Getting myself a new miter saw for Christmas...some last minute questions

[KingwoodFan1989]

I said nothing about a dado stack.  What I said was that I value the depth stop because it allows you to cut dados, yes, one blade width at a time, and rabbets.  

OP, unless it's a big job you likely won't have a tablesaw with you at a jobsite, but you are will likely to have an easily transportable sliding miter saw.  I've used one several times to cut rabbets on the end of door frames.  Of course I could have done it with a handsaw and shoulder plane, but it's much easier and faster with the miter saw.  

John

Gotcha. Still, if I'm doing more than a few dadoes or rabbets, I feel like I'd rather take a jobsite table saw with a long enough arbor to accommodate a 13/16" dado stack. Yeah, it's more gear to lug around, but I'm sure the speed at which you could cut dadoes with a stack would more than make up for the time. 

And in keeping with what I've been asking others, can I venture to guess any experiences you've had with table lock knobs on miter saws have been fine?

[BloomingtonMike]

Get whatever model number with the led overblade light for shadow line. Best invention ever for a miter saw. I use it every cut on my 717 and adding it to my bosch glide.

[Stwood_]

I said nothing about a dado stack.  What I said was that I value the depth stop because it allows you to cut dados, yes, one blade width at a time, and rabbets.  

OP, unless it's a big job you likely won't have a tablesaw with you at a jobsite, but you are will likely to have an easily transportable sliding miter saw.  I've used one several times to cut rabbets on the end of door frames.  Of course I could have done it with a handsaw and shoulder plane, but it's much easier and faster with the miter saw.  

John

I never mentioned dado stack either.

They do make 8 and 9", 1/8" plate, 1/4" wide tooth blades (industrial) item specific blades for radial and sliding saws.  I don't believe they make those for 12" sliders.

Op, I would go with the discontinued slider, as it should last you ten or so years with good results.
Yes, more weight to pack around, but can do more widths with it.

And the knobs. Of all the slider/non slider tables I've seen, the standard angles have detents in the tables, and you don't have to tighten the knob up on non sliders, nor lock the handle down on sliders.

[KingwoodFan1989]

Get whatever model number with the led overblade light for shadow line. Best invention ever for a miter saw. I use it every cut on my 717 and adding it to my bosch glide.

Neither the 709 nor the 779 has that feature. 


And Stwood, so you're saying the locking knob shouldn't be something I'm concerned about?

I know the 779 is a tiny bit cheaper now and has more capacity, but I'm still a bit concerned about the longer slide rails eventually becoming a compromise in terms of accuracy over the entire width of cut. If the knob on the 709 isn't something I should be concerned about (despite my current saw's issues), I'll probably still go with that one. That was my only concern with the 709 anyway.

[Stwood_]

Except for the odd angles, the tables have a detent stop when you turn to say 22.5 or 45. You do not have to lock the knob.

[KingwoodFan1989]

Except for the odd angles, the tables have a detent stop when you turn to say 22.5 or 45. You do not have to lock the knob.

Gotcha. I wonder how it would do with the odd angles? I saw a 709 in person once but didn't think to try out the knob to see if there was any play in the table. That was at an Orchard Supply Hardware, and those stores are mostly closed now, so I can't go check it out again. 

[Stwood_]

My older 705 has no problems with that

[KingwoodFan1989]

My older 705 has no problems with that

Yep, you and one other have said that before in this thread. I'm beginning to think I should just not be too concerned...I'm not gonna use odd angles very often, and hopefully when I do, the knob will be as reliable as the one on your 705.

[Stwood_]

You must have an older saw that has knob problems.

[KingwoodFan1989]

You must have an older saw that has knob problems.

Mine's not even a DeWalt...it's a 12 year old Ridgid 10" non slider. The positive stops on at least one side of the table (including the all-important 0 degree one) stopped being reliable YEARS ago, and when tightening the knob, the table will pivot a tiny fraction of a degree as it reaches its tightest point. I'm starting to think this is a problem with the previous generation of Ridgid miter saws...I guess the ones on the DeWalts are probably more reliable.

This was my first ever power tool, picked out by me for a Christmas present (17 years old, newbie woodworker who didn't know anything about quality tools, haha), but besides just the knob problem, it's got several other major issues as well as limited capacity, so there's really no sentimental value on the thing. I'm just looking forward to getting the new saw and taking the old one to e-waste.