The number of applications around the home for jobs involving power saws are vast. Whether it’s a relatively simple DIY project like replacing the skirting boards, or something a little more adventurous, such as making furniture, there’s nothing like the that red blooded male adrenalin rush of slicing up MDF, plywood or hardwood.

As you’ll know if you have ever undertaken a job like this, the secret to success and a great finish is quite simple – getting a clean cut and getting your angles right. There are plenty of manual mitre saws on the market, and we’ve discussed the differences between them and their motorised big brothers before.

The fact of the matter is, when you’re doing more than chopping a couple of lengths of wood, you really need to be thinking in terms of power tools, and not using your own energy to cut through countless joints. It’s not just about getting too tired too quickly either, a few carefully timed breaks can solve that issue effectively – it’s about accuracy.

As we said at the beginning, the accuracy in getting the cut angle bang on can make or break a project. We’ve all seen those amateur skirting board efforts in people’s homes where you could lose coins (or worse) in the joints, and if you’re making your own furniture, maybe built in bathroom cabinets, you want them to be sturdy and to stand the test of time, and to look great too. While you can get imitation wood fillers to improve unsightly gaps, they do little to boost the strength of a join, so you’re better off doing the job well to begin with.

Investing in high quality mitre saws that provide the power you need allows you to concentrate on getting those corner pieces made perfectly, and avoid these problems altogether. There’s nothing wrong with needing to tidy up small areas after cutting wood to size, but that should be exactly what it is, a small tidy up job, not an approximation that’s to be sorted out later.

Wood is a beautiful material that can create incredible, natural looking results in all kinds of creations, and the skilled home do it yourself expert will be able to easily fuse their own skill with the tools available to rapidly create some masterpieces that proudly sit around their home. You might not quite be at that stage yet, but by investing in the right tools for the job, you’ll find that your expertise grows much more quickly. It also keeps those frustrating mistakes to a minimum, and even when they do rear their ugly heads, it will seem much more simple to redo a section and get back on track when you’re not getting more and more tired and tetchy!

In today’s update, we’re going to look at two of the Bosch mitre saw range. Bosch are one of the biggest and most popular manufacturers of power tools, so they’re work looking into whenever you’re looking to improve your range of tools, or replace old or broken machines.

GCM 8 SJL

Let’s take a look at the GCM 8 SJL first, a very popular choice from the Bosch mitre saw range with a wide range of versatile angles and super wide cut:

In summary, this is a great budget product which is hard wearing and perfect for most home uses. While most tradesmen will opt for something a little more heavy duty, the GCM 8 SJL is a good contender for home use for garage DIY enthusiasts.

You can read an in depth Bosch GCM 8s review at mitresawzone.com.

PCM 8S

And now, the PCM 8 S Mitre saw, Bosch’s largest mitre saw product. It’s a well built and heavy static saw. It includes a passive dust collection bank for keeping the work area tidy. It’s much more suited to frequent use than the GCM 8 SJL, so will be a better choice for joiners and carpenters.

As with the GCM 8 SJL, there’s also a PCM 8 S review at mitresawzone.com too.

Both of these products are precision cutting tools. We highly recommend that you pay close attention to the videos and watch them in their entirety in order to fully familiarise yourself with what is on offer for all your cutting needs.

Safety is an important aspect when using any tools, especially power tools such as mitre saws. Always read the instruction books carefully as different models operate in different ways and have their own health and safety considerations. As a premier supplier, Bosch include a wide range of safety features, including guards to keep you away from blades spinning at high speed.

Do you love to indulge in DIY projects at home to create unique solutions to solve problems around the house? Perhaps you’re making a career as a carpenter, or use lathes and mitre saws as part of your job on a daily basis. Whatever you use power saws for, it’s essential to know what you’re looking for when the time comes to buy your first one, or replace an old unit.

Firstly, make sure you recognise the difference between a manual and motorised mitre saw. As you might expect, the basic models tend to be manual, which means that they require a little more effort to use. On the other hand, the popularity of power tools now mean that motorised mitre saws are both easily to find and affordable, so there have been very few sales of manual variants in recent years. Generally, people go to the gym or exercise at home for a workout, whereas choose the easy option for their DIY projects!

You’ll also hear mitre saws referred to as drop saws in the trade, due to their usefulness in making really fast and easy work of getting wood chopped to size and with the correct angles guaranteed.

Here’s a quick video demonstrating cutting corners (in terms of angles, not taking shortcuts) with a mitre saw…

As you’ll notice, 45 degree angles are the most popular choices, giving a great finish for corners, which can also be used in skirting boards for great results.