Sliding miter saw or MFT? - Printable Version +- Woodnet Forums (https://www.forums.woodnet.net) +-- Thread: Sliding miter saw or MFT? (/showthread.php?tid=7362995) Pages:
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Sliding miter saw or MFT? - FireWood - 05-24-2021 Setting up a new shop soon, and I'm going to allocate space for crosscutting - that I don't have today. I've seen tons of miter saw stations, and some pretty slick MFT stations, and I'm trying to decide which I'd prefer. I don't currently have an MFT, nor a miter saw, so either would be a new purchase. I do have an older festool track saw already. Does anyone here have both, and what do you do with your sliding miter that you couldn't do on your MFT? RE: Sliding miter saw or MFT? - Cooler - 05-24-2021 I have a 12" DeWalt chop saw (not sliding), a radial arm saw and a Festool track saw. Only the radial arm saw will make dadoes. The Festool, with a 30" track, is great for short crosscuts especially if you have a squaring arm. A miter saw is good for crown moldings, and I don't think a MFT is suited for that. I am not that committed to the festool system yet. I pick and choose according to the task. Track saws fail miserably when ripping narrow stock. So I don't think I will be getting rid of my table saw anytime soon. RE: Sliding miter saw or MFT? - Bill_de - 05-24-2021 (05-24-2021, 10:46 AM)FireWood Wrote: Setting up a new shop soon, and I'm going to allocate space for crosscutting - that I don't have today. I'd go with the miter saw. I got rid of my 12" Bosch in favor of the 10" Festool. The accuracy is amazing. For dados I use a router and straight edge. -- RE: Sliding miter saw or MFT? - mdhills - 05-24-2021 my powertool crosscut choices depend a lot on the work support available for each: - tablesaw sled for most short pieces, especialy when set up with a stop block - track saw is great for crosscutting a panel (I've got a couple of track lengths and a TSO square) - miter saw good for long boards/trim Of these, I use the table saw the most. Matt RE: Sliding miter saw or MFT? - iclark - 05-24-2021 (05-24-2021, 10:46 AM)FireWood Wrote: Setting up a new shop soon, and I'm going to allocate space for crosscutting - that I don't have today. I had to google "MFT" to get reminded that that is the Festool name for their high-priced, ultra-lightweight, small workbench. If you want to use an MFT for crosscutting (without carving into the work top), I would recommend a miter box and a couple of saw horses at the height of the miter box bed when it is sitting on the MFT. If you are doing a built-in cross-cut station, then most of the sliding miter saws give you a massive amount of lost space behind the saw. As already noted, a radial arm saw might be a more all-round solution: just be sure that you use a negative-rake saw blade. RE: Sliding miter saw or MFT? - Cabinet Monkey - 05-25-2021 Nothing really lightweight about a MFT. Unless, of course, you’re comparing it to a stationary bench. There are a couple of mitersaws that don’t take up space behind them. Festool, Bosch and Makita have them as does Craftsman. Radial arm saw isn’t really a good option for most people. They take up a lot of depth, are getting hard to find in many places, and are compromised in some fashion for many of today’s cutting needs. RE: Sliding miter saw or MFT? - ajkoontz - 05-25-2021 (05-24-2021, 10:46 AM)FireWood Wrote: Setting up a new shop soon, and I'm going to allocate space for crosscutting - that I don't have today. I don't have an MFT so I can't speak to that, but I can't imagine not having a SCMS after having one for so many years. And I bought a 10" thinking it would be handy to swap blades with my TS- haven't done this once in 15+ years. So I would go for a 12" SCMS if I was starting from scratch, and I would buy one of the new designs that doesn't waste so much space in the back. RE: Sliding miter saw or MFT? - Tapper - 05-26-2021 Well, guess I'm in the minority on this one as my choice would be a radial arm saw. I'm in the final stages of refurbishing a Dewalt GA "Medium Arm" RAS and am looking forward to having ~24" crosscut capacity available. I have a Dewalt 12" CMS that I've used a ton over the years and plan to have it installed also inline with the RAS. I also have a Milwaukee 12" SCMS that I've used primarily for an extensive remodel/addition on our home several years ago - haven't really used it in the shop. I also use a panel sled on my tablesaw that I first saw Norm using on the NYW years ago; works nicely for wider boards that aren't too long. Don't do Festool anything so not familiar with "MFT". Good luck, Doug RE: Sliding miter saw or MFT? - Handplanesandmore - 05-26-2021 These are some of the things an Mft can't do meaningfully as compared to a good miter saw: Compound cuts, trench/dadoes, molding, and odd angle cuts. Simon RE: Sliding miter saw or MFT? - Mike in kc - 05-27-2021 I have both a Delta 10" RAS and a Hitachi 12" SCMS that take care of all my Xcut needs. They are mounted 2' apart, and share a common fence, on a common dedicated crosscut bench. |