Best Mitre Saw UK Reviews 

In this article we review, what we believe to be the best mitre saws, currently available on the UK marketplace. As the name would suggest, these are designed to be able to cut, and make mitre joints.

This is the type of joint that is used to join two pieces of material, to make a neat and tidy joint. Most commonly this saw is used when working with wood. You can use this type of mitred joint for picture framing corners, skirting boards and other furniture making purposes.

The beauty of owning a saw like this, is that it can also be used for normal straight cuts, made by something like a chop saw, or a circular saw. It can also be used for bevel joints. This is the type of joint used in dining or coffee tables, to prevent leaving sharp edges.

Now, these are slightly more expensive than a standard circular saw, but you can make a range of different joints. It is worth considering this, if you plan on doing a lot of woodworking projects.

If you just want something that can make straight cuts in wood, then a cheaper circular saw, would be a much better option.

If I was to give you one bit of advice it would be to buy a mitre saw stand to go with this tool. If you are out on a job you will need somewhere to put the saw, there is usually nowhere handy and I have ended up using mine on the ground, in the back of a van, all sorts of awkward places. A stand is invaluable. Its folds out in 5 seconds, two clamps hold the saw and you are ready for action.

What Types of Mitre Saw Are Available?

There are really only two options worth consideration. These are:

The compound allows you to do mitre, straight and bevel joints. The sliding compound, which is more expensive, allows you to do the same range of joints. The difference is that it can be used on wider and larger pieces of material as the blade can slide in and out.

A good quality compound mitre saw (non-sliding) costs around £50-100 and a sliding version will set you back around £200-350. Without any hesitation, if you are going to spend money on a mitre saw, then just get a sliding compound one. You might pay extra, but it means you can do any type of mitre, bevel or compound cut, on most widths of timber.

Evolution is a very popular brand choice of mitre saw for UK buyers. You see a lot of these in many of the DIY shops, and in the leading tool stores. All the leading tool brands will have various models of these available.

We believe however, that the Evolution brand is a good quality product, at an affordable price. If you are a professional, then the better choice would be a Dewalt, Bosch or Makita saw.

When it comes to buying your own mitre saw, our strong advice is to buy a sliding one. Although the standard compound is a useful tool, the sliding one just opens up a whole range of cutting tasks.

Cutting longer and wider boards of wood is probably the most important of those. Consider items like wider skirting boards, or coving and you will get the jist of what I mean

If you are going to connect a vac to one of these machines we don't recommend that you use a home version. It's always best to have a good quality HD shop vacuum.

If you are in doubt as to what cuts you can do with a mitre saw, then we have explained these just below.

These cuts are explained in more detail in the video below.

If you plan on spending around £250-400 on a good quality mitre saw, then personally, we consider that to be a big investment. That said, if you plan on doing a big project or a house renovation, buying a mitre saw is a very good investment.

These saws when properly set up and used, can save you a fortune in time, and also avoid what would otherwise be a frustrating tasks. We have used these to build decks, shed foundations and shed construction, renovating rooms and other woodworking tasks.

If you own one of these, then they do the work of a circular saw, and much more besides. When you buy a sliding mitre saw, then you have a great and very useful power tool, at your disposal.

As we mentioned you can buy a standard compound mitre saw. Those are fine for doing the 4 cuts I mentioned above. However if you get a saw that slides, you can then cut wider and longer pieces of material.

That for me is invaluable, and makes the saw have much wider use. Most skirting for example is much deeper than it used to be. That means a normal compound mitre is just not wide enough to get through it.

In our opinion any saw, including mitre saws, are only as good as the motor that powers them. When you are putting material through a saw, you simply want it to cut quickly. That means a good blade, and more importantly, a good strong reliable motor to drive that blade around.

Now we know there are many things to consider, but this would be right at the top of our list. We like to see a motor size of 1,500 watts or bigger. That way we know it will have enough power, and will not put a lot of strain on the motor as well.

Smaller motors that are struggling when under stress, or through a lot of use, will simply burn out, and all you have left is an expensive useless saw.

We could quite literally write books about buying blades for these saws. For most people a general multi-purpose blade will be enough. Evolution do these, and they are great as they allow you to cut plastic, wood, aluminium and even some of the lighter steels.

The good thing about a multi-purpose blade, is that it doesn't need to be changed, irrespective of the material being cut. That is a time saver.

For finer cuts, and especially on wood, then you may want to use a coarse blade for rougher cuts, and a finer blade for those precise cuts, where a neat finish is very important.

You can buy blades for your machine as a single blade, or in small packs of various sizes. Typically a single blade costs around £20 on average.

Teeth Per Inch (TPI)

You will hear this talked about quite a lot. This is how the coarseness or fineness of a blade is classified. An easy way to remember this, is the more teeth, the finer the cut.

So those are the very basics of what I think a good mitre saw should have. In summary, a sliding saw with a powerful motor and a good sharp, multi-purpose blade. Below we will now explain some of the other features, that are very useful to properly understand.

Safe Use of a Mitre Saw

If you have never used one of these saws before, then please watch the video above. There is a knack to using these so as you do not want to cut yourself or damage the wood you are cutting.

You have to learn to let the blade of the saw do all the work. If you find it really hard to cut then you are doing it wrong, it should be smooth and easy.

There are a few accessories that you can get for a mitre saw. We will show you what those are, and why they might be of benefit to you.

From a personal experience, I well remember the day when I bought my first mitre saw and took it home. The plan was to put it in my garage, and from there I could do my work.

I had initially planned to bolt it down to a workbench so as it would be nice and solid. It was a very nice theory, but practically it was an awful idea. With a fixed mitre saw, you have to bring the work to the saw.

Not only does that waste time, but it also means you have to measure in a room, mark it and remember the cut required, and if you have any "doubts" then you have to go back and forwards to check everything.

I was fitting skirting in a bedroom, and it makes common sense to  be able to take the saw there.

The average price for a good basic mitre saw stand is £60-75 and trust me on this, just get one as it means you can use your saw anywhere. There are super versions of these with wheels and folding parts, but a basic one will do most users really well.

Because of the dust from this type of saw, it is always better to use it outside, unless you have a vacuum dust setup in your garage or workshop.

The main advantage though is that a mitre saw stand is like an extra pair of hands, when work with longer and wider pieces of wood.

If you are going to be using any type of an electric saw on a regular basis, then buy some type of dust extractor system. If you are just doing a one off job, then my recommendation would be to do either one of two things:

1. Do the work outside
2. Use the dust bag that usually comes with these

I set up my own dust extractor in my garage as I do a fair amount of work in there. With electric saws, dust is heavy and there is lots of it. The dust bags that come with saws are OK, but not really effective.

For infrequent use they do a good enough job. It is probably better to do any cutting outside to avoid breathing in lots of dust. That is where a mitre saw stand comes in really handy.

Always wear a dust mask with any type of electric saw. Those are really cheap and stop your breathing in saw dust particles. A mask and a pair of goggles offer you great protection.