Sliding mitre saws (JCB/B&Q or Luna)(Got Luna, review)

[threedee]

I'm about to buy a sliding mitre saw.
B&Q at the moment offer two JCB ones i'm interested in, mostly due to my budget:
255mm
http://www.diy.com/nav/fix/power-tools/ ... d=13649361

and
210mm
http://www.diy.com/nav/fix/power-tools/ ... d=13649362

I'm inclined to get bigger one for bigger cutting capacity.
Question is is it worth the money ? (yeah yeah, you get what you pay for, blah blah blah... i know, move on.)
Anyone with constructive comments/criticism for these saws ?

Also, i'm offered a Luna BMS250S saw, sold by McIntyres tool centre. Sturdy built, heavy, non plastic base etc. Anyone used this one ?

Any other tips for buying a sliding mitre ?

Also, where else can i handle/see some tools in Dungannon/Cookstown area ? Most shops i go to offer to order...which is not how i operate

 

[threedee]

Ended up getting Luna BMS 250s.
I'm actually amazed at the build quality.
After handling JCB for a bit (at the b&q, no actual cutting) and comparing it to Luna one JCB seems really cheap and tacky.

The most surprising thing of all, except for lack of plastic (which by itself is a feat ), was that it came with induction motor. It is dead quiet - no clattery/clangy/screamy shriek circular saws usually emit...
And its heavy, maybe a tad too heavy, but its all due to build materials/quality.

Also, it has blade brake, which also somewhat surprised me. Usually i have to let the blade spin down, but Luna engages brakes halfway through spindown... Soft start too.

And it only cost 120 quid.

Even though i'm far from being a professional i'm impressed by things i saw...

Question: what kind of motors lower end of saws of this type use ? I have borrowed a non-sliding chop/mitre saw and its awfully loud... And plastic crap in general ("performance power" my ****)...

 

[Maverick81]

Never seen any Luna gear anywhere.

 

[apreston]

That Luna saw sounds like a nice piece of kit. Can't find much about it on the web. Your posts are the number one google hit! Do McIntyres have website? How about posting more of a review; I'd like to know how accurate and repeatable the cut is. Piccies would be nice :wink:

 

[wizard]

http://www.multipino.com/offer426707.html

 

[threedee]

Yeah i was initially worried about absence of Luna tools online too.
However, since apparently JCB do not stand behind their brand of B&Q sold tools i decided to go with overall sturdier product that has been offered to me at my budget (hence Luna). JCB dont even list the saws on their website, so, what are the chances to get parts for those ? I say same chance as for Luna, but luna is built much better.

As far as i can tell there is no play in the slide mechanism. The whole slider arm is set on the swivel, not just motor/blade assembly.

Blade guard covers the blade entirely, retracts manually by squeezing the pull handle before pushing start button. Handle/guard and mechanism is made of metals - guard of painted steel, guard lift handle+mechanism of aluminium.

Base and swivel sub-base are made of painted aluminium, blade bed liners are plastic, easily removable should you want to make something more substantial (but dont have any play in them as they are right now).

Slide has the stop knob which can be tightened anywhere you want. This potentially increases cutting depth by quite a lot. You can partly pull out the slider and fix it in place which opens the throat quite a bit. Put some sacrificial piece of wood as a fence and you have quite deep throated chop saw. Didnt need to do that yet, just exploring posibilities. Its just that lifting slider instead of fixed one actually adds some nice cut capacity...

Didn't try for repeatability as only been cutting square planks for my workshop wall studs.

It is not a portable bit of kit though. It needs to be screwed down as its top heavy and balances towards the back, which makes it slide when you try to operate it. But i put two screws in front feet and that was it for this problem.

Base swivels both ways - 45 and -45 degrees, stoplocks at intervals (didnt check angles for accuracy yet), manual screw lock for "weird" angles you may need. No need to lock off in general as base swivel is really tight and requires some force to turn and then it locks at standard intervals. No play at all.

Will post photos when weather clears out a bit. Now the saw sits in the kitchen waiting to finish cutting rest of wall framing. When i get out - lots of pics...

Mcintyres website is just a rudimentary contact info and catalogue page, but here it is:
http://emcintyre.com/

Anyone interested in this saw - there are at least 2 saws available at the shop this very moment (not sure if there are anymore in the back). Price i paid in all was £120.

It is somewhat of a gamble warranty wise as even the staff that sold me the saw didnt know anything about it, so go figure. But barring some freak accident i dont see anything breaking in it. At least one year warranty is given anyway. Considering my budget i would say its still a much better deal than JCB saws that also "do not exist" in terms of parts (most likely anyway).

This Luna BMS250s saw is stamped as manufactured in Taiwan...

Any other questions ?

#Edit1# Apparently there is swedish page for Luna Tools - http://www.luna.se/ just switch to english language.

 

[misterfish]

It says on the Swedish Luna website that they stock spares for all the tools athey sell and that they also continue to hold parts for 5 years after they stop selling a particular model. This all sounds good.

Misterfish

 

[machineage]

Hi there

Sorry to resurrect an old thread - but I was interested to hear about this Luna saw when searching for a SCMS. It looks to be a copy of the Axminster Quiet SCMS which is no longer available. One sold on ebay last year though:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Axminster...D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

Now that was seen to be a copy - albeit with a slightly different blade cover - of the Elektra Beckum / Metabo KGS-331 which is a highly respected bit of kit - and still fetch good prices S/H - this one sold for £200

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Elektra-Beckum-E-KGS-331-Mitre-Saw-230-V-/151233680526

I would be interested to know if this is as good quality as the Metabo unit - or a poorly constructed rip off? If it is as an equal to the Metabo it would be a steal :shock: