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

[EvilTwin]

I had a 12" PC for a while and replaced it with a RAS. First a Dewalt 9" and then with a Delta 30c. The PC now lives on a ridgid stand out in the shed, and gets used for mostly outdoor projects involving 2x lumber or as needed.

[PedroOhare]

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

Well if that $500 is burning a hole in your pocket, send it to me and I will dispose of it safely and ecologically.


Pedro

[BrentDH]

If I am not too late to the party I will throw in my two cents.  I have had both a slider and non-slider.  I think the biggest advantage to the slider (besides the extra capacity) is the fact that you can put a tiny short mark anywhere on the width of the board and then pull the slider out to the point where the lowest tooth hits that mark and know that you will cut at the correct location.  With a non-slider you need to use a square to extend that line all the way across the board to be sure the mark will exist where the lowest tooth hits it.
Of course there is another solution that I have learned with more experience than I had when I owned the non-slider which would be to put a zero clearance fence on and then just put the mark on the very edge of the board.  But I still find it very handy to just put the mark anywhere and pull the saw out slightly and line up a tooth with the mark.

[woodhead]

I have the luxury of owning three 10" saws and one 12" saw. One 10 is built into the shop. If I need to cut bigger, I put the 12 on the outfeed/work bench (4x8 plywood). That said, the 10 does 99.5% of the work.



Al

[Steve N]

12" non sliding just because it has pretty close to the capacity of a sliding 10, and about 50% less moving parts. Moving parts can wiggle, waggle and the tail shakes the dog, making the sliders less accurate than I want them to be.

Easily proven by holding the table still (power off and unplugged) and take the handle in your other hand, and just give it a side to side shake. The sliders all will, the straight cutters, not nearly as much.

[daddo]

Get the biggest capacity you can comfortably get.

[Bill Lyman]

I have had a DeWalt 12" sliding compound miter saw and a Bosch 12" sliding compound miter saw. Either one worked great for general cutting and assembly work.  I prefer the Bosch and sold the DeWalt. Sometime I use the table saw for really tight joinery, but not before cutting a little long on the miter. Very quick, handy and accurate.

[mikefm101]

I have had a 10" DeWalt for a decade plus.  It does cut about 95% of what I need.  The rest I either just need to lift up slightly to reach that last 1/4", or in rare cases flip the board over and finish the cut, with the first pass as my layout.

My shop is long and narrow, hence why the 10" in the first place.

If I went bigger I think a 12" fixed. 

Mike

[PMJ]

I have the Hitachi C12RSH.  It replaced a 12" Ridgid non-slider.  The motor/saw blade move on the fixed rails.  You don't need the extra room behind the saw.  I'm very happy with it.

Not a new guy, just someone who had to register again.

[kurt18947]

I have the Hitachi C12RSH.  It replaced a 12" Ridgid non-slider.  The motor/saw blade move on the fixed rails.  You don't need the extra room behind the saw.  I'm very happy with it.

Not a new guy, just someone who had to register again.

That's one that interests me, will sit close to a wall like the Bosch but less $$ and fewer moving parts.  Heavy sucker though, like other 12" sliders.