Sliding miter saw or MFT?

[FireWood]

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?

[Cooler]

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.

[Bill_de]

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?

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. 

--

[mdhills]

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

[iclark]

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?

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.

[Cabinet Monkey]

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.

[ajkoontz]

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?

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.

[Tapper]

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

[Handplanesandmore]

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

[Mike in kc]

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.