If you’re thinking of tooling up for the DIY tradition of building things for yourself, you’d be wise to start looking at miter saws. And surprising as it sounds, cordless miter saws are really something these days.

The ability to easily crosscut lumber and trim to precise angles is what a miter saw is all about. The motor and blade of every miter saw swivels down, cutting wood that’s held at specific angles on the table below. All this sounds simple enough, but it wasn’t that long ago that miter saws were uncommon. Even as late as the 1990s, most contractors I knew didn’t own one. Go back to the 1970s, and carpenters were still cutting angled joints with a wooden miter box and a handsaw.

The remarkable thing about miter saws is how much they’ve improved. I don’t know of any other tool category that has changed so much for the better since inception. And most impressive of all for DIYers is the small, light, cordless miter saws that are coming on stream. They’re easy to carry, they don’t take much space in storage, and they really can do most everything needed while you’re building a deck, dock, gazebo or picnic table – all without a cord.

The ability to make things for yourself and save money is something like a campfire. The only way you’ll get heat and light out of the thing is if you put in fuel first. When it comes to woodworking and DIY, good tools are the fuel and you’ll find that it’s very easy to save way more money than you ever paid for them.