In the current issue Jim Anderson praises the usefulness of a mitre saw station while framing. In the previous issue Rick Arnold and Mike Guertin say it is much easier to frame moving a circular saw around the site to the wood instead of bringing the lumber to the mitre saw. I’ve done plenty of both methods and prefer the mitre saw station set up in the middle of the work area. Especially for cutting 2×12’s or wooden I joists.
Which method do you guys like and why?
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Replies
Go figure just when the issue is resolved you go and stir up the pot again. just kidding . If I have a load of lumber and a cut list a mile long Ill set up and move thru the list . once we go cra;y and frame we always need trimmers ect. and we pull out the PC> I like the left blade to cut off my foot . that sounds funny but you know what I mean.????!!!???. well I am sure this one will live forever just like Cabinets upper or lowers first ... Catch ya later.
I know what you mean with the cut of your foot remark. I see the carpenters on "Real Renos" television show doing it.
Do you use the same mitre saw for trim?
Base cabinets first and toilet paper rolling off from the top!
Have a good day!
Vivadriver
well I am sure this one will live forever just like Cabinets upper or lowers first >>>
I never heard of putting lower cabs in first...lolThe secret of Zen in two words is, "Not always so"!
http://CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM
On a production job, I prefer the worm drive.
On a job I do by myself, I prefer the chopsaw.
"Criticism without instruction is little more than abuse." D.Sweet
For framing? Worm drive all the way. The only exception is if you have to cut alot of blocking that has to be precise, like squash blocks with I joists. Otherwise the precision and repeatibility of a mitre saw is overshadowed by the lack of lifting heavy pieces of lumber around with a worm drive.
Framing is hard work. Why make it more difficult?
Jon Blakemore
Both, Skillsaw for most of the job,compound mitersaw for blocking or short stuff.
Dave
I always use both, but then I usually like to work alone. If you have a crew, make sure you have a tough miter saw. I use the DeWalt SCMS on the Ridgid MSUV, a truly great stand. In the morning, this is the second thing that comes out of my trailer. I like to take a little extra time to do achieve a high level of precision on posts, cripples, and so on. I keep a left-handed PC sidewinder for panel cuts, and one or two Bosch worm drives for all-around work. If I have awkward cuts where I need to see the blade from the right, I pull out my Milwaukee sidewinder.
I'm not full time framer ...
but I like both at the same time.
Jeff
Buck Construction, llc Pittsburgh,PA
Artistry in Carpentry
I use both. In fact, I have an assortment of saws for framing. We've tried it both ways, with a miter saw and without. We recently compared speed with and without and we agree that WITH is a good thing.
Generally, even on small homes, we have a lot of the same window sizes, so maybe we'll have 20 or 30 of the same cripple studs and sills. It is much quicker to use the miter saw.
We have a DeWalt 12" sliding miter saw. We love it for pickup framing because there is so much blocking and small stuff. My cousin and I did an octagon trey or coffered (don't know what it's called) ceiling yesterday. It took us 2 hours to frame start to finish. You can see the miter saw there. I used it to make all the "common" rafter cuts because I could cut 3 at a time that were identical.
Another saw I love to use is a 10" Big Foot. I use that to cut plates when I'm plating because I can cut 2 at a time that are identical. It isn't as heavy a saw as it looks. I also have an 8 1/4" Skil that we converted to take a 9" blade and will cut 3". It doesn't have a guard, so I prefer the Big Foot, but the 9" saw works really well.
We have a house plan that has the roof upstairs start on 5' walls. Every wall upstairs has to be framed up to the rafters. We've done this house 4 or 5 times. This last time we shaved 1/2 day (3 guys) just by adding the miter saw. It's one of those things that when you have it and learn to use it for framing, you wonder why we didn't do this before. Here is a pic of that ceiling and one of the house I'm talking about.
Hey that photo of the ceiling shows some nice work! Almost a shame to cover it up. Is that a trojan saw stand in the second photo. I have one of those but I find it gets a little shaky in about hour after setup.
Have a good day. Vivadriver
Thanks for the comments. We have the older DeWalt stand. I need some more supports and stops. We were using it without the extension yesterday. I like using the miter saw because it saves you all those repetitious movements that we never notice, like pulling out a speed square or marking a 2x4 and then reaching for the saw. With the miter saw, you set your stock, mark and cut and your done. I love it.
Have you seen the article in this month's JLC about a saw trailer? I talked to the guy who wrote a couple of weeks ago about forklift platforms and he was talking about how great that giant radial saw is. If our jobs weren't so cramped, maybe that would be the ticket :-) http://www.jlconline.com/cgi-bin/jlconline.storefront/412f82100012e7d027177f0000010596/Product/View/0408fitt
I like my old makita slide for framing and even with all those miles on it, it is still going strong. I checked out the JLC link and although the old radial saw and trailer are quite solid and impressive that kind of set up would not cut it for me. Actually I had never seen or heard of JLC before (Canadian!) but I will occasionally check it out. Thanks for the link.
Have a good day.. Vivadriver
No problem. Browse the forums for any info on framing. There is a lot more framing info there than here at Breaktime. That radial saw is a little big for me too :-)
Hey Everyone, it's me Jim Anderson.
I'll just agree with whoever said that it is an upper/lower, Ford/Chevy/Dodge thing.
You can argue your side of it, however, no matter what you say people are going to do what they like to do. Unfortunately for all of us when we get stuck there we only limit ourselves.
I learned worm-drive framing and have owned many worms over the years. I marked and cut too many sticks with and without a miter saw to say it's the wrong way. (for me.)
When I frame, while I do own both a cats paw and a sawzall, I try to plan and build so as not ot have to use them. I end up using them more than I'd like but I'm pretty sure less than a handful of others.
There are alot of guys who do this for a job. I do it for a living, there fore I decided to make it as easy on my body as possible. I own ladders, sawhorses, starting to get some scaffolding, wall jacks and have two crane companys phone numbers committed to memory.
I hope this lets you know more of my side. Decide what you want and do it. F**k everyone elses opinion. I do.
Jim Anderson
Dumb question? what brand of stand is Jim Anderson using for his miter saw. I like the idea of multiple stops. Actually I could actually use two, the second for my metal chop saw.