Showerthought: Why does every trim carpenter I meet still use a 12 inch miter saw for crown when a 10 inch works better?

Helped a buddy in Cincinnati last week on a crown molding job and watched him fight his 12 inch DeWalt for an hour before I pulled out my old 10 inch Makita and finished the whole room in 20 minutes, has anyone else made that switch and never gone back?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_jennifer1mo ago

I used to be one of those guys who thought bigger was always better, so I get why your buddy was fighting that 12 inch. But after helping a friend with his 10 inch on some tight crown cuts, I totally changed my mind. The smaller saw is just so much easier to handle and the blade guard doesn't get in the way like the big ones do. It's funny how we get stuck on "more power" when the smaller tool actually does the job cleaner. Now I tell everyone to save their money and grab a 10 inch instead.

kevin_west1mo ago

Heard you loud and clear on that one @the_jennifer. I remember building a deck with a buddy a few years back and he showed up with this big 12 inch miter saw he rented. Thing was a beast but man, moving it around the job site was a pain. We had to cut these short little trim pieces for the railing and that big blade guard kept hitting the fence and leaving burn marks. Swapped over to his 10 inch after lunch and it was night and day. Just slid right through the cuts and the dust collection was way better too. I mean, I get the appeal of having all that power on deck but for most stuff you just don't need it.

noahmartin1mo ago

That whole thing about the blade guard hitting the fence is exactly what I read in a woodworking blog last week lol. The guy was saying how a 12 inch saw is overkill for 90% of what people do and you end up fighting the tool more than working with it. He had this whole section on how the bigger blade creates more friction and heat too, which is why you get those burn marks on the wood. Makes total sense when you think about it, a 10 inch blade just has less surface area to drag through the cut. I swear half the time we buy bigger tools just to feel cool and end up regretting it later.