10" Vs. 12" miter saw, sliding VS. non-sliding what do you use?

[kb10103]

hi all,

i've recently moved my shop into my based from the garage and i don't have the wall space i had in the past, the space is also an "L" instead of being wide open. i'm trying to save as much space as possible for assembly and general floor space in the interior of the room. anyway i'll save you all my rambling and just ask. do you find that a 10" miter saw works well or will i miss my 12" slider. if i go stationary and get a non-slider i'm guessing i should get a 12" and not even consider 10". have any of you went from a slider to a non-slider, did you miss anything or find yourself thinking, man, i really should have kept the slider.

i know a lot is personal preference but i thought i would ask the question to get some of your thoughts.

just to let you know what i'm considering getting...10"/12" bosch glide saw (most expensive best saw) , the craftsman compact 10" slider (cheapest but still a slider) or a 12" fixed dewalt (i get get this used/refurbished from work).

thanks!

Brian

[Ohio Mike]

I'm in a basement shop that's only 12.5 feet wide so space behind the saw limited. 

I bought a 12 inch Makita non-slider and it works great for me and the work I do.  When I need to cut wider than 7 inches I get out the cross-cut sled for the table saw.

But if money were no object I'll admit I would have bought the Bosch because it fits within the footprint of a non-slider.



Mike

[gMike]

I'm in a small basement shop and wouldn't be without my DeWalt 12" slider.  I find it very handy to break down long boards for projects.  After having the 12" slider for many years I wouldn't even consider being without it.  I guess you get to depend on what you have and don't look for any other way to work.

[paarker]

I keep my 12 inch slider on a gravity rise stand so I can tuck it away in a coner when I'm not using it. I would not want anything but that.

[PedroOhare]

Get a radial arm saw. Preferably and old Dewalt or Delta. Space and crosscut capacities both met in one package. Plus there are More advantages you haven't even asked about.

Pedro

[LarryC]

I was using a 10 inch Hitachi slider, it was good but it needed more space behind it for the the slider which pushed it towards the front of my bench.  I wanted a 12" for the max width of cut as well as being able to mount it close to the wall as possible.  I'm a former Radial saw user, in my opinion they are superior to miter saws if you have a good one, but they take up a lot of space in the front to back area as well as width though the width is sort of a given with saws being used to cut long or longer boards.  Anyway I ended up buying a refurbished Bosch GCM12SD glider and love it, I can even cut dados with it since it has a depth stop, something I really missed with my radial saw.  The only negative I have for the Bosch saw is it's weight, it's a heavy machine so if you think you'll want to drag it around your house to do flooring or other projects then think twice about it unless you mount it to a mobile miter saw stand

[knotscott]

I use my TS for all crosscuts except for very long pieces like molding.  Otherwise my CMS sits under the bench and gets pulled out every 3 or 4 years.

[LarryK]

12" slider, table saw is not the same

[kb10103]

thanks for all the thoughts and advice guys!

i tend to be the type that might slightly overthink things at times


thought it over last night after talking to a few buddies and reading your posts and i'm going to look into the RAS route AND keep my miter saw and store it vertically against the wall in the garage on the portable stand for when i need something portable
best of both worlds right haha

oh and thanks PedraOhare for reminding me of the RAS, saved me $500 for now as i had a refurbished bosch 12" glider in my cart waiting to check out....i was "sleeping on it".

Brian

[Bill Wilson]

I have a 10" RAS and a 12" CMS.  It's a combination that works for me.  The RAS gives me extra cross cutting capacity, while the CMS offers more thickness capacity and portability.  I would be loathe to give either one up, even though space is tight.