Should I buy a table saw or mitre saw for home renovation projects?

[Matkai]

Looking for advice, starting some DIY home renovations, including skirting, fitting out wardrobes and installing flooring in roof (attic storage) to start.  Trying to decide whether a I should buy a mitre saw or table saw? 

Any advice would be appreciated and if you can recommend brands or models that would be helpful as well. (Novice Woodworker)

Thanks

[JacobZ]

Hi @Matkai,

It's brilliant to hear you've got so many upcoming projects, I'm excited to see them come to life.

At the early stages of your woodworking journey, it is unlikely you will get a lot of benefit from purchasing a table saw and the risks involved in their use make me very wary of recommending them to a beginner.

Table saws are generally used for ripping timbers, which is a vertical cut along the length of the timber. At the early stages in your construction and woodworking journey, it would be rare to come across a situation where this is required.

My advice is that you should start with a mitre saw as they are capable of accurate crosscuts, mitre cuts, bevel cuts and compound cuts. This will be the perfect tool for any framing required in the wardrobe and attic and is an essential tool for cutting skirting.

For sheeting the attic or any shelving that needs to be cut, I'd advise using a circular saw alongside some clamps and a straight edge such as a spirit level.

My suggestion for a mitre saw is to look for a double bevel sliding mitre saw. This means the saw can be rotated both ways to make both mitre and bevel cuts and that the saw is on a sliding arm allowing for a wider cutting range. A good example of this is the Ozito 10" Corded Double Bevel Sliding Mitre Saw which is a fantastic entry level mitre saw with all the functionality you are likely to need.

For a circular saw, you might like to look at a corded saw such as this Ryobi 1500W 184mm Corded Circular Saw as a good place to start.

Allow me to tag some of our knowledgeable members to see if they have any advice to add, @Dave-1, @Nailbag, @Jewelleryrescue.

You might also like to have a look at Tools 101: How To Use Power Saws for some further guidance.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

Jacob

[Dave-1]

Afternoon @Matkai 

I would agree with @JacobZ and suggest using a dropsaw as your first purchase. 

My first purchase was a corded drill. (Makita) took 30 years before the hammer function dies but drill wise still going strong.

Battery drill (early green ozito range, it just kept on going)

Then a drop saw Makita and it is worth its weight in gold. Also weighs a bit moving it around.

A table saw is my next "want" As I have now come accross instances where I would activly use it. Just need a workshop to go with it.

Makita 260MM (10-1/4“) Slide Compound Mitre Saw LS1110F is the one I use and have had it for 7ish years Id say. I like makita tools when I can afford them but also love Ozito tools and have NEVER had an issue with them yet. Maybe go ozito and then with the left over money by another tool that may be handy? The one thing I really like about the Makita saw is the laser line for cutting and the ability to swivel easily between angled cuts for skirting ect.

As a note, handy sized workhorses are a definently make life easier decision. 3 of them I would say.

Dave

[Nailbag]

Hi @Matkai 

What a great question and perfectly answered by @JacobZ has already provided. I have renovated several homes and though there has been a few times a table saw would have been great to have, I have managed to work around it relatively easy.

The recommended 10"/254mm mitre saw is a perfect size to cover all those projects you have mentioned, and then some. An electric mitre saw can be quite daunting for a novice, so, if you think you will be expanding your tool range you have both Ozito and Ryobi to choose from in high range cordless models, which also expend over in to power garden. Ozito do a 10" in a cordless but does require 2 x 18v batteries to power it. And as you heard from @Dave-1 he's been very happy with that brand. The Ryobi model only requires one and can also vouch for its performance with a mate owning that actual tool. When powering cordless saws, always use the most powerful battery you can afford, as this will give decent runtime with a bit more power as you go up in size.

It would also be worth considering a 2nd finer toothed blade between 40 and 60 teeth. Use this blade for all the fine work like skirting and architraves. Then use the blade that comes with the saw for all other general cutting.

I would also recommend considering a mitre saw stand. All brands will fit any brand of saw, and this one by Ozito is a great starter one and gets you working safely off the ground and has extendable arms to support longer lengths.

When it comes to cutting say shelving with depths greater than 300mm, thats when that advice from @JacobZ comes in to use a spirit level as a straight edge clamped to give you a nice straight cut. But make your measurements from the underside and have the face of the shelf on the bottom. This way you will get a much cleaner cut on the good side. Finer toothed blades also help with this. This is the process I have done countless times and has @Dave-1 by the sounds. But looking forward to getting a track saw one day, which will make life very easy and elevates my need for a table saw.

Nailbag

[Jewelleryrescue]

Hi @Matkai 

@JacobZ  and members  have given great advice as always for your first saws.

As your a novice by your own words any saw you buy learn all you can about safty cutting a Ryobi 1500W 184mm Corded Circular Saw  is quite powerfull and can easially kick back at you if things go wrong.  

We kid you not power tools bite  back if  you make mistakes you might not get a second chance from a bad injury.  Not trying to scare you just recomending you watch a bunch of videos  and  you tubes of safe handling.

I presonally use a Triton  series 2000 saw used it for years even professionally as it converts between cross cut.and mitre  and table saw with in a minute and is very accurate if set up correctly is saw mounted  square etc I also run a router table same brand. A very versitile saw.  But I still run circular saws for the odd quick cut less  set up time.   Not  even sure they make them any more ?  Not that I will ever need a new one ever.

I highly recommend roller stands with a table saw Depending on make to allow the wood to safly move onto and off the saw platform Triton is a realitivly small table are and needs supporting adjustable roller stands for larger timbers and panels.

Recently I put a diamond saw blade in it and cut a lot of marble 15mm tiles with it dry. This  was done strictly in a garage with a full face industrial face mask respirator just in case the dust was bad as Triton not designed to run with water.  Saved me having to buy rent a  wet saw.  I prefer a wet saw but they dont grow on trees.

But a good mitre saw and a circular saw will  see you doing a whole  lot of projects quickly and at a  reasonable cost outlay.  Enjoy the process and rewards  of DIY