05-05-2020, 12:14 PM
Honestly, I wouldn't necessarily assume that.
You need to go and look at the machine - you really can't buy these blind unless you go for a "proper" brand like Bosch, DeWalt or Makita. Check for play and slop (I've been horrified at what I've seen on display in places like B&Q). Take a couple of measuring tools to see how repeatable the angle stops are and how well set up the presets like 90 degrees are.
With the cheap tools I've looked at, the various preset angles were not repeatable, so you had to measure with something else each time you changed angle. Given that that's something you do all the time, it quickly becomes boring. With the better tools, you're paying for confidence (and the huge amounts of time saved as a result).
I do have some cheap no-name tools, and they're OK for the money, but if I was using them more, I would definitely upgrade. The imprecision of my cheap biscuit cutter is really annoying, and I end up having to do a lot of extra sanding because of it. My cheap circular saw is pretty good if you're just doing simple 90 degree cuts following a straight edge, but as soon as the blade is dull, I'll buy a decent saw. It'll be safer and more accurate and I'll probably use it much more as a result. And that is definitely true with the mitre saw, which nominally I only bought to do some skirting and picture rail - because it's so very good, I use it for far more than I ever could have imagined. It's honestly my most used powertool. The main challenge is keeping enough clear space around it so it's always readily accessible. Which might be a consideration for you, not knowing how much workshop space you have. Obviously it is light enough to take to the job when required, but it's an awkward shape to carry so you won't want to do that all the time, hence it needs a working default home position. Packing it away between jobs would be a waste - you might as well just hire one for whatever jobs you currently have in mind.
Having said all that, decent 2nd fix isn't all that demanding, especially if there's paint going over it. Just look at the quality produced by Georgian and Victorian carpenters, who didn't have power tools on site. I find their work hugely inspirational - it shows what can be done with tenon saws and mitre boxes - and lots of practice.
You need to go and look at the machine - you really can't buy these blind unless you go for a "proper" brand like Bosch, DeWalt or Makita. Check for play and slop (I've been horrified at what I've seen on display in places like B&Q). Take a couple of measuring tools to see how repeatable the angle stops are and how well set up the presets like 90 degrees are.
With the cheap tools I've looked at, the various preset angles were not repeatable, so you had to measure with something else each time you changed angle. Given that that's something you do all the time, it quickly becomes boring. With the better tools, you're paying for confidence (and the huge amounts of time saved as a result).
I do have some cheap no-name tools, and they're OK for the money, but if I was using them more, I would definitely upgrade. The imprecision of my cheap biscuit cutter is really annoying, and I end up having to do a lot of extra sanding because of it. My cheap circular saw is pretty good if you're just doing simple 90 degree cuts following a straight edge, but as soon as the blade is dull, I'll buy a decent saw. It'll be safer and more accurate and I'll probably use it much more as a result. And that is definitely true with the mitre saw, which nominally I only bought to do some skirting and picture rail - because it's so very good, I use it for far more than I ever could have imagined. It's honestly my most used powertool. The main challenge is keeping enough clear space around it so it's always readily accessible. Which might be a consideration for you, not knowing how much workshop space you have. Obviously it is light enough to take to the job when required, but it's an awkward shape to carry so you won't want to do that all the time, hence it needs a working default home position. Packing it away between jobs would be a waste - you might as well just hire one for whatever jobs you currently have in mind.
Having said all that, decent 2nd fix isn't all that demanding, especially if there's paint going over it. Just look at the quality produced by Georgian and Victorian carpenters, who didn't have power tools on site. I find their work hugely inspirational - it shows what can be done with tenon saws and mitre boxes - and lots of practice.
