Duel'n Dewalts vs Dedicated Double

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Dan Serra

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Jan 28, 2005
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22
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Los Angeles
I am currently using a single 12" Dewalt miter saw hooked up to a Phaedra fence and the constant switching back and forth is causing me concern about the long term well being of the Dewalt (and my wrist).

I was thinking of either adding a second Dewalt and bolting both of them to a plate of aluminum still tied to the Phaedra or looking into a dedicated saw such as the Pistorius, CTD etc.

My question is this are the productions gains worth the $4,000+ difference in cost? I know a commercial double miter will last forever compared to the Dewalt but my concern is with the day to day operations. I have the Dewalt dialed in so that it will make 99.9999% accurate cuts. Appreciate your thoughts.

Thanks

Dan
 
Well, if 99.9999% is good enough for you....

Seriously, I have doubts that any "contractor" saw can really compete on consistancy with Pistorius. I have yet to see a contractor miter saw that I can't (fairly easily) flex the saw on the base. The only way to make up for that is to use extremely sharp blades, make sure to push perfectly straight down, and take your time. You still need to keep the blades fairly sharp, and make sure the piece of moulding is straight against the fence, etc, but a good double miter saw will make the rest academic.
 
Dan: I had two Dewalt 10" miter saws that I DID put together as a pair for mouldings. I did this about 4 years ago. After doing so and using them for about two months, I decided to order an air/hydraulic Ledsome double miter saw. Why?... Mainly to save time. AND, I hated Dewalt's "Made in Taiwan" garbage! If you DO want to save money and NOT get a true industrial double miter saw, I suggest looking into heavy duty industrial single miter saws... they could cost from $600.00 to $1200.00 each. Good luck.

(If you become interested in a Ledsome double saw, call Ledsome in Texas and ask for Gerald.)
 
The best thing I ever did for me personally was to upgrade form my Dewalt to a Brevetti double mitre. I don't miss the spraying sawdust or smoke from the hardwoods. Not to mention the flying shards of metal frames coming at me. Then there was the noise, from the saw and the supposed dust collection system.

Brevetti is so quiet. I don't have to wear goggles when cutting because it is all being cut inside a little box with little brushes on either end to keep the sawdust to a mimimum, all the cut away pieces fall conveniently to the bottom of the saw with the sawdust. Really accurate cuts without having to move the blade back and forth too. Or God forbid, forgetting to switch the blade and chopping the wrong direction, I hated that too.

I bought my Brevetti used for $1,500, worth every penny.
 
Thanks for your responses. We currently have a Jyden hydraulic that does a great job on 4" moldings or less. I only use the Dewalt for the larger moldings which I don't do as often.

Your right about the dust even with a strong dust collector the Dewalt is not well designed for peak extraction. I wasn't aware the the heavy duty's were quieter in operation. Thats a big plus.

I was looking at CTD D20 manual mainly because they are headquartered here in Los Angeles.
 
Dan, I've had my Dewalt for a number of years, I use a good blade 80 + teeth, and get perfect joints. Keeping the blade sharpe is the key to clean cuts.

I use the 1/4" rule in cutting to length, try to cut as many of the same moulding at one time as I can. I cut all to length a 1/4" longer than needed, and after both lengths have been cut, I move the saw to the left, only one time, and cut all the lengths to their correct size. Saves a lot of time when cutting lots of Frames same moulding, but it doesn't matter, works great with just one frame. I have shelf right under the saw that I lay the all the cut pieces until ready to make final correct cut. Good luck
 
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