Miter Saw Setup for Accurate Cuts
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 ก.ย. 2024
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When I walk up to my miter saw and make a cut, I want to know for a fact that the cuts I’m making are accurate. Whether I’m making a 90-degree cut, an angled cut or a beveled cut, I put the same demands on the saw; do what I’m asking you to do. Accurately.
SETTING UP YOUR MITER SAW
Miter saw setup isn’t hard, and it’s something that needs to be done, even to a brand new saw. You’ve got to double check and make sure the saw is making the cuts you need. Instead of trying to use a square between the blade and fence, try this approach for checking your saw. Make a pair of cuts, and compare them to each other. This is a very accurate way to that your miter saw setup is good. Here’s a tip; the wider the boards are that you cut, the more accurate this test will be.
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WORKS FOR BEVELS AND ANGLES
The approach shown here for miter saw setup works whether you’re checking the angle of your miter saw, or the bevel of your miter saw. The only difference is that you’ll use narrower boards to check the bevel. In both cases, make sure that the edge of the board that’s against the fence or down on the table is perfectly straight.
A MUCH USED TOOL…
If you’re like me, you’re using your miter saw all the time. Make sure that you’re using a miter saw correctly and, if you want to know more, but sure to have a close look at www.WWGOA.com because we’ve got even more miter saw videos available for you.
MORE INFO
For more information on the Delta Cruzer miter saw visit www.deltamachin..., or call (800) 223-7278.
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Excellent tip and demonstration. That’s something I’ll need to do this week.
Really helpful info. Will be doing this this weekend
Spot on 👍
How does the dust collection vac come on automatically when you turn on the saw?!
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One thing to note here, though, is that this is only testing the left fence. You didn't test anything that spans both sides of the blade to test to make sure the entire fence system is square.
I've had this saw for 9 months and still cannot get square accurate sliding bevel cuts from the back stop on a 1x10. But yet when I'm not beveling, my cuts are dead square from the back stop. The saw head IS perpendicular to the deck BTW. The deck is level with the turret and flat all the way across. Pulling the head down the kerfs on a dry bevel cut I can see there is "drift" from right to left.....back to front......not sure this is fixable. Have you tried dialing in your sliding bevel cuts on a wide piece of lumber? Thanks in advance
Hi Bruce. George has not experienced the problem that you are describing. Given that everything is aligned when not beveling, I am not sure that this can be remedied with an adjustment. That said, I would suggest contacting Delta customer service to see if they can recommend something for you: deltamachinery.com/support/
Thanks
Paul-Woodworkers Guild of America
I have a question about bevel calibration.
Example material is 3/4" thick x 4 1/2" wide by whatever length. The bevel and miter settings are both at zero. If you cut your piece vertically to the left of the blade and get a perfect 90 degree cut, would you assume that if you slide the board to the right of the blade and cut it you would also get a 90 degree cut?
Again, this is for checking the bevel setting. For checking the miter the piece would be laying flat on the saw. In my example the piece is being cut vertically.
What if the cut on the right is actually 89.7°? If one side is cutting 90 and the other 89.7 I don't see how that can be adjusted to get both sides to be 90 degrees. Any guesses?
Thanks
Hello,
It's hard to say what might be going on here. Maybe you are registering off of the table on one side, and the throat plate insert on the other. You might try making an adjustment to the throat plate to see if that helps you achieve alignment.
Hope this helps,
Paul
WoodWorkers Guild of America Video Membership
I'm just starting out but don't have a jointer. What would be another way of squaring mu miter?
Hello Chad.
You can start by getting a square edge using a table saw and/or a hand plane.
Thanks,
Paul
WoodWorkers Guild of America Video Membership
Chad Hastings
Another way to make a straight cut is to clamp something you know is straight to your material and use it as a guide/straight edge. Then you could use a circular saw to make your cut. And to get a clean cut on all 4 side of the cut do a very shallow scoring cut first then do the full cut. You edges will be squeaky clean. Of course you want to check your circular saw to see if it is also cutting at 90°. It seems like in woodworking most of our time is spent in setup and cleanup. Sheesh!
The above assumes your material is wide enough and that you don't have a table saw.
Also, those battery powered angle cubes are great for checking square/90° on table saw and miter saw blades.
yes I purchased one of those cube measuring gadgets, very accurate and also recommend @@ThekiBoran
Will there be a follow up video for best way to adjust your saw when it is off?
Here is a video that talks about the general process of getting a SCMS setup for accurate cuts: www.wwgoa.com/video/how-to-set-up-a-compound-mitre-saw-004777/.
If the saw needs adjustments, those are generally saw-specific and
best covered by the manufacturer of the saw. Normally this information
is included in the documentation that comes with the saw, or on the
manufacturer's web site. Paul
How often should you "calibrate" your saw? Great video.
