Personally, I don't really see the need for a laser guidance system in this saw for the following reasons. The item being cut is pressed against the fixed rails at the rear of the saw table. The saw blade angles are already fixed by the settings you make prior to beginning the cut. Therefore, the only variable is the "sideways" positioning of the piece being cut in relationship to the blade. While I agree that the laser (if highly accurate) will assist you in determining that position, so will lowering the blade to the work before making it spin. I think that a laser works better on hand-held jig-saws and "Skil-style" saws when there is no mechanical guide in play. Just my opinion.

Steve Mon thats no lie!! I have so many clamps I cant contain them on the wall anymore so I have several 55 gal drums up stairs in the shop where a lot of them hang out. Side Note>> harbor freight is selling 12'' hand screw clamps for like five bucks!! I cant belive it I have paid $30 in the past for Jorgies.Working in the radias is really pretty easy if you know how with the given it takes some time,the right glue, a lot of attention to detail and a Wallet willing to pay for the thing. Those Euro Folks do some nice work but they have to drive those little bitti cars to work!!! John

Just checking on the cherry. Can't say I'm too fond of oak myself. There are few instances where balustrade removal and replacement work out too well unless you're disassembling the stair re-milling and reassembling it. Even then unless you are talking about a stair that's made out of a rare or exotic lumber that would exceed the cost of the time and labor of doing so It is not often the best practice. I would still use care taking it apart and use it to make something else. How solid are the newels, are they loose surface mount or do they go into the floor? Iron is nice. You can either use a metal rail or wood on top of it. For a long while iron/steel balusters were a bit less expensive than wood but now they are comparable. The wood rail will usually be less expensive than the metal and easier to install. Newel posts can be either as wood newels match the iron quite well. A few of the things I was mentioning about not being correct in the drawings were the balusters and newels. The newel is an Arcways product whose turning is sized for the 30" rail heights of days long gone by. Note the extremely tall base. The balusters are StaiParts Inc. made for the same. The upper turnings don't even come close to matching the rake of the stair which is common for too many stair part manufacturers. Even with the stair and balcony rail set to the highest height in order to use a closer matching baluster combination to make it less noticeable. Arcways however does have some fabulous rails and fittings, checks their small orders for matching, offers cherry as a stock item and will sell directly to homeowners. They also carry iron and steel balusters. I believe OakPoint sells direct and Crown sells through Brosco/Brockway Smith, 84 Lumber and even a few Lowe's locations as well as numerous stair companies. Use the dealer locator on their website. Both have a good selection, have cherry as stock on some of their profiles, good quality and a product line that looks correct for todays codes. "Solid" or one piece treads sound nice but they are not really what you want unless they have relief milling on the underside and even then it's not much of a guarantee against checking or cupping especially if they are only 3/4 thick". How will the 1 1/4"+ overhang hold up? Construction adhesive and a finish nail through the top of the finish isn't going to last too long and will squeak like crazy after a while. A typical tread is 1 1/16" thick and will be made of three to 5 pieces. Cherry treads are most often made "in house" from random width/length material and a good stair shop will cut out any sap wood, match the grain and the leading piece will be well beyond the riser. Engineered treads are also available but like everything they have their pros and cons and I think the cons still outweigh the pros. The open left end should have a return nosing mitered into the front left corner and extend past the next riser by the same distance as the overhang with a scotia below. That is the dark piece I am showing on the edge of the tread in the image above. If you go through your phone book or search for stair companies or stair manufacturers and not stair part manufacturers you should find a few. If you call a stair parts manufacturer they will direct you to someone in your area that they sell to. I was looking for the dimension of the face of riser to face of riser or the run. I'm assuming 7" is the height? Floor to floor height. From the top of the plywood where the upper stair lands to the top of the vinyl on the landing and from the top of the vinyl on the landing to the top of the vinyl(?) in the basement. If the vinyl is flat I would agree with keeping it in place if the glue has failed and it's lifting remove it and in either scenario use a quality felt paper underlayment. Did you already place the order with the millwork shop? How soon do you need to get this done? I really think it would be in your best interest to explore all avenues and plan out the whole project before you buy anything. As Casey noted above it is often cheaper to remove all and replace. It would take you less time to install the two units than it would to even do one single tread.

Hold the phone!!!!! Brad/finish nailers can be found for MUCH less than $350!!!!! Porter Cable regularly runs specials on a kit---18 gauge brad nailer, 16 gauge finish nailer, small portable compressor with hose/fittings/thread tape for less than $350. That is an ideal combo for home use. I have all three---bought separately years ago---That I use in my business. six years and no problems. Miter saws are also priced with a wide difference. My son bought a Delta 10" compound miter saw to do trim in his house and paid $99. we used ot for tongue and groove ceiling planks, 3&1/2" crown molding, and standard base molding. I have a six year old DeWalt 12" saw I paid $300 and now sells regularly for $290. There are dual compound models---they tilt/swing in both directions starting around $400 and sliding compound starting at $400 for 10" models and $600 for 12" models.