I'm putting new moulding throughout my house. Is it worth purchasing a miter saw and electric hammer?

Question

I want to put in new borders and possibly crown moulding in my 2000 sq. ft. house. I have already tried t putting in borders in my master bedroom using a miter box and hand saw but the cuts for the most part were very uneven even with the best of care. The nailing was also a pain. I'm now considering purchasing a cheap compound miter saw (see Harbor Freight Tools - they have a cheap one for $40) and possibly some kind of electric or air hammer.

1. Is the miter saw worth it, or should I get a table saw which may have more long-term uses?
2. What's a good option for some kind of electric hammer? I prefer not to get into buying an air compressor, mostly due to the lack of storage space, so what options exist?

Please let me know of any specific products post links to web sites where I can get these at a low price.

Thanks a ton!

Answer 1

Just rent the tools you will need.

Answer 2

Buy the miter saw and rent a finish nailer. I would stay away from the super-cheap miter saw though. I have made many purchases like that that I regretted. I bought a 10" compound miter saw at Harbour Freight about 8 years ago for about $60 and it still works great, though we don't use it that often. I would not get one any smaller than that. I also bought at $15 electric brad nailer there, and it does not work at all. It is the really small kind, not what you need for molding, but I just tried to use it when I reuphulstered my dining room chairs and it did not have enough power to sink the nail half way. That was one of my regretful purchases. You can rent an electric finish nailer at Home Depot. You could rent the miter saw too, but it would cost you nearly as much as to buy one. If you are only going to use it for a few hours, it might make sense to rent it.

Answer 3

When it comes to buying tools it is a good idea to purchase the highest quality tool that you can reasonably afford at the time so that you will not need to replace it later on. An electric Miter saw is a great investment and if you are concerned enough about space to be concerned about buying an air compressor you definatly don't have enough space for a table saw. There are however some brands of air compressors that are designed specifically to be small and lightweight for easy storage and portability specifically for the job you are doing, and best of all they come as a complete kit with a nail gun and a spring type air hose. For doing Miter cuts if you don't do much wood working I would definately recomend the chop saw over the table saw because most stock tablesaw miter guages are not ideal for the task and besides, sliding a 12' long piece of molding acros the table is a pain in the butt.

Answer 4

Definitely get a compound miter saw. I have replaced most of the baseboards in my house and have installed crown moulding in one room and I am so glad I had my miter saw. The time you will save and the accuracy make it totally worth it. I would maybe go up to something more than the $40 one though. Stick to around $100. I'm not sure of you can get the kind of nailer you'll need without an air compressor. I did all of mine by pre-drilling and then just nailing my hand and following with a nail set. But if you're willing to pay for the nailer and compressor that would certainly speed things up. I'm pretty sure that you can get a small compressor that won't take up too much space.

Answer 5

I 'm not sure about the electric hammer. Do you mean a palm nailer?
I would definitely buy the miter saw. I have had one for almost twenty years, it is a great tool. The cuts will come out great, just practice with a few miter cuts before you start trimming out. Remember it is always better to cut your pieces a little long rather than a little short. Wood is hard to stretch!
I would not rent the tools because you will then be in a hurry about getting them back to the rental shop. Buy them, take your time and make look it good. If your quality is bad you'll see it every time you go into the room(s).

Answer 6

I have a Bosch chop saw and bought a Delta model MS250 from Tool King.com to use from job to job as I knew it would be banged up and it amazed me how well it works. It's a 10" compound miter saw and was a little over 125.00. As far as the electric nail gun goes, I've never used anything but pneumatic so I'm sorry I can't help there.

You can also go to my friends house. He never returned my third one! If you can get it you can have it!
My only concern of renting is with 2000' unless you've done quite a bit of this, it will probably be cheaper to buy then rent but it sure would be worth comparing.

Answer 7

There is one thing that I've found out and that is that the right tools make a job so much easier. You could either rent or buy a miter saw. An electric hammer would also speed up the job and probably also help keep you from missing the nail with the hammer and denting the trim. DeWalt normally makes about the best quality in electric carpentry tools but they are usually a little on the expensive side.

Answer 8

It's in your best interest to purchase a miter saw. But not from Harbor Frieght. That saw, for around 40 dollars probably won't last you. You can get a better one for under 150, plus when you are done with it, you could resell it. I would suggest getting a small pancake compressor and a air finish nailer. You can buy these even as a set for about 150 from Home Depot. Or get a deal on e bay.

Answer 9

Been there, done that..What a job: Yes, go and buy a mitre saw, the problem with a table saw is the cut is rough...the mitre saw is worth the 40$ You can always sell it when you're done.

Homes are never built totally straight and it's hard to get the exact mitre cut for certain corners and a mitre saw can be adjusted in small degrees.

I have a compressor, just a tiny one, it comes in handy for many things and use a small BRAD Nailer....it's quick and efficient and the nailing looks very professional.

I searched nailer...and came up with tons of them on the web, many different prices..
Maybe just rent a small compressor and Brad Nailer, won't take you long to nail the moulding.

Electric nailers..not to sure about them.

Maybe someone else has a better answer re: electric nailers.

good luck, and I'm sure you home will look great when your done.

Answer 10

The most used tool in my workshop is a miter saw. I bought a 10 in. delta model from Amazon.com for $99 and it has served me well for the last 7 years. A quality blade make all of the difference and really will make your joints on the molding fit perfect.

As far as the "electric hammer" goes paslode makes a finishing nail gun that runs off a rechargeable battery and CO2 cartridge. It does not have any cords which is very helpful when doing molding. The problem is they are expensive. $359 at Amazon.com

You can buy a compressor and nail kit much cheaper but it is not as user friendly. There are other benefits like airing up tires, inflatable toy, bed etc. Amazon.com list an 18 gauge porter cable model that has everything you need for $206.96.

If this is out of your price range you can rent anything you need from a store that specializes in tool rentals, but I always advocate buy the tools when you are doing the work yourself, because of the money you save in labor and will have them for years to come.

Good luck with your project!

Answer 11

I am considering the same thing throughout the house.. Right now I have that cheap paper (I call it paper) floor moldings and want to change it all for real wood. If you plan on doing it yourself, then it would pay to get a cheap miter saw but as far as an air hammer??? I am planning (or thinking) of getting /using just a hammer and do it myself.

Also what I am seriously considering is just renting them miter thing at the Home Depot.. have all the wood pieces available and ready to be cut and cut as many as I can at one time and then take the rented miter back