Sliding miter saw for cutting extrusions

[LavelleSign]

Im looking into getting a sliding miter saw for cutting signcomp extruded lengths to make cabinets. I was looking at a makita LS1216L, the reviews are very positive and seems to be very accurate.

[h=1]Anyone have any hands on experience with this?[/h][h=1][/h]

 

[GB2]

You can't buy a better mitre saw. This will do exactly what you want it to.

 

[BIG EASY DOES IT]

No hands on with the extrusions. But hands on with the sliding miters. I like Makita but I think bosch makes a better product personally. I think overall just built better. But both work great.

 

[player]

The thing to look for is how strong the rails are. How easy is it to cause the cutting head to move right to left when it shouldn't. Especially when the blade is on a 45 degree angle. When cutting extrusions, they exert forces on the blade causing deflection. I would look for a unit that is more robust, and has less runout and play, if you can find one. This one might be as good as it gets in that class of tool.

 

[Kottwitz-Graphics]

As long as you have the correct blade, you should be fine. I did work for a company that had a sliding mitersaw set up to cut alum, and they had a hold down bar that helped hold the extrusion down. It was a piece of square tubing that was hinged on the table that the saw was mounted to. It had a block of wood that was mounted to the tubing. when you pushed down on the tubing the stronger it held...

 

[AF]

+1 for the Makita. I have one that has cut countless miles of material and is still accurate to this day. Some things I like:

It has a safety
The safety can be used with either hand
The handle can be used with either hand
No "easy break" gimmicks, just pure saw
Fairly quiet
Guard easy to hold open with thumb for aligning cuts
Miter angle easy to change
Fence easy to align
Material clamp well designed

Its a workhorse. Get the 12".

 

[neil_se]

I've had that one for a few years and it's still going strong.

 

[FireSprint.com]

Have you seen these?
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...Code=as2&tag=cd0a1-20&linkId=YRPXU77PH6ULXSLT

Man they are sweet!

 

[signfab]

If you are going to be cutting and mitering things like signbox extrusion that is 200 or 300mm deep you will need something with a bigger table like the LS1214

 

[LavelleSign]

Makita seems to be well liked across the board here, anyone lubing the blade before cuts. Sign comp recommends this?

 

[FS-Keith]

I would recommend a radial arm saw before a compound miter, but it will work. Get a bigger blade

 

[signfab]

If you have an air compressor in your shop setting up a cool mist system for blade lubrication would be fairly easy, if not then an aluminium cutting wax will be needed to produce a clean cut.

 

[player]

WE used to run Alumacut across the cut line, and put some on the blade a well. You can just put it on the side of the blade and run the blade for a second and the centrifugal force spreads if to the teeth.

 

[artbot]

i'd think that a radial arm saw would be a much more pleasurable tool. better sight line, more working space. they are so cheap, used on craiglist in that they have fallen our of favor compared to sliding miter saws. i'd get a used 14" model. the blade will stay much cooler at that size.

 

[fixtureman]

I've used both miter saws and radial arm saws and I like the miter saws better for extrusion cutting.

 

[JJM7288]

We bought this one ten years ago, still cuts as good as the first day. We added the pneumatic automatic vice for fast high production cutting.
http://www.scotchman.com/cold-saws/non-ferrous/cpo350nf/

 

[player]

We bought this one ten years ago, still cuts as good as the first day. We added the pneumatic automatic vice for fast high production cutting.
http://www.scotchman.com/cold-saws/non-ferrous/cpo350nf/

Good choice!