It depends how prone it is to coming out of calibration. If it is new, I
would check it frequently (after the first hour of use, and again after
another hour). Once it has proven itself as reliable and stable, then
you can do this on an ad-hoc basis whenever you have an important cut to
make. I found that most of my tools remain pretty well dialed in, so I
do a good thorough check/calibration on an annual basis. My jointer
seems to need it more often, so I check that one more frequently,
perhaps every 1-2 months, and it commonly needs a small adjustment. Paul
ryngilead
The foreman at the last company I worked for was a serious Makita man. He even spent 10 years in Japan in the construction industry over there. He bleeds teal. However, his Makita saw was always going out of square. It pissed him off. However, if your saw stays in a shop permanently mounted to a bench it's less likely to go out of square unlike a jobsite saw that get loaded into truck and thrown around frequently.
New out of the box, 2 degrees off on vertical cut ? Wow....
George indicated in the video that he had adjusted the saw to be out of square in order to demonstrate this technique.
@@Wwgoa I'm referring to my saw here not George's saw.
I do not understand!! If you´re just going to say "for accurate cuts, check your manual", Why make a video? What I want to know is what kind of adjustments should I make to fix it!! My dewalt miter saw is not accurate as I need it.
Carlos Mayer every saw is different as to how to make adjustments. The important info in this video is how to recognize that your saw is out of alignment.
Yea it's not hard to tell if it is wrong? How to fix it is what we need to know ?
Sam P and exactly how very much depends on your brand of saw., and how old it is. You should really find the manual for yours.
Carlos Mayer I had the same problem. I found this helpful. th-cam.com/video/-WNySpRCRcY/w-d-xo.html
Ok, but must be a few basics and most important adjustments to do for any saw! This video title is SETUP for accurate cuts. That's my point, but thank you for your comment.
Great. Now all I need is a jointer, table saw and a flat granite slab and a garage to put them in. And by the way, why in the fk do you assume a counter top is level. Lol
He said flat. Not level. If the surface he’s putting the jointed edge on is flat, then the two pieces of wood will be level with each other. :)
A total rip off of the bosch and it’s not a “sliding “ saw.
Bosch only wished they had as good of a saw as what delta has... Bosch lol, yeah okie dokie 🤣
I just bought the 2nd gen of that saw, it came out of the box spot on.
Hey is there any slop when you drop it into the detent slots? So many saws have slop where the pin fits into the detent notches. And is that detent plate stainless or aluminum?
You didn’t cover any machine adjustments
You sir are a gent, this is the only video I found where you purposely used a mitre saw that is not PERFECT to show what to look for. I've been going through videos on how to set the saw perfect but each video they used a perfectly squared saw which didn't help me in the slightest as they would go "in this case its fine..."
So all I need for accurate miter saw cuts is a joiner or table saw, Great another piece of kits I wont use properly, brilliant.
Great tip!!!
I think you are more of a movie star than a carpenter.
Never seen this before. Thanks!
Wait what? I thought Bosch had patented that design :O
I'll be checking tomorrow
Great video! My saw's fence seems to be bowed. When the left side of the fence is adjusted square to blade, the right side is skewed in. When cutting a long board, only the extreme ends of the fence come in contact with the piece. Any suggestions? Thank you.
There are reports of this issue from other people. Take the saw back to where you bought it and exchange it. Of the occurrences I have read about, all were solved with the next unit being in good order.
@@thatguythatdoesstuff7448 Purchased used so no recourse. What about simply cutting fence in half? Each side could be set independently and secured with two hold-down bolts. Thx
@@1duesy Yeah, you could do that. I think I would:
1) Call Delta and ask for warranty service. They're supposed to have a 5 year warranty. They know there are issues with the first gen saws (I'm assuming first gen) and may be more inclined to help you, despite purchasing it used. Can't hurt to ask and they can say no, but could also say yes. Or maybe they have the parts and will give you a decent deal.
2) Have it milled flat. A shop would probably charge minimally for it and it'd be a very fast setup and single operation probably. Perhaps a friend of yours has a mill.
3) Depending on where the bow occurs and how bad, cutting it in half might be the best DIY option. I think this would only be effective if the bow is occuring in the center and is not seating to the body of the saw.
4) If it's not really that bad, you could lap it flat with sandpaper, a belt grinder or belt sander if they're accessible to you.
@@thatguythatdoesstuff7448 Diecast alum fence. Out by nearly 1/16th at the face. Another option before cutting in half: Make a V-cut at the center of arch, round file a control hole to prevent crack formation, then heat while clamped to a jig in the hope it stabilizes fully flat. We shall see!
Even Obama could tell if it is cutting wrong. But it takes a Republican to fix it!
Sam P
Not to go political but both major parties are highly skilled at breaking things.