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#1
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Looking for a little saw advice
My wife and I are about to install a hardwood floor and we're looking
to purchase a saw for this project as well as future projects. This would have been an easy decision until my father-in-law complicated things by saying that I would never regret buying a radial arm saw. So I've done a bit of research and I'm wondering if a radial arm saw might be too much tool for me. I'm learning stuff as I go and I'm not afraid to learn how to use it, but it sounds like radial arm saw have to be adjusted often and Im not sure if that's something I'll be able to do accurately. Any suggestions or opinions would be great...FYI, I have other projects that will require miter cuts. Thanks again, Darren |
#2
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Looking for a little saw advice
How about a power mitre box?? Nice for small stock like flooring,
molding, etc. |
#3
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Looking for a little saw advice
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#4
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Looking for a little saw advice
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#5
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Looking for a little saw advice
wrote in message ... My wife and I are about to install a hardwood floor and we're looking to purchase a saw for this project as well as future projects. This would have been an easy decision until my father-in-law complicated things by saying that I would never regret buying a radial arm saw. So I've done a bit of research and I'm wondering if a radial arm saw might be too much tool for me. I'm learning stuff as I go and I'm not afraid to learn how to use it, but it sounds like radial arm saw have to be adjusted often and Im not sure if that's something I'll be able to do accurately. Any suggestions or opinions would be great...FYI, I have other projects that will require miter cuts. Thanks again, Darren If you're doing flooring, you will need to do many crosscuts and a few rip operations. A radial arm saw would do those cuts and much more. The problem with radial arm saw is a good one is expensive and big and heavy only for stationary work. If you have projects outside of the house this will not be practical. It is also somewhat more dangerous and intimidating than other saws doing some cutting operations. A table saw could do both rips and crosscuts as well and the smaller ones could be moved from jobsite to jobsite. Best of both worlds is a table saw set up for rip and a sliding miter saw. |
#6
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Looking for a little saw advice
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#7
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Looking for a little saw advice
wrote in message ... My wife and I are about to install a hardwood floor and we're looking to purchase a saw for this project as well as future projects. This would have been an easy decision until my father-in-law complicated things by saying that I would never regret buying a radial arm saw. So I've done a bit of research and I'm wondering if a radial arm saw might be too much tool for me. I'm learning stuff as I go and I'm not afraid to learn how to use it, but it sounds like radial arm saw have to be adjusted often and Im not sure if that's something I'll be able to do accurately. Any suggestions or opinions would be great...FYI, I have other projects that will require miter cuts. I've long wished that i had gotten a table saw rather than a radial arm saw as my first big tool purchase. For the flooring, a miter saw is a better bet. |
#8
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Looking for a little saw advice
Bob F wrote:
wrote in message ... My wife and I are about to install a hardwood floor and we're looking to purchase a saw for this project as well as future projects. This would have been an easy decision until my father-in-law complicated things by saying that I would never regret buying a radial arm saw. So I've done a bit of research and I'm wondering if a radial arm saw might be too much tool for me. I'm learning stuff as I go and I'm not afraid to learn how to use it, but it sounds like radial arm saw have to be adjusted often and Im not sure if that's something I'll be able to do accurately. Any suggestions or opinions would be great...FYI, I have other projects that will require miter cuts. I've long wished that i had gotten a table saw rather than a radial arm saw as my first big tool purchase. For the flooring, a miter saw is a better bet. You can't rip with a miter saw. |
#10
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Looking for a little saw advice
On Apr 17, 12:16*pm, wrote:
My wife and I are about to install a hardwood floor and we're looking to purchase a saw for this project as well as future projects. *This would have been an easy decision until my father-in-law complicated things by saying that I would never regret buying a radial arm saw. So I've done a bit of research and I'm wondering if a radial arm saw might be too much tool for me. *I'm learning stuff as I go and I'm not afraid to learn how to use it, but it sounds like radial arm saw have to be adjusted often and Im not sure if that's something I'll be able to do accurately. *Any suggestions or opinions would be great...FYI, I have other projects that will require miter cuts. Thanks again, Darren I had a radial arm saw and I sold it. As others have said this job i is something best done with a powered miter saw for cross-cuts and a table saw for ripping. The radial arm saw I had did not do anything that I could not do with the miter saw and the table saw. Just my opinion. |
