How do hand powered mitre saws and powered mitre saws compare?
As with so many things that we can buy, the more you spend on your mitre saw, the more accurate it is likely to be. I would consider the saw you linked to be a fairly low-end model. Another quality that tends to surface with the higher end saws is repeatability – that is, every time you set the saw to 45 degrees, you’ll get a 45 degree cut. The lower end saws are not as consistent in this regard (I tend to find myself making test cuts on the really important stuff most of the time anyway). The speed of the blade definitely makes up for the relatively coarse blades – you can make clean, accurate cuts in small/fine material with ease.
Both handsaws in a mitre box and circular chop saws can be equally accurate and can get you good 45s. Both will need a plane and shooting board to get absolutely perfect corners. Stick with a fixed (IE: not sliding) saw unless you absosmurfly need the extra cut capacity. An 80 tooth ATB Melamine blade will make beautiful cuts in moldings. More expensive blades will have larger carbide tips with a finer grain. The latter will allow the blade to be sharper and the former makes the blade tougher and allow for more sharpenings. Make sure you get a chop saw blade rather than a table saw blade. The chop saw blade has a negative hook vs the positive hook of a table saw blade. For picture frames I’d stay away from thin kerf blades. Rockler has a good saw blade intro write up. You’ll also need either a good machinist square or a new plastic 45 drafting square to set the saw up.
