turret type Rockwell/Delta. Love it!!

I'm of the opinion a miter saw is not accurate enough. I know some will disagree, but when I'm doing frame and panel doors, cutting solid wood panels, etc, I'm using my table saw sled.

 

[tvrgeek]

I am surprised you are having issues with the track saw. Maybe it is your crosscut accessory? Are you out of square, or issues with length? One can rig stop blocks for repeat lengths on a worktop. I am looking for an excuse to get the Makita myself.

I too use sleds on my TS. I consider miter saws to be carpentry tools. At least my Ridgid is, and not a very good one at that. Maybe a Kaypex is better, but the inherent flex is just more than I consider cabinet worthy. Old industrial RAS were actually more rigid. Rockwell, Delta, even the Craftsman. Just even more dangerous than a TS. I wish I still had mine instead of the miter saw.

Sliding table saws take up a HUGE amount of space. Yes, you can make a sled for 24 inch crosscuts no problem. To help support it, just make latch-on front support legs. Then it is not unwieldly when starting.

 

[Warped Woodwerks]

I am using the TSO GRS-16 guide rail square, which should be precise, with my Makita track. :\

When I perform crosscuts, I always use it with clamps. I have another guide rail square, so I might start using that at the end of the track, too.
Who knows. Maybe it is my technique, maybe I am being too an@l, I don't know. I know we are working with wood, but I think I have an obsessive compulsive disorder.. a visual OCD.

Lately, I've been thinking about selling my Makita & tracks, and getting the Mafell track saw & Bosch connector & rails. The main reason why I am hesitant is.. I don't see a decent parallel guide rail square, for the Mafell setup.

You are correct... I need to make some time and see what I can find, or make, with regards to track saw stop blocks, so I can get "precision" crosscuts.

Correct.. about the sliding miter saw.. or even just a miter saw. More for construction work and not for precision work. I think the Kapex is a real good tool for more accurate cuts, but still... deflection. I checked the Kapex out, as well as the new 8-1/2" Makita 40v Cordless.. (supposed to be a sweet miter saw)..but in the end... I opted to look elsewhere.

I don't recall ever using a RAS, but I could have.. in high school shop class...but that was.. well.. it wasn't recent.. let's just say that.

And who needs that blade of death...anyways. I'd rather find something a little safer.

I came across this, from Jay Bates. I believe this is what you are referencing, with regards to your comment about front support legs.

Simple and sweet.

 

[Rwe2156]

Rory - I have had the exact same experience trying to get accurate crosscuts. I think all of the attachments probably have the same limitations. I have a Festool miter attachment, which I can dial in to 90° as best I know how, but when crosscutting something wide most of the time when I measure across corners, well, it's simply not square, at least enough for me. I'm not 100% sure maybe if I extended the registration fence that might help.

The extension tables are a great idea, but I can't ever be totally confident sending a whole sheet of ply through a table saw, even with a riving knife, maybe even fence guides (which I do not have).

I wouldn't get rid of your track saw, I'd look at another way to improve the accuracy of your miter attachment, or make one of your own possibly with longer legs.

I'm not building many cabinets anymore, but if I were, the parallel guides would be an immediate purchase!!

I've concluded if you want to get dead on accurate cross cuts with a track saw, you really need an MFT setup with a hinged track & fence.

 

[schnable]

I took the plunge a few years ago and got rid of my sliding crosscut saw. I've replaced it with my cross-cut sled, my old stanly 2244 mitre box, and a shooting board. I also don't do much with sheet goods. I haven't missed the old power slider at all - it took up too much space.

Andrew

 

[Warped Woodwerks]

@Rwe2156

I threw my outfeed table together, real quick and with inferior warped plywood, so I wasn't expecting much. When all said and done... I want to say the corners were off by about 1/32? With the overall size being 33" x 64".. I guess that isn't horrible, but I could be wrong. I'd much rather it be off by 1/64", or less, but.. Ha!

I guess when you factor in poor eyesight, user sloppiness with the tape measure to measure corners, and just tool inaccuracies\tolerances, there is bound to be some slight variation.

I was looking at the TSO parallel guides, but decided against them. I thought there might be a "better" alternative. I don't know anymore. I need to stop fixating on chasing perfection and just get back to making sawdust.

I would really like an MFT style table and the hinged track saw rail thing. Benchdogs makes a hinge for the Makita and other tracks. Heck, I was even looking at getting the Parf MKII system, too, to build my own top. Figured I'd probably only ever end up making 2-3 outfeed tops, in my life, so I didn't buy it.

 

[Warped Woodwerks]

@schnable

I hear ya on the slider.
Your setup sounds nice and simple, too, and very efficient\lean.

Same... I don't miss my slider, too. It's bulky, heavy, creates too much dust, not precise enough for me, etc.

After my shop projects are done, I'll probably start leaning away from having large sheet goods in my garage. Concentrate more on solids and less on composites.