Need tool advice

[Demonseed]

I am looking into 2 new tools; A miter/chop saw and an undercut saw. Does anyone have any input on brands and value. I do not need either for heavy duty use, just occassional use, so something that is easy to use and maintain that still does a good job.

[Nick Arrera]

If you are just looking to do jams i would just get the dremel for $100.00

You can pick up a decent radial arm saw for around $250.00

I been hearing good things about Ridgit .

[rusty baker]

I am lo-tech. I have an old manual jam saw. I think it's a Crain. I have used it for years. Worked great in homes with no electric when installing vinyl. I have a Makita miter saw. It cost about $135.

[Al Gladden]

i have 3 crains.the 555,the 800,the 812. i use the 555 for doorjambs and the other 2 for fire places and stuff..screw the manual saw..

[Don Monfils]

This is a good undercut saw for the money. Mine broke after 6 years and I replaced it with a reconditioned one for $70.00 with blades

Bosch Power Handsaws @ CPO

[Demonseed]

I may be calling these by the wrong names, I want an undercut saw that can also cut doors in place, and the miter/chop saw, I want to do miter and bevel cuts, pre sets are okay, but I want it adjustable. I think I saw the Crain 855, but I could not tell if the 812 could do doors too?

I was looking at the Dewalt chop saws, and saw a battery powered Bosch.

The undercut would be more for Doors and Jambs, while the chop saw would be for laminate.

I have my share of power tools, but i want to buy things that will last.

Kind of out of my area of expertise here.

Al Gladden said i have 3 crains.the 555,the 800,the 812. i use the 555 for doorjambs and the other 2 for fire places and stuff..screw the manual saw..

[Jackreed]

I have the Crain 820 bought it a couple years ago for $250.00. I have used it to cut of pocket doors in the old houses built in the eqrly 1900's. works good but you have to take it slow or it will chip the wood on the ends of the doors. I also have a 12 in dewalt miter saw I paid $300.00 dollars for it. I use it mostly to cut laminate. Both are the best investment I every made.

[kwfloors]

The best way to cut doors is with them removed so you can cut the line with a utility knife to prevent splintering. This is another line where you place blue tape on the other side of your cut. I have cut doors with all the jam saws listed although the smaller ones sometimes don't cut all the way through because of the small blade. I use a hitachi 8 1/2 inch slide saw for everything I do, very dependable. I have been eyeing a hitachi 12 inch slide saw at Costco the last couple of times in there. $399.00 which is a steal.

[Direct carpets]

Most guys I know use a 10 inch table saw to cut laminate. so you can rip cut also. One saw on the job....

[Jackreed]

kwfloors said The best way to cut doors is with them removed so you can cut the line with a utility knife to prevent splintering. This is another line where you place blue tape on the other side of your cut. I have cut doors with all the jam saws listed although the smaller ones sometimes don't cut all the way through because of the small blade. I use a hitachi 8 1/2 inch slide saw for everything I do, very dependable. I have been eyeing a hitachi 12 inch slide saw at Costco the last couple of times in there. $399.00 which is a steal.

On the newer hollow core doors and doors 3 wide foot or less that is how I do it. But I work by myself and these old doors are 5 foot wide and solid oak . To much for one guy to handle . that is where my undercut saw comes in handy.

[Kman]

I've got a Bosch fine cut saw that I bought several ago. It's good for cutting off door jambs, although it's a good idea to mark the jamb first because it's easy to get it a little crooked if you're not careful. It's kind of like a precision sawzall. One downside, if the door is very close to a perpendicular wall, the stroke of the blade makes it difficult to keep from hitting the trim on the intersecting wall.

Amazon.com: Bosch 1640VS Finecut 3.5 Amp Power Handsaw: Home Improvement


If you're willing to spend a little more money, you can also get the Crain undercut saw. It's pretty good when you're doing a remodel with new flooring that's thicker than the old. You can cut off the underside of the trim all the way around the room in a matter of a couple of minutes. Keeps from having to remove/replace all the trim. Something about the frequency that this saw runs on that seems to set off the smoke detectors, though.

Amazon.com: 555 Multi Undercut Saw: Home Improvement


As for the chop saw, my favorite was the Hitachi 12" compound miter. That was until it quit working on me in the middle of a job a couple of months ago. It may be something minor in the switch, but I paid good money for a saw that quit working little more than a year after I got it. At the time, I didn't have any choice but to go immediately and buy another saw. This time I got one with a slider. Both of them have lasers, but the Kobalt laser is barely visible. The Hitachi is a far better saw, I just ran into that problem with it. I'm going to fix it and keep the Kobalt as a backup.

Hitachi at Lowe's: 12" Dual Compound Miter Saw with Laser Marker
Kobalt at Lowe's: 10" 15-Amp Sliding Laser Compound Miter Saw

[Demonseed]

To show how dumb i am, why would I need a double bevel saw over a single bevel saw?
They are confusing me here, anyway, if you had to choose one of the tools which would you prefer, I am getting one as a gift from my beautiful, lovely, sexy, and wonderful fiance, If i was watching TV this late I would probably be asking about the sham wow..

Jackreed said I have the Crain 820 bought it a couple years ago for $250.00. I have used it to cut of pocket doors in the old houses built in the eqrly 1900's. works good but you have to take it slow or it will chip the wood on the ends of the doors. I also have a 12 in dewalt miter saw I paid $300.00 dollars for it. I use it mostly to cut laminate. Both are the best investment I every made.

[Kman]

Are you asking about the compound miter saw? It cuts at two different angles at the same time. It's mostly helpful on installing trim, especially crown moulding.

[The Carpetologist]

If your not cutting jambs very often, the hand jamb saw would be fine for you. I used one for years before I went to the power tools. Check with your local pawn shops, you may be able to pick up an electric one pretty cheep, these days, the pawn shops seem to be full of floor installation tools.

As far as a miter saw, once again, it depends on how often you are using it.
If your not using one very often then you can pick up a cheep one at one of the box stores that will do all the angle cuts you need. If your wanting to use it for laminate, you need a bigger saw blade so it is going to cost ya to buy a better saw.
I also do laminate jobs now and then and I just use a dewalt jig saw.

[BrianM]

One of the old folk's homes we're working on is putting 6" Johnsonite Millwork Countoured Wall Base in the 6'x6' toilets.
Johnsonite > Color Resources & Tools > Photo Gallery
Aside from nails, putty and stain or paint you're a finish carpenter. You're going to have to hump around the monster sliding compound miter saw to make inside and outside corners. What pisses me off is they've got a finish carpentry sub working on the same project putting up door and crown moldings. I was half way joking when I told the guys THEY should be putting this rubber base on. Problem is their wood moldings all get putty and paint to compensate for the sloppy, crooked California construction. There's not much play with this stuff as it's around a 1/4" thick. My base is white/almond so basically you need PERFECT walls, corners and floors which has never happened in California to my knowledge. That technology never quite made it out here. If it were out in the rooms or halls I'd have to do some serious angle adjustments on the saw. Behind the stool and under and around the cabinet toekicks I'm just doing 90s and caulking the gaps.