Which miter saw

rob7475

Evolution tools are fine for DIY work. It's worth having a look on their website. They used to sell refurbed / returned stock on their website much cheaper. I managed to get a sliding miter saw for around £65. It was brand new and retail price was around double that when I bought it about 7/8 year ago. It's still going strong and has had plenty of use.

Back then, the only drawback was you had to collect form their Sheffield warehouse - not sure if it's still the same or not.

Megaross

The posts you'll need to cut by hand, some massive table saws will do a 6*6 post but you're talking big industrial stuff - you might be able to hire a saw that'll do it in 2 cuts by flipping it over and get a reasonable result.

But by the time you've set it up you'd have been better off just doing it by hand with a good sharp hand saw.

For the 2*6, the rage sliding mitre saws are good. I've had one for years and it's bloody good - blades are pricy mind.

Andy_L

J_Smotthies2021 said:

Good afternoon,

I have a decking and pergoal project, and would like to know what/which miter saw I need to buy? Baiscllay, decking joists are 2 by 6, and pergola posts are 6 by 6, rest are smaller materials. any recommendations?

thanks

Get the timber merchant to cut them? There likely to have a industrial cutter that will give a more accurate cut than you can and, unless you need a mitre saw for future projects, probably cheaper at ~£1/cut

danrv

Either get a timbre merchant to cut them or you can get an Evolution 185mm circular saw cheap as mentioned previously.
Used one to cut some railway sleepers a while ago.
Cut, flip over and cut other side.

JohnB47

I recently bought this one:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Evolution-Power-Tools-R255SMS-Multi-Material/dp/B07BRPWJVZ/ref=sr_1_3_sspa?crid=34MWO2RDXC9CU&keywords=evolution+mitre+saw&qid=1652714803&sprefix=evolut,aps,87&sr=8-3-spons&th=1

Very pleased. As previously said, just turn the wood over to cut really deep pieces. 

A mitre saw really does do much more that just cut big chunks of wood. It'll cut very small delicate pieces, particularly when fitted with a suitable blade. Very versatile. Wonderful to be able to cut pieces square (or angled on purpose!) after so many years of using a hand saw and the sawed bit always looking wonky.

Section62

JohnB47 said:

A mitre saw really does do much more that just cut big chunks of wood. It'll cut very small delicate pieces, particularly when fitted with a suitable blade. Very versatile. Wonderful to be able to cut pieces square (or angled on purpose!) after so many years of using a hand saw and the sawed bit always looking wonky.

And there's the catch.  If you want to be able to use a power saw for fine work and accuracy then it needs to be treated with care and the blade kept in good condition.

Using it for rough work and/or overloading it will have an impact on the accuracy and quality of cut.

It's a bit of a DIYer error to buy one relatively expensive tool and use it for everything.  Many professionals will opt for two or more tools of the same basic type and use them for different types of job - i.e. 'best' and 'rough'.

I wouldn't hack ends off 6x2's using a reasonable quality mitre saw like the Evolution.  Even if it is capable of doing the job it doesn't necessarily mean it is a good idea to do it.

JohnB47

Section62 said:

JohnB47 said:

A mitre saw really does do much more that just cut big chunks of wood. It'll cut very small delicate pieces, particularly when fitted with a suitable blade. Very versatile. Wonderful to be able to cut pieces square (or angled on purpose!) after so many years of using a hand saw and the sawed bit always looking wonky.

And there's the catch.  If you want to be able to use a power saw for fine work and accuracy then it needs to be treated with care and the blade kept in good condition.

Using it for rough work and/or overloading it will have an impact on the accuracy and quality of cut.

It's a bit of a DIYer error to buy one relatively expensive tool and use it for everything.  Many professionals will opt for two or more tools of the same basic type and use them for different types of job - i.e. 'best' and 'rough'.

I wouldn't hack ends off 6x2's using a reasonable quality mitre saw like the Evolution.  Even if it is capable of doing the job it doesn't necessarily mean it is a good idea to do it.

I agree with everything you said and I follow that advice.

The last paragraph has me stumped though. Whilst I would never use a mitre saw to 'hack' anything off, I do think it is an appropriate tool to cut through large section wood, as long as the wood is well supported and clamped if necessary.

All personal safety precautions taken too, of course. (goggles, gloves, ear defenders)