#11
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Looking for a little saw advice
wrote:
My wife and I are about to install a hardwood floor and we're looking to purchase a saw for this project as well as future projects. This would have been an easy decision until my father-in-law complicated things by saying that I would never regret buying a radial arm saw. So I've done a bit of research and I'm wondering if a radial arm saw might be too much tool for me. I'm learning stuff as I go and I'm not afraid to learn how to use it, but it sounds like radial arm saw have to be adjusted often and Im not sure if that's something I'll be able to do accurately. Any suggestions or opinions would be great...FYI, I have other projects that will require miter cuts. You will have to crosscut mostly but you will also probably have to rip. Therefore... 1. A miter saw by itself won't cut it. 2. A radial saw will do both. It is easier used to crosscut rather than rip 3. A table saw will do both. It's forte is ripping but crosscuts OK. If it were me I'd get a decent table saw AND a miter saw. The two should be purchaseable for about what you'd pay for a radial saw. Of particular concern with the table saw is the fence...it should be sturdy, adjust easily and - most important - be repeatable; i.e., it should ALWAYS lock parallel to the blade. BTW, you sneaked in under the wire...I now filter all news messages that include "gmail" in the From line. Most of the mountain of SPAM in usenet is originating from Google/gmail. -- dadiOH ____________________________ dadiOH's dandies v3.06... ....a help file of info about MP3s, recording from LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that. Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico |
#12
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Looking for a little saw advice
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#13
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Looking for a little saw advice
dadiOH wrote:
If it were me I'd get a decent table saw AND a miter saw. The two should be purchaseable for about what you'd pay for a radial saw. Of particular concern with the table saw is the fence...it should be sturdy, adjust easily and - most important - be repeatable; i.e., it should ALWAYS lock parallel to the blade. Ditto. My first big tool was a Craftsman RAS. Now I also have a table saw and a compound miter saw... which are the two that get used the most. My RAS mostly exists as a surface to lay things on. But I hate to get rid of anything I've bought, so I keep the thing. -- Mortimer Schnerd, RN mschnerdatcarolina.rr.com |
#14
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Looking for a little saw advice
"George" wrote in message I had a radial arm saw and I sold it. As others have said this job i is something best done with a powered miter saw for cross-cuts and a table saw for ripping. The radial arm saw I had did not do anything that I could not do with the miter saw and the table saw. Just my opinion. Same here, I actually gave it away because no one wanted to buy it. They are tedious to keep aligned and don't do anything that other much more portable saws can do. There is a good reason you don't see them displayed in stores. I wish that had been true when I bought mine. |
#15
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Looking for a little saw advice
Thanks for all of the excellent information everyone. I think I'm
going to go with a table and miter saw. For the miter saw would you recommend just a regular one, or a compound or a sliding compound? I don't know that I'll ever do any beveled cuts, but maybe. Also, I'll need to raise the subfloor 1/4" so I was planning on using sheets of 1/4" plywood and attaching it with screws, is this advisable? If so, which kind of screws would be best? And will either of these saws be able to handle big sheets like that, or will I need something else? Thanks again for all of the great responses thus far. Darren |
#16
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Looking for a little saw advice
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#17
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Looking for a little saw advice
On Thu, 17 Apr 2008 22:22:20 -0500, "HeyBub"
wrote: You can't rip with a miter saw. Sure for a short piece. I will rip what can and then finish the radius (outside bull nose corner) with a jig saw. These are short pieces of wood flooring. There is a serious danger, though! Not all rips are secure against the saw fence (tapered cuts for the final inch or two of wood flooring). My finish blades don't *recommend* the blade for ripping :-/ |
#18
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Looking for a little saw advice
Oren wrote:
On Thu, 17 Apr 2008 22:22:20 -0500, "HeyBub" wrote: You can't rip with a miter saw. Sure for a short piece. I will rip what can and then finish the radius (outside bull nose corner) with a jig saw. These are short pieces of wood flooring. There is a serious danger, though! Not all rips are secure against the saw fence (tapered cuts for the final inch or two of wood flooring). My finish blades don't *recommend* the blade for ripping :-/ Ah, okay. My flooring planks were four feet long. Ripping 10" at each end still left more than two feet to do with a jig saw. |
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