I have just bought an Evolution 10" laser compound mitre saw to help me do my skirting boards. I have not opened the box yet.
I have two Questions
Should I take it back?
Can I use it without screwing it to my workbench?

some people swear by them others hate them
suspect its all about expectations and how lucky you are to get a good un

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we are all ------------------still learning

Take it back. I bought one for cutting rough timber and pallets up etc. the blade on them are useless for a fine finish,they aren't accurate enough and the one I bought didn't even last a year of cutting up scrap wood. Hire a profesional mitre saw if you plan to cut deep skirting,trust me it'll save you time and money.

big-all - thanks for trying

SJ74 - thanks - saved in the nick of time - was just about to unbox. I didn't know mitre saws were for hire.

The local hire shop has a Makita flip over mitre saw, is that better?

another thing about rage are they are odd size blades so quite restrictive and expensive

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we are all ------------------still learning

pull saws tend to be better
flip saws tend to be a compromise so may not have the cutting capacity

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we are all ------------------still learning

I bought a trend blade bore adapter for a couple of quid and put a new blade in the one I had,didn't make it any more bearable to use tho!

The makita flip saw is also a 10inch compound mitre saw so should give you the same cutting capacity of the evolution plus you get the added benefit of being able to turn it over and into a table saw but, the down side is that it will probably be about double the weight of the evolution which means they are not very good at being mobile which is a shame.

Cheers, John

The job I am trying to tackle is skirting for a small loo.
The skirting is beech straight edge no profile 8cm high 1 cm deep.
The loo has 3 internal angles, and 1 external angle.
I have so far learned that the 3 internal angles have to be butt joined.
I practised cutting the 1 external angle on a piece of pine with a hand mitre saw and it was rubbish.
I need an accurate mitre saw and despite hours/days of research, I am still none the wiser. I bought the Evolution in desperation.
I will use the mitre saw for more things but not enough to spend hundreds. Is hiring still the way to go? Feel I'm going around in circles.

You could always hire a joiner? It's an hours work so it would probably be cheaper than buying or hiring a saw.

I could, though not always that easy for a small job.
I had a problem finding a tiler to put glass sheet mosaics on the floor and in the end, I had to do it myself was terrified, self levelling compound and all that. Result - good job.
I was hoping for the same success story with the skirting - but afraid I am defeated.

Near us , to hire an electric mitre saw is £28 per day or £56 per week. The other option as only a few cuts is to rent a hand mitre saw at £8.75 per day or £17.50 per week. I used the hand saw which worked out ok.

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Nick

If someone helps then thank the helper and also check out UHM's Nominated charity - http://www.donnasdreamhouse.co.uk/

You've got to weigh up what level of finish you want and whether you are prepared to waste a few pieces of skirting trying to get a good finish yourself. Be realistic of your own ability as well,skirting is an easy job to get perfect if you are a pro but easy to make a pigs ear of if you've never done it before. If you were going to paint the skirting I'd say go for it as you could caulk/fill your way out of trouble but with a timber finish it got to be spot on,it doesn't just come straight off the mitre saw and fix to the wall either,a lot of the time the joints have to be adjusted with a block plane which only experience and practice can be mastered.

You may have missed the bit where I said that I have a none-electric mitre saw and I used it to practise on a bit of pine. The result was rubbish. Will a power saw in my hands be any less rubbish? I am prepared to pay a bit more to achieve a result that is not rubbish. The beech skirting will be lightly oiled - no hiding place for errors. Thanks for trying to help the helpless.