Miter Saws

The original miter saws were simply hand saws held in a contraption that allowed for accurate angled miter cuts. Soon, electric versions of the miter saw were developed and these consisted of a circular saw fixed to a swiveling base. Continued improvements in technology and design resulted in the compound miter saw, which had the ability to miter and bevel at the same time, thus increasing the versatility of the saw. One limitation of these miter saws was the width of the stock they could cut. To increase cutting capacity manufacturers created the sliding compound miter saw. The saw is on a sliding track so that it can move back and forth across the cutting plane, greatly increasing the maximum stock width that the saw can handle.

A miter saw is "compound" if it can miter and bevel at the same time. The base of the saw swivels left and right allowing for simple miter cuts, and the saw blade itself swivels away from vertical independently for more complex cuts. A single-bevel saw means that it can only bevel in one direction, generally to left of vertical, however a dual bevel can go both left and right of vertical.

The primary limitation of compound and regular miter saws is the capacity of wood they can handle. A typical 10" saw can cut material up to 5-1/2" wide and even less than that if you are mitering. In order to get greater width and height capacities you have to upgrade to a larger 12" or 14" unit. This become very inefficient to run such a huge saw if the majority of the time you cut thinner material. The solution to this is a sliding compound miter saw. The saw blade is mounted on a sliding track which allows it to move forward and backward on the cutting plane, greatly increasing cutting capacity.

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